Chapter 18

The staff tactfully took a step back.  

“Your neck looks too bare.”  

Eched inspected Shaterian’s neck area with an intensity as though he were examining evidence related to a crime.  

His fingertips lightly brushed her skin, causing a faint tickle.  

It was just like the day he removed the cherry blossom from her hair.  

Does he really need to look this closely? And why does his expression have to be so serious?  

The warmth she felt earlier lingered, even after Eched’s hand moved away.  

***

The misunderstanding began the moment two supposed rivals entered the boutique together.  

It was already fascinating enough to meet the subjects of such rumors, but seeing the two faces hidden behind their robes left everyone in awe.  

“Will you be alright?”  

“Yes. We’re in the same shop anyway. I’ll be quick.”  

What exactly is he worried about? Does he think this boutique is too dangerous for a lady?  

The employees’ gazes wavered intensely.  

Even after Shaterian disappeared from sight, Eched kept looking in that direction for a while before finally sitting down.  

And then, some time later—  

The lady reappeared, now dressed in the gown.  

“Wow.”  

The staff all gasped in unison.  

“Duke, what do you think?”  

Eched gave no reply.  

The staff, however, understood. After all, they’d seen people lose their words when their lovers looked too beautiful.  

They assumed Eched was similarly speechless because the lady was so stunning.  

Then, when Eched approached Shaterian and reached out, saying her neck looked bare, the staff instinctively held their breaths.  

They glanced repeatedly at Shaterian’s reddened face and subtly urged Eched to say more.  

“Don’t you have anything else to say?”  

The awkward Duke tilted his head slightly.  

“It… suits you well.”  

“No, not that. Something more.”  

“For example, ‘You’re beautiful,’ ‘You’re stunning,’ or ‘You’re lovely.’ Something like that.”  

The staff chimed in, egging him on. After thinking deeply for a moment, Eched finally responded.  

“Hmm… You’re pretty.”  

“Oh my!”  

Exclamations erupted from all around.  

One staff member, unable to handle the excitement, even fainted on the spot.  

Watching the commotion, Shaterian thought to herself, 

Eched probably isn’t thinking about anything right now.  

Eched was, in some ways, incredibly diligent. He answered every question, even ones he didn’t really need to.  

Of course, when the question was difficult to answer, he would subtly avoid it.  

Just like when I asked him about the kiss last time…  

“Ahem. I should change back now.”  

Shaterian quickly disappeared behind the curtain.  

***

After changing back into her original attire, Shaterian planned to return to the Crown Prince’s palace with Eched.  

“Hic… sniff…”  

However, the sound of someone sobbing came from the lounge area of the boutique.  

A woman was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief while staff stood by her side.  

Was that the Countess of LePell?

She was the mother of the man Shaterian had once been matched with and had fled hastily after being blackmailed over her weaknesses.  

Why was the Countess of LePell crying?  

More importantly, why was she doing so here of all places?  

“Here it is.”  

As Shaterian put on the robe handed to her by the staff, the Countess’s sobs grew louder.  

“That man… my husband… he’s having an affair! Waaah!”  

The word “affair,” mixed into her cries, made the staff gasp audibly.  

The Earl of LePell, her husband, was someone who rarely attended state meetings, only doing so occasionally due to his responsibilities over his estate and the LePell Merchant Guild.  

Furthermore, even those rare appearances were notorious for being entirely self-serving.  

In any case, this wasn’t something Shaterian needed to concern herself with.  

Eched and Shaterian left the boutique.  

“Shall we head straight to the palace?”  

“Hmm… How about exploring the streets a bit?”  

“Alright.”  

The two strolled through the bustling marketplace.  

Among the various food stalls, the smell of grilled chicken wafting through the air was particularly enticing.  

Feeling a bit hungry, Shaterian decided to approach the stall with Eched.  

“Eched, have you ever tried something like this?”  

He shook his head.  

Even if he had eaten chicken before, Shaterian thought it would have been neatly prepared at home, not like the street food here.  

She purchased grilled chicken coated with red seasoning from the vendor.  

Handing one of the wooden skewers to Eched, she picked up a piece of chicken and took a bite.  

The tender, well-seasoned meat melted in her mouth.  

The seasoning was mildly spicy and delicious, while the juices were rich and savory.  

“Aren’t you going to eat?”  

Eched stared at the red seasoning on the chicken without taking a bite.  

Noticing his hesitation, Shaterian suppressed her laughter.  

Eched was clearly hesitant because he feared it might be too spicy.  

“This just looks spicy; it’s not that bad.”  

To prove her point, she boldly took another bite.  

Eched watched her quietly before finally picking up a piece of chicken and eating it.  

“How is it?”  

His mouth barely moved. Was he chewing or not?  

