“Please sit somewhere comfortable.”

After setting down Popo, I gestured towards the small tea table in the corner of the bedroom. Come to think of it, Bessie had brought some jerky for me. I should offer him that, at least.

As I walked towards the bed to retrieve the jerky from under the pillow, I turned around with the jerky in hand. The man, whom I had assumed would be sitting in front of the tea table, was standing right behind me.

“My goodness! What, what is it?”

The man’s eyes were fixed on my cheek.

His gaze made my cheek suddenly feel warm. Come to think of it, I was hit by my father. It seemed that the swelling was visible under the light. This could be embarrassing.

“Who… hit you?”

The man cautiously touched my cheek. I whispered softly.

“The other cheek.”

At my words, the man awkwardly withdrew his hand.

“I didn’t touch it for fear of hurting it.”

Right, sure.

I quickly turned around and walked towards the tea table with the jerky in hand. Frankly, I didn’t want to show myself in this state.

“You keep jerky under your pillow. Is that a tradition of Marquisate Bartholi?”

How could such a thing be a tradition?

“Yes, it’s said to taste better under the pillow.”

“Like a jerky fairy? Don’t tooth fairies exchange teeth under pillows?”

“Fairies are vegetarians, so they don’t deal with jerky.”

Well, tooth fairies didn’t eat teeth, either.

Right?

While exchanging nonsense with each other, the man held Popo, whom I had set down, in his arms and persistently asked.

“So, who is it? The one who made the Lady’s cheek like this?”

I casually evaded the question.

“Thunderroot accidentally hit me.”

The man’s eyes lit up.

“I’ll make sure you have horse meat for breakfast tomorrow.”

“No…!”

I abruptly set down the horse meat jerky. What was he trying to make meat out of Thunderrot?!

“You’re just guessing. If he had really hit me, I would be a person from the underworld by now.”

“If it’s Lady’s words, I believe it all. It’s not about Thunderroot, the horse, but about what Lady says.”

“Please believe Thunderroot, too.”

The man followed me and sat in front of the tea table again. He asked once more.

“So, who did it?”

By now, he might have figured it out.

Besides Father, who else in this house would have reason to strike me? Unless I was in such a miserable position that even the servants would hit me. Still, speaking it out loud felt somewhat pitiful. It seemed like dumping household problems on others too early.

“Try to find out once. You claim to be a thorough man.”

“Alright.”

For a moment, I recalled the image of the man who had claimed to be serious but quickly erased it from memory.

“Where is the ointment I brought?”

“Oh, it’s placed next to the bedside table. Shall I bring it for you?”

As I stood up, the man swiftly stood first and pressed both hands firmly on my shoulders.

“Please sit.”

As he got up, I wondered where he had been injured. Who climbed up a rope bare-handed like that?

While waiting for Lord Glentino, I admired the bouquet of flowers on the tea table. The bouquet brought by the man mixed white and pink flowers. It seemed to be a mixture of roses and carnations, a lush bouquet.

It was the same flowers I had admired in Duchy Glentino’s garden last time.

The moment I noticed that, a warm sensation spread in my chest. I touched the soft petals and asked.

“What kind of flowers are these?”

“How can I visit a lady empty-handed?”

As he approached with a rude attitude, I felt oddly uncomfortable. Arnold, who was supposed to be courteous, never brought anything like this.

Why did I only enter the house when my fiance died, and why did my fiance’s brother give me flowers for the first time? There happened to be an empty vase on the tea table. While I was arranging the bouquet in the vase, the man pulled a chair and sat near me.

“Let’s first take a good look at your face.”

“Huh? My face?”

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you to apply the ointment generously?”

I thought he was looking for it because he was injured. But was he actually planning to apply it to my face?

‘I can apply it myself.’

However, I didn’t want to reject the man’s kindness. Reacting oddly to this unknown affection from the handsome man was only natural a few times, except for the fact that I didn’t understand why. Honestly, it wasn’t bad at all.

I adjusted the angle of the chair to sit so that my cheeks could be seen well.

