My Former Disciple Wants Me as His Bride

It had only been a fleeting touch, yet Eris couldn’t help noticing the difference.

Eight years ago, he had been nothing more than a delicate young master who could barely manage to grip the hilt of a sword, but the large palm that had just held hers unmistakably belonged to a grown man, thick with calluses.

“By the way, did you come alone?”

Eris looked around, eager to change the subject.

“As you can see.”

“You can’t be serious.”

Come on. Eris shot Ciel a look that clearly told him to stop joking before surveying their surroundings once more.

But there really was no one who appeared to be accompanying him.

Was he insane?

She simply couldn’t believe that the heir to one of the Five Great Houses of the Empire had casually traveled all the way to this kingdom alone, without so much as a single guard.

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

At the lowered voice, Ciel burst into bright laughter.

He was probably the only person who could find this situation amusing. Has Prince Lakan known about this? If he had, even he surely wouldn’t have been laughing.

Instead of answering, Ciel stepped closer and gently took hold of Eris’s chin. The sudden proximity, coupled with the inexplicable gesture, made her thoughts grind to a halt.

Why? What is he doing? Why all of a sudden? What am I supposed to do now?

While one unanswered question after another spun through her head, Ciel finally parted his lips.

“I’m really looking forward to traveling around the Kingdom of Celis.”

That was most certainly not the answer Eris had wanted.

* * *

Ciel and Eris were making their way toward the residence located not far from the harbor.

Eris had only just managed to talk him out of sightseeing around the square immediately.

Ciel had grown up completely differently from how she had occasionally imagined him over the years. It wasn’t merely his physique that had changed. His personality had as well.

‘How could he come all the way here alone without a shred of fear? Even if he can protect himself now, he’s still the official heir to Duchy Silverion!’

She had plenty she wanted to lecture him about, but since Ciel believed they were meeting for the first time, she had to swallow every word before he mistook her concern for presumptuous meddling.

Fortunately, there was at least one silver lining. A few days from now, his subordinates—who had been granted leave alongside him—would follow with the rest of his luggage.

The problem was that he had waited far too long before mentioning that particular detail.

The timid, delicate boy she remembered had somehow grown into a man with an easygoing, sly manner, and he had even developed an irritating talent for delivering jokes so seriously that they caught people completely off guard.

“Will you be staying at the same residence as me, Miss Eris?”

“…Of course. My assignment is to serve as your escort, Lord Ciel. There are several rooms in the residence, so I doubt you’ll experience much inconvenience while you’re staying there.”

“Inconvenience?”

Ciel turned his head and looked at Eris. His blue eyes shone almost transparently beneath the sunlight, without the slightest hint of unease.

“If anything, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Pardon? To what?”

“I’ll be traveling without revealing my identity, so there shouldn’t be much reason for anyone to pose a serious threat to me.”

“……”

“And yet Miss Eris has volunteered to come all the way into my residence to guard me. I find myself wondering what exactly you had in mind. That’s what I’m curious about and looking forward to.”

Ciel, whom she had initially thought merely pleasant and courteous, was apparently quite skilled at smiling sweetly while slipping barbs into his words.

Understanding the implication perfectly, Eris forced down the irritation rising inside her and answered with deliberate politeness.

“Whatever reason you’re imagining, I assure you it isn’t that, so you have nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm, Miss Eris. And what exactly do you think I’m imagining?”

Ciel shrugged, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement. Eris could almost picture an invisible tail swishing merrily behind him.

Barely holding on to her patience, she stopped walking.

“Just to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings, let me make one thing clear. Lord Ciel, you’re… not my type.”

Eris finally realized that she needed to acknowledge the truth.

Ciel was no longer the boy she had known in the past. He was someone she didn’t know at all anymore.

“Just because we’ll be living under the same roof doesn’t mean I’m planning to make a move on you, so you can rest easy.”

She declared it with absolute confidence and looked at Ciel’s gaze head-on. Worried that looking away might make her seem as though she were lying, she deliberately stiffened her posture and stared him straight in the eyes.

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Ciel studied Eris’s bright green eyes as though trying to judge the truth of her words.

‘Don’t waver. Once I finish this job, retirement is waiting for me!’

Eris reminded herself of her goal, her determination flaring anew.

“Miss Eris, I don’t think I have the sort of face people usually have preferences about. Take another good look.”

At some point, the distance between them had disappeared. Ciel had bent halfway down to meet her gaze, his blue eyes shimmering mysteriously like the depths of a distant sea.

‘Too close!’

Startled by how physically close he had gotten, Eris sucked in a sharp breath and hurriedly stumbled backward.

Ciel’s eyes widened in surprise, and in the next instant, he caught her by the wrist and pulled her back toward him.

“Are you all right?”