Chapter : 20
When I lowered my head, a man who looked like the word “butler” was written all over his face bowed politely in return.
A classic appearance—tailcoat, even a monocle.
I wondered if estates of this size required butlers like this.
“Thank you for making the long journey,” he said.
“Y-yes…”
Half a day spent feeling every bump of the rough road with my entire body came back to mind.
I gave a faint smile and nodded.
“The Grand Duke instructed me to attend to you well, young lady. The materials are prepared in the drawing room, so please come this way.”
It seemed Sirinu wouldn’t be coming out.
Honestly, that was probably for the best, I thought, as I followed the butler.
After serving tea, he told me to take my time with the documents and left the drawing room.
“Miss, I’ll go take care of the luggage.”
Once Yuri left as well, I slid down onto the sofa.
I could look at the documents later.
As the tension drained from my body, I suddenly felt like I needed to use the restroom.
I stood up and opened the door to the drawing room.
The hallway was so empty that not even an ant could be seen.
Not knowing where the restroom was somehow made the urge feel more urgent.
I decided to try opening a random door.
At my house, the bathroom was at the end of the hallway… Noble houses are probably similar, right?
The corridor was so quiet that my footsteps echoed loudly.
Carefully, I walked all the way to the end and reached for the doorknob.
Wait—whenever this happens, it’s never actually the bathroom.
At that moment, the door flew open.
A large man with a disheveled appearance came out.
Sirinu? He’s not wearing his eyepatch? And why are so many buttons undone—wait!
In an instant, his loosely opened shirt seemed to fill my vision.
Sirinu’s body tilted toward me.
I am not a pervert.
He started it!
I genuinely thought he was about to fall and tried to catch him.
I had no intention of hugging someone I hadn’t even properly introduced myself to (okay, we held hands once).
I’m not some deranged fan.
This was absolutely unavoidable. He fell toward me first. I was completely innocent and pure and had no ulterior motives whatsoever.
“Hey.”
So the fact that my face smashed into his chest was a tragic accident that involved zero intent on my part.
“I’m sorry.”
The sooner you apologize, the better.
I quietly pressed my lips inward.
Did he notice… that my lips and nose bounced off his chest muscles once or twice…?
I cautiously raised my eyes to check his reaction—and met his gaze.
Huh…?
There was no eyepatch.
The revealed eye shone a ruby-red color.
Despite being a completely different hue from the violet of his other eye, it somehow felt harmoniously beautiful.
“Wow…”
When I let out an involuntary gasp, Sirinu raised a hand and covered his eye.
“I didn’t realize you had a hobby of opening the door to a sleeping man’s room.”
“…Excuse me?”
Bang.
The door slammed shut in front of my face.
I stood there for a moment, processing what had just happened.
…Did I just get treated like a pervert?
“Um… hello?”
No sound came from behind the tightly closed door.
But I didn’t have the courage to knock and explain myself either.
Clutching my head, I screamed silently.
I came to my favorite’s house and smashed my lips into his chest—what a story…
As I stood there blankly, the words Arcas had said earlier came to mind.
If anything unpleasant happens, come back.
Something unpleasant definitely happened… so could I go back now…?
While I was entertaining that ridiculous thought, the door suddenly burst open, making me jump.
At some point, he must have put his eyepatch back on—Sirinu stared at me with his red eye covered.
“Someone might pass by. Come inside if you’re going to talk.”
Talk about what?
Sirinu grabbed my wrist and pulled me inside.
The door closed behind me. He braced his arms against it, trapping me between them.
It would’ve been a heart-fluttering scene, but given what I’d done, I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head.
My gaze kept drifting to his chest.
Huh?
Near the second button, there was a faint red lip mark—clearly my doing.
I’m doomed.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
At least it’s not bare skin… I guess that makes me slightly less of a pervert…
I didn’t have money to pay for cleaning, and having a noble wash it himself would be awkward…
And giving it to Yuri would be cruel.
While my thoughts were spinning, Sirinu lifted my chin.
His cold voice pierced my ears.
“Did you see it?”
See what? His chest?
Even if I did, I couldn’t admit it.
I met his eyes calmly and said,
“No?”
Sirinu’s expression hardened.
“So you did.”
His violet eye gleamed sharply. I felt a little wronged.
Then why ask if you already know…?
And weren’t you the one who opened the door dressed like that…?
I was sorry about hugging him, but couldn’t it be considered fan service…?
Sometimes, a star needs to hear honest feedback.
I gathered my courage and spoke.
“Well… it was kind of open…”
“Was it disgusting?”
What nonsense.
I stared at him, eyes wide.
“No? It was incredibly cool.”
“What?”
A body I could never achieve in my lifetime, even if I tried…
“Just existing like that is impressive. It must’ve taken so much effort…”
“……”
Sirinu pressed his lips together tightly.
Do people who have everything really not realize its value?
I shook my head with a bitter smile.
“I think it’s amazing.”
I meant it, one hundred percent.
Okay, maybe a small part of me hoped he’d feel better and forget what I’d done earlier.
“…You say the strangest things.”
Perhaps my earnest wish worked—Sirinu changed the subject, pointing at the bracelet on my wrist.
“Where did you get this?”
“I don’t really know.”
My vague answer made him frown.
“So you’re going to play dumb.”
I wanted to see him carefree, like every fan does.
So I decided to be honest, leaving out what I couldn’t say.
“I’ve worn it since I was born. They say it has the power to protect my body from monsters.”
Since I was born into this body, it wasn’t a lie.
“So that’s why… But I’ve never heard of something like that in the Weden family.”
Sirinu tilted his head, looking down at me.
“Who else knows about this?”
“Probably just me.”
“……”
He fell into thought, resting his hand on his chin.
I took the chance to step back slightly as he loosened his grip.
But Sirinu stepped forward just as much, closing the distance again.
“Don’t tell anyone. That ability—I need it.”
Use it as much as you like… If I had a bank account here, I’d spend it all on you…
When I nodded, Sirinu released my wrist and turned away.
“Wait here. Well, if you want to watch me change, I won’t stop you…”
“….”
He seemed momentarily disappointed in himself for hesitating.
I quickly walked over to the sofa in the center of the room and looked around his bedroom.
This is a bedroom?
It was stark, almost barren.
How could anyone live in a place like this?
I felt genuinely sorry for Sirinu’s completely uncozy living environment.
I’d felt chilly for a while now—one of the windows was slightly open.
The room was large, but sparsely furnished, making it feel even colder.
Isn’t a Grand Duke supposed to be someone really important?
The room was far too simple for his status.
The furniture looked expensive, but the emptiness couldn’t be ignored.
As I looked around, Sirinu, now neatly dressed, approached from behind.
“What are you staring at?”
I spoke with genuine concern.
“If you sleep with the window open, you’ll catch a cold.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“I sleep outside too. What’s the difference?”
You have a perfectly good house—why sleep outside?!
“Sleep inside. Sleep is important.”
When I muttered that, Sirinu snorted softly.
“I have to want to come back to the estate first. But while you’re here, I’ll stay.”
He opened the door and gestured outside with his chin.
“The room you’ll be staying in has its windows shut, so don’t worry.”
It would be my precious place of rest while I stayed here.
With an excited heart, I followed behind him.
Sirinu opened the door to the room next door.
The moment I looked inside, I couldn’t stop my face from twisting in shock.
