IWAP - Chapter 94

'When did my puppy turn into a fox?'

It was fascinating to see Landt acting so affectionately toward Evan. Landt, who was very shy, only treated his teachers with strict courtesy and never acted so friendly. I wondered what part of Evan had appealed to the child.

"Of course." 

As Evan nodded, Landt smiled broadly.

'Well, I guess it’s better to just let it be.'

If Landt and Evan grew closer, it would be good, not bad. Landt began asking Evan all sorts of questions, and Evan answered Landt's questions with all his heart.

After the meal was finished, a fresh cream cake topped with plenty of fruit was served for dessert. I could see Landt's cheeks turning red at the sight of the cake.

Perhaps due to childhood memories, Landt was particularly obsessed with fresh cream cakes. In particular, if it was a fresh cream cake topped with plenty of fruit, he would jump out of bed even in his sleep.

"Brother, try this. It's super delicious!"

Landt spoke to Evan with sparkling eyes. Just looking at the cake topped with a large, appetizing strawberry made one feel the sweetness.

Perhaps because of Landt, who was staring intently at him with anticipation, Evan picked up a fork, cut the cake, and brought it to his mouth. As he savored the taste, Evan's blue-gray eyes widened slightly.

“It’s delicious, right?”

"Yes."

Evan, who had been wearing a reluctant expression until just before putting the cake in his mouth, had a slight smile on his lips. 

The cake that Landt offered to Evan was not as sweet as it looked. Rather, because the colorful fruits were simmered in alcohol and chestnut blossom honey was used instead of regular honey, sweet and bitter flavors coexisted.

'I'd say it perfectly suits adult tastes.'

The cake boasted a subtle taste and soft flavor, to the extent that even my father, who hates sweets, could eat it without any aversion.

"Your Highness, please try some too." 

Landt pushed the cake plate in front of him straight toward Sis.

"It is delicious."

Sis wore a sour expression at Landt's sudden change in attitude.

Sis, who had been casting a wary glance at the child's sparkling, fluttering behavior, eventually could not ignore the child's suggestion and moved his fork.

Landt, who was grinning as he watched Sis put a piece of cake into his mouth, was a black tail shaped like an arrow swaying gently.

"Ugh!"

Sis's face contorted in an instant as she put the cake in her mouth. Watching Sis in distress, Landt laughed heartily.

"This is my favorite. It's really delicious, isn't it?"

"Pfft."

I ended up bursting into laughter at the child's blatant spite directed at Sis. I felt Sis's resentful gaze sting, but I pretended not to notice and put a piece of cake in my mouth and chewed.

"Ha!"

In contrast to Landt, who was smiling brightly, Sis's face was severely contorted.

Unlike the cake Evan ate, what Landt offered Sis was an extremely sweet cake drenched in honey. This was because it was a special cake tailored entirely to Landt's taste.

Even Sis, who used to chew on the flesh of the Arach fruit without batting an eye despite its terribly greasy taste, seemed to have no immunity to cakes sweet enough to make the inside of his mouth tingle.

"Seeing that you like sweets, you're younger than I thought. Brother-in-law." 

Sis, having rinsed his mouth with tea, sneered at Landt. Landt's cheeks, which had puffed up at the title of "brother-in-law," trembled. Just as he was about to open his mouth to rebut Sis's words, a low voice stopped him.

"I think it is still too early for that title, Your Highness." 

At the intervention of my father, who had been silent until now, Landt and Sis's expressions immediately changed to the opposite.

Unlike Landt, who grins at the fact that his father is on his side, Sis looks at my father with a sour expression

He asked back.

"Since Bee's coming-of-age ceremony has already taken place, isn't it just a matter of time?" 

"Well, promises can be broken."

“Prime Minister!”

Sis sprang to his feet. Father, as if he had anticipated such a reaction, calmly picked up his teacup. The way my father drank tea was disciplined yet elegant enough to serve as a textbook example.

"Moreover, have you forgotten that it almost broke once already?"

Flinch!

Sis's body shook violently at my father's words. My father slowly put down the teacup. His blue eyes passed Sis and turned toward me.

"I guess I should get up first."

Father sat up and looked at Evan.

"I would like you to spare me a moment."

"Understood, Your Excellency, the Marquis."

Evan's gaze lingered on me for a moment, then he soon stood up, following my father.

