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Chapter 10
Despite Karin’s suggestion and Iris’s attempt to stop him, the duke stubbornly refused to change his clothes to the very end. Karin didn’t feel like persuading him anymore, and it didn’t seem like he would listen anyway, so she simply stopped caring.
Just then, Marie came to add firewood to the fireplace, and Iris followed her to the women’s dressing room. As for who Arken followed—well, that hardly needed to be said.
‘Yes, this is great.’
She could have called another maid to take care of Arken, but that was out of the question. After all, how could she give up such a hard-earned opportunity?
The men’s dressing room was on the top floor of the mansion. As she climbed the stairs, she could hear steady footsteps behind her. Just thinking that Arken was following her made her heart pound.
She felt like she could climb stairs like this forever.
When they reached the top floor, Karin unlocked the door and stepped inside. Arken followed behind her.
“This one’s too big… and this one’s too short.”
She opened random wardrobes, checking if there were any clothes that might fit him, but since Duke Tricia had a rather plump build, it wasn’t easy to find something that suited Arken.
She repeatedly held clothes up against him and pulled them away. Eventually, Karin decided it would be better to check another wardrobe.
Spotting one nearby, she happily approached it—when his voice came from behind.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
His tone wasn’t just displeased—it carried a hint of resentment. Karin froze with her hand on the drawer.
‘Who do you think I’m doing this for?’
She felt a little hurt that he didn’t understand her feelings.
Fine, she hadn’t told him she was trying to save him, so it made sense he didn’t know that. But even so, he wasn’t even considering the possibility that she liked him. That bothered her.
‘But I told him I liked him when we first met!’
Did he still think she was joking? Or did he dislike her so much that he didn’t even want to consider that possibility?
The thought made her feel even more upset.
Still, Karin gathered her strength. Trying to lighten the awkward mood, she asked playfully,
“You’d prefer it if I just left you alone, right?”
“Yes.”
How cruel. There wasn’t even a moment of hesitation in his answer. It stung.
“I didn’t really have a choice. Like I said earlier, if we didn’t want the carpet to get wet…”
She started making excuses but then stopped.
Ah, whatever. He’s smart—he probably figured it out already.
“You were soaked. How could I just ignore that?”
“The Duke Lucas was also soaked.”
Well, that was true. Karin closed her mouth, then recalled the excuse she had used earlier and reused it.
She couldn’t exactly say she disliked the duke in front of Arken, who worked for him.
“The duke was sitting by the fireplace.”
“Your friend was also completely soaked.”
He emphasized “completely.”
“Iris dried herself off with a blanket. You just stood there holding one… Anyway, that’s the difference. Ah, I found it! This should fit perfectly.”
At this point, Karin herself wasn’t sure what she was saying anymore. She was about to awkwardly trail off when she found a properly sized shirt and trousers, neatly wrapping up her rambling.
“Here, take it.”
As she handed him the clothes and met his face, her breath caught.
There was a saying—men look their best when they’re wet.
His pale, white skin looked freshly washed, glowing softly. His lips, likely damp from the rain, looked irresistibly moist. Droplets clung to the edges of his glasses, making her want to wipe them away.
His soaked clothes clung tightly to his body, revealing his slender waistline. His shoulders weren’t too broad or too narrow—just right for holding someone in an embrace.
His fine blond hair, hanging to his shoulders, clung together messily, almost like he had been sweating.
She felt a strange mix of guilt and something else she couldn’t quite name.
When he let out a quiet sigh, Karin finally snapped back to her senses.
“…Aren’t you going to leave?”
“Oh! Right, I should go. I got distracted for a moment.”
Karin hurried out of the room. The moment she stepped outside, the door slammed shut behind her.
‘Would it kill him to say thank you?!’
Not only did he not thank her, he slammed the door shut.
Well… she had been staring at him, so she was partly at fault.
‘But he’s exactly my type.’
Karin lingered by the door, replaying the moment in her mind. It should be fine to relive it in her head, right?
With a grin creeping across her face, she replayed the scene again—only for Arken to come out sooner than expected. Caught off guard, she found herself facing him again.
With his damp hair and fresh clothes, he looked like someone who had just stepped out of a shower.
‘I want to take a picture and hang it on the wall…’
Of course, in this world, there was no such thing as photography, so it remained just a fantasy.
As she stared absentmindedly at his face, he raised a hand and lightly brushed his lips.
‘What is he doing? Oh.’
“There’s nothing on your face. I was just looking.”
He let out a deep sigh, looking as exhausted as if he had stayed up all night.
‘Sorry. I’ll be more careful.’
