“Damn.”

A wave of self-doubt hit him, wondering if he wasn’t crazy.

Not only did he barge into someone’s house demanding to have his hand cut off, but he even insisted on being made to feel shame.

He should have felt shame. His head spun at his lower half getting excited without regard for time and place.

If Lady Crawford had seen, she would have been horrified and thrown him out immediately. It was truly fortunate that she hadn’t noticed and went outside.

“Hooh.”

Dominic took a deep breath.

The vast ocean.

Or the forest.

The warm mansion garden.

No matter what peaceful scenery he tried to imagine, his breathing remained hot. But he couldn’t just give up either. This was the only way to kill his swollen lower half.

No matter how heated his head was, he wasn’t mentally corrupt enough to pleasure himself in a friend’s house.

Only after about 10 minutes did Dominic finally regain his usual composure. However, when he took a deep breath, he realized that the scent in Karina’s room was the same as that of the woman who had been pressed against him until just before.

“…Damn.”

Dominic’s gaze went downward. Making his previous efforts meaningless, the front of his pants was taut again.

The maid anxiously looked at the clock. She had packaged the tea leaves as her Miss had said and waited at the entrance for a long time, but the guest still hadn’t come out.

When the maid who had been pondering for a moment went to the dining room, Karina was diligently eating bread topped with cream cheese and tomatoes. The hunger she had forgotten because of Dominic had finally caught up with her.

“Miss.”

“Hmm?”

Karina responded to the maid with bread crumbs on her lips. Taking a sip of coffee, she felt its warmth sliding down her throat.

Now it’s all over.

Getting further involved with Dominic Winchester would be dangerous.

Her intuition was telling her. If she didn’t correct the strange flow that had been present since their first meeting, she would greatly regret it later.

After today’s events, Dominic probably thought the same thing. So now meetings with Dominic are over, finished.

As Karina took another hearty bite, the maid hesitantly whispered in her ear after watching her carefully.

“It seems there might be a problem.”

“Problem? What problem now?”

She was sick of problems. There had never been a time in her peaceful, leisurely life when she had so many problems.

“No matter how long we wait, the Brigadier General isn’t coming down. Could something have happened to him in the bathroom?”

“Bathroom?”

“Yes! Should we try knocking? What if something happened to him?”

At the maid’s suggestion to knock, Karina waved her hands frantically. Even while coughing from the bread stuck in her throat, she firmly held onto the maid.

“I’ll, I’ll go check.”

“You will, Miss?”

“Yes. I’ll go check. The Brigadier General might feel embarrassed.”

“But…”

The maid was about to say that it wouldn’t be any less embarrassing if Miss went. But she couldn’t finish her words because Karina had already run out to the corridor, leaving her behind.

Why hasn’t he come out yet?

Quite some time had already passed. She had been killing time in the dining room specifically to avoid seeing him off.

“What is that person thinking?”

Doesn’t he understand how suggestive it would look for him to come out alone from a woman’s room? Clicking her tongue, Karina quickly ran up to the upper floor.

“Brigadier General?”

Dominic was standing in front of the suddenly opened door. And in quite a strange… state of dress.

“What is this, no. Why are you dressed like that?”

His outer coat was tightly tied around his waist. Like children do when they feel hot after playing vigorously.

Naturally, Karina’s eyes went to Dominic’s lower half. And then she understood why.

The white uniform. To be precise, near the embarrassing area, tea had been spilled.

“What, what is this?”

“I spilled tea.”

Dominic said without any change in expression.

“You spilled tea?”

Karina asked back in disbelief.

“Yes.”

“Suddenly?”

“Not suddenly. I heard Lady Crawford… talking with the maid outside.”

Dominic explained the reason for his strange behavior with a proper face.

“I thought this would make more sense since it took quite a long time to come out. Rather than saying I spent time in the bathroom.”

“Ah…”

While that made sense… the problem was that the amount spilled on his pants was too much.

“You didn’t pour the entire teapot, did you?”

He didn’t respond to that question. The pants, completely soaked on one leg, looked like they were made of different fabrics on each leg.

Finding it absurd, Karina gave a hollow laugh. This rigid man really had no middle ground.

“So that’s why you’re dressed like that?”

“Yes.”

At his question that seemed to ask what was wrong with it, Karina shrugged her shoulders.

Right. It wasn’t her business how others tied their clothes, whether around their waist or forehead.

“Alright. Well, since you seem fine now, would you please leave?”

“The maid will need to clean up.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll take care of that.”

Karina pushed Dominic’s back. His body visibly flinched at her touch. Karina quickly withdrew her hand, realizing her mistake.

“Ah, oh dear. I’m sorry.”

“…It’s nothing.”

Though anyone listening would think she had done something wrong, she couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.

‘What an innocent person.’

She thought he would be more bold given his position as a Naval Brigadier General, but seeing him still unable to recover from the shock made Karina feel somewhat sorry for him.

‘That’s why you shouldn’t provoke people you shouldn’t…’

Come to think of it, his gait was also different from usual. The way he stumbled with each step, as if limping, made him look like someone who was in pain.

Though she felt a bit sorry, Karina soon shook her head. Getting unnecessarily involved would only deepen her ill-fated connection with Dominic.

“Take care on your way back.”

After cupping her hands around her mouth to send off the greeting to the back of Dominic’s head, Karina slipped back into her room.

“Whew.”

Whether he had really poured the entire teapot or not, the room was filled with the scent of herb tea. The carpet and sofa were completely soaked and in a mess.

As Karina was shaking her head, something suddenly caught her eye.

“Oh? Why is that…”

Really now.

He must have been truly flustered.

It seemed he hadn’t even thought to take the blade lying on the floor. Karina looked around carefully and wrapped the blade in a handkerchief. Then she quickly ran outside.

“Brigadier General?”

“Miss? He just left.”

“Already?”

“Given his strange attire, he probably wanted to leave quickly. He rode away on his horse without looking back. He must have reached the main gate by now.”

When Karina opened the front door, as the maid had said, Dominic was already just a dot in the distance.

“Miss. What’s that in your hand?”

“Nothing, nothing.”

Holding Dominic’s blade, Karina stared blankly in the direction where Dominic had disappeared.

Several days passed after that.

But Dominic’s daily life continued to drift aimlessly, having lost its normalcy despite the meaningless passage of time.

“Brigadier General Winchester?”

“…Ah.”

Dominic only came to his senses a moment after his name was called. To be lost in thought with someone standing in front of him… even if they were his subordinate, it was discourteous. Dominic hurriedly signed the documents and returned them to his subordinate. However, even after receiving the documents back, the subordinate didn’t leave and stared at Dominic with a serious face.

“Do you have something else to say?”

“Not exactly, but…”

The subordinate hesitated for a moment, then seemingly having made up his mind, straightened his legs and corrected his posture.

“Brigadier General, why don’t you return home for today?”

Dominic frowned at the sudden suggestion.

“What’s this about all of a sudden?”

“I’m concerned about your health lately, sir. I’ve been thinking about this for several days. Please, go home and rest today.”

“I’m resting properly, so there’s no need to worry.”

“But sir, haven’t you been taking work home lately? You used to finish everything within working hours before.”

Moreover, it seemed he couldn’t concentrate properly even at the mansion, as the workload wasn’t decreasing. Since everything he said was true, Dominic couldn’t say anything.