"Ha."

As soon as ny father and Evan left the dining room, Sis let out a dejected sigh. He looked extremely exhausted in just a short while, as if the conversation with my father had been difficult.

Landt, with his hands quietly resting on his knees, rolled his eyes. The plate of cake in front of the child had been completely emptied before I knew it.

"Did you finish the cake?" 

"Yes."

I smiled gently at the child who was nodding, as if trying to soothe him.

"Then go up to your room now."

"..."

Landt hesitated and looked at Sis. I called the child's name again.

“Landt?”

"... Yes. Sister"

Landt nodded and stood up. Although he had played a mischievous prank on Sis, it wasn't done with any malicious intent. I grabbed Landt's cheek as he approached and shook it gently.

"That's enough joking. You know that, right?" 

"Yes."

“Go upstairs.”

I patted Landt's buttocks as he obediently nodded. Watching the child with flushed cheeks leave, I gestured to the waiting maids to leave.

Even the maids left, leaving only Sis and me in the dining room. I slowly approached Sis.

"It's harder than I thought to face two gatekeepers at the same time."

He gave me a weak smile. Seeing him, who had always been so confident, looking so dejected filled me with pity. I fiddled with the hair that had fallen onto his forehead.

The silver hair, like a ball of yarn, wrapped softly between my fingers.

'What on earth was said to have been exchanged between him and my father?'

It was clearly a matter related to me, and I asked about it several times, but Sis and Father did not open their mouth.

I was curious about what on earth was going on, but I didn't bother to ask. I suspected there must be a reason why the two men were hiding it from me.

However, seeing how disheartened he looked, I couldn't tell if it was right to just pretend not to notice.

"You intended to keep a capable woman like me by your side, yet you didn't expect even that much?"

"Hmph, I expected that, but the opponent is formidable."

He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"It's a bit tough today." 

I gently patted his back as he rubbed his head against me like a cat showing affection.

"He is a child who grew up believing his older sister is the best in the world. Shouldn't you naturally endure a little bit of his ill temper? So please bear with it a little longer."

"That's too much. How is that just a little bit of spite?"

He grumbled while leaning his forehead against my body.

"Can't you take my side just for now?"

"Are you really complaining over just this?"

"Even I can't handle two people at once, Bee."

He tightened his grip on the arm wrapped around my waist and let out a weak sound.

"Besides, the Marquis is a formidable opponent even in a one-on-one fight."

"Did something happen with my father by any chance?"

Until we entered, Sis and my father were the only two people in the dining room. His face was as indifferent as usual, but the atmosphere he exuded was unusually tense.

"Ah, I told him I wanted to hold the wedding as soon as possible." 

He snuggled into my arms and muttered.

"Surely you aren't talking about the wedding?"

"..." 

At my question, he raised his head and stared intently at my face.

"What do you mean, 'surely not'? Surely you weren't the one who hadn't even considered it, were you?"

I met his piercing gaze without avoiding it.

After deciding to be with him, I expected that we would eventually get married, but for some reason, I didn't feel like it right now. As if sensing my feelings, a slight frown appeared on Sis's brow.

“Bee?”

"Please wait just a moment."

"Until when?"

"..."

"Surely you don't intend to drive me crazy to death?"

The moment I saw Sis's face looking up at me as if trying to be cute, it reminded me of Landt, so I let out a chuckle.

I raised my hand and gently stroked his hair, just as I had done for Landt.

"There is a saying that patience is bitter and its fruit is sweet. Wouldn't the longer the wait, the greater the joy that returns?" 

"Won't I die first before that?"

"You are becoming more and more like a child." 

When I gave him a reprimand that wasn't quite a rebuke, he continued to grumble; he vented his frustration.

"Just keeping that guy by your side has used up all my patience. At this point, it's a lot. I guess I held back?”

"Don't you like Evan?"

"If it were you, would you like another woman sitting right by my side?"

The image of Lady Deisha being by his side came to mind. My brow furrowed instinctively.

"...That is indeed unpleasant." 

"Yes?"

He smiled brightly and quickly added to the conversation.

"Why don't you tell him to focus on business at the top while you're at it? After all, he can't do two things at once, can he?"

His eyes crinkled like a cat's.

"I'll give it some thought. But more importantly, where are you secretly slithering?"

