“Hah, mmh, ah…… hhh!”

Perhaps she had realized there was nowhere to escape. Ribeta went still and accepted him. Her arms were still wound around his neck. Diego found that satisfying.

She had been so guarded around him, and yet here she was, undone and clinging to him. Something he couldn’t name stirred in a corner of his chest. Satisfaction, that was all it was. The satisfaction of everything unfolding exactly according to plan.

Diego moved through her mouth as he pleased, rough and thorough. The hand on her shoulder traveled slowly down along her waist. Even that light stroke made Ribeta m*an and twist. The sounds dissolving in her mouth were sweet.

“Diego……”

A sweetness unlike sugar or honey, something she had never tasted before, made her head and body burn.

Diego gripped her waist and pressed his body flush against hers. Her soft chest was crushed against his firm frame. He needed to stop. His mind kept repeating it, but his grey eyes sparked with something entirely different. He took hold of one of her legs. The veins on the back of his hand stood out sharply.

“You brought this on yourself. Do you understand? Ribeta.”

❀❀❀

“…… My lady. My lady!”

“…… Oh. Yes. I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“The needle is about to fall. I called out because it looked dangerous.”

It was true. Just as Luna said, the needle was barely hanging from the tip of her finger. Ribeta tried to refocus on her sewing, but Luna stopped her hand.

“Please rest for today. You don’t seem well. Handling a needle in this state, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“That’s…… Yes, you’re right. I’m not really in a state to be sewing.”

She could have insisted, but she didn’t want to worry Luna, so she tidied up instead. She was making the doll for Luna, after all. There was no point doing it while causing Luna distress.

“My lady, if I’m overstepping, please feel free to scold me.”

“That sounds frightening. Am I the one being scolded?”

“The day you went out with Diego, a few days ago. Did something happen?”

…… Oh.

Ribeta’s face went red before Luna had even finished the question. Luna watched her in silence for a moment, then rolled up her sleeves and stood.

“I’m going to have a word with Diego.”

“No, nothing happened.”

“Then why is your face red! I knew it. I knew something was wrong the moment you came back to the residence completely drunk and being carried in his arms!”

Luna’s voice rang out like a bell. Ribeta was grateful, genuinely grateful, that Luna cared for her this much, but……

It was mortifying.

Sure enough, she could feel eyes turning toward them from all directions. The gazes were mixed with curiosity and amusement, which made them not unpleasant, but all the more embarrassing.

Going to the opera in broad daylight and coming home drunk in her husband’s arms.

Was that a perfectly ordinary thing for other couples? She…… wasn’t sure. Either way, the two of them were not an ordinary couple, so there was no point measuring herself against other people’s standards.

More than anything, what mattered was that Ribeta herself had no memory of that day. She remembered drinking at the theater, and then the memory cut off as cleanly as a knife through a vegetable.

She remembered nothing at all. When she had opened her eyes, the sun had already set, and she was lying in her own bed.

Something…… the Count had been nearby, she thought.

“Causing a commotion again today.”

“Diego! You’ve come at just the right time. I was about to come find you.”

Luna charged at Diego like an enraged bull. But Luca, appearing from behind Diego, blocked her path.

“Let go! Will you let go?”

“I’m Diego’s guard. I can’t.”

“You’ve been getting in my way and irritating me since last time. Keep this up and you’ll get yourself killed.”

While Luca and Luna were locked in their struggle, Diego slipped out from between them.

“I’m afraid I have business with my wife.”

“Wait! Do not lay a hand on the lady!”

“Luna, Ilesia is my wife. Does that even make sense to say?”

Saying that, Diego placed both hands on Ribeta’s shoulders in plain view of everyone. The smile on his face was more wicked than any demon’s. Luna, seething with fury, looked at Ribeta’s face and grew even more indignant.

Ribeta’s flushed cheeks and flustered expression were unmistakably the face of someone in love.

“Are you very busy right now, Ilesia?”

“I was…… in the middle of something.”

“Yes! The lady was making a doll for me!”

“Luna, please.”

“A doll? Ah.”

Diego glanced at the doll in Ribeta’s hands, plucked it out, and tossed it to Luna.

“Surely you’re not going to tell me Luna matters more than I do.”

Diego smiled pleasantly. The pressure was impossible to resist, and Ribeta took his offered hand and stood. My lady! Luna cried out desperately from behind, but there was nothing to be done.

“When did you get so close to Luna?”

“I baked her rabbit-shaped cookies and she seemed to like them.”

“She says they’re quite good. I heard from Luca.”

“So Luca tried them too.”

Diego went quiet.

Was there something he wanted to say? Ribeta waited in silence, but Diego just walked through the garden with a strangely flat expression.

Trying not to let her inexplicable unease show, Ribeta thought of the handkerchief she had been carrying around.

“Count, would you accept this, if you don’t mind?”

Diego looked at the handkerchief she was holding out and asked with a glance what it was for. Ribeta spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully so they wouldn’t come out tangled.

“I’ve been troubled ever since that day, because I got drunk and wasn’t able to thank you properly. I was truly grateful that you took me to such a wonderful performance. Your thoughtfulness made it something I could enjoy to the fullest.”

And…… Ribeta hesitated, unable to continue. Diego closed the distance between them.

“Do you really remember nothing?”

“…… Yes. If I was rude in any way, I’m truly sorry……”

“Hard to say. Whether the rude one was you or me.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you’re curious, find out for yourself. Try to remember.”

Diego smiled with the same mischief he had shown Luna earlier and took the handkerchief from her hand.

“I’ll gladly accept this. I use handkerchiefs often. Thank you.”

“If the embroidery isn’t to your taste, please tell me. I’ll redo it.”

“You did this yourself?”

Ribeta nodded. Diego looked the handkerchief over briefly and smiled with satisfaction.

“I like it. Your work is good.”

“…… Thank you.”

“Now that your business is done, let me get to mine.”

Ribeta straightened her posture. It was already good, so there was nothing to correct, but Diego’s manner had turned serious, and she wanted to match it.

Diego, standing before her, took something out and showed it to her. Ribeta looked at him again with a startled expression. Diego smiled with his usual confidence, as though he had expected exactly that reaction.

“You recognize it.”

“That…… may I ask why you have it, Count?”

“No. I ask first. You answer honestly.”

Ribeta clasped her hands together. It was to hide the trembling, but Diego’s sharp eyes caught even that.

“This bead. Did you make it?”

“…… Yes.”

Ribeta squeezed her eyes shut.

She had felt a sense of dread ever since hearing that Luca had taken the doll’s eyes. It seemed he had reported it to Diego after all.

What will happen to me now. I might be driven out for making suspicious things.

“When did you learn to make them? How do you do it?”

“…… Pardon?”

“Why do you look so surprised. You’re not the one who should be surprised. I am.”

“Oh…… I thought, since I make suspicious things, you might want to send me away……”

Ribeta trailed off, her words fading. Diego had been listening quietly, and he asked again.

“Do you know what these beads are used for?”

“Used for? As far as I know, there’s nothing special about them. They’re just ordinary beads. I called them suspicious because most people can’t make beads out of thin air. That’s all I meant.”