Chapter 9 (Part 4)

After a few attempts, Leonardo finally managed to secure the menstrual cloth inside the undergarments. With a satisfied expression, he said,  

“Not bad, right?”  

“Indeed. Well done.”  

Leonardo smiled again at Grace’s praise, his eyes crinkling with delight.  

Feeling her heart pound as if it might leap out of her chest, Grace spoke to him with a strange expression,  

“I’ll step out first. It’d be awkward if someone saw us together like this.”  

At her words, Leonardo nodded.  

Once the door closed, he leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. Truly, everything had seemed hopeless, yet she had appeared at just the right moment to help him.  

He couldn’t imagine how much effort it had taken to hide the fact that his heart was racing.  

‘Maybe she heard it.’  

For a while, he had been worried his heart might have been beating loud enough to be heard outside.  

Even after Grace left, it took Leonardo some time to regain his composure. He followed the instructions she had given earlier, finished up, and stood from his seat.  

Deliberately avoiding looking inside the toilet bowl, he flushed it.  

When he opened the door and stepped outside, he saw Grace eating a lemon pound cake. The sight was both unexpected and endearing, and Leonardo chuckled as he said,  

“You brought it with you.”  

“It’s been on my mind.”  

Grace replied nonchalantly and gestured for him to sit. Leonardo slowly walked toward her.  

The freshly replaced, stiff menstrual cloth was so uncomfortable that he had to focus on walking carefully.  

Seeing this, Grace burst into laughter.  

“Ah, hahaha! What is that? A penguin?”  

Grace laughed so heartily that Leonardo’s face turned red again.  

Shuffling over to her, he covered her mouth with his hand, his face flushed to his ears, and pleaded,  

“Please! Don’t say such things!”  

Even as he said this, he couldn’t stand properly, his posture awkward. Seeing him like this, Grace laughed even harder.  

She laughed so much that tears welled up in her eyes. Wiping them away with her hand, she said,  

“Alright, alright. Seriously… No, no, it’s fine. It’s always like this the first time.”  

At Grace’s words, Leonardo looked at her with a sulky expression.  

Normally, he might have been confused about why he was acting this way, but today, he had experienced one unfamiliar thing after another.  

Moreover, being in a body with fluctuating hormones made him even less aware of his own behavior.  

“When you say it’s always like this the first time, does that mean it was the same for you?”  

Leonardo, who had finally managed to sit down, asked her. Grace nodded.  

Taking the documents from Leonardo naturally, she signed them with her pen and said,  

“It was very hard for me at first, too. But, well, I got used to it.”  

Shrugging her shoulders, Grace pointed to the handbag Leonardo had brought from the restroom.  

“Make sure to carry that with you. Don’t leave any traces behind.”  

At her words, Leonardo remained silent.  

If he returned to the Marquis’ residence with this bag, the maids would have to wash the blood-soaked cloths. Even though they weren’t technically his, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.  

As if guessing his thoughts, Grace said,  

“Don’t feel embarrassed. Everyone goes through it.”  

With that, Grace immersed herself in processing the documents again.  

Seeing her focused expression, which was rare, Leonardo felt a wave of relief and closed his eyes.  

As the sound of her pen scratching against the paper reached his ears, the medicine Grace had taken earlier began to take effect, and drowsiness crept over him.  

Leonardo began nodding off, and Grace chuckled softly.  

Reaching out, she grabbed his shoulder and leaned him toward her as she said,  

“Get some sleep. You probably didn’t get much rest last night.”  

Leonardo looked at her as if asking how she knew. Grace chuckled again and whispered softly in his ear,  

“Caleb was grumbling.”  

She added that Caleb had complained, saying their commander was already struggling, and now Leonardo was making things harder for her. Hearing this, Leonardo smiled faintly.  

The gentle patting on his back lulled him to sleep.  

“Sleep well.”  

Grace brushed Leonardo’s hair aside and greeted him softly.  

Neither of them considered the possibility that someone might be listening to their conversation from outside. Grace returned to reading the documents.  

Leonardo didn’t wake until evening.  

“I… slept too long.”  

The sky beyond the window was dusky.  

He had fallen asleep leaning on Grace’s shoulder, but when he woke, he found himself lying on her lap. Realizing this, Leonardo sat up with an awkward expression.  

As he got up, Grace set down the last document and said,  

“It’s fine. Thanks to you, I was able to finish all the paperwork before the deadline.”  

