“Did, did you come?”
I approached him, creaking like an unlubricated spherical doll.
"Your hair looks a bit damp. May I dry it for you?"
After saying that, Carcel gave me a look that I could not read.
I shook my head.
"No! There's just a little moisture left. It's almost completely dry!"
You're offering to dry my hair! How lewd!
The mini-me residing in my heart tightened the hat strings and shouted, "Men and women should not sit together after the age of seven."
Even though drying your hair might seem like a trivial act, there was a very high probability that your fingertips would tickle your scalp and run down your neck.
But I'm still new to everything.
'Carcel would probably be the same.'
I want to take things step by step.
I stood hesitantly in front of Carcel, not knowing what to do.
With my limbs limp like a jellyfish, I just kept an eye on him.
Honestly, since I had never been in a room with a man after showering at night, I didn't have a clue what to do to make it look natural.
So I just blurted out anything.
"Um... the restaurant Carcel took me to today was delicious."
"Asha can go whenever you want."
“Thank you.”
"...And why don't you sit comfortably next to me? It seems like your legs are trembling."
At those words, I let out a scream.
“Oh, no!”
I didn't think I was that nervous until just a moment ago.
It felt like reality suddenly struck me hard.
My heart was pounding wildly, and I felt like my mind was completely jumbled to a pulp.
My cheeks turned red as my heart beat faster and faster.
I trembled my eyelids slightly at the sensation of a burning heat rising to the top of my head.
Perhaps because of my frayed nerves, my head felt numb and ringing.
"Um... are you going to sleep together tonight?"
"Do you not want to sleep together, Asha?"
"That's not it... Um, I'm not sure how to put this, but I..."
I bit my lip hard, unable to even meet Carcel's gaze.
"So I'm still..."
Carcel was the first to speak when he saw my lips swelling up red.
“Asha.”
"Yes?!"
"Asha, there is no need to be nervous. We will sleep together, but it doesn't mean anything sexual."
“Hey!”
You knew it all!
I nodded, my entire neck stained like a peach.
Feeling relieved, I quietly sat down next to him.
“Then that’s a relief!”
"Didn't I say we should start off fresh anyway?"
He let out a low laugh.
"I do nothing that Asha dislikes."
“Thank you!”
"It’s not something to be thankful for; it’s just the natural thing to do. We are a married couple now, after all. Respecting and being considerate of each other."
Carcel's slow, drawn-out low voice was somehow secretive.
"Well... Shouldn't we love each other?"
"Th-that must be right! ...Yes?"
While I was still reeling from the phrase "someone who bumped into me," Carcel eloquently changed the subject.
"Anyway, Asha, the reason I’m sleeping in this room tonight is that I have something important to tell you."
Have something to say?
I swallowed hard.
Maybe it was because I was trembling so much just moments ago, but the strength drained from my legs, and I felt like my body was going to collapse.
So, before he could continue speaking, I let out a small sigh and plopped down next to Carcel.
"Tell me. I really hope it's not bad news."
What came to mind was the matter of my mother-in-law and the mine.
Other than that, honestly, I have nothing to worry about right now.
However, Carcel's gaze somehow took on a determined look as he began to stare at me, and I became anxious.
"Why?"
"Asha, actually..."
He trailed off at the end of his sentence and continued speaking in a languid tone.
"I am letting you know now that we are getting married, but..."
"Yes."
The truth Carcel spat out was far beyond the scope of my expectations
"I am Duke Lakan."
My mind became hazy at his shocking confession.
On top of that, his persistent obsession, which he had kept hidden all this time, seemed to cling to me like lips on the back of my hand.
"Asha. We are now a married couple recognized even by God, so you can never escape from me."
As he pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile, his daytime look was dizzyingly decadent.
And at the same time, it seemed as though the other side of Carcel, Duke Lakan, who had been keeping his breath low, had finally revealed his true identity.
'It’s ruined!'
Now, for a different reason, my mind felt numb, as if I had been struck.
Carcel gently let go of my hand, but the sensation still seemed to linger on my palm like a brand.
'It seems not all destinies in novels unfold exactly as they appear.'
