Chapter 179
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However, far from catching him, she only ended up dropping the bundle of herbs she was holding on the floor.
“…!”
lody was startled and tried to pick it up, but Claude stopped her.
“Don’t do it.”
Claude willingly bent his knees under her feet.
lody couldn’t take her eyes off him as he picked up the herbs and carefully examined their shape.
Staring at his long fingers caressing the herbs or his lips whispering fortunately, lody quickly lowered her head.
Soon he got up from his spot and handed over the herbs.
“It seems okay.”
“Thank… you. I’m sorry.”
“Ah, right.”
As if sothing just ca to mind, he shrugged his head slightly.
“Jeremiah told
to pass on a ssage. My throat is a bit dry right now.”
lody quickly took a step back.
“Th-Then for a mont…”
Out of embarrassnt, the last words “Would you like to co in?” almost beca a whisper.
Actually, he probably brought up his dry throat because he noticed lody trying to grab him a little while ago.
“How kind of you to accept my request.”
“Ah, please sit.”
As lody offered him a seat, she set down a glass of lukewarm water. He downed the water lody gave him in one gulp.
‘Was he really thirsty?’
Just in case, lody refilled the glass of water.
He drank the water in one gulp again this ti too.
“…You must have been really thirsty.”
“Yes, I was very nervous.”
“You, Young Master? Why?”
At her question, he just smiled for a mont before gazing at her intently and asking.
“What do you think?”
“…Ah.”
lody fiddled with a cushion nearby for no reason. Sohow it was hard to keep her hands still.
“Anyway, what Jeremiah asked
to tell you is.”
At his words as if changing the subject, lody was startled and raised her head.
“There really was a ssage?!”
“…What?”
He asked back, dumbfounded.
“Ah, no.”
lody quickly hugged the cushion and lowered her head.
‘I’m crazy!’
Soon the sound of him chuckling ca from across the table.
“Jeremiah’s ssage was real. Of course, I also used all sorts of tricks to be alone with the girl I like.”
“I-I didn’t think you used tricks. You were just going to leave a little while ago…”
“Well, I was thinking of conveying the ssage through soone later at that ti.”
Maybe it ant he was considerate of lody’s awkward feelings towards him.
“Anyway, Jeremiah said. If it’s okay, before Father goes far away, could you co to the Magic Tower and participate in the experint one more ti. I feel a bit uncomfortable about an experint involving you, lody.”
“I’m just satisfying the young master’s light curiosity.”
“Hearing that sohow makes it sound even weirder.”
At the answer that ca back with a sigh, lody’s mood also beca strange.
So Claude must have interpreted lody’s words in a sowhat ‘suspicious’ direction.
That subtle direction they had shared between the herb hut that ti.
“Th-That’s not what I ant!”
lody shouted with a red face. He also quickly nodded.
“I know too. Just understand
a little. A person gripped by jealousy sotis goes crazy in their head from imagining things arbitrarily.”
“…What?”
“Rather than that, send your answer directly to the Magic Tower.”
While he naturally moved the conversation along, lody blankly stared at his face.
Because it felt like she heard sothing incredible a mont ago.
Being gripped by jealousy.
‘Strange.’
lody fiddled with her fingertips and thought so.
First of all, it was strange that Claude, not soone else, felt such an emotion.
But the strangest thing was herself.
Jealousy was never a good thing. Moreover, feeling such an emotion between siblings was even worse.
‘…Even so.’
To feel relieved that he felt such an emotion.
‘I shouldn’t harbor such feelings…’
lody forcibly shook off her thoughts and said she understood. Fortunately, there was sothing else she needed to confirm now.
“By the way, you ntioned a little while ago that the Duke is going far away, right?”
“Yes.”
“Could it be… because of that matter?”
lody lowered her voice as much as possible. Because it would be troubleso if anyone heard.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Soon he also whispered back.
“It helped that the whole capital is in a festive mood. There are crowds everywhere.”
“There’s no better camouflage than hiding among people, is that it?”
That was also sothing Ronny had told her before. Soon Claude nodded.
“Yes. Thanks to that, it was easy for Prince Samuel’s side to make a move too.”
“So you got in contact.”
“At the address you found. Although I also found out today.”
The Duke probably didn’t tell anyone about the matter for a while even after contacting him.
Since he knew well the lightness of words.
“In ten days, Father will leave for Kristonson. eting Jeremiah today was to receive the necessary items for that.”
“Necessary items?”
“Yes.”
“What kind…?”
He got up from his seat for a mont and approached the wide open window.
He seed to be careful not to let their words leak out.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
lody also quickly got up from her seat and ran to the window.
She reached out and closed the window, and just in case, she even drew the curtains.