At her words, Leonardo nodded.  

Still groggy, he sat there with a dazed expression. When he shifted slightly, he felt the discomfort of the thick menstrual cloth and jumped up in surprise.  

Now that he thought about it, it was something that needed to be replaced regularly.  

“The time—it’s too late—I, I need to—!”  

Leonardo stammered incoherently, flustered. Without even looking at him, Grace replied,  

“Don’t worry. I already took care of it.”  

Her unexpected words left Leonardo frozen in place, half-risen from his seat.  

Slowly turning his head, he looked at Grace.  

“…What do you mean, you took care of it?”  

Grace, who had just finished organizing the last document and set it aside, looked up at him. She spoke as if it were no big deal,  

“Why? Is there a problem? I figured it might be hard for you, so I handled it for you.”  

At her words, Leonardo was at a loss for what to say. His mouth opened and closed as countless thoughts raced through his mind.  

He wanted to say things like, ‘Please be careful since this is my body now,’ or ‘It’s embarrassing, so please don’t do that,’ but the words wouldn’t come out.  

Seeing Leonardo stand there silently for a long time, Grace belatedly realized her mistake and said,  

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think about your perspective—I just acted like it was my body. I’m truly sorry.”  

Hearing her sincere apology, Leonardo sighed and sat back down.  

Noticing her cautious, slightly timid expression, he said,  

“I was a bit surprised, but… it’s alright.”  

“I’m really sorry. I’ll be more careful.”  

When Grace apologized again, Leonardo smiled. He then pointed to her right side and said,  

“There’s a potion in that pocket.”  

“Which pocket?”  

Following his gesture, Grace turned her head and searched her body.  

But since she wasn’t wearing her usual uniform—or perhaps because she was sitting—she couldn’t find anything resembling a pocket.  

“Why is it different, even though it’s the same uniform? Where could it be?”  

Watching her pat herself all over in search of the pocket, Leonardo felt his face flush red.  

Even though he was in a different body now, it was still technically his body she was touching.  

“Sir, isn’t that… a bit too much touching…?”  

At his words, Grace’s face also turned red.  

She belatedly realized she had been patting down her now body in front of its original owner. Stopping her hands awkwardly, she stammered,  

“S-sorry. I just—I said I’d be careful, but I did it again. Haha…”  

As Grace laughed awkwardly, Leonardo stood and approached her.  

“Let me find it.”  

“P-please do.”  

As he came closer, Grace instinctively leaned back.  

Even though it was her own body, the scent of a fresh, forest-like fragrance felt unfamiliar.  

She opened her mouth to ask about it, but at that moment,  

“Ah, found it.”  

“You found it?”  

Leonardo pulled out the potion from an inner pocket and smiled.  

Their eyes met, and for a moment, both of their expressions turned strange.  

As they realized how close they were, Grace squeezed her eyes shut.  

“…Grace Lowell.”  

Leonardo called her name softly, his voice low and steady, as he leaned in closer.  

When the tips of their noses brushed, and they were close enough to share breaths, the moment when it seemed like they might even kiss—

Someone knocked on the door and, at the same time, barged in.  

“Commander—?”  

The person who suddenly entered was Liam.  

He alternated his gaze between ‘Leonardo,’ who was seated on the chair, and ‘Grace,’ who appeared to be half-straddling him, before closing the door behind him.  

Then, in a calm voice, he said,  

“You shouldn’t be doing this here.”  

“……”  

Even at his words, ‘Grace’ didn’t move a muscle, so Liam called out again, urging her,  

“Commander.”  

At his call, ‘Leonardo’ gestured toward ‘Grace.’  

With her brows deeply furrowed, ‘Grace’ stepped back and spoke in an irritated tone,  

“Get out.”  

“Commander.”  

“I said, get out.”  

When ‘Grace’ repeated her warning, Liam reluctantly retreated, bowing his head as he did so.  

Once the door closed and Liam’s presence completely faded, Grace, who had been seated in the chair, sighed and stood up. She held the potion she had taken out in her hand.  

Looking at Leonardo, who appeared to be extremely annoyed while in her form, Grace apologized,  

“I’ve caused you a lot of trouble today.”  

“…It’s fine.”  

“You’ve worked hard, Sir Leo. See you tomorrow.”  

Leonardo closed his eyes as he watched Grace drink the potion.  

He truly didn’t like it.