Karin pulled herself together. If this continued, her plan to slowly get closer without being noticed would fall apart.
No matter how much he was her type, she needed to control herself.
“Let’s go.”
Arken walked past her and down the corridor. Karin quickly followed, walking beside him with a bright smile.
“Let’s go,” he said! She felt so moved she could almost cry.
He spoke first—and it seemed like he had lowered his guard a little. Her heart raced uncontrollably.
‘A handsome young mage… I’ll definitely make you mine.’
Ah—she almost forgot. Of course, that also included saving him by uncovering his secret. That was the most important part. Him being a mage was as certain as anything.
Wait… suddenly, something occurred to Karin.
To begin with, it made no sense that Duke Lucas, Arken, and Iris had all gotten soaked in the rain.
‘Arken is a mage!’
Not just any mage—he was a top graduate from the kingdom’s finest academy. So why was he getting drenched in the rain?
This was unacceptable. She had to ask.
“Um, can I ask you something?”
She added a bit of cushioning, just in case.
“Yes.”
Unexpectedly, he agreed readily. Maybe this meant he had lowered his guard?
…Judging by his stiff expression, maybe not.
Afraid he might change his mind, Karin hurried to ask,
“You’re a mage, right? Can’t you create something like a barrier to block the rain?”
“I can.”
“Then why didn’t you? You wouldn’t have gotten soaked like this.”
If he had used magic to avoid the rain, they wouldn’t have come to the mansion in the first place. She felt conflicted.
Should she prefer him staying dry—or having moments like this alone with him?
It wasn’t an easy choice. Ah, focus.
“So… why didn’t you use magic?”
“….”
Unlike before, he remained silent.
Did he not hear her? Karin stopped talking and glanced up at him.
For some reason, he looked gloomy.
His downcast blue eyes seemed empty, like an old well. She had seen that look before.
‘When that mustached guy picked a fight with him.’
“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”
Maybe there was some story behind it. Even if she had read the original work thoroughly, she didn’t know everything about him.
After all, she had only learned about his death through exchanging notes with the author.
“My mana is depleted.”
Just when she had given up expecting an answer, he spoke.
“Ah… I see.”
That seemed like too simple a reason to hesitate over. It felt like a lie, but Karin chose not to press further.
Maybe later, when they became closer and she learned his secret, she would naturally understand why he hadn’t used magic.
“Karin!”
At that moment, Iris called out to her brightly, scattering her thoughts. Looking down over the railing, she saw Iris and the duke sitting across from each other at a table.
Iris, now in dry clothes, waved enthusiastically. The duke, on the other hand, looked like he had a lot to say as he stared at her.
In truth, everyone except Iris felt the same—they had much to say but held it in, worried that being honest might shock her.
‘Hopefully I’m not the reason those two don’t end up together.’
The duke’s expression looked more like someone who had gotten into trouble than someone in love.
“Hurry up! What are you doing?”
Thankfully, Iris didn’t seem to notice anything.
Seeing her wave so energetically made Karin shudder at the thought of enduring more awkwardness.
Arken seemed to feel the same—he stopped midway down the stairs.
Still, they had to go. Karin shook her head and continued down, sitting beside Iris, diagonally across from the duke.
“Arkenas, come sit as well.”
This time, Arken couldn’t avoid it. At the duke’s call, he sat beside him. An uncomfortable silence followed.
Karin twisted her hair nervously and looked out the window. The rain had lessened, but it didn’t seem like it would stop anytime soon.
They couldn’t just sit like this forever. She decided she’d stay for a while, then excuse herself by saying she was tired. That would be better for both the duke and Arken.
“Doesn’t it feel like we’re having a tea party?”
As if unaware of everyone’s mood, Iris smiled brightly after sipping her tea.
‘A tea party? The atmosphere is way too gloomy for that…’
Boom—crash.
Thunder rumbled through the dark, cloud-filled sky.
Moreover, neither the duke nor Arken had even touched their tea. The duke stared out the window, while Arken sat with his hands clasped, head lowered.
It felt like a waste of tea. Marie must have worked hard to prepare it. Thinking she should at least drink it, Karin picked up the teapot.
“Karin, pour me a cup too.”
Iris held out her cup, and Karin obediently filled it.
But there was an unusual excitement on Iris’s face. Karin had a bad feeling.
“You know, when a group gathers like this, there’s something I’ve always wanted to try…”
As Karin heard her next words, she froze, as if hypnotized. At the same time, both the duke and Arken turned to look at Iris.
“Let’s play Twenty Questions!”
A heavy silence fell.
