VNC 38

“Seriously. Eselian isn’t the kind of guy who’d do something like that.”

The moment they got far enough away from the alley, Merchelli shouted out. Naiven also couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed with his own eyes.

Merchelli kicked a bottle rolling on the ground, as if he wanted to gouge the sight he’d just seen out of his memory.

“No, seriously—who would’ve thought Eselian would be hiding in a pile of trash looking like that?!”

“You insisted on checking for yourself. Serves you right.”

“Hah! This isn’t someone else’s problem, you know?”

“I think we should stop here. Eselian noticed us.”

This had to end as nothing more than an accidental encounter.

They still hadn’t forgotten that Eselian had once tried to shoot them.

And if he were to find out that they had attempted to kidnap the Grand Duchess again this time—

‘It might not end with just a warning.’

Whether Eselian would even believe it was a coincidence was doubtful, but for now, waiting for another opportunity was the far wiser decision.

Shuddering, they climbed back into the carriage.

‘Now it’s awkward….’

Shuwen kept fidgeting with her hands.

She’d been fine before they kissed, but after the kiss, she was so embarrassed she felt like dying.

She was so ashamed she wanted to crawl into a mouse hole and hide.

The moment their lips parted and she came back to her senses, Shuwen immediately tried to pull away from him.

But as though Eselian didn’t want to let her go, he gently drew her in by the waist and held her.

Too embarrassed to look at his face, Shuwen simply stayed in his embrace.

But then she became aware of the chin resting on her shoulder, and the hand wrapped around her waist. Her fingertips kept curling in on themselves.

‘Have I lost my mind?’

This wasn’t even her first kiss with Eselian, so why was she this embarrassed? Thinking that it wasn’t like anything would wear down from kissing, she felt foolish for agreeing so quickly.

Today’s kiss had felt different from the one in the bridal chamber.

It wasn’t the kind of kiss that overwhelmed her and stole away her breath. It had been slow and leisurely.

And unlike then, today she had been completely sober.

Eselian lowered his eyes and looked at her trembling back. Her small hands hanging below were curled tightly.

“You must have been startled, my lady. Are you alright?”

“Yes. Huh?”

“Since someone suddenly started tailing us.”

The hand that had been slowly moving upward to push him away froze.

“I was a little surprised, but I’m alright. I had expected something like this to happen eventually.”

“Expected it?”

“I know there are many people targeting me, so I’d already prepared myself to some extent. After all, aside from Her Majesty the Empress, I’m the only one with the cure.”

“You’re bolder and more thoughtful than I expected.”

“…That wasn’t an insult, was it?”

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, Shuwen placed her hand against Eselian’s chest once more.

Her fingertips pressed slightly against him.

“I think they’re gone now, so…”

Suddenly, Eselian let out a long sigh.

“I’m feeling dizzy….”

“T-Then let’s not go see the aurora today.”

That wasn’t the response he’d expected.

Slowly, he straightened the upper body he’d been leaning down with.

The moment his hand left her waist, Shuwen hurriedly jumped away.

“You wanted to see it so badly, my lady. Even if I collapse, I should still go see the aurora with you.”

“No. You don’t have to do that! Y-You probably need to speak with your benefactor too. I’m really fine.”

“But I’m not.”

Eselian’s eyes curved gently.

Shuwen, who had been meeting his gaze, found her eyes wandering across his face.

‘Ah, this is way too embarrassing.’

Separate from her embarrassment, she didn’t want a sick Eselian forcing himself to go see the aurora.

“Are you really alright? You don’t have to push yourself. I’m truly fine.”

Shuwen recalled their original purpose.

They were going to see the aurora for Eselian’s sake—to improve his mood.

There was no reason to force a sick person to stay out. She wanted to see the aurora, yes, but what mattered more than that was Eselian’s condition.

“I’m alright. Truly.”

Eselian took one of Shuwen’s hands. Grasping the edge of her glove, he slowly pulled it off, revealing her pale white hand. Then he brought it to rest against his forehead.

“My fever has mostly gone down, so there’s no need for my lady to worry. The dizziness is because of the illness.”

His forehead was still warm.

“So please don’t worry about me.”

Still unconvinced, Shuwen stared up at him silently.

“Right now, it only feels hot because of the warmth from your hand.”

“Ah. So now it’s because of my body temperature….”

Shuwen pulled her hand away and touched her own forehead before placing it against Eselian’s again. They felt similarly warm.

Embarrassed for no reason, she hurriedly put her glove back on.

She desperately kept her gaze fixed on his face, trying not to let it drift down to his lips. Then she abruptly turned away.

It was still too soon to let her guard down.

Awkward all by herself, Shuwen exited the alley.

She kept glancing back for no reason and even subtly pushed at Eselian’s back from beside him.

Fortunately, Eselian didn’t seem to pay much attention to it.

“I have a good idea.”

Walking warily, Shuwen suddenly thought of a clever plan.

She lightly tugged on Eselian’s collar and pulled him toward a costume shop that happened to be in sight.

Because of the upcoming festival, the shop doors were open.

Without even properly looking at the warmly welcoming shop owner, Shuwen rapidly darted her eyes around.

‘Something to cover his face….’

Leaving Eselian standing alone inside the shop, Shuwen busily rummaged through various costume items.

“H-Huh… I—”

“Shh.”

Just then, the owner recognized the Grand Duke and widened his eyes.

Eselian pressed a finger against his lips, signaling him to stay quiet.

Stopping the owner from hurriedly bowing with a raised hand, Eselian was soon dragged along by Shuwen into a fitting room.

“W-Wait! That fitting room is only for one person….”

By the time the owner came to his senses and muttered that, the fitting room door had already closed.

