“Have you ever…”
“What?”
He muttered, his voice half expectant.
“Does the Princess bother you?”
I didn’t hesitate to answer, because, of course, it bothered me.
“Yes, I do.”
He smiled brilliantly at my answer.
‘Why is the Duke smiling like that when I told him that it bothers me?’
I blurted out, a little puzzled, “I was wondering what she was like, since I’m sure I’ll run into her at the banquet, and I thought you might know her well…”
He leaned back in the armchair across from me. Then he gave me a half-hearted smile as he scanned my face.
“Astel…”
He leaned forward, one corner of his mouth twitching upward. Then he kissed the corner of my eye briefly and whispered.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, pretending not to notice. But it took me a few seconds to realize that my eyelashes were fluttering against his breath, and I tensed to the point of shivering.
I clutched the hem of my dress with my hands in my lap and whispered in a calmer tone.
“I’m just curious about Her Highness, and there’s no reason to feel threatened…”
I started to say, ‘…because’, but then held my breath.
His lips trailed down to my cheek for a moment. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with the imprint, so maybe we can stop here. The Duke always pushes me away so easily.
But to be honest, I didn’t want to stop.
Regardless of the imprint, the sensation of having my heart racing and my fingertips tingling…it was pleasant.
As if reading my mind, he whispered, “I want you to be careful.”
The moment I realized his dark blue eyes were fixed on me, his lips touched my cheek. I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut as soon as his moist lips brushed my flushed cheek.
The hairs on my body stood on end. It’s not an exaggeration to say that all of my senses were extremely centered on the cheek that was touching his.
Unlike me, who was tense and holding my breath, he was relaxed and whispered low as he brought his lips back to the tip of my nose.
“But I, for one, would hate to see you exert yourself unnecessarily for the sake of the Princess.”
I unconsciously lowered my gaze and lifted my chin slightly. I was about to ask him what exactly he was talking about when…
In my haste, I’d angled it wrong. We were so close that our lips were just barely touching, tip on tip.
He chuckled lowly, then stuck his tongue out and licked my lips. Stunned, I heard him call my name in a seething voice, like he was holding something back.
“Astel, you’re being provocative, and…”
I didn’t even have time to retort that I hadn’t provoked him. Our lips barely touched, and he cupped my chin, pulling it down slightly before kissing my forehead again.
It was a rough kiss, so unlike his usual tender demeanor.
“There’s no reason for you to wonder… about the Princess or otherwise.”
His tone was soothing, as if he had some kind of magic that mesmerized me, as opposed to the snarl of a wild beast. I felt suddenly relieved by his words.
I realized then that I’d been reading a little too much into the story about him and the Princess.
Why my heart was pounding, and my face was blushing every time I held the Duke’s hand.
Even I, who had never been in a relationship, knew what these were usually signs of.
Maybe it wasn’t the companion’s imprint, maybe it was because I liked him…, a thought that rushed through my mind before I could reason it out.
“I hope you’re jealous, but it has nothing to do with us.”
He grinned mischievously, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile back. Caught up in the romantic atmosphere, feelings I didn’t even know I had begun to unravel.
Amid my confusion, the Duke whispered again, “It’s not the Princess that comes between us, it’s the useless—”
“…?”
“— a knight who doesn’t know how to treat precious ones.”
The romantic mood was quickly broken. The mention of my brother snapped me back to reality.
‘This is not the time for sentimentality, Astel!’
I wanted to be honest with him, but he doesn’t know, and shouldn’t know, that I’m the youngest daughter of Count Vietry.
So the first thing I must do was… to clear my name, clear my family’s name, and return proudly and gloriously as Astel Vietry.
Only then could I stand before him with dignity.
Then and only then would I be worthy to face my feelings.
I braced myself again for the impending breakout.
‘If the Duke of Cornwall truly is the villain, I’d grab him first and say. Cassian is our brother!‘
When I first entered the duchy, I lacked the courage to confront the Dark Villain.
I feared that my confidence in my ability to avenge myself and survive was perhaps overdone.
But not anymore.
Slowly, I’m finding the clues to revenge, and it’s only a matter of time before I reveal the truth to him.
