“Why did you lose so much weight again? It’s upsetting.”
He gently squeezed the spot where her chubby cheeks were but couldn’t help but pull his hand away.
It was then. Without any warning, the terrace door burst open. Noel, who entered with a stiff expression on his face, widened his eyes at the unexpected sight. He raised his trembling hand and pointed at Aster, forgetting to close the door.
“What are you doing now!”
“Can’t you see it?”
“I didn’t know that Your Excellency is such a senseless person. What on earth have you done to Lusi? Why did you do to Lusi that made her lose her consciousness?”
“What… that’s frivolous.”
“You’ll have to explain it properly. Otherwise.”
“Sigh.”
Aster let out a low sigh and waved his hand once. Then the door slammed shut. Only then did Noel look back and hurriedly close the curtains.
“You are truly beyond consideration. Even if you want to wash your eyes and look for her, I can’t find any consideration in you. Do you even know what you just did?”
Noel stopped, looked at Elusiana, who had lost consciousness, and raised his voice again. “Your Excellency must have done something.”
Aster was shocked. Even during this time, he wanted to rip out Noel’s eyes because he didn’t take his eyes off Elusiana; he, who forced down his surging anger, spoke in a low tone. “Don’t judge my your standards.”
“Do you think that explains the current situation?”
“Lusi just fell asleep because she was tired.”
“…”
Doubtful eyes looked at Elusiana again. Seeing that she wasn’t disheveled, it seemed like she was still safe, at least. Noel felt relieved but was wary of Aster.
“Still, your heart is sinister. Who should trust whom now?”
“…You’re going too far. To me, Your Excellency’s intentions seem more sinister.”
“Are you saying my words are excessive?”
Aster stood up and seemed to turn around but quickly narrowed the distance. Before Noel knew it, Aster grabbed him by the collar and muttered softly, showing his anger.
“Because of your greed, Lusi has become the gossip’s main character.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Then do you think it’s not your fault?”
Noel, speechless, frowned. That’s because the Grand Duke’s words weren’t wrong at all.
“You shouldn’t have come between us.”
“Us… Us. Hahaha. Since when did Lusi and Your Excellency become ‘us’?”
Aster chuckled at Noel’s forced clenched teeth. “I told you. It’s been a long time.”
“Does Lusi know? I wonder if she knew Your Excellency for a long time. From what I’ve seen, it seemed like she had no idea. Isn’t that right?”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“It’s not me who is being unreasonable, but the Grand Duke. You’re trapped in memories of the past and forgetting reality! Isn’t that right?”
Noel glared fiercely, clasping his hand that twisted his neck.
“It wasn’t me who intervened, it’s the Grand Duke.”
Aster laughed as he slowly removed Noel’s hand, which grasped his hand. “Nothing will change if you insist, Noel Marcia Klaus.”
Noel grunted at the hand that was helpless against the strong grip. “Don’t insist on saying it, Your Excellency. According to what you said, it means that you spent your childhood together with Lusi. Are you telling me to believe that?”
“What do I care if you believe it or not?”
“Why doesn’t it matter? It’s about Lusi!”
Aster lowered his head slightly and whispered in Noel’s ear. “If you’re that curious, I’ll answer. Your guess is correct.”
“As expected, it was like that.”
“You’re not surprised. Did you already expect it?”
“Well, I thought it was possible.”
An illegitimate child who suddenly disappeared without a trace one day. If it hadn’t been for the information that Marquis Klaus had given to him, Noel would have never been able to find the connection between Grand Duke Sestein and Viscount Waieos.
On the day after the illegitimate child disappeared, a strange boy happened to be found in Waieos’s residence. Instead of the bluish-silver hair and red-golden eyes that were characteristic of the Sestein family, that boy had hair as black as the night sky and red eyes darker than blood. So, how can he suspect that they are the same person?
