Chapter 64. What He Held Between His Legs

He was someone who was satisfied just looking at Yuelina, just listening to her humming.

But what should he ask to make Yuelina continue the conversation?

“What are you wearing right now?”

[…Pardon?]

Yuelina thought Theo’s question was quite random.

But Yuelina couldn’t easily answer Theo’s question.

All Yuelina was wearing was a thin robe.

She had discovered the orb glowing after returning from her bath.

She had grabbed the orb without even having time to put on her nightgown.

“Um… I’m wearing a robe.”

[Just the robe?]

“I just came in from bathing…”

Theo almost dropped the orb.

It was a ridiculous question that came out while desperately thinking of what to ask.

Asking what she was wearing.

Of course she would be wearing her nightgown.

Am I an idiot?

But then he heard the unexpected answer that she was only wearing a robe.

“Are you not… cold?”

[No. The attic is so warm, you know. Even usually when sleeping, I take off my nightgown and…]

Yuelina covered her mouth.

What am I saying!

Without Theo in front of her, she was speaking too comfortably without thinking.

Yuelina bit her lip.

Meanwhile, Theo felt like Yuelina was right in front of him.

More precisely, his instinct was drawing her silhouette before his eyes.

Theo slapped his thigh hard, repeatedly.

But even hitting hard enough to bruise didn’t easily calm his heated body.

He started unbuttoning his shirt without hesitation. He also opened the window wide. He needed to cool down.

[Th-Theo, what are you wearing?]

“I’m undressed.”

Theo, feeling dizzy, answered Yuelina’s question exactly as it was.

The realization that something was seriously wrong with that answer came very quickly.

“…Because it’s hot. I’m undressed because it’s hot. It’s too warm here too.”

[……]

Theo hurriedly added.

“Yuna, it’s really hot here. Really.”

[Yes. I-I suppose so. It’s hot so you’d undress. You usually wear such thin clothes that everything shows through anyway, right? Sometimes under the moonlight, even your firm chest muscles are all…]

This time it was Yuelina who almost dropped the orb she was holding.

What did I just say?

She couldn’t understand why she suddenly started talking about Theo’s chest muscles in detail, and to him directly no less.

So this is how scary orb calls are.

Words she only thought inside were leaking out just because she couldn’t see him in front of her.

[Ah, no, I wasn’t secretly looking at your chest… It’s just that the moonlight was so bright…]

Theo was also keenly experiencing how scary orb calls could be.

Even though Yuelina was wearing a robe, he couldn’t go to the attic.

He wanted to run straight to his crow-tit wife who admitted to secretly looking at his chest muscles, but he couldn’t.

Though her voice alone had been nice, now he felt he would go crazy if he couldn’t see her face.

Just then, Ulysse carefully opened Theo’s door and poked his head in.

Ulysse immediately frowned.

Theo’s room was far too cold.

And then Ulysse’s eyes met with Theo who was sitting at the edge of the bed.

Ulysse tilted his head.

He had carefully entered Theo’s room without knocking in case Theo went to bed early.

If Theo wasn’t asleep, he was planning to offer him some homemade alcohol that the inn had made.

What’s this?

Why is he like that?

But Theo had his shirt completely unbuttoned and was holding something reverently between his legs with both hands clasped.

[Theo. Let’s agree not to ask what each other is wearing from now on.]

And then Yuelina’s clear, lovely voice was heard from between Theo’s legs.

Ulysse blinked his eyes hard with a dumbfounded face.

Did he hear wrong?

Why was the Grand Duchess’s voice coming from between his lord’s thighs?

And he heard something about not asking what each other is wearing?

While his lord had his shirt completely unbuttoned and his face was flushed?

Seeing Ulysse’s face contorting moment by moment, Theo hurriedly lifted up the orb.

Ulysse’s mouth slowly opened.

“Yuna, then get some rest. I’ll contact you again when I arrive.”

Theo hastily removed his hand from the orb. Soon after, the light from the orb began to dim.

Ulysse pointed at the orb sitting alone on the bed with a strange expression.

“It’s an orb. A green orb.”

“Yes.”

“Hahaha. Her Highness the Grand Duchess’s voice is coming from the orb? Then it must be a communication stone?”

Ulysse entered the room with a hollow laugh and firmly closed the window.

His expression gradually became serious.

“I suppose I should be glad that what you were holding between your legs was an orb.”

“……”

“The orb! The oooorb!! That precious communication stone! You used it!”

“It’s not like we had any other use for it anyway.”

“So you use it because you’re curious about what Her Highness is wearing!”

Ulysse started raising his voice. Theo sat quietly on the bed and obediently listened to his scolding.

Because he knew well himself how serious it was to use a communication stone.

But Theo’s lips kept curling up.

He still had two orbs left.

* * *

Yuelina headed to the Black Mansion’s kitchen with Maelyn and Raye.

Hans the chef, who had been notified in advance by the butler, had just finished preparing all the ingredients.

“I always enjoy your delicious food.”

Hans smiled contentedly at Yuelina’s voice.

He had been the chef at a famous restaurant in the plaza.

Though he had suddenly received a call from the Grand Duke and changed jobs, his satisfaction was quite high.

The salary was double what he made at the restaurant, and whenever he sent up meals, the plates always came back clean.

He took particular pride in cooking, knowing that Theo, the principality’s master, was satisfied.

Though it was challenging to develop new dishes while handling seasonal ingredients, Hans prioritized customer satisfaction above all.

“It’s an honor, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

Hans looked at the gently smiling Yuelina.

Though he had seen her from afar a few times, this was his first time meeting her up close.

After Hans became the Black Mansion’s chef, one of the questions people asked him most often was what the Grand Duchess was like.

However, from Hans’s perspective, the Grand Duchess didn’t seem particularly close with the servants.

While she did appear to stay at the Black Mansion, only Maelyn, the maid from outside, and Raye, who managed the training grounds, attended to Yuelina.

So Hans had answered that the Grand Duchess seemed quite frugal.

Not often calling for servants or giving them tasks could also mean she didn’t want much.

But now it seemed he would have to change his answer about what the Grand Duchess was like.

She is beautiful.

She possesses such elegant dignity that one might wonder if such a person could exist in this world.

Hans rolled up his sleeves.

The Grand Duchess who had always cleanly finished the plates filled with his food.

The Grand Duchess, beautiful in both appearance and character, had asked to make chestnut pies herself.

So he needed to create chestnut pies that would amaze anyone who ate them.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess. The most important part of chestnut pies is the pastry. The base pastry needs to be crispy and sweet.”

Hans began explaining slowly, starting with the basic pastry for the pie.

Maelyn quickly ran to Yuelina and tied a white lace apron around her.

The three focused on Hans’s recipe explanation.

How much salt to add when simmering the chestnuts, how to make the cream filling for the pastry.

Though the process was more complicated than expected, rolling out the pastry was simply fun.

The three of them thoroughly dusted the table with flour to prevent the pastry from sticking.

“I think I can already smell the sweetness.”

“Right?”

Actually, Maelyn had been negative about Yuelina’s idea to make chestnut pies.

The recipients would be high-class noble ladies.

She was worried that chestnut pies might seem too humble as gifts from the Grand Duchess.

But participating in the making process turned out to be fun.

All the ingredients used were things not easily found outside.

If they paid extra attention to the packaging, it might catch more attention than ordinary jewelry or clothes.

Maelyn diligently rolled out the pastry.

This was the Grand Duchess’s debut social gathering.

As they say, first impressions are the most important.