TMST 48

Chapter 48

“There’s something I need to say to Arken, but it’s not something I can say here.”

Caught off guard, Karin stammered and failed to continue. The Duke’s eyes narrowed sharply, his expression growing even more suspicious.

“Now that I think about it, you two have been spending a lot of time together lately.”

Karin’s face turned pale. She could already predict what he was about to say.

‘What’s going on between the two of you?’

‘Are you in a relationship?’

‘Does the young lady have feelings for my aide?’

It was probably going to be one of those three.

Then she would panic, her face would turn bright red, and everyone present would find out who she liked.

It wouldn’t necessarily be bad if Arken learned the truth. She was planning to tell him by the end of the day anyway.

But she absolutely could not reveal it while the Duke was sitting right in front of her!

Being exposed as someone who liked Arken in front of the Duke was something she didn’t want to experience even in her nightmares.

Just imagining it made her head spin and her stomach churn.

Having to endure the Duke’s teasing every time they met afterward was one thing, but Arken could end up feeling uncomfortable too.

From his perspective, it would practically be the same as hearing a public confession.

Karin, who absolutely hated those public confessions with heart-shaped candles lining the street, never wanted Arken to go through something like that.

Just as she was wringing her brain dry trying to figure out how to escape the situation, Iris, who had been quietly observing from the side, suddenly jumped in.

“Ah, I should head home! If I’m too late, my father will worry.”

Everyone’s attention immediately shifted to Iris. Even the Duke forgot what he had been about to say and turned toward her.

Looking at Karin, Iris gave her a knowing glance.

Karin responded by raising both thumbs from her clenched fists in gratitude.

It’s amazing how perceptive she can be at times. Iris’s tendency to miss obvious things clearly worked on a selective basis.

“I’ll escort you.”

Even though Iris had been speaking directly to the Duke, Arken stepped forward and volunteered instead.

“Duke Lucas, you’ll take her home, right?”

Pretending not to hear Arken at all, Iris addressed the Duke.

This time she deliberately emphasized the words ‘Duke Lucas.’

Since Iris was going that far, Karin couldn’t remain silent either.

“I’ll wait here. Iris can be escorted by the Duke.”

If Iris had driven in the nail, Karin hammered it down without hesitation.

“I’ll be back shortly.”

Faced with pressure from both of them, even the Duke had no choice. He rose from his seat to escort Iris.

Iris quickly took the lead and left the drawing room.

A short while later—

Only Karin and Arken remained.

Thanks to Iris, not only had the crisis been avoided, but Karin had also managed to secure some alone time with him.

The next time they met, she definitely needed to thank her.

Can I finally relax now?

Arken watched the direction the Duke had gone before reaching for his teacup.

Karin was absentmindedly admiring the sight of him lifting the cup while nibbling on a cookie.

After taking a sip, he turned his gaze toward her.

“Did you have something you wished to say to me?”

Oops.

She had been so focused on the Duke that she had forgotten Arken was an actual person.

Naturally, after she’d been staring at him nonstop, he’d wonder why.

And this time there was no one around to save her.

Moistening her dry lips with her tongue, Karin desperately searched for something to say.

Should I just confess right now?

They were alone in a quiet place, so the atmosphere was certainly right.

However, the Duke would probably return within ten minutes after dropping Iris off.

If he came back in the middle of her confession, things would become extremely awkward.

So she decided to postpone the confession a little longer.

What she needed right now was an excuse.

What should she say?

In that brief moment, Karin squeezed every last drop from her overworked brain.

Fortunately, an idea came to her almost immediately.

“When are you going to return the clothes I lent you?”

The thought had come to her while looking at the crisp white collar of his shirt.

On the day of the torrential rain, Karin had lent both Iris and Arken a change of clothes.

The clothes she’d lent Iris had been returned the very next day through a servant from Count Shunen’s household.

But she couldn’t remember ever getting Arken’s back.

“Ah.”

Arken parted his lips slightly, as if the thought had never crossed his mind.

No matter how intelligent he was, he was still human. Even he forgot things occasionally.

“I’ll go retrieve them right now.”

