“Um, I came to pick you up. Are you Jeremiah Castalde-sama, and are these ladies Lorraine Valcourt-sama and Lucia Palmara-sama?”
Thank goodness!
They were probably servants and coachmen from the Duke family. I had never heard such a relaxed voice before, so I thought they must have come after Paolo as I turned my attention to them.
Then, I met the gaze of that tall young man who was somewhat handsome but not much different from what I had imagined. He looked at me and then turned his eyes to Jeremiah, suddenly flinching and turning pale.
“I’m Jeremiah Castalde.”
“I-I see. So, those ladies over there are Lorraine-sama and Lucia-sama.”
“That’s right. This guy has nothing to do with us, so you can ignore him. Got it?”
“Y-Yes, sir…”
The young servant trembled at Jeremiah’s freezing voice.
Poor thing. There was nothing I could do but pray in my heart for him to endure it, as he had just had bad luck.
The servant made strange movements while trembling, but still managed to fulfill his duties with a quivering voice.
“W-Well then, this way please. We have prepared a carriage.”
“Understood.”
Nodding casually, I head towards the carriage. Behind me, the servant bids farewell to Emilio and offers his hand to Lucia, barely visible.
Jeremiah seems to have no intention of greeting Emilio and heads towards the carriage with a quick pace to ensure that I don’t trip.
There are two small carriages lined up ahead.
Perhaps the road leading up to this point is narrow, which is why they are arranged like this. While thinking that, I realize how exhausted I am upon seeing the carriage.
Finally, I can go home.
I am filled with that thought.
However, I should at least greet Emilio. I thought so, but I closed my mouth upon hearing a voice from behind.
“O-Okay, I’m going. It’s better for your health to not overdo it with playtime, you know!”
“…I know.”
Lucia snorts at Emilio’s response. It probably means that she doesn’t believe him. Emilio says with a wry smile in a murmuring voice,
“Miss Lorraine, take care.”
At the parting words that I heard, I turn around for a moment. Our eyes meet. As I thought, he had a somewhat lonely expression, but I only give a slight nod and get into the carriage.
As for Lucia, she is led by the servant and gets into the other carriage. Soon after, the carriage starts moving.
Unconsciously, I let out a big sigh.
Then, I realized that I was very tired.
“…It was tough.”
“Uh, yeah.”
I answered like that and immediately screamed inside.
It was because Jeremiah next to me gently held my hand. Now I couldn’t relax in a different sense.
After all, it had been a really long time.
To hear his voice like this, to see his figure――to be touched like this.
“At night, when you didn’t come back, I couldn’t sit still. Even now, if I don’t hold onto you properly, I still feel anxious… I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
The hand that was held was warm. While feeling a great sense of relief, I apologized.
I didn’t want to make him feel that way.
Regret flooded in.
“No, I just want you to know. If something happens to you, how I would feel.”
I looked at his face with surprise.
My heart ached at his troubled and slightly pained smile.
Until now, I didn’t think I had acted recklessly. However, this time was different.
My feelings ran ahead and I didn’t consider the danger.
I looked straight into Jeremiah’s eyes and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Please do. Otherwise, my heart won’t be able to take it in many ways.”
As he spoke, Jeremiah played with my hand, squeezing it and intertwining his fingers.
I was confused about what to do with his gestures, which seemed to convey some intention or not. And in the end, he lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
I couldn’t react to this sudden action.
As I froze, Jeremiah relaxed his eyes and chuckled. I wondered what kind of smile it was, but I remained stiff as he spoke without letting go of my hand.
“It seems like nothing happened between you and him. I’m relieved.”
“W-What do you mean by nothing…!”
I didn’t understand what Jeremiah was trying to say at first. But as soon as I understood, blood rushed to my head and my cheeks grew hot.
In other words, while I was captive, Jeremiah was worried that there might have been some romantic connection between me and Paolo.
“That’s impossible. Paolo is just a friend…”
“It didn’t seem that way to him. If he had come by force, you wouldn’t have been able to resist.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Now that he mentioned it, it was true. I hadn’t worried about it at all, but Paolo had confessed his feelings for me.
“You trust men too much. It seems that it wasn’t wrong this time, but I want you to be more careful in the future.”
The eyes directed at me were subtly scary.
Although the mouth was in the form of a smile, it gave off a dangerous impression. And yet, why is it that it’s so perfectly fitting?
Unconsciously, I was fascinated by this rare sight, and Jeremiah continued his words.
“Otherwise, I don’t know what I’ll do to that man. I don’t.”
My spine shuddered.
This is a serious look.
Or rather, what does he intend to do? Did my careless behavior this time make Jeremiah go crazy?
If so, I’m sorry.
He wasn’t supposed to be the kind of person to say such things.
I have to make sure that he never makes such a statement again. However, this expression on Jeremiah is also very impressive in its own way.
But that’s a different story.
I said firmly.
