***

Tan, realizing that Chamuka wouldn’t stop him as long as he wasn’t clinging to Leticia, settled at her feet.

Leticia, whose mind had been troubled by Chamuka’s reaction since leaving the theater, sat absentmindedly on the sofa, indifferent to whether Tan was at her feet like a dog or not, while Chamuka habitually prepared the tea that Leticia liked.

Luka, who arrived late after handling the actor who had been knocked down by Tan, looked at the scene with weary eyes.

Looking like he never thought he would witness again that familiar scene from their days living all jumbled together in the theater building before Tan was taken away.

Just as Tan pulled Leticia’s listless hand and placed it on his head, Chamuka set down a teacup in front of her.

Of course, there was no tea for anyone else, but Luka and Tan accepted this poor treatment as a matter of course.

Rather, if Chamuka had offered them even a glass of cold water, they would have questioned his sanity.

Leticia only regained her senses somewhat after mindlessly picking up the teacup and taking a sip.

“Ah, thank you, Chamuka.”

“If you’re tired, go in and sleep. I’ll take care of the rest of these humans.”

“No, I’m not that tired. I want to talk about how today’s performance went, and later organize the fan letters I received… Ah!”

Leticia frowned as she realized she had left the fan letters in the theater.

Her mind had clearly been elsewhere.

Seeing Leticia’s dismayed face, Luka asked.

“What did you leave behind?”

“The collected fan letters. Our theater gets cleaned every dawn. I should bring them back in case they get thrown away.”

As she rose from her seat with those words, Chamuka pressed her shoulder to make her sit back down.

“If it’s something you need to go get and come back with, I’ll be faster. Stay seated, Leti.”

“No, but…”

However, before Leticia could say anything, Chamuka had left the house.

He moved so quickly that Leticia couldn’t even properly extend her arm to try to stop him.

Tan sneakily took Leticia’s arm, which had been left hanging in confusion, and placed it back on his head.

Leticia reflexively stroked Tan’s head but then jumped up.

“I should go after him. Sending him alone is a bit…”

At this, Tan clung to Leticia’s leg.

“Why? That guy will be back soon with those legs of his. Just stay and play with me.”

“But I feel sorry. It’s my task.”

“Don’t worry about it. He’s doing it because he wants to.”

“Who enjoys running errands for others? He’s just being considerate so I can be comfortable.”

Tan pointed out to the restless Leticia.

“But you’re not comfortable. That’s just his self-satisfaction. You should be careful when he acts like this. I’m telling you, it’s a warning sign. Father always does nice things in his own way right before doing something Mother hates.”

Referring to the numerous fights between the Grand Duke and Duchess of Basilinte, Tan whispered to Leticia.

“Let’s get rid of Chamuka before he causes trouble. I’ll stay by your side instead.”

Watching this scene, Luka muttered a not-quite-to-himself comment.

“You don’t look particularly safe either…”

Of course, Tan, who had no interest in humans other than Leticia, paid no attention. He simply clung to Leticia and tried to charm her.

“Hm? Wouldn’t it be fine if I stayed here and sent Chamuka back to the domain? I listen better than Chamuka, and I wouldn’t do anything you dislike, right?”

Leticia glanced at the door through which Chamuka had left and answered. Considering Chamuka’s speed, it was already too late to follow him.

“Chamuka listens to me well, too. And Sir Chamuka would never do anything I dislike.”

“You never know.”

“If Chamuka really does something I dislike, then at that time…”

Leticia paused mid-sentence.

She had intended to say, ‘Then I’ll distance myself,’ but somehow those words wouldn’t come out easily.

This was truly strange.

Leticia had always been firm in her principles, enough to cut off even the person she once considered her father.

So she believed that no matter who it was, if they did something she truly disliked, she could let them go.

But when she thought about Chamuka doing such a thing…

‘I can’t do it?’

Leticia’s eyes suddenly widened.

“Huh?”

T/N: Congratulations Leti, it only took you 138 chapters to come to that conclusion! xD

***

Leticia had certainly sensed that she would come to like Chamuka someday.

That’s why she accepted his kindness. Because she would be able to repay it someday.

But she didn’t know when that “someday” would be. It was just vague.

After all, Leticia didn’t know what it felt like to romantically like someone.

So even though she felt good whenever she saw Chamuka’s eyes that followed only her, she didn’t know exactly what that meant.

She only occasionally thought, ‘When will I be able to take responsibility for those feelings?’

Was it because she only thought about being responsible for Chamuka’s heavy heart that she believed it wasn’t time yet?

When she thought about how good Chamuka was for the first time, the answer came surprisingly easily.

So Leticia first used her ability to bind Tan and Luka tightly with water streams and sent them to Luka’s house next door.

“Mmph!”

“Leti…!”

Faint screams were heard, but Leticia tried to ignore them. She wasn’t crazy enough to want her family to witness her confession scene.

She considered waiting until tomorrow to talk, but judging by her racing heart, it was clear she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight anyway, so now was probably when she was in a more composed state.

And finally, Chamuka returned home.

“Leti, is this right?”

After handing over the envelope containing the fan letters, Chamuka looked around the house, where only Leticia remain,d and nodded.

“You sent everyone away because you’re tired? Good. Go in and sleep quickly.”

“Don’t you want to stay with me longer, Chamuka?”

“I should think of you before myself. I told you not to worry about me.”

“What if I want to worry about you?”

Leticia moved a little closer to Chamuka.

But Chamuka instead asked with a somewhat dark expression.

“Am I showing it that much? Enough to make you worry?”

“No. Rather, I think it would be good if you were a bit more greedy for me. I’m greedy for you, too. So… to the point where I want to be in the relationship you desire.”

For a line she had rehearsed hard in her mind, it came out slightly awkward. It would have been perfect on stage, but this was reality.

Leticia looked up at him, clasping her hands that had gone cold with tension. Even though she knew Chamuka liked her too, she couldn’t understand why she was trembling.

Finally, Chamuka’s expressionless lips opened.

“You’re saying you’ll marry me?”

“….”

Leticia wondered why the conclusion jumped straight to marriage. Wouldn’t it normally be understood as wanting to become lovers?

She often thought that Chamuka’s mind seemed to lack middle steps.

“No. I’m saying I want to be your lover, Chamuka. Because I like you that much.”

It wasn’t that she disliked marriage, but rather that she had the quite ominous and highly probable thought that if she agreed here, she would find herself entering a wedding hall the very next day.

Leticia tried to read his feelings about her confession from his expressionless face, but Chamuka simply remained quietly silent.

“….”

After quite a long silence, Chamuka asked in a low, deep voice.

“Are you feeling pressured?”

He firmly added that if it was due to pressure, there was absolutely no need for that.

“Even if you don’t accept my heart, I have no intention of changing, Leti. If you regret your words even now, you can take them back. Even then, you will still be my top priority.”

It was as if he was saying, why bother taking responsibility for his feelings when she could just enjoy his kindness without giving anything in return, just like until now.

Leticia’s eyes widened at those words, but soon she smiled.

“I know. I said it knowing that.”

Nevertheless, or rather…

“That’s why I like you, Chamuka.”

She liked him enough to cause a change in her daily life that didn’t need to change.

Leticia thought this, too, was love.

Just like the curse of an ancient emperor that had brought them together, this was no different from the love that had waited hundreds of years, even after death.

“Chamuka, don’t you want to be my lover?”

“No, not at all. I mean…”

Chamuka, despite looking like he couldn’t feel any sense of reality, finally spoke his true feelings.

“I’d like that.”