“I’ll come with you. It’s boring being alone.”

Karin immediately got to her feet and followed him.

Operation successful.

A confession while walking together through a cozy hallway didn’t sound bad either.

Matching her pace to his, she walked beside him.

Perhaps because it was late in the evening, most of the corridor lamps had been extinguished, leaving the hall dimly lit.

Karin carefully sorted through what she wanted to say.

She could confess immediately, but first she wanted to set the mood.

“By the way, earlier I noticed you didn’t eat any cookies… Do you not like cookies?”

The question was partly to lighten the atmosphere and partly to satisfy her curiosity.

She’d been wondering why he hadn’t eaten any.

Surely there wasn’t some tragic backstory attached to cookies like there had been with those earrings.

If there was, the mood would immediately become gloomy again.

“I don’t like sweet things.”

Fortunately, his reason was perfectly ordinary.

So that’s why.

Those cookies had been loaded with sweet chocolate chips, after all.

She had never really seen him eating anything in the original story, so she’d never known he disliked sweets.

She should remember that.

Karin mentally wrote it down.

Dislikes sweets.

“Then what do you like?”

Now that she knew what he disliked, she wanted to know what he enjoyed.

But Arken placed a hand on his chin and fell silent.

Even in the dim light, his expression looked surprisingly thoughtful.

Did he really have to think that hard about his favorite food?

Wasn’t that the sort of thing people answered immediately?

When he still didn’t respond, Karin revised the question.

“Then what was the best thing you’ve eaten recently?”

Apparently that was easier.

He lowered his hand from his chin.

“If I had to choose one thing, the shrimp cocktail you gave me before was fairly good.”

So he likes shrimp cocktail!

Karin grinned broadly.

I knew my instincts were right!

At Iris’s party, when he’d tasted the shrimp cocktail, he had definitely looked pleased.

Granted, all he’d done afterward was swallow it and mutter, ‘Not bad.’

But Arken wasn’t exactly someone who expressed himself honestly.

As Karin smiled happily to herself, he spoke again.

“You asked what food I like earlier.”

Oh? So he’d finally figured it out.

Karin held her breath and listened carefully.

“I think I like shrimp.”

Shrimp!

Karin immediately wrote it across the very first page of her mental notebook in giant letters.

Likes shrimp.

Karin loved shrimp too.

Before possessing this body, people had practically called her a shrimp addict.

The fact that he liked the same food made her incredibly happy.

And she felt strangely proud, as though she’d helped him discover a favorite food.

“Next time you visit my house, I’ll make sure they prepare all kinds of shrimp dishes for you.”

The moment she got home, she was going to hire a chef who specialized in shrimp cuisine.

Then she’d invite Arken over and let him eat as much shrimp as he wanted.

Just imagining him happily munching away on shrimp made her smile.

“Then I’ll have to find some excuse to visit.”

He laughed lightly as he joked.

It was a shame the corridor was so dark.

She couldn’t see his smiling face.

As he laughed, the atmosphere became far gentler than before.

This was it.

The perfect mood for a confession.

Karin cleared her throat, carefully persuaded her tongue to cooperate, and slowly opened her mouth.

“I have one more thing I’m curious about.”

“You certainly have a lot of questions today. Go ahead.”

“This one… I’m genuinely, honestly curious about.”

For once, her tongue obeyed.

“Do you happen to have someone you like?”

The moment the question left her lips, Arken stopped walking.

His face turned toward her.

Whether he was surprised or flustered, he didn’t say anything.

If only she could see his expression, she could at least prepare herself.

But the darkness concealed his face, making the silence unbearable.

Her heart pounded violently.

“What if your aide likes you too? Maybe he’s been too afraid of rejection to say anything.”

Iris’s words echoed in her mind.

Drawing on that courage one last time, Karin spoke.

“I do…”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart felt as though it would burst right out of her chest.

“The person I like is…”

To hell with it.

Just as Karin was about to say his name—

“You like me.”

The refined voice came from above her.

Karin stopped breathing.

“You like me.”

The refined voice came from above her.

Karin stopped breathing.

“And I like you too, My Lady.”

He said it with a bright, gentle smile.