“Don’t sleep in the drawing room, sleep somewhere else.”
“I’m worried about leaving you alone.”
“Would you like to sleep here?”
It was a proposal I could make because the bed was so wide that one could do three forward rolls without falling off.
I couldn’t completely give in, but about half was fine.
I nodded vigorously to myself. I felt him pause as he was walking away.
“Lora, we are both adults, and only married couples share a bed—”
“Ah, yes.”
I shook my head firmly.
“That’s obvious.”
“Anyway, I meant that I trust you.”
After that, there was no sound. I thought he might have opened the door and left.
“Your Highness?”
I asked with my eyes still closed, but there was no answer. In the room, only the sound of my breathing could be heard.
I gently lifted my eyelids, heavy with fatigue. Just as I thought my vision had adjusted to the moonlight in the darkness.
A shadow darker than the night fell over my head. The Grand Duke was straddling me, looking down at me.
Unable to find pajamas, it seemed, he had changed into a comfortable shirt with a couple of buttons undone.
Because of this, his moderately white neckline and the deeply carved muscles below were faintly visible. I blinked for a moment.
What are you doing there?
His two eyes looking back at me were languidly subdued. He slightly raised the corner of his mouth and asked in a whisper.
“Do you still trust me?”
So that’s what he misunderstood.
Why do people in these situations mistakenly think the other person is looking down on them?
Even the iron-blooded Grand Duke was no different, which made me laugh.
When I smiled with my eyes narrowed, he gripped the bed more firmly.
“It wasn’t Your Highness I was trusting.”
His face came a little closer. His striking features stopped at a distance where our noses almost touched.
“Then what?”
“The debt of heart Your Highness owes me. That’s what I believe in.”
His pupils trembled slightly. Not missing the moment, I cupped his approaching face with both hands. His skin was surprisingly soft for someone who trained in swordsmanship.
Feeling that warm touch, I pinched and stretched his cheeks with my thumb and index finger.
“Your Highness, please move aside now.”
It seemed like only days ago that I trembled at the sight of him, but now I had reached a point where I could pinch his cheeks without feeling threatened.
With this new sense of familiarity, I moved my hands more enthusiastically.
Then our eyes met, and I giggled. The Grand Duke’s golden eyes sank deeply.
Was it a mistake not to let go of him quickly despite my excited mood today?
Or was it wrong not to avoid his gaze?
The Grand Duke, who had lowered his long eyelashes, took my hands in a trance-like state.
“From now on, trust no one, nothing, Lora.”
He gently descended upon me.

***

Ugh, these monstrous people.
The northerners were clearly out of their minds. There should be limits.
After drinking so much, there was no way they could be fine after setting out.
On the day of departure, this was my first thought as I woke up holding my pounding head.
And my second thought, as I squinted against the morning sunlight, was:
“Ah, I made a mistake.”
As my foggy mind surfaced, memories of last night flashed through my head.
I instinctively sat up with a start and glanced sideways. Thankfully, the Grand Duke wasn’t there.
“That’s a relief… wait, what’s a relief! Am I crazy!”
I grabbed my head with both hands and started screaming, mercilessly hitting the bed. The events of the night were unnecessarily vivid.
I messed up, I really messed up.
And it was a major mistake right before an important event.
As time passed, the memories became clearer, making my already aching head throb even more.
Clearly, the Grand Duke kissed me, and I wrapped my arms around his firmly extended neck…
“Haah. Why did I do that?”
No matter how handsome the Grand Duke was, still. If I wrapped my arms around him, this was undeniable.
I severely reproached my yesterday self. It was fortunate in this misfortune that the Grand Duke wasn’t here now. If we had faced each other when I opened my eyes, it would have been even more dizzying.
“Well, we’re adults, these things can happen.”
I started rationalizing earnestly as I brushed back my disheveled hair.
“It was just a kiss. Yes, these things can happen when you drink a lot.”
Right. We’ll just become awkward with each other, that’s all.
We’ll avoid each other when we meet, and then grow distant.
…The problem is that we have to stay together for up to a year because of the seal.
“Haah. What on earth was the Grand Duke thinking?”
As I was sighing and hitting the pillow, a voice I absolutely did not want to face right now came from behind me.
“Do you really not know?”
“Aah! You startled me.”
A cold sensation ran from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
I quietly put down the pillow I had been clutching. Looking at some distant mountain outside the window, I muttered.
“…Your Highness, why do you come without making any sound?”
“Lora.”
At his low call, I turned my head with a creak, and the Grand Duke was leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed.
“How long have you been watching?”
He didn’t answer but smiled with a languid face, his head slightly tilted.
“Your Highness?”
“I’ve been watching since ‘it was just a kiss.'”
Watching? Then…
“…And what did you hear?”
“From ‘I made a mistake.'”
So from the beginning.
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, he laughed out loud. With his low, resonant voice, I also laughed along. But my mind was racing.
What else did I say?
Ah, I didn’t call him Your Highness but Grand Duke.
Many words swirled in my mouth, but they couldn’t make it out. Fidgeting with my hands, I cautiously called out to him.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes.”
He answered as if he had been waiting. His voice was casual. I carefully opened my mouth.
“Shall we just forget about it cleanly? We have to work together, and it’s awkward.”
Unable to look at him directly, I mumbled while staring at the edge of the bed. I don’t know why I was being so cautious, but I was.
When I finished speaking, he smiled as if he had expected it and approached me with large strides. I felt the bed sink as he sat down beside me.
He’s obviously going to say something, right?
Even to me, what I said was beyond recycling.
“I’m relieved.”
“About what?”
I answered while still staring straight ahead, unable to look at him. Then, glancing at the Grand Duke, I saw he was smiling kindly. Catching my gaze, he spoke.
“I thought you might say you didn’t remember.”
That was the plan.
If he hadn’t hit the nail on the head, I certainly would have. Feeling caught, I awkwardly pulled at the corner of my mouth, and he continued.
“Can you really forget?”
“……”
I nodded cautiously. He smiled calmly as if he had expected it. Then he spoke firmly.
“I cannot.”