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Chapter 46
I Can’t Tell You This!
“…Could it be that the person I’m thinking of is the one you’re referring to?”
As I asked with a nervous bead of sweat rolling down my neck, Jacques only smiled faintly in response. That alone was enough to tell me my guess was correct.
“The closer the contact, the greater the amount of mana you can absorb.”
“Th–That’s…!”
It sounded ridiculous—but I had felt something strange before.
When I tried to use magic against the assassin and suffered from mana exhaustion, that crushing pain in my heart—
“When Cedar hugged me, the pain disappeared like a lie…”
And it hadn’t been just once. Twice now. Too much to be called a coincidence.
As I recalled that moment, a nervous sweat trickled down my temple again, and Jacques smiled knowingly.
“It seems something just came to mind, yes?”
What on earth is this elf imagining?! My face turned crimson as I waved my hands frantically.
“It—it was an accident! I was being attacked by an assassin! And it wasn’t even that close! Just—just like this, our hands barely—!”
“So, even with that small contact, you experienced a clear effect?”
“Th–that…”
As a mage, I couldn’t bring myself to lie about something that had clearly happened. My face only grew redder and redder as I stood there, unable to deny or confirm.
Jacques, unbothered by my flustered state, calmly gave me one last push.
“Then perhaps, next time, you should try a kiss.”
“……!”
A—A kiss?!
That was something I had never even imagined!
My lips just opened and closed wordlessly like a broken doll’s, my mind completely frozen. Jacques chuckled softly, then bowed politely and stepped away.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
The instant Jacques opened the parlor door to leave, Grisha entered. He frowned slightly upon seeing my bright red face.
“What were you talking about to make you blush like that?”
“T-that’s…”
Grisha was the person I trusted most in this world.
But still—
“…I can’t tell you.”
Nope. I absolutely can’t tell him this!
The apprentice seamstress was trembling as she carried a tray, when suddenly—she tripped.
No! The expensive glass!
Serving drinks to customers visiting the boutique wasn’t originally her job.
But today, both the shop owner and the employees were so busy that even the apprentices, who were usually kept sewing in the back, had been called out to help.
The glass alone cost nearly as much as her monthly pay, and as it toppled, the blood drained from her face.
She lunged to catch it—thankfully, the glass didn’t break.
But the cold drink inside splashed everywhere.
And when she saw whose dress it had spilled on, her heart dropped.
“M-Miss, I’m so sorry!”
The victim was none other than Lady Diana Fairway, the infamous baron’s daughter known for mistreating anyone beneath her.
Diana flicked back her thick golden hair with annoyance and lifted one foot.
The hem of her skirt rose slightly, revealing a faint stain where the drink had splashed.
Though the mark was small, her delicate face contorted in irritation. Her red lips curled into a sharp, disdainful sneer.
“If you know you’ll be sorry, then don’t do things you’ll be sorry for.”
“I–I didn’t mean to, my lady…”
“Oh? And does that make your mistake disappear?”
“Please forgive me, my lady!”
The apprentice threw herself flat on the floor, trembling. Normally, Diana wouldn’t hesitate to strike her directly, but there were too many eyes in the boutique today.
Still, she wasn’t about to let it slide. She gestured for her maid to take the girl outside to the carriage.
The maid gave the trembling girl a sympathetic look but obeyed silently.
Diana sighed and examined her manicured nails.
“I don’t know why everyone has been getting on my nerves lately.”
Nothing was going right.
The spies she had stationed near the mansion only reported that Grisha and some knights from the Azure Dragon Order came and went frequently.
And now, apparently, the gate had broken—so everyone was hopping over the wall to get in and out.
After a whole week of observation, she hadn’t gotten anything useful.
Diana pouted.
“They said they saw a small woman… maybe they were mistaken?”
No matter how much of a homebody someone was, no one stayed indoors for an entire week without leaving even once.
And now that she knew who Grisha really was, it made sense that he would be going to and from the Azure Dragon Knights’ residence.
“Grisha Grenitte, the second son of Duke Grenitte… no wonder I didn’t recognize him—he left for the Academy so young.”
A mage and of noble blood. The more she learned, the more alluring he became.
The only thing holding her back was the fact that he was the younger brother of the man she originally had her sights on—Sir Cedar Grenitte.
Diana had little sense of shame, but seducing both brothers would be going too far, even for her.
