Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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"If you give me the exact measurements, I will deliver them to the tailor right away."
So said the tailor's assistant, or rather, Kartiel's informant, who showed no sign of budging from in front of Duke and Duchess Argenta's room.
The tailor with 47 years of experience who had passed by him was long gone, his face red as a beet.
"I, I'll be working since I'm in a hurry."
Woke me right up! Hehehe!
Rick, the head of Argenta's intelligence, didn't even glance at the disappearing tailor.
His gaze was fixed on Kartiel's informant.
'C-Could I go instead? I'm not a tailor's assistant at this workshop, but I do similar work.'
He had known from the moment the man approached him, saying those words.
What he was trying to do.
"Hmm. You're late..."
But Kartiel's informant, pretending to be a tailor's assistant and eavesdropping, seemed to have no idea that the man behind him was contemplating whether or not to slit his throat.
Knowing Kartiel, he was probably planning to use his wind ability to listen to the sounds inside.
"..."
A beautiful smile bloomed on Rick's face.
And His Grace the Duke had surely noticed this guy's intentions as well.
...I wonder if Madam knows?
Rick scratched his cheek.
As the head of the family's intelligence and an Argenta of the 4th floor, he was also aware of the fake Pero Awakening plan.
That the two had not spent a real night together.
However.
"Ah...!"
The sounds reaching his overly sensitive ears were real.
"?"
Rick's expression turned confused.
Real? Anyone could tell this was the start of a hot night?
That tone couldn't be faked, could it?
Rick's gaze turned to Kartiel's informant.
The informant's face was also flushed as he listened intently.
Look at this son of a bitch?
He was probably just trying to confirm whether the two's relationship was real, but this guy had been listening for several minutes since the unusual sound (?) had started.
Oh, really.
"I'll go get the related materials."
Rick finally spoke.
His beautifully smiling eyes met the flustered eyes of Kartiel's informant.
The Alloze informant and another tailor's assistant next to him had already slipped away, seemingly having obtained all the information they needed.
Thanks to that, only Rick and Kartiel's informant remained in the hallway.
"Ah, since it's urgent, I'll just, um, wait here."
Kartiel's informant stammered, accepting his words.
Rick's beautiful smile deepened. Of course, the sounds from inside were becoming even more unusual.
"A little harder."
"Like this?"
It was an active sound that even Rick, who knew the plan, was confused by.
No, how are they going to do the Pero Awakening like that?
The question was fleeting, and his faith-like belief soon dominated his mind.
Nothing that the Argenta head does can be wrong.
—Thwack.
Rick, who had neatly concluded, placed his hand on the tailor's assistant's shoulder.
"Let's just go."
"Th-That's a bit..."
In the meantime, the story inside was starting to get even more suspicious.
It seemed they were planning to show that they were really in a 'deep relationship.'
...It's a plan, right? Right?
The sounds that confused even Rick must have been heard even better by Kartiel.
"...Too deep."
"Even if it hurts, just bear with it a little. It'll get better soon..."
Soft voice and moans.
"..."
"..."
Kartiel's informant's face was getting redder and redder.
Regardless, Rick's face bloomed even more brightly.
Should I just kill him?
Rick looked at the informant's reddened face, wondering if he was having lewd thoughts.
While thinking of 101 ways a person could accidentally die, Rick tried his best not to listen to the sounds coming from inside.
It's fake, right?
It must be acting, right?
Is it real?
Is our head of the family having his spring days?
"Let's just go, okay?"
Whether it was spring or not, it was clear that he couldn't leave this guy standing here any longer.
When he came on strong, Kartiel's informant finally backed down.
"A-Alright. Ahem."
Eventually, Kartiel's informant turned around.
* * *
Our promise. Just holding hands and sleeping.
In other words, to ensure that Dielo's Lily would not disappear.
Dielo's words must have meant that he would keep that promise.
But.
—Thud.
I was suddenly lying on the bed.
This sound probably carried loudly outside. There were many people with good ears in this mansion.
Before I could even panic, Dielo climbed on top of me.
With his strong arms on either side of my head, Dielo's shadow dyed my vision.
"!"
My surprised gaze met his calm one.
A pure gaze like a clear lake, not like someone who had trapped a person with both arms, looked at me.
Was my head rotten?
It might be possible to have a normal conversation in this position... maybe my head is just rotten?
