-7-

I went out to meet him in front of the mansion. Oh, there was the Duke’s carriage. I spotted Roan stepping out of it.

This was the first time I was seeing him since yesterday. Although I saw him just yesterday, it felt like it had been quite a while. I raised my arm and waved energetically.

“Roan-!”

I called out to him with all my might. Roan was slowly walking towards me with his long strides.

We had already embraced before, so I decided to just go for it and hug him. Surely he wouldn’t push me away, right?

After all, we seemed to have gotten a bit closer.

I made up my mind and ran to hug him…

-Swish.

Roan deftly dodged my embrace. I guess we’re not at that stage yet.

“Why are you doing this?”

He spoke fluidly as if nothing had happened. My lips pouted a bit.

“I was just happy to see you, Roan.”

My lips may have pouted, but my words were honest.

“Greetings, Your Grace.”

“Greetings, Duke.”

David and the servants who had been behind Roan greeted me, and the butler and servants behind me greeted Roan.

I thought about continuing to act sulky, but it didn’t seem worth it, so I gave up. We went inside the mansion. Then I said what I had been wanting to say since he arrived.

“Did you have a good trip?”

For the first time, his expressionless face didn’t seem so cold. I felt a strange sensation and lowered my gaze.

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

He replied in an unexpectedly normal manner.

The Duke’s normally impassive face had a faint trace of a smile. It was so subtle that even he might not have noticed it. But the servants behind Delis certainly noticed the change in his expression.

As I averted my gaze, I noticed some servants seemed to be holding back laughter. Why were they like that? Maybe they were also happy to see Roan. Such diligent workers.

I looked at Roan again. He was back to his usual impassive expression. Perhaps the feeling I had just now was my imagination.

Soon it was time for dinner. Roan went upstairs to wash up. I should wash up too. One should be reverent before food.

***

“Your Grace, dinner is ready.”

“Alright, I’ll be down soon. What about Roan?”

“The Duke is probably already downstairs.”

I descended the stairs, feeling excited, though unsure if it was because I was happy to see Roan or the food.

When I got to the first floor, Roan was already seated.

“Roan, is the food good?”

I asked as he quietly chewed his food, staring at me. With his impassive face, he looked like a chipmunk. He was always so handsome, cute, and lovable.

Roan was still looking at me. He wasn’t exactly looking at me, but at my hand.

“I heard you hurt your hand today.”

Roan asked out of the blue.

“It’s not really a big deal… just a bit of hot tea splashed on it.”

The redness had almost disappeared after applying the cold towel earlier.

“I heard you forgave the maid who spilled the tea.”

“Yes, since it wasn’t a serious injury, there wasn’t much to forgive.”

“Previously, you dismissed a maid for spilling tea on the floor, not even on your hand. This time, you were quite lenient.”

Delis, did you really do that? I should’ve expected something like this. May lightning strike from the heavens.

“T-that was…”

Roan smirked. Even though it wasn’t something I did, it was still attributed to me, so I spoke hesitantly.

“So, what happened to that maid?”

“I gave her a recommendation letter, and she now works at a good place.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

He acted as if he didn’t care about the servants, but he always took care of them.

So adorable. Truly fitting of my favorite.

“Roan, you’re really kind.”

“…….”

He didn’t respond. A brief silence followed before he spoke again.

“You’re saying ridiculous things.”

How is that ridiculous? It’s perfectly true.

“Roan might not think so, but you are.”

“How do you know that?”

“I can just tell.”

“How?”

“Just because.”

“…….”

Roan let out a slight sigh.

“Oh, by the way. My Father came by today.”

“I heard.”

“He wanted me to give you his regards.”

“To me?”

“Yes.”

“…I see.”

Oh, right, that thing!

“And Roan, there’s something I’m really curious about.”

Roan seemed to show no interest in knowing what it was.

“…What is it?”

“You know that sturdy-looking door in the basement? The one that’s locked—am I not allowed to go in there?”

“Is it the room to the right of the third stair?”

“I think so.”

“That room is probably where we store weapons.”

“Weapons?”

Weapons… well, the Bannister family has always been a family that reveres martial arts.

“The weapons, now called legends, are stored there. The things in there are so valuable that the door has been locked for generations.”

“So who has the key?”

“I do.”

I felt a strong urge to go inside.

“Roan, can’t I go in just once?”

I wanted to look as pitiful as possible to him. I lowered my head and raised my eyes. The final touch: a few blinks.

If it were me normally, I’d probably get hit for this, but with Delis’s appearance, this should look quite endearing…

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Not a chance. He spoke in a stiff tone, as if telling me not to.

“Tch.”

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.”

“In the first place, there are no places in this mansion you cannot enter.”

“Then….”

So I can go in?

“However, since there are many weapons, it could be dangerous. Let’s go together after dinner.”

“Sounds good!”

Nice shot!

“I’ll come to your room shortly after dinner.”

***

Weapons, huh. I remembered when Roan’s sword broke while he was trapped in a battle during the war in the original story.

Of course, this time, I’ll make sure he never falls into that trap!

But still, I wanted him to carry the best sword possible. A strong sword that wouldn’t break or shatter even if he kept fighting with his aura. If there isn’t a suitable one there….

In this world, there are beings called ‘Dwarves.’ They coexist with ‘Elves.’ Dwarves naturally love to create things and consider it their destiny.

Elves bring them materials only they know about and provide them to the Dwarves. The Dwarves make items and give them to the Elves in exchange for the materials. Dwarves don’t do it for money; they simply love to create, so they are willing to work with Elves who provide good materials.

[Weapons made by Dwarves can easily break materials as hard as diamonds, and unlike others, their weapons never break even when filled with aura.]

That’s what the novel said.

Dwarves live in hiding from human eyes, coexisting with Elves.

They once lived openly, but humans captured them and exploited them to make weapons day and night.

So now, their existence is faint, but I know where they live. In the novel, the heroine frees a Dwarf from slavery and goes to the Dwarves’ forest.

Come to think of it, Roan’s birthday is in late spring. It’s not far off. It would be a great birthday present. A surprise, too.

I was planning his birthday gift while waiting for Roan in my room. But I felt uncomfortable from the corset I wore after dinner.

I decided to take it off before Roan arrived. I took off my outer clothes and was about to remove the corset.

-Knock knock.

Huh? It could be Mary, but I instinctively knew it was Roan. I was too startled to speak properly.

“Duchess.”

Roan called, thinking it strange that there was no answer.

-Creak.

?? Is that door opening? My mind screamed no, but the door was already open.

Silence.

Our eyes met for about 0.5 seconds.

“Ro….”

-Bang!

I tried to call Roan, but the door had already slammed shut. No way, did he see everything in that 0.5 seconds?