Chapter 16
One, Two, Three
Asking if she disliked it was a foul. She had asked herself countless times, but the answer was always that she didn't dislike it.
“If I move… what are you going to do?”
“There are many things I can do.”
The hand slowly stroking her hair stopped at her nape. The sensations she had tried to ignore came back to life. A tremor started deep inside her and spread up her spine. She could see her fingers trembling on Black's chest.
“You can’t do all those things… you can’t.”
“Is that so?”
Black's eyebrow twitched.
“I don’t think so.”
“Right now, the wedding preparations are very busy, so…”
Even as she spoke, she wondered what kind of excuse that was. She was in his arms, trembling helplessly.
“Then should we make it short?”
What had she done? She had no reason or justification to stop him. It was Princess Liene who had proposed that they become a couple who desired each other. Above all, the problem was that she didn't even know if she really wanted to stop him.
“It was a mistake to send you away like that earlier.”
Black whispered these words and wrapped his arms around Liene's waist. Her upper body leaned back, but she didn't feel insecure. His broad palm firmly supported her back. Liene knew how comfortably his arms embraced her.
“……”
When Black took her chin and kissed her, Liene understood what he meant by "mistake." He meant that he regretted only confirming her wound. That the desire he had suppressed there had remained within her, making her uneasy. That was why he had seized the opportunity to unleash it. Me too. I felt like you were still inside me the whole time. That's why I was trembling the whole time. The frantic kiss continued. The desire that had been interrupted once became more intense and greedy when it started again. When the wave of desire that had swept over them both slowly receded, Liene was clinging to his neck with both arms, desperately feeling the sensation of their lips still touching. Their lips parted very slowly. But even after they parted, they were still close.
“If we’re going to make it short, I think we should stop here.”
Black said, relaxing his arms around her waist. Liene could leave him at any time if she wanted.
“……Yes.”
Liene agreed with those words. I'm crazy. I still feel regretful. So, she had to stop here even more. But even as they said they would stop, their positions didn't change. They remained touching, as if they didn't know how to stop. The large hand supporting her back tapped her skin very slowly. Even that small movement was too stimulating. Liene gripped Black's sleeve tightly and said softly.
“I’ll count to three, and we’ll move away at the same time.”
“……”
Black made a sound between his teeth that she couldn't understand.
“We’ll try to, anyway.”
“Yes. …One, two, three.”
Liene counted and let go of Black's sleeve, stepping back.
“……?”
But Black didn't. When Liene looked at him with a look that asked why he was still standing there, he rubbed her lips with his thumb.
“I think you counted too fast.”
“Did I…?”
“Count again. Slowly this time.”
“I don’t really see what difference it makes if I count slowly.”
“It won’t have much effect.”
“Then why are you telling me to do it slowly?”
“To buy some time.”
“Pardon?”
Instead of answering, Black hugged Liene. Even though he suddenly embraced her, she wasn't as flustered as before. I want to stay like this longer. …I really think I'm going crazy. Black didn't tell her to stop counting now. Liene remained in the moment of being embraced by him until someone knocked on the door. * * *
“Oh… am I interrupting something?”
It was Fermos who had come to see Black.
“Should I come back later?”
“……? No, it’s alright. I think I might be the one interrupting. I’ll leave so you can talk comfortably.”
Liene didn't understand why Fermos was being so cautious. After hearing the knock, the two of them let go of each other's hands. They were a reasonable distance apart, and Liene had also taken the measuring tape she had borrowed from Madam Flambard. She didn't think Fermos could know what had happened before.
“Why would you say that, Princess?”
But that was because Liene was too naive. Just by looking at Black's eyes, one could tell that a burst of passion had ignited between them. Fermos kept worrying about that point. He wouldn't be playing around for fun. He wasn't the type of person who would find that fun, and he would rather call it a waste of time. I don't understand the reason. To say that he's become sincere in the meantime, that's too short of a time. Besides, there was something suspicious about Princess Liene. Just today, Princess Liene had visited her lover's house and was keeping silent about what had happened there. Black knew all of this too. But he doesn't care… That can't be. He's not that kind of person.
“Uh, well… I think it would be better to talk about this with the Princess present. We haven't been able to find Sir Weroz. There are no particular clues either.”
“What? You mean he’s not at the Kleinfelter Family?”
She had naturally assumed he would be there. She thought that Lyndon Kleinfelter had briefly imprisoned or isolated Weroz, who would be an obstacle, while planning the forced wedding. Now that the wedding had been called off, Weroz should have reappeared.
“Yes. That seemed strange.”
Fermos continued, fiddling with his monocle.
“When something happens to a knight of that caliber, there should be traces left behind, but there was nothing. And looking at the Kleinfelter Family's reaction, there was no sign that they were hiding someone at all.”
If Weroz was imprisoned in the Kleinfelter Family as Liene said, there would have been some indication. But Lyndon Kleinfelter was confident. He said without any hesitation that they could search anywhere they wanted, but if they didn't find him, they would have to pay the price. That meant he wasn't inside the mansion. But it was also suspicious to say that he had been taken out of the mansion. First of all, the time was too short, and it was impossible to avoid all of Tiwakan's eyes, which were spread out everywhere under the guise of a search.
“I think he may have disappeared on his own accord.”
“That’s absurd… Sir Weroz would never do that!”
The captain of Nauk's guard would never do such an irresponsible thing.
“I think so too, but the circumstances suggest otherwise.”
“For what reason?”