I painfully pinched the back of his hand as it slowly crept down toward my buttocks.

"Your habit of stealing has gotten even worse since I wasn't looking."

I slapped the back of his hesitant hand, and he reluctantly took his hand off me.

"Tch! You heartless fiancée! As I said before, it is all your fault. Shouldn't there at least be some reward like this for me to be patient and wait?" 

I cupped his face in both hands as he grumbled like a child again. I didn't dislike him acting like a child.

Thinking that I was the only one who knew this side of him, I felt a sense of proud fulfillment filling the emptiness in my heart.

“So you don’t like it?”

"Who said I didn't like it..." 

I brought my lips to his muttering lips. Along with the soft touch of my lips, I felt him flinch.

I moved my tongue and tapped his closed lips. As time passed, his stiff lips softened.

I parted his lips and invaded his insides. The sweet taste of cake was transmitted through the tip of his tongue.

I gently ran my tongue over his teeth and wrapped my soft tongue around him. I liked his reaction, as he enthusiastically responded to my movements. A moan filled with satisfaction rang out from his Adam's apple.

"Ha!"

I licked his lips with my tongue while he was catching his breath. He looked at me with wide eyes. I rubbed his lips, glistening with saliva, with my finger.

"Please bear with me for today, Sis." 

My smiling reflection was visible in the feverish eyes.

***

"I heard there was a commotion at the Marchioness Engrail's tea party?"

"You're quick to get the news." 

"By the time you reach this age, there are stories you hear from here and there even if you don't go out of your way to find them." 

Countess Rustin offered me tea with an unpretentious and elegant demeanor.

The color of the tea, brewed at the right temperature for the right amount of time, was neither too hot nor too dark—it was truly just right. Just like her personality, without the slightest deviation.

"I heard it was your first time at a tea party. How was it?"

"It was quite a fun time.”

"That’s unexpected. I didn’t think that was your taste, Young Lady."

She lifted her teacup with an amused look on her face. I also followed her lead and took a sip of tea.

The tea, at a temperature just right for drinking, flowed smoothly down my esophagus. To me, who enjoys hot tea, it felt slightly lukewarm.

Silence continued for a while, and when the tea was almost at the bottom, she opened her mouth.

"So, which one do you intend to take?" 

"In my humble opinion, I am not sure what you are trying to say." 

A sharp gaze fell on me as I feigned ignorance.

Even within high society where the First Consort reigned like a queen, the Countess of Rustin opposed the First Consort, and she was someone who had firmly established her position.

She was seasoned enough to survive in the cutthroat world of society, and she was just as capable.

"When you meet various people, you can immediately tell what kind of person they are just by their tone of voice and behavior. You can see it.”

The corners of Countess Rustin's wrinkled eyes crinkled slightly.

"I don't know what Young Lady thinks of me, but I like you very much." 

"Thank you for your kind words, Madam." 

"Let me offer you a piece of advice, having lived longer than you. High society is a kind of political arena. You cannot engage in politics alone. It means that there are times when you must keep even those you do not like by your side."

She gave me a kind smile.

"Why? Is it strange that I'm saying this?"

"It seems I was mistaken about Madam." 

Countess Rustin was a strong-willed woman. She possessed an unyielding nature, one that would rather break than bend. It was unexpected that she would propose such a conciliatory measure.

"I was in a situation where I had to be strong to hold on. But Young Lady is different. The position you are trying to ascend to is prone to breaking if one is merely hard. It is a position where sometimes getting blood on one's hands is inevitable. However, there is no need to go out of your way to dirty Young Lady's hands. It would be better for you to keep a substitute hand by your side."

She finished drinking the remaining tea and carefully set the teacup down.

"Does what I say sound heartless?" 

"How could that be?"

I also followed her lead and put down my teacup, smiling sweetly.

"As you may have already guessed, I am not exactly the naive type either."

"It is a relief that I didn't mistake you for someone else."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The maids who always attended to her were all outside on her orders.

She personally picked up the teapot and filled the teacup with tea.

"Well, let's just say it's because I like Young Lady."

"That reason alone does not convince me, Madam."

The Countess's gaze, whose meaning I could not fathom, fell upon me. I met her eyes without averting them. After a moment of silence, she let out a soft chuckle.

"The young lady resembles the First Consort."

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