You, be my colleague (8)
Thump thump thump thump.
Rahon's heartbeat was audible. It was beating so fast that it was worrying.
""Rahon?"
He swallowed hard and shoved me away. His face turned bright red.
"You... Do you find what I'm saying funny? I told you not to do this!"
He shouted, jumped up, and hurriedly ran up the stairs.
Then he took a wrong step and hit his shin on the edge of the stairs, then stopped.
"Ugh!"
I frowned because it hurt so much to see him. But I couldn't pretend not to know.
He had been standing there, numbing the pain, but he went up after healing his shin with his power.
It was only after Rahon disappeared into the second floor that I finally let out the sigh I had been holding in.
"Are you feeling that bad..."
I did that because I was so grateful that little Rahon was so strong and held on.
Anyway, one thing is certain.
'Rahon is not my benefactor.'
The reason I treated the boy's back in the first place was because of the flower-shaped scar. So the Rahon who had the tattoo much earlier couldn't be that boy.
'Then the remaining people are...'
Suddenly I heard the front door opening.
There was a single sound of footsteps. Kalit, who had gone out with Ian, was entering the living room alone.
'Is Kalit my benefactor?'
Now that it was clear that it wasn't Ian or Rahon, the only one left was naturally Kalit.
But why aren't I sure?
"Your Highness, what about the little Duke?"
"He said he would take a walk while he was out. He's really diligent."
Kalit took off his wet coat and hung it by the fireplace, then tilted his head.
"But you know who I am just by the sound of my footsteps?"
"Ah... I have a very sensitive sense of smell and hearing."
"Enough to distinguish people by their footsteps?"
"I can tell the difference by their body odor."
"So that's why you smelled Baba's blood. Honestly, I couldn't smell anything at the time. That must be pretty uncomfortable."
In my past life, I tried to keep my abnormally developed senses to a minimum. If the perfume smelled too strong, I would quietly leave the place, and if people made a sound that I thought others might not hear, I would just ignore it.
But Sierra didn't stop giving advice.
"It's really creepy how you can tell people apart by their footsteps. You have no idea how much you make people uncomfortable."
After listening to her criticism all day, my heart felt heavy. I no longer knew what to do or how to be careful.
But this life was different.
I didn't hide my five senses, and I actively used them. They were one of the few weapons I had after losing my power.
Contrary to my expectations of being criticized as being nitpicky and fussy, Rahon and Kalit were the first to voice my discomfort.
Even when the assassin attacked a few days ago, didn't Ian ask me if I smelled anything?
At that time, no one knew how happy I was in that tense situation.
My heart was filled with emotion at the thought that my sensitive senses, which I had been desperate to hide in my past life, were helpful to someone.
"It's not that uncomfortable. I'm used to it now."
"Is it so.."
Kalit's expression suddenly became strange. He was silent for a moment, then asked quietly.
"Do I smell something?"
"You smell good."
"That's good. But what about Rahon?"
"He went up to the bedroom."
"Oh, great. I found out where Rahon hid the tea leaves. Do you want to have some together?"
"Great."
I quietly watched Kalit's back as he entered the kitchen.
Kalit also hides his true self from me like Oslo.
But why isn't that guy offended?
Could it be because he could be my benefactor? Or is it because I don't feel any particularly malicious intentions?
There was a loud clattering noise coming from the kitchen, and then Kalit brought the tea.
"Try it."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
As soon as the tea touched my tongue, a bitter taste spread all over. I guess he put in a lot of tea leaves because it was free.
I couldn't even put down my teacup because of the violent taste. Kalit, who was drinking tea with dignity, twitched his eyebrows.
"Should I add a little more water?"
"Well, I don't think that will work."
"Put your teacup down."
"Yes."
He pushed my teacup and his own away and spread out the chessboard.
"Shall we play a game of chess?"
"If you give me a hundred."
"As the lady wishes."