“It’s narrower than I thought… haha.”

The fitting room was cramped. Their bodies were practically pressed together.

‘Why is it so small?’

Grumbling inwardly, Shuwen flattened herself against the wall.

She piled the wigs and costume accessories she’d grabbed onto a large shelf. She’d taken so many things at random that it was overflowing.

Unfortunately, the blond wig was for women. Giving up on the idea of making him wear a wig, Shuwen rummaged through the heap of costume props and picked out a fake mustache.

“Let’s start with this. Put it on.”

Eselian stared at the fake mustache being thrust toward him with a baffled expression. He clearly couldn’t understand why she wanted him to wear it.

“If we want to shake them off, we have no choice. You have to pretend to be someone else and walk past.”

“…Hmm.”

“I’ll wear one too.”

With that, Shuwen picked up a smaller mustache than the one she’d handed Eselian and held it beneath her own nose.

“Doesn’t it seem like we already lost the people tailing us?”

“Even if it’s not those people, it’ll still be troublesome if Your Grace gets recognized by others.”

“It wouldn’t really be troublesome for me.”

“…To be exact, it would be troublesome for me.”

Even after she answered honestly, Eselian still looked dissatisfied.

“Just a moment….”

Shuwen rose onto her tiptoes. Balancing on the tips of her toes was difficult.

The heels of her tall boots wobbled dangerously. The unsteady heel narrowly missed stepping onto his military boots.

“…S-Sorry.”

The hand reaching upward suddenly paused.

Shuwen realized she had gotten closer to Eselian than necessary.

‘What was I thinking? I….’

Maybe it was because Eselian was sick. Or because she’d been excited to see the aurora. Or because she’d been distracted trying to shake off Merchelli’s pursuit.

She had even forgotten to be afraid of Eselian and had been acting comfortably around him.

The moment their eyes met, it felt as though someone had dumped ice water over her head, snapping her back to reality.

“My lady, why are you always apologizing?”

As she tried to step back, her foot slipped.

Eselian firmly caught her around the waist.

“….”

Suddenly, Shuwen’s feet left the ground. Her view rose, and soon all she could see was Eselian’s face.

Eselian sat Shuwen down on the wide shelf—large enough for a child to lie down on.

“You told me to follow your lead.”

The distance between their eyes became level.

“So put it on for me.”

He grasped Shuwen’s hand and pulled it toward himself. It was the hand holding the mustache.

His eyes, usually devoid of emotion, looked so gentle that it almost seemed like an illusion.

“Hm?”

It was strange.

The outside noises that had occasionally bumped against the door faded away. It felt as though only the two of them existed in the world.

And even stranger than that—

‘My heart is pounding so hard.’

—was Shuwen herself.

Her stomach churned like she was motion sick.

This feeling was unfamiliar.

When Shuwen frowned slightly, long fingers smoothed out the crease between her brows.

“Have you suddenly changed your mind?”

He raised one eyebrow slightly.

Only then did the wandering fragments of her mind return.

“N-No. Not at all.”

Shuwen thought she must have run around too much. After all, she had been running frantically earlier, so naturally her heart would be startled. Ever since childhood, her body had always been weak.

“I’ll put it on right now!”

Hurriedly, Shuwen applied glue to the mustache. Fortunately, it was adhesive that would come off after four hours.

Without realizing it, she squeezed the glue bottle too hard. A rather excessive amount came out, but Shuwen decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed.

“Don’t move.”

Carefully stretching the mustache out flat, Shuwen slowly brought it toward Eselian’s philtrum.

Afraid it might go on crooked, she meticulously checked the line of his lips and nose.

Then she lightly pressed the mustache into place.

“It’s almost done now….”

Even after that, she continued fidgeting for quite some time, trying to separate the mustache hairs that had clumped together because of the glue.

While concentrating intensely, Shuwen suddenly lifted her head.

Eselian watched as the Grand Duchess’s expression instantly transformed.

“Pfft…! Hahaha…!”

Her brows curved downward while the corners of her lips rose. She bit her lip, but she couldn’t stop the laughter escaping her.

Her eyes curved into crescents.

The lips she’d been trying so hard to keep shut finally parted.

“Is it funny?”

Eselian touched beneath his nose as though he truly didn’t understand what was so amusing.

Her laughter only grew louder.

“My lady shouldn’t be the only one enjoying such a sight. I should hurry and put one on you too.”

Arching a brow, Eselian picked up a comparatively smaller mustache.

“I’m not wearing one…!”

“You’re the one who suggested disguises, aren’t you?”

“I was mistaken—! Pfft, ah, sorry—hahaha!”

As Shuwen reflexively leaned her head back, a large hand caught the back of her neck.

Whoosh—their faces drew close.

“I’ll do something else instead!”

Shuwen desperately covered her philtrum with both hands.

Of course, Eselian easily removed them.

In the end, he successfully stuck the fake mustache onto Shuwen’s face.

Pouting, Shuwen touched beneath her nose and glared at him.

Then she burst out laughing again.

“Is it really that funny?”

“Yes… pfft, ah, I’m sorry. If you think it’s funny too, don’t hold back your laughter either, Your Grace.”

Shuwen awkwardly rubbed beneath her nose as she spoke. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t suppress her laughter.

As though infected by it, a smile bloomed at the corners of Eselian’s lips too.

“I only think my lady looks adorable.”

As if stealing the moment, he lightly pressed beneath Shuwen’s nose before pulling his hand away.

Then, without thinking, his gaze lifted toward the mirror decorating the wall behind her.

The smile tugging at his lips abruptly froze.

He raised a hand, covering his mouth as though hiding his expression.