It was a bit awkward to be so close, so I sat upright and waited for the man to apply the ointment while looking straight ahead. But after about thirty seconds passed, the man didn’t seem to be doing anything.

“Is it still far…”

Just as I was about to turn my head, the man’s lips landed on my cheek. His soft and warm lips touched between my lips and cheek, his firm nose touched near my cheekbones, and then they dropped.

“….”

I couldn’t come to my senses and just stared blankly. After a while, I stuttered and asked.

“Did you just kiss me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?!”

The man answered as if asking why he did that.

“Because you’re beautiful.”

Huh.

This was a crime. This man was a crime instigator.

After making a face like that and saying something like Zenut, the guardian of housekeeping, they would abandon Billyk, the husband, and fall into the path of adultery. I didn’t know how my expression looked, though the man hastily spewed out words of explanation.

“Oh, it’s not about thinking lightly of the lady or, what was it, anyway, it’s nothing like that. I just thought that even if I had to die being hit by the lady here, I should kiss her.”

“No, why would you go that far…”

“It’s not bad. I didn’t know it was the first time, but it feels very smooth and nice. Except that it was too short.”

My face heated up again at his blunt comment. His face was so languid, and there was nothing he wouldn’t not say.

No, wait,

“It’s your first time?! You, kissed me, on the cheek?”

“Yes.”

There was no trace of lies in the man’s confidently answered face.

And after spending a few days together, I got to know Lord Glentino’s personality a little. The man never said anything empty. I was so embarrassed that a rude question came out of my mouth.

“At twenty-five, what have you been up to?”

“Well.”

The man paused for a moment before replying.

“I suppose I’ve been waiting for the lady.”

Good heavens.

That man really knew how to keep me captivated with those lips—those elegant and soft lips of his. Then, he calmly opened the lid of the ointment jar.

“If you don’t want to hit me, I’ll apply the ointment.”

Well, it’s not that I want to hit him… How should I describe this feeling?

It felt like bursting into anger would be pointless, and I didn’t feel that bad to hit him.

“Um, fine…”

I finally obediently stuck out my cheek.

Was there a man who naturally leads the atmosphere like this? Being next to this man made me think oh, oh, oh, and then we might end up dating, getting married, and even raising children together.

Lord Glentino had surprisingly delicate and beautiful fingers. With a gentle touch, he squeezed out some ointment and delicately dabbed it onto my face. It felt surprisingly cool as it touched my swollen cheek.

As the man and I quietly applied the ointment, Popo stealthily approached. Then, it climbed onto my lap and started being affectionate.

While I petted its belly a few times, Popo licked my hand a few times and then curled up on Lord Glentino’s lap. Come to think of it, the man was also holding Popo earlier. Popo rarely got so friendly with someone it was meeting for the first time.

“Popo seems to follow the Lord well. It’s usually afraid of big men.”

The man asked as if curious.

“Why is it afraid?”

Oops, if he asks like this, I can’t help but talk about my father again.

I ended up mumbling.

“Well, I guess it has some bad memories.”

“I see. Still, Popo seems so bright, perhaps because it’s been cherished by the lady.”

Such a simple comment unexpectedly amplified my liking for the man more than any other words. Somehow, it felt a bit embarrassing.

“I, too… receive a lot of comfort from Popo.”

“How does Popo comfort the lady?”

The man asked with genuine curiosity. He closed the lid of the ointment jar as he had finished applying it.

I brought Popo back onto the man’s lap and slowly stroked it as I spoke.

“Popo understands my moods well. If it senses I’m feeling down, it’ll come over and be affectionate. Of course, sometimes it just comes up and asks for pets. And the fur is so soft that petting it feels comforting, and it listens to me very well…”

I paused briefly and glanced towards the man. I realized I might have been talking too much without much thought. However, Lord Glentino was listening with a very serious expression on his face.

As I quietly continued to stroke Popo on his lap, the man met my gaze and asked,

“If I also understand the lady’s feelings and act affectionately, will you like me?”

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