Kalit rearranged the pieces. The jumbled chess pieces were instantly divided into black and white, each forming its own formation.
"Let's get started."
" I will move the d2 pawn to d4."
"From c7 to c5. Oh, have you thought about that?"
"I'll send the g1 knight to f3. What?"
"About the matter of you becoming my fiancée."
My concentration suddenly broke. I raised my head without realizing it and looked at Kalit.
But Kalit's eyes were still fixed on the chessboard. He opened his mouth as he moved his knight.
"g8 knight to 16."
"..."
"It's your turn."
The thought of chess had disappeared cleanly. Now was the perfect time to convince Kalit.
"Your Highness. I have something to tell you that I was unable to tell you last time due to being in a hurry."
Only then did Kalit raise her head. I quickly lowered my gaze before his silver-gray eyes could reach mine.
"Really? What is it?"
"As you may know, the Third Prince is raising a private soldier."
As expected, Kalit's reaction was indifferent. He must have known since he had planted a plot in Oslo.
"I had a hunch. But it was hidden so meticulously that I couldn't secure any evidence."
"I will give you proof."
"What's the price?"
"Please withdraw your proposal of engagement."
Kalit didn't answer. He looked at me with a strange expression for a while, then tilted his head.
"Do you hate me?"
"Huh? Oh. no. That's not the problem..."
"I'm already of marriageable age, and it wouldn't be strange for you to start talking about marriage, too. In that case, wouldn't it be better to find a partner?"
"However..."
"I know it's hard for me to say this myself, but I think my situation isn't bad. The Prince has a good reputation, and although it's not as much as yours. I have quite a bit of wealth. Ah..."
Kalita asked as if he had realized it belatedly.
"Is it because you think I'm ugly?"
Although he was different from Ian and Rahon, it was true that Kalit was a man who was impressive enough to make people exclaim in admiration.
His cool silver-gray eyes and beautiful appearance were flawless.
"I have heard that Your Highness is a handsome man."
"It's different from seeing it in person. Well, You can't get engaged to a man whose face you don't even know. I didn't think about it that far."
"Huh? What are you saying...."
"Touch it."
"What, what?"
"Touch and see. Is I the right man for you?"
He grabbed my flustered hand and brought it to his face.
And then I moved my frozen hands myself, unable to do anything.
It started with his forehead. As his hair naturally fell and brushed my fingers, my fingertips trembled without me realizing it.
"My hair is black and my eyes are silver-gray."
Every time he spoke, his breath spread across my palm. I shut my eyes tightly, feeling as if my heart was going to burst.
The fingertips that had been searching for his deeply sunken eyes went down the bridge of his nose. A sharp yet elegant line was drawn in my mind...
"Is your skin a little white? I'm not sure about that. I've never thought about skin color before."
The fingertips that reached the tip of the nose stopped at the smooth lips.
He asked, still holding my hand, my fingertips moving along with the movement of his lips.
"How is it..."
"Am I your type?"
A lowered, seductive voice tickles my ear.
"Your Highness appearances are not important. What good is a beauty to someone who can't even see?"
"Then touch the body."
Before I could react, a hand went down to his neck. I could feel the protruding scapula.
I must be crazy! I was so scared that I shook my head wildly.
"Oh, no! The body isn't important either!"
"Then?"
I answered with my eyes tightly shut.
"I will marry someone who loves me!"
"I already like you. If this continues, I think I'll fall in love with you before long."
"You're going to act like you love, not like you love."
"..."
I opened my eyes again. Kalit was staring at me with a smile on his face.
"Your Highness, that is no different from what the Third Prince did to me."
He became quiet.
Kalit didn't ask anything.
He never wondered how I knew that his insides and outs were different, and he never even expressed any discomfort at being treated like Oslo.
I also didn't make any excuses, just keeping my eyes fixed on the nape of his neck.
The tug-of-war between him and me ended with Ian's return.
He said, pointing outside.
"The knights are coming."
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