Chapter 129

The mansion where the two had first been shackled together was in the Royden territory.

The carriage road wasn’t originally smooth, but Madam Royden had insisted it would be fine once paved, and so it had been built.

Riding along that road, one side opened to fields while the other offered a distant view of a lake.

Though small, the lake and the grounds beyond were enclosed in a long fence, making entry impossible for outsiders.

And even when the masters were absent, the estate’s staff had kept the place guarded.

“Of course. Protecting this estate is our duty.”

Even though their arrival had been sudden, everything was already in perfect order.

As though they had only stepped out in the morning and returned by evening—the rooms were spotless, without a trace of dust or staleness.

“…I almost feel guilty.”

Rodella scratched her cheek with an awkward look.

She was grateful, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel sorry.

For her and Aivert, this was a holiday.

For the staff, however, it was more like hosting their superiors.

She was thinking so when—

“You’ve got that work-face on again.”

Aivert was watching her.

Startled, Rodella cleared her throat.

“No.”

According to him, the whole purpose of this trip was a vacation to stop her from thinking about work.

He’d even said he had thought up various ways to keep her entertained since she had forgotten how to have fun from too much study and work.

And apparently, that wasn’t just talk.

Though it was his first time here, he moved with easy confidence.

“Are you sure this is your first time?”

“Yeah. I just studied the map and floor plan really hard to plan how I’d make you have fun.”

His eager stride even looked excited, and Rodella narrowed her eyes.

At this point—

“…You just wanted to play, didn’t you?”

Aivert turned to her and answered brightly, without shame, “Yeah. I wanted to play with you.”

There it was again.

That smile that blew all her thoughts clean out of her head.

“…”

Seeing that face, she really couldn’t think of work.

In the end, maybe this was the kind of vacation only he could give her.

“It’s about the time one gets hungry, don’t you think?”

After touring her around the estate, he suddenly ended up in the kitchen and began cooking.

…Was he good at cooking?

They were both nobles; neither had much occasion to do so.

But seeing his confident air, Rodella allowed herself a little expectation.

And then—

“That’s… way too much firewood.”

Her voice was skeptical as she watched him stack logs into the stove like a mountain.

The moment he struck them alight with a magical artifact, the pan above flared instantly.

—Ssshhhhk!

Smoke rose at once, the fire practically grilling the food directly.

Rodella gasped at the blaze filling the stove.

“…Maybe that was too much?”

Aivert, a little flustered, pulled out a few logs and tossed them into a bucket of water.

—Ssshhhhk!

The wet logs hissed loudly, smoke billowing up.

But what horrified Rodella wasn’t the smoke.

“Fire—fire!”

His hand!

He had grabbed burning logs barehanded!

The chain between them meant he had to manage almost everything one-handed, his movements oddly dexterous.

Wearing an apron that was clearly custom-made to fit him, bustling about so earnestly—it had almost been funny until now.

But now—

“Ah.”

Only then did Aivert realize the problem, dunking his hand straight into the water bucket along with the logs.

“You didn’t burn yourself?”

“I can smother flame spells with bare hands, you know.”

He pulled his hand out unscathed, then gave a sheepish look.

And asked, far too casually—

“Still, will you blow on it for me? It’s hot.”

That’s what you think is appropriate?!

Instead of blowing, Rodella smacked him square on the back.

In the end, Aivert succeeded at his plan to give her a holiday free of work.

Her mind was too busy reeling from one thing after another for thoughts of work to intrude.

And whenever she did fall quiet, one look from him—those eyes fixed on her—was enough to chase away all other thoughts.

The faint smile he gave, so unlike his usual self, was too intriguing, too full of meaning.

It left her unable to think of the Knights, the Chancellor, anything at all.

And so, evening arrived almost without her noticing.

“At least this time the chains can adjust. That makes things easier.”

Aivert remarked, recalling their last time bound together.

That was when Rodella, too, remembered.

The first talk of a holiday had come then, hadn’t it?

A holiday. With you.

At home.

Words that had caused all manner of misunderstanding.

She’d wanted to ask if he had really been in his right mind.

But then she had tripped over herself, flustered—and it had felt like she was the one who wasn’t in her right mind.

Why hadn’t she realized sooner why her face had flushed so hot back then?

If she had known her feelings earlier… would things be different now?

Would she not be here tonight, agonizing with the engagement set to dissolve at midnight?

“This look—”

Aivert’s voice suddenly cut through her thoughts.

She lifted her gaze slightly and met his narrowed blue eyes.

“Doesn’t look like you’re thinking about work.”

He tilted his head, considering, then asked softly, “What are you thinking about?”

…Could he see right into her head through her eyes?

The thought felt absurd, but his accuracy startled her.

Rodella stammered, flustered.

“N-no, not work. Just… thinking about someone.”

“Who?”

“Someone. A person.”

But Aivert, as though sensing something, pressed sharply, “Man, or woman?”

Why did his eyes feel so heated when he asked?

“…A man.”

At her reluctant answer, his smile vanished.

“Who?”

There was unmistakable displeasure in his tone, as though anger simmered beneath.

“That—”

“You tend to think too complicated. Is it Duke Benerix? Or maybe—”

He looked ready to list every man she knew.

‘Why on earth would I be thinking about Duke Benerix?!’

Rodella panicked and blurted out without thinking: “You! You, okay?!”

Aivert froze.

“…”

“…”

Awkward silence filled the air.

Rodella wanted nothing more than to bury her face in her hands.

She could feel her cheeks burning.

“What were you thinking?”

“…About Sir Diepelt?”

“Ho ho.”

“Or perhaps Sir Rédiel?”

The words of a certain pair—mocking them back then in the Chancellor, always whispering “What are you thinking? Each other, huh?”—flashed in her mind.

How was this any different?

What are you thinking?

You.

Aaagh!

Her face blazed even hotter, and she rushed to cover, blurting—

“No, I was just thinking about the time we first got chained together!”

“The chains are still here.”

Aivert lifted his arm, and with a jingle, the silver links gleamed.

“I mean before…”

Before—when she definitely hadn’t been in her right mind.

But… wasn’t she just the same now?

Rodella faltered, then gave up.

“Anyway, let’s eat before it gets cold.”

She buried her face in her plate.

Aivert’s laughter broke out beside her.

She couldn’t even bring herself to guess what he thought she meant, how he had taken her words.

She simply squeezed her eyes shut, her ears burning.

Ughhh!

But at least—he didn’t look displeased.