The current Grand Duke is a direct descendant of a wizard family and was born with the qualities of a great wizard. Even if there were no artifacts, manipulating his appearance would have been easy. He, who seemed to be dead like that, suddenly appeared two years ago and took over the Grand Duchy…
Lusi, is it because of her? His faint, wet gaze was directed at Elusiana, who was sleeping on the sofa. Noel felt a deep pain in one side of his chest. He wanted to believe that wasn’t the case, but the obsession the Grand Duke had shown so far was telling him the answer.
Don’t touch what’s mine again.
What if I had met her first, not the Grand Duke? If only I had met you a little sooner before I was buried in sorrow from losing Edelvais… Well, it was all a useless dream. Because the miracle of turning back to the past wasn’t given to him.
“Now that you know, I want you to leave quietly, Lord Klaus.”
But if he talked like that, as if he had her in his hand, Noel wanted to force out the resistance he had been trying to suppress.
Noel smiled bitterly and teased Aster. “Your Excellency is speaking as if you were something to Lusi. In reality, you’re nothing.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Please stay out of my relationship with Lusi. Asking me to leave is also excessive interference, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”
Aster, who was trying to check Elusiana’s condition again, frowned. The reason he was softly accepting his words now was because Elusiana was asleep, but what was this tactless guy talking about now?
Aster looked at Noel with cold eyes, different from before. “You’re really bothering me, Lord Klaus. Do you even want to die?”
“If you want, give it a try. I will take it as much as you want. However, I don’t know what Lusi will think.”
“Good. I will do as you wish.”
Aster, who slowly closed his eyes and flashed open his eyes, stretched out his hand. “Your words, don’t regret it—”
“What are you two doing?” Elusiana cut in on the conversation between the two.
Aster hastily withdrew his hand. He was so focused on Noel that he didn’t notice her waking up. He looked back at Elusiana in amazement.
“Lusi! You’re awake.”
“Sorry. I guess I was so tired that I fell asleep. By the way, when did Noel come in?”
Noel, who smiled awkwardly, replied, moving to Elusiana’s side and answering. “Just a moment ago.”
“Ah, I see. Your Excellency has brought Lord Noel.”
“…”
“Well done. It must have been a bit embarrassing if Noel was out there too.”
The two men’s eyes met for a moment. It would be very difficult to explain the situation if they said it wasn’t like that. So they nodded, tacitly agreeing to work together for a moment.
“That’s right, Lusi. His Excellency…p-personally called for me. Right?”
“…That’s what happened.”
“The two of you. Don’t stand there, sit here.”
Elusiana tapped the empty seat next to her and called for the two. Aster quickly took the seat next to her and spoke.
“Is there anything uncomfortable? How are your feet?”
Elusiana looked down at her feet. Now that she thought about it, her feet, which had been burning, somehow felt cool. Is it because of the marble floor? Elusiana tilted her head and answered with a wide smile.
“It’s fine. Really.”
“It’s a relief.”
Aster nodded with a somewhat red face. Then he asked as if he had forgotten. “I brought you a cold drink. Would you like to drink it?”
“Here you are, Lusi?”
“Here is it, Lusi.”
Aster, who was reaching for the drinking glass on the table, stopped. Before he knew it, Noel was holding out a glass filled with red liquid in front of her. That’s a drink that he had brought himself.
What a smart guy. Aster looked at Noel and clenched his fist tightly.
“Ah, thank you, Noel. Mmm, is this cherry juice?”
“It smelled nice.”
“Wow, it’s delicious!”
“Aren’t you hungry? Should I bring you some cake?” Noel, who was naturally sitting on the other side, smiled widely.
Then, this time, Aster offered chocolate cake in front of her. “I brought something you like.”
“Oh. When did you do it? Thank you, Your Excellency?”
“Yes, go ahead.” Aster, who put the dainty fork into Elusiana’s hand, smiled kindly.
“Mmm. As expected, the cake is chocolate. It feels like my fatigue is going away. Fyuuh...”
A pleasant laugh flowed from Elusiana’s mouth. In the meantime, the two men forced a sharp aura toward each other as soon as they made eye contact.
Then, Elusiana carefully got up, shoving every last bit of it into her mouth.
“Why did you lose so much weight again? It’s upsetting.”
