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Chapter 11
“Ah! You scared me! When did you get here? I was startled.”
Blair, startled by the sudden appearance of her husband, who had been nowhere to be found, pretended to smooth her chest in relief. Despite her slightly scornful glance, there was an inexplicable hint of pleasure in her voice.
“Since you started singing that strange song and dancing? I just arrived a little while ago.”
Casel jumped lightly from a tall tree down into the garden. His face, after a long time apart, was etched with exhaustion—just like the first time they met.
“You saw all that, secretly? You have a surprisingly mischievous side.”
Blair, embarrassed that her unguarded excitement had been witnessed, pouted slightly.
“Mischievous… I don’t think that’s a word you should be using on me.”
Casel chuckled softly. He definitely remembered every single one of her quirks, even the ones no one else could see. Blair wished she could burrow into a tiny mouse hole and hide.
“Me? Why me? To someone as pure as I am? I really don’t understand the meaning of this.”
“….”
Blair said this without changing her expression. When she acted so shamelessly, Casel’s usually drowsy eyelids lifted slightly as he fixed his gaze on her.
“You don’t understand the meaning…”
“Why? Why do you look at me like that?”
“…Nothing. Has anything unusual happened while I was away?”
Blair’s defiant tone, full of the audacity of a seasoned merchant, made Casel retract his gaze and shift the topic. He first sat down on a bench and gestured lightly for Blair to join him.
‘Huh? Is he really just letting it go? I thought he’d tease me more.’
Still suspicious, Blair reluctantly sat down with a wary expression.
“Yes, nothing special happened. I just attended etiquette classes every day and spent the rest of the time tending the herb garden. How about you? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“As you can see, I’m fine. Though I might need a painkiller.”
“I brought a bottle of the medicine I made before, just in case. I’ll give it to you when we go inside.”
“Thank you. And I won’t forget the ‘payment’ either. We’ll settle that immediately.”
“Y-Yes?!”
Blair, having replied without thinking, jumped in shock. Somehow it had gone too smoothly. She relaxed for a moment, then felt like she’d been hit from behind.
“The payment we agreed on before.”
Unlike Blair, whose mind was in turmoil, Casel remained calm and motionless. There was nothing about him that suggested he was teasing her.
‘Stay calm, don’t show it. Just act naturally.’
Was he actually teasing her, or was it a coincidence? Unsure, Blair decided to act a bit bolder.
“Oh, that… You can give it slowly.”
“No. Let’s settle it immediately. My apothecary is very particular about ‘accounts.’”
‘This… he’s deliberately teasing me again! He is teasing me!’
Blair had always thought him to be dignified. She never imagined he’d feign innocence while deliberately teasing someone. She looked at him in disbelief, but he remained as calm as ever.
‘So that’s how it is.’
“All merchants are like that. Thank you for being considerate.”
Blair forced a smile and spoke each word carefully, creasing the corners of her eyes.
“You’re welcome.”
Casel replied in a voice tinged with faint laughter.
“Ah, the wind is chilly. Shall we go inside now?”
The wind wasn’t chilly—it was almost summer. But Blair, thinking it best to leave quickly, shivered unnecessarily.
“Already? I wanted to hear more about the garden you worked on.”
But the man before her showed no sign of moving. He even leaned back comfortably with his arms crossed, calling her over. For the first time since she knew him, Blair felt a twinge of annoyance.
“What’s there to explain? I planted herbs here and there so people wouldn’t notice and just put in whatever I thought looked pretty.”
Blair, flustered, half-rose in her seat. Then…
“For something that seems so haphazard, it’s well-arranged. Do you need anything else?”
“Anything else?”
He narrowed his eyes and looked at her. A hint of mischief flickered in his deep blue eyes.
“For example… a handsome statue.”
Blair’s mouth fell open. Casel must have realized she remembered everything from that night.
‘If you’re that perceptive, could you at least pretend not to notice!’
Her face flushed red. She clenched her fists and sprang to her feet.
“Are you really going to do this? Fine! I remember everything from that night when I was drunk. Couldn’t you just pretend not to know?”
She put her hands on her hips, glaring at Casel like a prey animal facing a wolf. Though it looked threatening, it was anything but.
“Yes! I caused a scene! Completely, totally, utterly! I admit it! I’m sorry! But what’s wrong with calling something handsome handsome? Is it my fault you’re good-looking? What’s wrong with saying someone handsome is handsome!”
Blair, who had been blushing a moment ago, now confronted him head-on. Casel let out an exasperated “Huh” and looked utterly bewildered.
“Honestly, do you think someone as handsome as you is common in the Empire? You look in the mirror every day, so you wouldn’t know. A small face, perfectly proportioned features… do you think that’s common? People are allowed to admire that!”
“Enough, I get it! Enough—”
Blair, who had been speaking rapidly, paused. She had said everything she could, but Casel’s usually sharp gaze wandered aimlessly in the air. Even his ears, red as if kissed by winter wind, gave him away.
Casel, used to the subtle, veiled compliments of noblewomen, had no immunity to blunt praise.
‘Look at this!’
A mischievous smile spread across Blair’s face as she glared at him. She wasn’t backing down from this rare sight.
“If your face is handsome, at least your body should be flawed. But your body is even better than a statue’s. What woman wouldn’t be captivated!”
“I told you to stop.”
“I love it!! Your handsome face, your body… everything is perfect—”
The noisy garden suddenly fell silent. Casel had covered Blair’s mouth with his large hand.
He pulled her down forcibly, pressing her back against the hard bench. There was nowhere to retreat, and his face was so close that she could feel his breath.
‘I knew he was well-built, but this close… I feel like I’m being pinned by a wolf.’
Yet his hand wasn’t pressing forcefully. Probably cautious not to hurt her.
“…Have you calmed down now?”
Casel’s low voice struck her ears. Calm? No. His cavernous voice made her feel ticklish inside.
She had to look away quickly, yet strangely, she couldn’t tear her eyes from his. Blair found it almost funny that she didn’t dislike being trapped so close to him.
“If you promise to stop talking about this, I’ll let go.”
“….”
Blair was about to nod slowly, trying to settle her flustered thoughts, when…
“Milady, have you been waiting long?”
A maid who had gone for water called from the entrance. Like magnets snapping apart, the two separated suddenly. An awkward tension filled the air.
“Uh—oh, no! Wait! I’ll go out. I was going inside anyway.”
Blair gave Casel a slight nod and hurried out of the garden. Her hair flowed behind her, and the tips of her ears were flushed red like the sunset.
