THSMW 38

chapter 38

When Siegfried reached out again, as if he had noticed my reddened face, I instinctively slapped his hand away.

He flinched and looked down at his hand, now frozen mid-air.

“…Did you hate it that much?”

Siegfried asked with downcast eyes. His shadowed face looked a little somber.

I had never pushed him away like that before. Had I hurt his feelings? I studied his expression.

“It’s not that I hated it…”

“Then what is it? No, forget it.”

Maybe I’d gone too far with someone who even gave up grapes for me. Siegfried sat back down next to me and covered his face with his hand. I dragged my chair closer to him with a scraping noise.

“I was just surprised, that’s all. It wasn’t because I hated it.”

“You can be honest. You already told me you didn’t like me.”

He still wouldn’t look at me. It wasn’t that I slapped him away because I disliked him… I was just startled because for a second, I saw the adult Siegfried in him, and my heart raced.

“I said I was taking that back, remember?”

I leaned toward him. Even though his eyes were covered, he seemed to feel my presence because his shoulders twitched.

“And why did you suddenly eat something off someone else’s lips like that? I was saving that to eat later.”

“…I didn’t know that.”

Of course he didn’t. I was just making that up anyway. I hadn’t even realized something was on my lips.

“So like last time, let’s cancel what just happened. I didn’t mean to push Your Highness away either.”

“Alright, let’s do that.”

Honestly, I expected Siegfried to be a bit more upset. So when he immediately lifted his head as if he had been waiting, I was dumbfounded.

“Oh, by the way. You still haven’t told me what vision you saw under hypnosis, have you?”

Why bring that up now? Especially after I had just seen Siegfried as an adult in my head.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

Not like I was obligated to answer anyway. Maybe I unconsciously considered the novel’s version of Siegfried my ideal type. If he found out, I’d die of embarrassment.

I had blatantly told him he was too young and not attractive to me. But the one I saw in the vision… was him as an adult. That stung my pride.

“You’re lying. I remember mine clearly. So do the other nobles—they said it’s something you never forget once you see it.”

“…”

Why did he research this so thoroughly? I was starting to get flustered.

Siegfried tilted his head slightly, staring intently at me. Trying to charm me again, huh? Did he think I’d fall for that? Not this time. I quickly turned my head to avoid looking at his ridiculously good-looking face.

“Are you really not going to tell me?”

Then Siegfried spun my chair toward him as if to say, ‘Don’t even think about looking elsewhere.’

“I asked if you’re not going to tell me.”

He leaned forward and looked up at me. He definitely knew how effective his face was from this angle.

“…W-Why do I have to tell you? Of course, I saw my ideal type.”

“Then who was it?”

“How would I know? It could’ve been a made-up person.”

“No way. I saw you. The married nobles saw their spouses. The rest saw their lovers… Well, one of them saw you. Why did you show up in other people’s visions and not mine?”

Siegfried suddenly stopped talking, seemingly upset. The veins on the back of his clenched fist stood out blue and stark.

“Why are you asking me that?”

Blame the Sirens, not me. Though I guess my irresistible charm played a part. Maybe they just really like me. Not my fault.

How could I escape this conversation?

I racked my brain. But Siegfried didn’t even give me time to think.

“So who did you see? You’re the only one not saying, which is suspicious.”

“I saw a handsome man. My ideal type, very good-looking. You know the kind.”

“Better looking than me?”

“Hmm… Yeah.”

Since he was way more dashing than current Siegfried, I figured it was okay to say that. I nodded.

Siegfried frowned slightly. He had no idea the person I saw was actually him.

“I guarantee you—there’s no man you’ve met more handsome than me.”

“Well, yeah, of course. The one I saw was grown-up Si—”

“Grown-up Si—?”

Crap. I almost praised Siegfried’s future looks out loud. I quickly shut my mouth.

But there was no way to take back what I had already said. Siegfried gestured with his chin, telling me to continue.

“Grown-up Si?”

“Grown-up Si… Si… Siiiilkworm… Wiggling…”

“…”

“…”

Who in the world’s ideal type is a silkworm? That was nonsense, even for me. I added the wiggling part, hoping it’d help, but Siegfried’s expression stayed cold.

Saying it was a joke somehow felt like it’d only make things worse. I sank into self-loathing.

“So you think I’m a silkworm now?”

“No! Of course not. Wait—how did you…?”

How did he figure out I saw adult Siegfried in the vision? I looked at him in shock. By then, he was already resting his chin on the table, smiling smugly.

“I just threw it out there. But you really did see me?”

“…”

So he just said it as a guess… and I walked straight into it. My mouth hung open in shock.

“I see. Your ideal type is grown-up me. I guess I better work on growing up fast.”

Siegfried smiled with twinkling violet eyes. Even though it was a dazzlingly beautiful smile, in that moment, I found him incredibly annoying.

I swore I wouldn’t tell him…!

Knock knock.

“Miss Ariel Vera Elifritz. Are you in?”

It was early morning. Someone knocked on the door from outside. I stood up, having been packing with the help of the inn’s staff.

“What is it?”

I opened the door. The man who had come was a well-dressed middle-aged gentleman.

“Ah, good morning. I’m Kabil, the owner of Corte Farm.”

“Oh, yes. The grapes yesterday were delicious. Thank you.”

I smiled, greeting him. Despite some embarrassing moments, yesterday had been a lovely day.

“I misspoke. I should’ve said former owner.”

“Oh… I see. So what brings you here?”

Why was he introducing himself so early in the morning? I still had to pack and go downstairs, so I just nodded absentmindedly.

“Well, because the new owner of the farm is you, Lady Ariel. I’m here to greet you as the previous owner.”

“…Huh?”

“I plan to continue working here, of course. If that’s alright with you.”

“Pardon?”

I blinked, caught off guard. Huh? What was this guy talking about?

“D-Do you have the deed?”

“Of course. That’s why I’m here.”

The man chuckled and pulled out a rolled-up document. My hands trembled slightly as I unrolled it. At the top, in large letters, was unmistakably my name.

“Please sign at the bottom.”

He held out a pen naturally. I was about to sign, stunned, but quickly came to my senses.

“Please wait a moment. I need to confirm something before I sign.”

“Of course.”

He nodded. I handed back the document and pen and rushed downstairs.

There weren’t many people near the front entrance—most were probably at breakfast. I hurried down another floor to the dining area.

“Good morning, Lady Ariel.”

“Viscount, where’s His Highness the Prince?”

As soon as I entered, Viscount Cariel greeted me. He stood in my way, blocking my view.

“He’s over there, next to Abyssion.”

I immediately dashed over to Siegfried, who was sitting with Abyssion and several others. When he noticed me, he lifted his head.

“Your Highness, what have you done?!”

I rubbed my flushed cheeks and yelled. There was only one person in my life who would pull something this outrageous overnight—Siegfried.

Corte village wasn’t part of any southern territory, so the farm was self-managed.

One bunch of grapes was 500 erks—the price of an entire dress.

So how much must the land that grew those grapes be worth? I was the daughter of a count, but having grown up in the countryside, I couldn’t even guess.

If it were an amount easily purchased, Abyssion would have gifted it to me long ago. The fact that he hadn’t meant it was incredibly expensive.

“You must’ve liked it. Now I know how to flaunt my wealth.”

Siegfried smiled proudly, his violet eyes sparkling like gemstones, as if waiting for praise.

“N-No…! Even so, this is…”

“Was it not enough? Should I have bought the whole village?”

“No! That’s not what I meant!”

“Then how about expanding the farm?”

That… didn’t actually sound too bad…?