He gently squeezed the spot where her chubby cheeks were but couldn’t help but pull his hand away.
It was then. Without any warning, the terrace door burst open. Noel, who entered with a stiff expression on his face, widened his eyes at the unexpected sight. He raised his trembling hand and pointed at Aster, forgetting to close the door.
“What are you doing now!”
“Can’t you see it?”
“I didn’t know that Your Excellency is such a senseless person. What on earth have you done to Lusi? Why did you do to Lusi that made her lose her consciousness?”
“What… that’s frivolous.”
“You’ll have to explain it properly. Otherwise.”
“Sigh.”
Aster let out a low sigh and waved his hand once. Then the door slammed shut. Only then did Noel look back and hurriedly close the curtains.
“You are truly beyond consideration. Even if you want to wash your eyes and look for her, I can’t find any consideration in you. Do you even know what you just did?”
Noel stopped, looked at Elusiana, who had lost consciousness, and raised his voice again. “Your Excellency must have done something.”
Aster was shocked. Even during this time, he wanted to rip out Noel’s eyes because he didn’t take his eyes off Elusiana; he, who forced down his surging anger, spoke in a low tone. “Don’t judge my your standards.”
“Do you think that explains the current situation?”
“Lusi just fell asleep because she was tired.”
“…”
Doubtful eyes looked at Elusiana again. Seeing that she wasn’t disheveled, it seemed like she was still safe, at least. Noel felt relieved but was wary of Aster.
“Still, your heart is sinister. Who should trust whom now?”
“…You’re going too far. To me, Your Excellency’s intentions seem more sinister.”
“Are you saying my words are excessive?”
Aster stood up and seemed to turn around but quickly narrowed the distance. Before Noel knew it, Aster grabbed him by the collar and muttered softly, showing his anger.
“Because of your greed, Lusi has become the gossip’s main character.”
“Are you saying it’s my fault?”
“Then do you think it’s not your fault?”
Noel, speechless, frowned. That’s because the Grand Duke’s words weren’t wrong at all.
“You shouldn’t have come between us.”
“Us… Us. Hahaha. Since when did Lusi and Your Excellency become ‘us’?”
Aster chuckled at Noel’s forced clenched teeth. “I told you. It’s been a long time.”
“Does Lusi know? I wonder if she knew Your Excellency for a long time. From what I’ve seen, it seemed like she had no idea. Isn’t that right?”
“You’re being unreasonable.”
“It’s not me who is being unreasonable, but the Grand Duke. You’re trapped in memories of the past and forgetting reality! Isn’t that right?”
Noel glared fiercely, clasping his hand that twisted his neck.
“It wasn’t me who intervened, it’s the Grand Duke.”
Aster laughed as he slowly removed Noel’s hand, which grasped his hand. “Nothing will change if you insist, Noel Marcia Klaus.”
Noel grunted at the hand that was helpless against the strong grip. “Don’t insist on saying it, Your Excellency. According to what you said, it means that you spent your childhood together with Lusi. Are you telling me to believe that?”
“What do I care if you believe it or not?”
“Why doesn’t it matter? It’s about Lusi!”
Aster lowered his head slightly and whispered in Noel’s ear. “If you’re that curious, I’ll answer. Your guess is correct.”
“As expected, it was like that.”
“You’re not surprised. Did you already expect it?”
“Well, I thought it was possible.”
An illegitimate child who suddenly disappeared without a trace one day. If it hadn’t been for the information that Marquis Klaus had given to him, Noel would have never been able to find the connection between Grand Duke Sestein and Viscount Waieos.
On the day after the illegitimate child disappeared, a strange boy happened to be found in Waieos’s residence. Instead of the bluish-silver hair and red-golden eyes that were characteristic of the Sestein family, that boy had hair as black as the night sky and red eyes darker than blood. So, how can he suspect that they are the same person?