Doing this completely blocked off the outside from the inside, so they could talk about secrets as much as they wanted.
“Please tell
now.”
lody looked up at him, gripping the thick autumn curtains.
“What Jeremiah made is a potion to change appearance.”
“Is that… possible?”
“If it wasn’t, Father would never be able to go to Kristonson.”
The border earl and his knights would rember the Duke’s face.
“After reaching an agreent, he’ll bring August out right away.”
“Do you an he’ll bring him to the capital?”
“No.”
He answered while pulling the curtains that were slightly parted.
Soon a faint darkness was reflected in their pupils.
“We plan to use Mother’s house. We’ll take care of August there so he can live abundantly… yes, a luxurious life.”
He smiled a bit bitterly.
“Are you alright, Young Master?”
“Sohow… no, it’s nothing.”
“…Do you feel like you’ve beco a bad person?”
lody carefully guessed his feelings. As if she wasn’t wrong, he slowly nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. A person who forcibly separates a young boy from his father.”
His sentint wasn’t particularly wrong.
Forcibly separating Prince Samuel and his son was, after all, sothing that started from the ducal family’s selfish desire only for Loretta’s sake.
“Even if Prince Samuel becos safe because of that, it’s a convenient excuse tailored to our circumstances anyway… sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing to ?”
“Because I didn’t an to make you bla yourself.”
With his fingertips, he gently brushed lody’s forehead. Like he usually teased her, saying “You have wrinkles like Mrs. Higgins.”
“Don’t worry. lody.”
“…”
“It may not be enough to be called an apology, but I plan to protect that boy for life.”
“You don’t need to worry too much either, Young Master. August will definitely beco happy with the ducal family later on too.”
“Was that much recorded in what you saw?”
“Yes.”
lody answered with conviction. So that Claude could feel even a little reassured and less guilty.
But it didn’t seem to have much effect, as his gloomy expression didn’t change.
“What an unfair record.”
“…What?”
“It drew such a wonderful future for the boy far away.”
The hand that had been stroking lody’s forehead brushed her cheek and smoothly touched her delicate chin.
“But there doesn’t seem to be much about lody right here.”
“That’s not true.”
“In the first place, the record you talk about is excessively focused on Loretta. You even said from the beginning that it was ‘Loretta’s record.'”
He seed a bit dissatisfied with that fact. Even though he was a fervent older brother to Loretta.
“So parts about
do co out a bit.”
“For example?”
He pulled lody’s chin, making her look up at his face.
“About my mother, well. Things like that.”
“So did you beco happy after that?”
lody slightly averted her gaze. Her last depiction at the end of Chapter 1 was far from happiness.
But that was just the inevitable hardship or necessary device that an early villainess had to go through.
“…What on earth.”
Claude, who had been observing her reaction, frowned.
“What was I doing in the record? I must have been desperate to find your happiness.”
“…”
The Claude in the record loved only Loretta from beginning to end.
He didn’t even know of lody’s existence, so what he was thinking didn’t happen at all.
In the end, lody couldn’t give any answer.
“What a fool.”
“Th-That’s not true!”
lody quickly objected to his impression of the original work.
“I love how the young master in the record cherishes only Loretta!”
At that enthusiastic appearance, Claude smiled bitterly.
When talking about him in the record, she could say “I love it” so confidently, sohow… he felt a petty jealousy.
Claude brushed her long hair that had flowed over her face.
“Hmm. A narrow-minded question cos to mind, but can I ask it?”
He shook his head even after bringing up the question.
Saying let’s stop.
At that mont, for so reason, lody felt like she naturally knew what question he was going to ask.
Between the Claude in the record who only cherished Loretta and the current Claude, who did she…
“…like more?”
His lips slightly parted, and a breath disturbed by surprise flowed out.
Only then did lody realize she had made a mistake.
Bringing up the words he had put aside was not a very good idea. Especially if she wasn’t going to nod to his heart.
‘Should I apologize?’
She had that thought for a mont, but that was even stranger.
Perhaps he was bothered by her inability to say anything.
He answered while kindly brushing lody’s ear a few more tis.
“I won’t bla you, so don’t worry.”
“…”
“It was my fault for bringing it up in the first place. I’m sorry.”
“That’s not true.”
lody gently shook her head, and the hand that had been stroking her the whole ti quietly fell away.
Naturally, lody’s gaze followed his fingers.
The ones that had been caressing her forehead, cheeks, chin, and ears until a mont ago…
Why did she feel regretful about that mont? Even though she didn’t have the courage to hold his hand and pull it herself.
“It’s not because you feel sorry for .”
At the words that ca from above her head, she finally took her eyes off his fingertips.
“I have a request.”
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