CHAPTER 52……………….
Arpad tilted his head.
“What do you mean I’m trying to brush things off with my good looks?”
I snapped back sharply.
“That… that squirrel comment!”
Arpad chuckled.
“Why would I brush that off? There’s no need.”
“What?”
I glared at him, annoyed at his tone—as if there was no reason to excuse himself.
“Think about it. I didn’t do anything wrong, so why would I need to smooth things over?”
This man!
I was about to explode when Arpad suddenly leaned his face right up close to mine.
“!”
I froze in shock.
And while I faltered, he carried on in a perfectly logical voice.
“You asked me to draw attention away from you. I simply chose the most effective way to do it.”
“…Ha!”
“If you’re upset because I failed to draw attention, I’d understand. But that’s not the case, is it?”
I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t.
Because it was true.
He hadn’t just fulfilled my request—he’d gone above and beyond. Too far.
Arpad smirked and gave his verdict.
“So in the end, you’re just sulking because you’re embarrassed.”
“That’s…!”
It was pointless to deny it—he wouldn’t believe me.
In the end, I gave up trying to wring the words “I’m sorry” and “I won’t do it again” out of him.
Clearly, I’d expected too much.
So I boldly declared:
“Fine! Then I’ll return the favor exactly the way you did it! Don’t come crying later!”
Arpad beamed.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
That overflowing confidence was infuriating.
I swore to myself:
“I’ll break that smug composure of yours! I will!”
I had to see him trembling with shame and embarrassment.
As my vengeful thoughts burned, Arpad’s smiling face suddenly closed in again.
“Eek!”
I’d been distracted, completely unguarded—so I jumped.
His breath brushed against my lips, he was that close.
“Too… too close…”
Fortunately, he didn’t go any further.
Instead, his hand reached up to toy with my hair.
“Your hair color is fascinating. Like cherry blossom petals… or cotton candy.”
I let out a shaky breath.
“Thank goodness. I thought he was going to kiss me.”
But relief came too soon.
Arpad twisted a strand of my hair between his fingers and suddenly dropped a bomb.
“As for you thinking I rely on my looks… Isn’t it really that you find me so attractive, you mistake everything I do as some ‘handsome trick’?”
“…What?”
I shook my head desperately.
“Of course not! You’re not my type.”
At that, his expression grew a little serious.
“…Really? Then what is your type?”
Stubborn pride flared up in me.
This time, I refused to get swept along.
So I deliberately picked a type completely opposite to Arpad.
“Well, first off—I don’t like men who are too handsome. It’s burdensome.”
“Hm?”
A frown creased his brow.
“This is the first time I’ve heard a woman say she dislikes handsome men.”
“I told you—it’s just my preference! And… I prefer someone shorter than you, sturdier, with a gentle face… a diligent type!”
“……”
Arpad didn’t smooth out his frown, but tilted his head, studying me. Then he asked:
“Isn’t that… that knight? The one you specifically asked me to bring to you?”
“…Huh?”
I had only been describing someone different from him.
I hadn’t realized it sounded suspiciously like Sir Beltane.
I answered honestly.
“Oh, the similarity to Sir Beltane is just coincidence.”
“As always, don’t you think that excuse doesn’t mean much?”
“And as always, it’s not an excuse—it’s just the truth.”
It really was.
There was nothing between me and Sir Beltane.
“Well… except for that knight’s oath, I suppose.”
But that was all—just loyalty between knight and lady.
That was when Arpad, for the first time, asked seriously again:
“You truly aren’t… lovers with him?”
He sounded oddly cautious.
“I told you, no.”
I shrugged.
“If we were, why would I bother hiding it?”
“…Even though I’m your lawful spouse?”
There he goes again with that “lawful spouse” line.
I still didn’t understand why he’d gotten fixated on that lately.
So I stated plainly:
“That’s because ours is a contract marriage. You’re free to have a lover, and I wouldn’t mind. Just as you don’t care if I do.”
It was true—we had exchanged an actual contract.
I knew Arpad would eventually take a lover, and I was prepared to let him go when the time came.
So his jabs about Sir Beltane being my ‘lover’—I assumed it was just his usual mocking tone.
“……”
I expected him to nod and agree.
But he stayed silent for a long time.
Puzzled, I looked up.
“Arpad?”
He narrowed his eyes at me, his expression hard to read.
Before I could speak again, he suddenly said:
“Do you remember our promise?”
“…What promise?”
“That time I abducted you—we made a promise.”
Abduction marriage contract? But that had been in the catacombs… or was it the summer palace where we signed?
Then he clarified.
“The promise we made about that knight.”
“…Ah!”
The only one who had drawn his sword against Arpad back then was Sir Beltane.
In exchange for sparing him from a charge of treason, I had promised to grant something Arpad asked.
“Ugh, I’d hoped he’d forgotten that!”
But of course, he hadn’t.
Not Arpad.
Especially not when it was to his advantage.
Denying it was pointless. If I tried, he’d just pick a fight with Sir Beltane again.
So I nodded.
“I remember. Why? Do you have something you want to ask me now?”
To my surprise, Arpad nodded.
And then made a demand I never saw coming.
“When it’s just the two of us—don’t talk about other men.”
“…!”
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
Wasn’t that… jealousy? Possessiveness?
I quickly shook the thought off.
“No way.”
Still, it wasn’t a difficult request. Easy enough for me to agree to.
I almost nodded right away—but then realized something strange.
“…Wait a second. You’re the one who brought up Sir Beltane first.”
Arpad’s eyes widened.
“Surprisingly, that’s true.”
Why did he say it so stupidly? It didn’t suit him.
He tilted his head the other way, in a gesture that, oddly enough, almost looked… cute.
“Ah, then—unless I bring it up first, you won’t talk about other men in front of me?”
“That’s right.”
I nodded easily.
Arpad smiled brightly—his grin strangely boyish, and for some reason he looked satisfied.
While I blinked at this unexpected side of him, he slyly added:
“Then I’ll cancel my request.”
“…What? Excuse me?”
What was he saying all of a sudden?!
“You just said yourself—you wouldn’t bring up other men unless I mentioned them first. So I don’t need to waste my precious request. Cancelled.”
That petty bastard!
The dragon bloodline clearly carried not only a foul temper and the risk of madness—but shameless cunning as well.
Two days later.
While being dressed in the toilette room, I received a letter from the Black Mercenary Corps.
The contents were simple:
“The tea leaves have been safely delivered. The payment you gave us earlier is sufficient.”
On the surface, it was ordinary, meaningless.
Of course, it was coded.
“Tea leaves” referred to Lady Solene.
Which meant the letter really said this:
“Lady Solene has given her positive answer, through the method you provided.”
Excellent. Time for the next stage.
I smiled confidently.