However, I should probably give him a heads-up beforehand. Now that the Duke favors me, I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.
“I… I have something to tell you!”
I clutched the Duke’s face, which was still close to mine.
‘Huh, um. Why did I grab his face.’
But I couldn’t stop…
The Duke seemed surprised that I had grabbed his face, but he didn’t shy away from my hand.
“Duke, please wait a moment.”
“What…”
He waited patiently, still looking puzzled, but he didn’t just wait, he gripped mine more firmly, even wrapping his hands around his cheeks as I clasped them.
“I don’t know what I’m waiting for, Astel.”
“Don’t say anything bad about Cassian.”
I squeezed my eyes and opened my mouth slightly, speaking loudly. So that his gaze would meet mine, so that he could see my sincerity.
“Hold still, and I’ll tell you everything…everything that happened with my friend, Cassian Gray, my…former friend.”
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes widening slightly, then he smiled. A surprisingly meek expression came over his stern face.
“Yes, I would never say anything bad about him in front of Astel.”
Was it that easy…?
“I won’t if Astel tells me not to.”
His demeanor was uncannily docile. I wondered if I’d missed something, so I gave the hand holding his cheek a little squeeze.
He looked up at me, smiling strangely, as if tickled.
At that moment…
— ‘My name, please remember it.’
— ‘I’ll remember.’
— ‘Tell me to come back to you, and if you do, I’ll come back to you.’
The voice was familiar. I shook my head inwardly and tried to focus on the moment. The child wasn’t important right now; getting the Duke’s promise was far more important.
“It’s a promise.”
“Yes, on the honor of the name of the Family.”
I looked up at him, pursing my lips at his nonchalant demeanor.
“Because Astel gave me the most special gift of all.”
He looks a little suspicious, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, the Duke has never lied to me.
I lock eyes with him and nod. His hand was warm, still squeezing mine.
At the same time, inside the capital’s famous fish shop.
Astel’s plan had worked, and Mimi had awakened from her long slumber.
Mimi glanced around tentatively at each of her animal informants.
In the capital, the freshly minted country mice, house cats, and city rats were hard at work as Mimi’s handlers.
With a haughty look on her face, Mimi stroked her cat’s paw and said, “Listen. I’m looking for a human to enhance this body.”
“A human that would enhance it?”
“Yes. Since this body is a divine beast, I will choose a companion who is worthy of it.”
At Mimi’s words, the spies gathered in front of her rattled off the long list of candidates they’d selected.
Surprisingly, they had picked up so much information from the back alleys that they knew the gossip of most socialites.
“That Duke of Cornwall is quite a smart one, Mimi!”
“And Cassian Gray? He’s the flower of the capital!”
“Hmm, what about Duke Anais, the most talked about man in the capital these days?”
Mimi, who had been listening to the ear-piercing voices, shook her head and retorted.
“Everything else is out of the question… Duke Anais? Do you mean that old man? Who is that old man?”
“No, he’s not a Grandpa, is he? I think he changed that a few years ago. He’s not very old, but… he’s quite handsome. Look at this!”
A black cat came in with a torn piece of gossip paper and whimpered.
Mimi’s eyes widened as she looked at the paper.
“There’s a portrait in here!”
“Huh?”
Mimi’s eyes widened. The gossip paper dropped from the black cat’s hand and landed at her feet.
“The Duke of Anais has taken a ward. Her name is Astel, and…”
Mimi’s eyes widened. The black prickles in her pupils widened.
“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“What, how are they together?”
Mimi grinned like a villain and scratched at the wall.
A terrified mouse squeaked in alarm and quickly bit its tiny paw.
“I don’t know that, divine beast!”
“Pfft! Get away from me, you stupid little rat!”
After snapping at the rat, Mimi turned back to her thoughts.
‘Maybe I should go see him.’
This Astel kid, she probably doesn’t remember much about him.
But he’ll be perfect for teasing. Even the smartest of humans are just carrots in front of a horse in front of a god.
‘I’ll have to surprise him with a visit, that’ll make things interesting, yes!’
Mimi laughed and took a piece of fish and ate it. The fish shop was heavenly. The grilled fish tasted as delicious as ever.
“Have you ever…”
“What?”
He muttered, his voice half expectant.