“Who’s more likely to inherit the dukedom? Cedar, obviously—he’s the eldest. But a mage is tempting too…”
Neither man had ever shown her any interest, yet she pondered over them as if choosing between jewelry.
And why not? She was popular, after all.
“I already have my barony. My husband doesn’t have to bring a title—but being a duchess does sound better.”*
Her mind was leaning toward Cedar when, as if by fate, she spotted a tall man with black hair commanding the attention of the boutique staff.
Her eyes sparkled. She rose gracefully and approached him.
“Oh my, Sir Cedar! It’s been so long.”
Cedar’s cool, distant gaze flicked briefly toward her before sliding away again. His reply was curt.
“Ah.”
That was it. Just one syllable.
Diana’s perfectly drawn eyebrows twitched.
“Really? That’s all you can say when a beauty like me greets you? You could at least pretend to be polite.”
She was used to men fawning over her—telling her she’d grown even lovelier since their last meeting.
So his indifferent attitude grated on her.
She wanted to scold him right then and there, but she swallowed her irritation.
His background made him far too valuable to antagonize.
“Well, easy men aren’t interesting anyway.”
She could forgive his arrogance if it meant becoming the future Duchess of Grenitte.
With that thought, Diana smiled sweetly and stepped closer.
“What brings you to the boutique today, Sir Cedar?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your concern.”
“If you tell me who the gift is for, I can help you choose something suitable.”
“I don’t need help.”
Even as she tried to make polite conversation, Cedar sliced each word cleanly and coldly.
Diana’s smile stiffened. Her eyes darted to the dresses the attendants behind him were carrying.
It was a women’s boutique, so of course they were women’s clothes—but they were… peculiar.
Short, frilly, covered in ribbons and lace—bright, colorful, and childishly cute.
The sort of thing Diana hadn’t worn since she was ten. Her lips twisted.
“What the…? Is he secretly raising a little girl or something?”
Her eyes narrowed as she studied his handsome profile.
He looked strong and masculine, yet here he was buying little girl’s clothes by himself?
Instant deduction: major loss of points.
“I don’t care how handsome you are—if you have an illegitimate child, you’re out.”
Men with bastards weren’t exactly rare, but Diana wasn’t about to marry one.
And Cedar himself had once been born a bastard, only later recognized as a legitimate heir of the Grenitte family.
Which meant he might sympathize with such children… and decide to take one in.
With that thought, she mentally crossed him off her list. Her expression soured.
Pettily, she asked,
“By the way, how’s my sister doing these days?”
“……”
Cedar, who had been walking past her, stopped and turned back.
Diana smiled meaningfully and leaned in to whisper,
“Don’t forget our contract. That’s all I want from you.”
Just give me the inheritance money and be done with it.
At her words, Cedar’s face hardened like stone. Diana pouted.
“What’s that look for? Don’t tell me he’s suddenly grown greedy for the inheritance?”
Then Cedar took a step closer. His sudden movement made her instinctively recoil.
“I realized there was something I never asked about the contract back then.”
His voice was low, heavy.
Their eyes met, and Diana froze. His silver-gray eyes gleamed coldly.
“After I hand over the inheritance to you… what happens to your sister?”
For a moment, Diana blinked in confusion—then scoffed.
“Oh, do whatever you like. If you need a wife in name only, just let her live until you die. After that, handle it however you wish. Honestly, being buried in the Grenitte family tomb would be far better for her than the Fairway plot. We don’t even have a proper estate, so she’d end up in a church graveyard otherwise.”
Cedar’s lips curved in a thin smile, though his eyes didn’t soften.
Diana frowned. “Why are you smiling?”
Then his next words froze her in place.
“Because you’ve been watching the Azure Dragon Order’s estate so diligently, I wondered if maybe your sisterly affection had suddenly rekindled.”
Her heart lurched.
She had thought he hadn’t noticed—after all, he’d shown no reaction the whole time she’d been having his mansion watched.
But now she realized: he had known all along, and simply chosen to ignore it.
Still, she told herself stubbornly,
“He might know he’s being watched, but he doesn’t know who it was.”
After all, Cedar Grenitte had more than enough people keeping an eye on him these days.
And with Grisha Grenitte’s recent return to the capital, it would make far more sense for him to suspect someone else entirely.
