He looked so handsome that the term ‘sculpture’ fell short. That’s probably why my heart was pounding again.
I’m human too, so having my heart race when I see a handsome face is a normal reaction. So, just because my heart beats faster doesn’t mean I have feelings for Sicar. I tried to wake him up by tapping his back, but when he pulled me in, I instinctively moved back out of his reach and called him.

“Sicar, wake up. We need to get breakfast.”

Sicar, who wasn’t dull, woke up as soon as he heard my voice. He seemed tired due to not having slept well, but there was a dreamy feeling in his slightly disheveled bangs and hazy gaze.

After glancing at me, Sicar seemed to collect himself and brushed back his bangs.

“You woke up early.”

“I’m hungry.”

Only now did Sicar fully wake up, blinking both eyes.

“I’ll bring the meal right away, so wait a bit. Oh, no. Wait.”

‘I have to acknowledge his good learning ability.’

Even though I pointed it out just once yesterday, he voluntarily checked and tried to fix it. I had to resist smiling.

“Hurry back.”

Sicar got up in a hurry, went out, and came back.

“Is there anything else you need?”

“No.”

His actions, going out and then coming back after a simple answer from me, felt cute… well… maybe I’m not fully awake either.

After finishing the meal, the days continued with meeting Grandma and Kian in the workshop for volunteer work all day and making hanboks with Sicar in the evening.

Although it was a repetition of the same days for a few days, it was a joyful and peaceful time spent with the whole family.

And now, the day of the coming-of-age festival has arrived.

Since the coming-of-age festival was similar to a festival for young men and women, Grandma and Kian couldn’t attend.

Kian, looking bright, shook hands with me, saying to enjoy the festival. I thought he might be a bit disappointed, but seeing him happily sending me off, I felt even more regretful.

On the way to pick up Jeremi, muttering to myself as if complaining, Sicar, holding the hanbok in his right hand, cleared his throat and held my hand.

“Grandma said if Kian seems disappointed, you won’t be able to enjoy the festival at ease. That’s why Kian didn’t show any signs of disappointment. Kian is deep.”

So there was such a thing. I was newly grateful to Grandma, who always took care of me as if scratching an itchy spot without even mentioning it.

When we arrived at Jeremi’s place, we knocked a few times, but there was no response from inside.

“What could they be doing without any response?”

Sicar opened the door first and went in, and I followed, but I couldn’t see anything.

Because as soon as I entered, Sicar covered my eyes with his hands and pulled me in front of him.
Before I could even think about why they were behaving like that, through their conversation, I could understand why Sicar acted this way.

“Oh? Has the Duke arrived?”

“Hurry up and get dressed. My wife almost saw something she shouldn’t have.”

Sicar’s voice sounded a bit annoyed. I was unsure whether I should greet him while my eyes were covered by Sicar’s hand, but I decided to greet first.

So, although I couldn’t see anything in front of me, I raised one hand and spoke towards the unseen place.

“Hello, Mr. Jeremi.”

“Welcome, Duchess.”

“I can’t stand talking to my wife in that state, so hurry up and get dressed.”

“Well, then, you could just leave. Duke…”

“I warned you not to grumble.”

“…I’m sorry, Duke.”

Even though Jeremi couldn’t win, he had to respond with a word each time. If Sicar seemed like a lion, Jeremi was like a tenacious honey badger, lacking strength but full of spirit.

After the sound of drying off stopped, there were successive sounds of something being thrown. It seemed like Sicar was throwing the hanbok he prepared onto the table.

“Put this on.”

“Oh, this is…”

“The hanbok I mentioned before.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Soon after, there were rustling sounds of changing clothes. At the same time, Jeremi’s murmurs of dissatisfaction could be heard.

“T-This tight-fitting clothing is the f-first…ugh…first time… Why are clothes this uncomfortable…ugh. Duke? How did you manage to wear such uncomfortable clothes? Ugh…”

It would be uncomfortable suddenly wearing tight clothes after always wearing loose robes. Of course, I expected him to be uncomfortable, but Jeremi’s dissatisfaction exceeded my imagination.

While changing clothes, Jeremi kept grumbling until Sicar shut his mouth. Then, Sicar uncovered my eyes.

As soon as Jeremi finished changing, Sicar, having heard Jeremi’s wheezing, removed his hand, revealing Jeremi’s figure.

And like observing a handsome prince, I sighed quietly. Jeremi looked even more impressive than I had imagined.