“Does the Princess bother you?”
I didn’t hesitate to answer, because, of course, it bothered me.
“Yes, I do.”
He smiled brilliantly at my answer.
‘Why is the Duke smiling like that when I told him that it bothers me?’
I blurted out, a little puzzled, “I was wondering what she was like, since I’m sure I’ll run into her at the banquet, and I thought you might know her well…”
He leaned back in the armchair across from me. Then he gave me a half-hearted smile as he scanned my face.
“Astel…”
He leaned forward, one corner of his mouth twitching upward. Then he kissed the corner of my eye briefly and whispered.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, pretending not to notice. But it took me a few seconds to realize that my eyelashes were fluttering against his breath, and I tensed to the point of shivering.
I clutched the hem of my dress with my hands in my lap and whispered in a calmer tone.
“I’m just curious about Her Highness, and there’s no reason to feel threatened…”
I started to say, ‘…because’, but then held my breath.
His lips trailed down to my cheek for a moment. It’s not like there’s anything wrong with the imprint, so maybe we can stop here. The Duke always pushes me away so easily.
But to be honest, I didn’t want to stop.
Regardless of the imprint, the sensation of having my heart racing and my fingertips tingling…it was pleasant.
As if reading my mind, he whispered, “I want you to be careful.”
The moment I realized his dark blue eyes were fixed on me, his lips touched my cheek. I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut as soon as his moist lips brushed my flushed cheek.
The hairs on my body stood on end. It’s not an exaggeration to say that all of my senses were extremely centered on the cheek that was touching his.
Unlike me, who was tense and holding my breath, he was relaxed and whispered low as he brought his lips back to the tip of my nose.
“But I, for one, would hate to see you exert yourself unnecessarily for the sake of the Princess.”
I unconsciously lowered my gaze and lifted my chin slightly. I was about to ask him what exactly he was talking about when…
In my haste, I’d angled it wrong. We were so close that our lips were just barely touching, tip on tip.
He chuckled lowly, then stuck his tongue out and licked my lips. Stunned, I heard him call my name in a seething voice, like he was holding something back.
“Astel, you’re being provocative, and…”
I didn’t even have time to retort that I hadn’t provoked him. Our lips barely touched, and he cupped my chin, pulling it down slightly before kissing my forehead again.
It was a rough kiss, so unlike his usual tender demeanor.
“There’s no reason for you to wonder… about the Princess or otherwise.”
His tone was soothing, as if he had some kind of magic that mesmerized me, as opposed to the snarl of a wild beast. I felt suddenly relieved by his words.
I realized then that I’d been reading a little too much into the story about him and the Princess.
Why my heart was pounding, and my face was blushing every time I held the Duke’s hand.
Even I, who had never been in a relationship, knew what these were usually signs of.
Maybe it wasn’t the companion’s imprint, maybe it was because I liked him…, a thought that rushed through my mind before I could reason it out.
“I hope you’re jealous, but it has nothing to do with us.”
He grinned mischievously, but I couldn’t bring myself to smile back. Caught up in the romantic atmosphere, feelings I didn’t even know I had begun to unravel.
Amid my confusion, the Duke whispered again, “It’s not the Princess that comes between us, it’s the useless—”
“…?”
“— a knight who doesn’t know how to treat precious ones.”
The romantic mood was quickly broken. The mention of my brother snapped me back to reality.
‘This is not the time for sentimentality, Astel!’
I wanted to be honest with him, but he doesn’t know, and shouldn’t know, that I’m the youngest daughter of Count Vietry.
So the first thing I must do was… to clear my name, clear my family’s name, and return proudly and gloriously as Astel Vietry.
Only then could I stand before him with dignity.
Then and only then would I be worthy to face my feelings.
I braced myself again for the impending breakout.
‘If the Duke of Cornwall truly is the villain, I’d grab him first and say. Cassian is our brother!‘
When I first entered the duchy, I lacked the courage to confront the Dark Villain.
I feared that my confidence in my ability to avenge myself and survive was perhaps overdone.
But not anymore.
Slowly, I’m finding the clues to revenge, and it’s only a matter of time before I reveal the truth to him.