“It’s good, isn’t it?”  

“…”  

Without answering, Eched swallowed the chicken.  

The only difference from earlier was the slight redness around his eyes beneath the hood of his robe.  

“It’s spicy, isn’t it?”  

In the end, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.  

Eched’s reaction had been so nonchalant that she wondered if it wasn’t actually spicy for him, but it turned out otherwise.  

She bought lemon sherbet from a nearby stall and handed it to him.  

He took his time putting the sherbet in his mouth, only to frown slightly afterward.  

“Why? Is it too sweet and sour this time?”  

As she chuckled, she could feel Eched’s gaze fixed on her.  

“Is it amusing?”  

“Yes. You don’t like this because it’s spicy, and you don’t like that because it’s sweet. You’re surprisingly picky.”  

Though I bought it knowing you wouldn’t like it.  

Watching you dislike something makes me feel just a little bit happier.  

They continued strolling through the streets.  

They passed vendors selling curious items, met merchants offering useful goods, and walked by a stall selling bracelets said to bring good fortune.  

As they walked, they found themselves in a quieter part of the market, where an antique shop caught her attention.  

She spent quite some time browsing the antique store before snapping out of it and looking for Eched.  

He was standing in front of the shop next door.  

He stood by the display window, staring intently at something inside.  

It was an old pendant that seemed to have captured his attention.  

Seeing Eched so engrossed in something for the first time, she couldn’t help but quietly observe him.  

Just then, someone suddenly ran into her.  

“Ugh!”  

With a startled cry, the person who had bumped into her—not herself—fell to the ground.  

A yellow hat adorned with feathers tumbled down, revealing curly hair that swayed as she moved.  

It was none other than the Countess of LePell, who had been crying at the boutique earlier.  

“Countess?”  

The Countess, who was trying to gather herself, raised her head.  

“L-Lady Shaterian?”  

The Countess, visibly flustered, trembled as she held out her hands. Shaterian extended her hand to help her up.  

“P-Please, I…”  

“Let’s start by getting you up.”  

“Yes, yes… Thank you.”  

The Countess took her hand and stood up.  

At that moment, a dagger hidden in the folds of her dress fell to the ground with a clang.  

“…”  

Both of them silently stared at the fallen dagger.  

It was an object that didn’t suit the delicate Countess, who was dressed in a pale yellow outfit meant for outings.  

Then, Eched approached and pulled Shaterian back by the waist, distancing her from the Countess.  

“What’s going on here?”  

“Ah, Duke Astrea…”  

The Countess’s face turned pale.  

When his gaze fell on the dagger, her shoulders trembled violently.  

“T-This is a misunderstanding! I swear, I wasn’t planning to harm Lady Shaterian…”  

“But you were carrying a weapon.”  

“Yes, but this! This is not for the Lady… It’s for someone else…”  

The Countess, with tears streaming down her face, pleaded her case.  

Shaterian held Eched back for the moment. The Countess’s words didn’t seem like a lie.  

“Countess, who were you planning to use this dagger on?”  

“Sniff… I… It’s just… that shameless man… sniff.”  

“By ‘shameless man,’ do you mean Earl LePell, who was having an affair?”  

Recalling what she had overheard at the boutique earlier, Shaterian asked. The Countess looked up at her with wide, deer-like eyes.  

“H-How did you…”  

“I saw you crying at the boutique earlier. But to think you would use this dagger against Earl LePell… If you go through with it and he dies, you’ll be a murderer. Even if he doesn’t die, you’ll be charged with attempted murder and sent to prison. Are you prepared for that?”  

“I don’t care! As long as I can kill that man!”  

The Countess clenched her fists tightly, her face filled with determination.  

Her small hands looked as though they had never wielded a knife before.  

Earl LePell, on the other hand, was taller and more robust than the average man in the Empire, while the Countess was smaller than the average woman.  

Shaterian nudged Eched in the side.  

As he looked down at her, she whispered, 

“Stop her.”  

If they didn’t intervene now, something terrible might happen today.  

Shaterian already knew Eched wasn’t the most perceptive, but his next words were beyond shocking.  

“Judging by the size difference between you and the Earl, Countess, that dagger won’t kill him in one strike. You’d need to aim for vital spots and stab him four or five times.”  

“W-Where are the vital spots?”  

“The vital spots are here and here. Hold the dagger like this…”  

“Enough.”  

Shaterian smacked Eched’s hand, which had been demonstrating how to hold a dagger.  

She then snatched the dagger from the Countess’s hand and threw it far away.  

“Countess, let’s go somewhere else to talk.”  

She shot Eched a frosty glare before leading the Countess away by the hand.  

‘You and I will have words later.’  

Eched, like a scolded puppy, quietly followed behind them.