Chapter 45
Touches in the dark
Albireo slowly rose from his seat to face Izar.
The two men were of similar height, but the impression they gave off was starkly contrasting.
One was dark and intense, while the other was clear and bright.
“She’s lovely and interesting because of her pure love. You do know that’s all praise, right?”
“…….”
“If my praise for the Madam offends you, my apologies.”
“…Why would it.”
Izar managed a smile, remembering Albireo was a son of this house.
Otherwise, his own fist might have ended up denting that forehead.
But the conversation became increasingly absurd.
“So, you wouldn’t mind if I became the Madam’s conversation partner during her stay here?”
“Are you asking me if I’d prefer hearing you outright ask for permission to have an affair?”
“Hey, calling it an affair is so old-fashioned. I wouldn’t dare do such a thing.”
Albireo lightly mocked Izar.
This was why dealing with people who never leave their territories was such a hassle.
What’s the big deal about lightly flirting and chatting with a lady?
That’s not adultery; it’s romance, it’s fashionable. But these uptight country bumpkins wouldn’t understand.
“If you’re so confident about your wife’s feelings, someone like me shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“…….”
Izar bit his lower lip.
Her feelings, huh?
‘Why should I be confident about something like that?’
She’s just a woman he could ignore and think as though she did not exist.
But recalling how she had left while smiling at something Deneb said…
He couldn’t easily say, ‘Do whatever you want.’
So, Izar chose a different response as a compromise.
“Mind your own marriage and participate in the monster hunts of your homeland.”
“Hmm.”
“Do you realize the phenomena happening on this land are unusual?”
“Yes, thanks for the reminder.”
Normally, monsters, like other beasts, were more active in spring when they wake from hibernation.
Yet, they continue to appear sporadically even as summer was gradually nearing autumn.
Was this anomaly just for this year?
Or was it a foreboding sign?
Albireo snorted as he watched the duke walk away.
“Thinks he’s so great.”
Still, Izar’s offhand remark rolled around in his mind.
‘Mind your own marriage, huh…? Hmm.’
Even if he tried not to show it, was he actually concerned about the Duchess?
‘After all, he’s promised to spearhead many monster subjugation campaigns in the Deneb domain in exchange for using the spring.’
Surely it’s not that cliché story where he acts cold but was actually concerned about her?
If that were the case, Albireo was ready to mock him mercilessly.
“Well, who cares.”
Regardless of what the Duke said, he found the Duchess interesting.
It might be a fleeting interest, like a summer shower, but he planned to enjoy it to the fullest until he’d get bored.
“Hmm, hmm, when should I speak to her again…”
Albireo indulged in pleasant thoughts.
And if possible, he hoped to admire the Duchess’s eyes more the next time they spoke.
After all, her eyes were incredibly beautiful.
***
Freesia, who had left the gathering earlier, was finishing her preparations for bed and brushing her hair.
Outside the window, it was pitch dark, and inside the room, it was submerged in darkness except for the orange glow of a lamp.
‘Izar will probably come back much later, won’t he?’
But this night seemed to bring unexpected events one after another.
“Ah.”
At the sound of the door opening, she quickly turned her head, only to see Izar entering the room.
Freesia sprang up from the bed where she had been sitting like a spring.
“You’ve returned…?”
“As you see.”
Izar replied curtly, then turned away without another glance.
Initially, Freesia wondered if he had come back for something he forgot, but then her eyes widened in surprise.
‘…Huh?’
He headed towards the screen that divided the washing area and the bed.
Soon after, sounds came from beyond the thick, oiled screen.
Freesia unwittingly covered her mouth.
“……!”
She knew her ‘husband’ preferred to change without assistance.
But that wasn’t the problem. Why was he, right now, undressing as if it were nothing, while she was there?
‘Nightwear…! To put on one’s nightwear, one must change clothes!’
The sound of fabric rustling made her face burn with embarrassment.
It felt like any slight noise or any odd behavior from her would get her thrown out immediately.
‘Wait, why do I feel like I’m doing something wrong?’
Wasn’t it Izar who came back while she was still awake?
But she couldn’t bring herself to block her ears, especially since he started speaking from behind the screen.
“How are your legs?”
“…It’s much better, thanks to you bringing me here.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes…”
Thup.
Amidst the conversation, the rustling of fabric and metallic sounds were heard.
As she realized what those sounds usually meant, Freesia’s face grew even hotter.
Then, the sound of water splashing briefly reached her ears.
She felt like running away, but her legs were as if rooted to the floor, unable to move.
‘Why?’
Why was Izar so nonchalantly sharing a space with her all of a sudden?
…Was telling her not to act like a wife the same as saying he wouldn’t treat her as a woman?
Swallowed by a painful sense of self-loathing, Freesia clenched her mouth shut as the screen was pushed aside with a wave of steam.
Izar approached her, dressed in more comfortable indoor attire, casually wiping the water from his black hair and cheeks.
“Let me check your condition right now.”
“Pardon?”
“I need to see if it’s effective to know when to leave.”
“I understand, but, it’s a bit awkward to show…”
“Why?”
Izar frowned suddenly.
But Freesia was the one who looked confused. It seemed odd to her that Izar was unaware of something so obvious.
“That’s because I’m shorter than you, aren’t I…?”
She was a bit more than a head shorter than Izar.
Naturally, if Izar stood and looked down, all he would see was the top of Freesia’s head.
And unfortunately, most of her injuries were on the back of her legs.
‘Would Izar have to kneel on the floor to see it?’
Or should she lie down on the bed?
Either option seemed bizarre.
But the fundamental issue lay elsewhere.
‘No matter the position, I’d have to lift the hem of my dress to show the wound.’
In this dimly lit room, with only one lamp left on, and both in their nightwear.
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