“That's why I'm saying, could it be that he had a reason to hide his tracks like that? Something very urgent, perhaps.”
“Something like that…”
What could such a reason be?
“If that's the case, then well, since it's not a major personal crisis, I think he'll come back on his own when things get better. Or he'll contact the Princess.”
“That’s…”
No matter how she listened, it was confusing. Liene shook her head and staggered as her legs gave way.
“Oh, Princess!”
Fermos was surprised, and Black quickly supported Liene. Fermos clicked his tongue and said.
“Well, I know you're very surprised, but you still have to be careful. I've heard that it's dangerous to be greatly surprised when you're not alone… No, yes. It would be a disaster if you fell. Stay seated as much as possible.”
Fermos glossed over it appropriately, but Liene could feel the muscles in Black's arm tensing as he held her. That's right. This man thinks I'm pregnant… I'll have to lie soon that I had a miscarriage or something, and the thought of that made her vision darken. Can I do it shamelessly? …No, I'm not confident. Then should I just tell the truth? That I'm not pregnant. That there was never even a chance for that to happen. What would this man say then? The problem was that they had already signed the marriage contract. The contract stated that she agreed to the child's surname being Arsac and guaranteed that the right to rule Nauk would be passed on to the child. With that, the right to rule Nauk was secured. In other words, even if the head of Tiwakan tried to swallow Nauk with a proposal, he could not steal the right to rule as long as a child was born. Shouldn't she protect that? The child was the minimum safety net that Liene had.
“……Thank you for your concern.”
In the end, Liene chose safety. Still not knowing Tiwakan's purpose, she couldn't let go of the safety net that was the child.
“Sit here.”
Black almost carried Liene and placed her on a chair.
“Ahem, hmm.”
Fermos, noticing the awkward atmosphere, cleared his throat to divert attention.
“And um, I think it would be good to tell you this fact as well. The head of the Kleinfelter Family is the chairman, right? He promised to send two gold chests, a new bed, and five employees as a wedding gift for the two of you. He's a human being with greed written all over him, just as he looks. He's the richest man in Nauk, but he's so stingy.”
“Pardon?”
As for Liene, she was surprised by the very fact that Lyndon Kleinfelter had decided to give a wedding gift.
“He said he would give a gift?”
A gift? A curse, maybe.
“Well, to be precise, it’s not that he decided to give it, but rather that he was forced to hand it over… But he will give it.”
“How?”
Princess Liene asked breathlessly. Fermos, who had just dealt with Lyndon Kleinfelter, immediately understood her reaction. There must be a reason why the Kleinfelter Family was able to increase their wealth every year in this poor kingdom. It was probably the result of squeezing the relatively less evil princess dry.
“It may sound like boasting, but I am quite persuasive.”
“You persuaded Lord Kleinfelter with words alone?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly easy. But as I said, I have a silver tongue. In the end, he agreed that he needed to show some sincerity.”
“That’s… I can’t believe it.”
Princess Liene sighed audibly. Her face was clearly relieved. Fermos found it a bit pitiful. Just by looking at her expression, one could tell how much this frail person had suffered to support this crumbling kingdom. …Could it be that he’s softening at such a sight? I feel like I might be too, right now. Black wasn’t exactly the compassionate type, but I guess humans can be like that sometimes. Fermos stopped pondering the question he didn’t know the answer to.
“You can believe it, Princess.”
Of course, Lyndon Kleinfelter hadn’t been docile from the start. It was the result of Fermos mixing in some appropriate threats. Fermos revealed at the right moment that he knew Laffite Kleinfelter wasn’t dead, and Lyndon Kleinfelter, who had to hide that fact at all costs, had reluctantly conceded.
“But it’s not entirely free. Lyndon Kleinfelter asked that his illegitimate child be recognized in exchange for showing loyalty to the Arsac royal family. I didn’t answer, as that’s something the two of you should decide.”
Fermos noticed Princess Liene’s complexion change the moment the word “illegitimate child” came up. I knew it. That illegitimate child must be the captain of the royal guard. Pretending to be dead, he crawled back into his own house and pretended to be someone else. Judging by her reaction, Princess Liene seemed to have realized that fact within the Kleinfelter Family. There must have been some conflict over it. It was obvious, considering the captain of the royal guard disappeared and Princess Liene was left trapped in that house. Whatever the case, I need to keep in mind that the princess doesn’t want to say it herself. Princess Liene seems to want to keep the existence of her lover a secret.
“That’s roughly what happened at the Kleinfelter Family. Is there anything else you would like to instruct?”
“No. Thank you for what you’ve done for Nauk.”
“You’re welcome. Loyalty is my duty, after all.”
Princess Liene left Black’s room with an unexpected gift. Roughly calculating the amount, it seemed to be more than the engagement gift, which she had paid off her debts with without even using it once. * * *
“What are you planning to do with the princess?”
After Princess Liene left, Fermos brought up what he had been meaning to say. Black raised an eyebrow as if asking what he meant.
“Haven’t you already guessed? As soon as the eldest son died, an illegitimate child popped up somewhere, but what if that eldest son isn’t dead? One plus one isn’t one, it’s two.”
Black didn’t say anything. Usually, silence meant agreement.
“The princess has reunited with her lover. Whether that means she intends to betray you or not, it’s undeniable that she cares about her lover.”
“……I know.”
Black had also seen Princess Liene’s face turn pale the moment the word “illegitimate child” came up. It would be stranger if he didn’t know. When Princess Liene was around, his eyes never left her.