“Um, I came to pick you up. Are you Jeremiah Castalde-sama, and are these ladies Lorraine Valcourt-sama and Lucia Palmara-sama?”
Thank goodness!
They were probably servants and coachmen from the Duke family. I had never heard such a relaxed voice before, so I thought they must have come after Paolo as I turned my attention to them.
Then, I met the gaze of that tall young man who was somewhat handsome but not much different from what I had imagined. He looked at me and then turned his eyes to Jeremiah, suddenly flinching and turning pale.
“I’m Jeremiah Castalde.”
“I-I see. So, those ladies over there are Lorraine-sama and Lucia-sama.”
“That’s right. This guy has nothing to do with us, so you can ignore him. Got it?”
“Y-Yes, sir…”
The young servant trembled at Jeremiah’s freezing voice.
Poor thing. There was nothing I could do but pray in my heart for him to endure it, as he had just had bad luck.
The servant made strange movements while trembling, but still managed to fulfill his duties with a quivering voice.
“W-Well then, this way please. We have prepared a carriage.”
“Understood.”
Nodding casually, I head towards the carriage. Behind me, the servant bids farewell to Emilio and offers his hand to Lucia, barely visible.
Jeremiah seems to have no intention of greeting Emilio and heads towards the carriage with a quick pace to ensure that I don’t trip.
There are two small carriages lined up ahead.
Perhaps the road leading up to this point is narrow, which is why they are arranged like this. While thinking that, I realize how exhausted I am upon seeing the carriage.
Finally, I can go home.
I am filled with that thought.
However, I should at least greet Emilio. I thought so, but I closed my mouth upon hearing a voice from behind.
“O-Okay, I’m going. It’s better for your health to not overdo it with playtime, you know!”
“…I know.”
Lucia snorts at Emilio’s response. It probably means that she doesn’t believe him. Emilio says with a wry smile in a murmuring voice,
“Miss Lorraine, take care.”
At the parting words that I heard, I turn around for a moment. Our eyes meet. As I thought, he had a somewhat lonely expression, but I only give a slight nod and get into the carriage.
As for Lucia, she is led by the servant and gets into the other carriage. Soon after, the carriage starts moving.
Unconsciously, I let out a big sigh.
Then, I realized that I was very tired.
“…It was tough.”
“Uh, yeah.”
I answered like that and immediately screamed inside.
It was because Jeremiah next to me gently held my hand. Now I couldn’t relax in a different sense.
After all, it had been a really long time.
To hear his voice like this, to see his figure――to be touched like this.
“At night, when you didn’t come back, I couldn’t sit still. Even now, if I don’t hold onto you properly, I still feel anxious… I’m glad you’re safe.”
“I-I’m sorry.”
The hand that was held was warm. While feeling a great sense of relief, I apologized.
I didn’t want to make him feel that way.
Regret flooded in.
“No, I just want you to know. If something happens to you, how I would feel.”
I looked at his face with surprise.
My heart ached at his troubled and slightly pained smile.
Until now, I didn’t think I had acted recklessly. However, this time was different.
My feelings ran ahead and I didn’t consider the danger.
I looked straight into Jeremiah’s eyes and nodded.
“Yes, I’ll be careful.”
“Please do. Otherwise, my heart won’t be able to take it in many ways.”
As he spoke, Jeremiah played with my hand, squeezing it and intertwining his fingers.
I was confused about what to do with his gestures, which seemed to convey some intention or not. And in the end, he lifted my hand and kissed the back of it.
I couldn’t react to this sudden action.
As I froze, Jeremiah relaxed his eyes and chuckled. I wondered what kind of smile it was, but I remained stiff as he spoke without letting go of my hand.
“It seems like nothing happened between you and him. I’m relieved.”
“W-What do you mean by nothing…!”
I didn’t understand what Jeremiah was trying to say at first. But as soon as I understood, blood rushed to my head and my cheeks grew hot.
In other words, while I was captive, Jeremiah was worried that there might have been some romantic connection between me and Paolo.
“That’s impossible. Paolo is just a friend…”
“It didn’t seem that way to him. If he had come by force, you wouldn’t have been able to resist.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Now that he mentioned it, it was true. I hadn’t worried about it at all, but Paolo had confessed his feelings for me.
“You trust men too much. It seems that it wasn’t wrong this time, but I want you to be more careful in the future.”
The eyes directed at me were subtly scary.
Although the mouth was in the form of a smile, it gave off a dangerous impression. And yet, why is it that it’s so perfectly fitting?
Unconsciously, I was fascinated by this rare sight, and Jeremiah continued his words.
“Otherwise, I don’t know what I’ll do to that man. I don’t.”
My spine shuddered.
This is a serious look.
Or rather, what does he intend to do? Did my careless behavior this time make Jeremiah go crazy?
If so, I’m sorry.
He wasn’t supposed to be the kind of person to say such things.
I have to make sure that he never makes such a statement again. However, this expression on Jeremiah is also very impressive in its own way.
But that’s a different story.
I said firmly.