However, I should probably give him a heads-up beforehand. Now that the Duke favors me, I’m sure he’ll be fine with it.
“I… I have something to tell you!”
I clutched the Duke’s face, which was still close to mine.
‘Huh, um. Why did I grab his face.’
But I couldn’t stop…
The Duke seemed surprised that I had grabbed his face, but he didn’t shy away from my hand.
“Duke, please wait a moment.”
“What…”
He waited patiently, still looking puzzled, but he didn’t just wait, he gripped mine more firmly, even wrapping his hands around his cheeks as I clasped them.
“I don’t know what I’m waiting for, Astel.”
“Don’t say anything bad about Cassian.”
I squeezed my eyes and opened my mouth slightly, speaking loudly. So that his gaze would meet mine, so that he could see my sincerity.
“Hold still, and I’ll tell you everything…everything that happened with my friend, Cassian Gray, my…former friend.”
He stared at me for a moment, his eyes widening slightly, then he smiled. A surprisingly meek expression came over his stern face.
“Yes, I would never say anything bad about him in front of Astel.”
Was it that easy…?
“I won’t if Astel tells me not to.”
His demeanor was uncannily docile. I wondered if I’d missed something, so I gave the hand holding his cheek a little squeeze.
He looked up at me, smiling strangely, as if tickled.
At that moment…
— ‘My name, please remember it.’
— ‘I’ll remember.’
— ‘Tell me to come back to you, and if you do, I’ll come back to you.’
The voice was familiar. I shook my head inwardly and tried to focus on the moment. The child wasn’t important right now; getting the Duke’s promise was far more important.
“It’s a promise.”
“Yes, on the honor of the name of the Family.”
I looked up at him, pursing my lips at his nonchalant demeanor.
“Because Astel gave me the most special gift of all.”
He looks a little suspicious, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. So far, the Duke has never lied to me.
I lock eyes with him and nod. His hand was warm, still squeezing mine.
At the same time, inside the capital’s famous fish shop.
Astel’s plan had worked, and Mimi had awakened from her long slumber.
Mimi glanced around tentatively at each of her animal informants.
In the capital, the freshly minted country mice, house cats, and city rats were hard at work as Mimi’s handlers.
With a haughty look on her face, Mimi stroked her cat’s paw and said, “Listen. I’m looking for a human to enhance this body.”
“A human that would enhance it?”
“Yes. Since this body is a divine beast, I will choose a companion who is worthy of it.”
At Mimi’s words, the spies gathered in front of her rattled off the long list of candidates they’d selected.
Surprisingly, they had picked up so much information from the back alleys that they knew the gossip of most socialites.
“That Duke of Cornwall is quite a smart one, Mimi!”
“And Cassian Gray? He’s the flower of the capital!”
“Hmm, what about Duke Anais, the most talked about man in the capital these days?”
Mimi, who had been listening to the ear-piercing voices, shook her head and retorted.
“Everything else is out of the question… Duke Anais? Do you mean that old man? Who is that old man?”
“No, he’s not a Grandpa, is he? I think he changed that a few years ago. He’s not very old, but… he’s quite handsome. Look at this!”
A black cat came in with a torn piece of gossip paper and whimpered.
Mimi’s eyes widened as she looked at the paper.
“There’s a portrait in here!”
“Huh?”
Mimi’s eyes widened. The gossip paper dropped from the black cat’s hand and landed at her feet.
“The Duke of Anais has taken a ward. Her name is Astel, and…”
Mimi’s eyes widened. The black prickles in her pupils widened.
“Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
“What, how are they together?”
Mimi grinned like a villain and scratched at the wall.
A terrified mouse squeaked in alarm and quickly bit its tiny paw.
“I don’t know that, divine beast!”
“Pfft! Get away from me, you stupid little rat!”
After snapping at the rat, Mimi turned back to her thoughts.
‘Maybe I should go see him.’
This Astel kid, she probably doesn’t remember much about him.
But he’ll be perfect for teasing. Even the smartest of humans are just carrots in front of a horse in front of a god.
‘I’ll have to surprise him with a visit, that’ll make things interesting, yes!’
Mimi laughed and took a piece of fish and ate it. The fish shop was heavenly. The grilled fish tasted as delicious as ever.