I had no intention of bringing Linea and Lucian together, but in the end, just as if the children happened to run into each other.
'So, the one I used to have such a bad relationship with is now in this kind of relationship?'
The only saving grace is that the abuse Carcel inflicted on Linea, which was the reason I should have died, never happened from the beginning.
Since the cause to kill me hasn't happened, there's no need to be wary!
I stammered and asked him.
"But as for Duke Lakan... I heard he always wears a silver mask..."
“Do you want to see it?”
"Ah. No! I don't want to see it!"
"I can prove it as much as Asha wants."
I asked Carcel, who hadn't told me why he was leading a double life.
"Then why do you go around pretending to be the Marquis of Rivandel? You are the Duke?"
"Ah... It's a family business."
"Yes?"
"There should be no secrets between a married couple, so I will tell Asha everything."
Then Carcel briefly explained his family history to me.
"...So, you're saying that since the Duke of Lakan is an Inspector and the Sword of the Empire, he must not reveal his identity, but because he must marry and socialize, he is granted the status of the Marquis of Rivandel?"
“Exactly.”
"Oh, my God."
It's still absurd, but I'm starting to understand it a little.
"I should have known from the moment the names were the same..."
It seemed that Carcel understood the words muttered softly.
"Did Asha know the name of Duke Lakan?"
"No, that's not it. It's just that I have the same name as someone I know. Haha."
I denied it, shaking my head vigorously.
"So you know a man. That's understandable."
"Right. That can happen."
I stealthily added to the strange, fishy smell spreading across Carcel's lips.
"For your information, he is a fictional character. This was the first time I encountered a real person named Carcel."
It's true.
Upon hearing my words, Carcel's expression became much more relaxed.
However, I had been moving away from him little by little since earlier, at the speed of a crawling snail.
First off, I understand the situation, and I also know that Carcel has no reason to kill me.
Anyway, certainly, he’s not the man I knew.
Finally, I stepped back a safe distance, lifted the blanket, and hurriedly squeezed my body inside.
At that moment, Carcel's eyes curved as if to say, "Let's see how far you can go."
'Ah. I don't know. Let's just pretend to be asleep for now.'
The Carcel I knew until now was someone who would politely step aside if I wanted to be alone.
"No?"
"Phew, I'm tired. Good night."
After yawning a few times just to make sure he heard me, I hid my face under the covers like a frightened rabbit burying its head in a burrow.
'Please, let me think alone today.'
This is a scam.
Even though I told him I absolutely hated it because Duke Lakan was the only one I was afraid of!
It was inevitable that my wariness would rise again.
"Asha, may I say just one more thing?"
I curled up and squeezed my eyes shut.
'I can't hear. I can't hear. I'm sleeping.'
I faked snoring with that attitude.
"Zzzzz."
"Even your snoring is cute."
At those words, I finally lifted the blanket and cast a wary look at him.
“What is it?”
"Asha, do you know that all emotions are revealed in a person's eyes? Even if the mouth lies, the eyes speak the truth."
"...I should have just walked around looking only into Carcel's eyes from the start."
"Just as Asha said, I am a con artist and good at lying, so I won't get caught."
To think you even remember what I said earlier!
“So?”
"I could read bewilderment and curiosity rather than fear in Asha's eyes right now."
I kept my mouth shut.
Actually, when I heard he was Duke Lakan just now, I was surprised and wary, but I wasn't scared.
'That was a bit scary just now. The fact that he looked right into my eyes and read all my emotions!'
If it is Carcel Lakan from the original work, he is more than capable of doing that.
Carcel looked down at me cautiously and asked.
"I will never lie to Asha again."
"How would I know that? You said you're good at lying."
"Honestly, I wasn't particularly good at lying, to the point where it was a relief that Asha didn't find out. Asha must have trusted me that much."
“I know.”
At those words, I let out a small laugh through my nose, saying, 'hufft.'
Carcel gently urged me on with a more desperate look on his face than before.
"I know that I cannot apologize with any words for having personally destroyed that trust with my own hands."
“So?”
"I won't lie again... so won't you trust me just one more time?"
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