The current Grand Duke is a direct descendant of a wizard family and was born with the qualities of a great wizard. Even if there were no artifacts, manipulating his appearance would have been easy. He, who seemed to be dead like that, suddenly appeared two years ago and took over the Grand Duchy…
Lusi, is it because of her? His faint, wet gaze was directed at Elusiana, who was sleeping on the sofa. Noel felt a deep pain in one side of his chest. He wanted to believe that wasn’t the case, but the obsession the Grand Duke had shown so far was telling him the answer.
Don’t touch what’s mine again.
What if I had met her first, not the Grand Duke? If only I had met you a little sooner before I was buried in sorrow from losing Edelvais… Well, it was all a useless dream. Because the miracle of turning back to the past wasn’t given to him.
“Now that you know, I want you to leave quietly, Lord Klaus.”
But if he talked like that, as if he had her in his hand, Noel wanted to force out the resistance he had been trying to suppress.
Noel smiled bitterly and teased Aster. “Your Excellency is speaking as if you were something to Lusi. In reality, you’re nothing.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“Please stay out of my relationship with Lusi. Asking me to leave is also excessive interference, so I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.”
Aster, who was trying to check Elusiana’s condition again, frowned. The reason he was softly accepting his words now was because Elusiana was asleep, but what was this tactless guy talking about now?
Aster looked at Noel with cold eyes, different from before. “You’re really bothering me, Lord Klaus. Do you even want to die?”
“If you want, give it a try. I will take it as much as you want. However, I don’t know what Lusi will think.”
“Good. I will do as you wish.”
Aster, who slowly closed his eyes and flashed open his eyes, stretched out his hand. “Your words, don’t regret it—”
“What are you two doing?” Elusiana cut in on the conversation between the two.
Aster hastily withdrew his hand. He was so focused on Noel that he didn’t notice her waking up. He looked back at Elusiana in amazement.
“Lusi! You’re awake.”
“Sorry. I guess I was so tired that I fell asleep. By the way, when did Noel come in?”
Noel, who smiled awkwardly, replied, moving to Elusiana’s side and answering. “Just a moment ago.”
“Ah, I see. Your Excellency has brought Lord Noel.”
“…”
“Well done. It must have been a bit embarrassing if Noel was out there too.”
The two men’s eyes met for a moment. It would be very difficult to explain the situation if they said it wasn’t like that. So they nodded, tacitly agreeing to work together for a moment.
“That’s right, Lusi. His Excellency…p-personally called for me. Right?”
“…That’s what happened.”
“The two of you. Don’t stand there, sit here.”
Elusiana tapped the empty seat next to her and called for the two. Aster quickly took the seat next to her and spoke.
“Is there anything uncomfortable? How are your feet?”
Elusiana looked down at her feet. Now that she thought about it, her feet, which had been burning, somehow felt cool. Is it because of the marble floor? Elusiana tilted her head and answered with a wide smile.
“It’s fine. Really.”
“It’s a relief.”
Aster nodded with a somewhat red face. Then he asked as if he had forgotten. “I brought you a cold drink. Would you like to drink it?”
“Here you are, Lusi?”
“Here is it, Lusi.”
Aster, who was reaching for the drinking glass on the table, stopped. Before he knew it, Noel was holding out a glass filled with red liquid in front of her. That’s a drink that he had brought himself.
What a smart guy. Aster looked at Noel and clenched his fist tightly.
“Ah, thank you, Noel. Mmm, is this cherry juice?”
“It smelled nice.”
“Wow, it’s delicious!”
“Aren’t you hungry? Should I bring you some cake?” Noel, who was naturally sitting on the other side, smiled widely.
Then, this time, Aster offered chocolate cake in front of her. “I brought something you like.”
“Oh. When did you do it? Thank you, Your Excellency?”
“Yes, go ahead.” Aster, who put the dainty fork into Elusiana’s hand, smiled kindly.
“Mmm. As expected, the cake is chocolate. It feels like my fatigue is going away. Fyuuh...”
A pleasant laugh flowed from Elusiana’s mouth. In the meantime, the two men forced a sharp aura toward each other as soon as they made eye contact.
Then, Elusiana carefully got up, shoving every last bit of it into her mouth.