It was a gaze so pure that it made me doubt myself.
Then, he leaned towards me.
—Peck.
Lips that touched my forehead landed on the tip of my nose, then left a hotter warmth on my neck.
No way.
"Wait—"
"Argenta doesn't break promises."
He whispered, as if telling me not to be surprised, and tidied my hair.
"I know that, but..."
If he was going to do something, he would have done it a long time ago.
There had been so many opportunities until now.
But unlike the clumsy times until now, it was so natural that I was surprised.
"I thought it was real..."
Dielo responded to my words with a strange smile, then let out a faint laugh.
Then, worried that someone might hear from outside, he whispered very quietly in my ear.
"They say that to tell a lie, you have to deceive even yourself, let alone your allies."
"Well... that's true."
That's true, but.
He was whispering while holding my cheek with one hand.
Heat spread hotly near my ears and neck from his large hand. As if placing something hot on it.
Even though he hadn't used his fire control ability.
"But is it okay to be this... active?"
Perhaps because of the heat, I asked, flustered without realizing it.
Dielo tilted his head slightly, as if asking what I meant.
"I mean, I'm already rumored to be a villainess, so it's okay, but."
Dielo's... evaluation will change a lot, won't it?
"You're worried that I'll be rumored to be someone who couldn't control his desires and laid his bride on the bed in a place where there are servants."
Dielo said, as if reading my mind.
With very direct words.
The person saying the words didn't seem to care, but I felt my face getting even hotter.
"It's okay."
"...People might think Dielo has become a more active person."
Then our plan to make people lower their guard might be ruined, that's what I was going to say.
But my words were buried in his kiss.
"Did you forget, Krua?"
When I opened my eyes wide at the warmth on my nose, he whispered.
"I'm in a state where I seem to be completely smitten with Krua."
I thought he was just a man who resembled a clean ocean, but now his smile was like a flame that captivated people on a dark night.
He smiled like that and kissed me.
Then, he looked at me for a moment before stepping away from me.
"..."
In the blink of an eye, he had taken out a first aid kit that had been prepared on one side of the room.
As if nothing had happened, he gently took my hand.
—Swish.
The bandage was unwound from my hand.
The deep cut that didn't heal well even after being disinfected and bandaged every day was revealed again.
"...Ah."
I made a short sound and unknowingly covered my mouth.
Because I thought people outside might misunderstand.
...No, that's not it.
I paused for a moment and quickly lowered my hand.
I have to let them misunderstand, right.
My face flushed when I thought about what kind of misunderstanding I would receive, but it was a necessary thing to do.
And it would be even better if the sound came out in this natural situation.
In the meantime, Dielo said.
"The wound is too deep."
He held up the disinfectant and smiled as if he was in trouble.
"Even if it hurts, just bear with it a little."
He whispered softly and dropped the disinfectant on my wound.
"Ah...!"
How many times did I groan like that, just as I was about to bite my bleeding lips one more time?
"I don't want to see your beautiful lips get hurt."
He gave a faint smile and looked at my hand again.
After disinfecting, he held up the bandage and asked me.
"Shall I tie it a little loosely?"
I nodded at those words.
"Yes."
If it's too tight, the blood won't circulate.
Dielo nodded at my words.
Around that time.
—Knock knock.
The sound of knocking came from outside.
—Knock knock knock.
But the knocking sound was heard one more time. As if he was trying to convey something, not waiting for an answer.
Ah.
"Looks like he's gone."
Rick was giving a signal from outside.
Dielo also seemed to have noticed and let out a low laugh.
"Did he hear everything?"
At my words, Dielo, who was tidying up the first aid kit, nodded.
"Yes."
"It's embarrassing, now that I think about it."
I do well in front of people. It was when I was covering my face with my hands.
Dielo, who had put the box back in its place, held up something.
"Shall I measure it?"
When I looked, it was a tape measure.
"Measure what?"
I unknowingly asked back with a head that couldn't chase away the hot energy, and Dielo pointed to his thigh.
"..."
"..."
After the silence, I remembered an important fact.
...Ah, we originally chased people away by saying we were measuring thigh circumference, right?
"I'll do it."
I quickly snatched the tape measure from his hand.
It's going to be so embarrassing!
Then I waved my hand at him.
"Please cover your eyes."
At my words, Dielo didn't cover his eyes, but obediently turned around.
