“Are you asking how I used to go on dates with my wife when we were courting?”
Nox nearly exploded. After saying he was going out with that troublemaker and disappearing without a trace, his lord came back and the first thing out of his mouth was this…
Oh, my head.
Gripping his throbbing temples, Nox let out a quiet sigh.
“I heard you had a love marriage with your wife.”
“Well, that’s true…”
It was true, but Nox could already guess where this was going. His expression soured.
“I’d like you to tell me the dating courses you went on back then.”
“…”
“This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”
Since when had his lord started abusing authority like this?
Nox nearly staggered, barely holding himself upright, and forced a smile.
“You’re just asking me, to introduce her to the North, aren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“Then that’s not a date.”
To think his lord was mistaking a mere introduction to the North as a date with that suspicious woman—it made him seem all the more pitiful in his eyes.
For a moment, Nox couldn’t hide his pity and clicked his tongue inwardly.
But Lucas frowned at his words.
“Why isn’t it a date?”
“…Pardon?”
“Lize seems to think it is.”
“That witch—no, did she really say that?”
She was no ordinary woman. Judging from his lord’s expression, he had already fallen head over heels for her ploy.
“If Lize says so, then that’s what it is. I won’t disappoint her expectations.”
No matter what Nox said now, it clearly wouldn’t get through. He gave up trying.
“…Normally, couples go on dates to places with a nice atmosphere. A fancy restaurant where they can talk quietly, or if they prefer something more active, a racetrack…”
“Somewhere with a nice atmosphere?”
“Yes. Or they might go to a meaningful place and spend time together there.”
As he reluctantly drew on his own experiences, deep wrinkles formed on Nox’s face.
In contrast, Lucas’s expression grew brighter, satisfied, almost delighted—like he’d just gotten the answer he was looking for.
“So, a dating course while introducing her to the North. I’ll have to fulfill both at once.”
Lucas’s unusually serious demeanor made Nox feel an odd sense of distance, as if this wasn’t the lord he had always served.
It had never happened before. And it was all because of that mysterious woman.
Judging by Lucas’s oddly content face, he must already have a course in mind. Nox resolved to ask the question that had been weighing on him and took a deep breath.
“My lord, may I ask you something?”
“Speak.”
“Do you truly… have feelings for her?”
Gulp.
He swallowed unconsciously.
Why was he the one more nervous, even though he was the one asking?
Lucas looked at him curiously.
It was exactly the kind of look that said—
You’re really asking me that?
Nox clung to a desperate hope.
That witch could never, ever be allowed to become the Duchess of Riverton.
She might turn the entire North into a wasteland…!
The thought alone was horrifying.
From the very first day she arrived as a guest, her eccentric behavior had been bizarre, even grotesque.
And if she became the Duchess? Who knew how she’d stir up the North and this castle to her heart’s content? The headache was already unbearable.
Nox’s imagination galloped ahead—seeing them married, with children, those children inheriting her wickedness. He was ten steps ahead already.
His thoughts snowballed until he felt a chill down his spine. Shivering, he vowed to himself that it must never, ever be allowed to happen.
Then Lucas’s slow, indifferent voice broke the silence.
“Feelings, you ask… Perhaps I do.”
“…”
“She’s quite cute, isn’t she?”
W–what?
Nox nearly doubted his own ears.
His lord, who cared for nothing outside of slaying monsters, was using such soft words and smiling so fondly? Was this reality?
“W–who are you talking about? Don’t tell me… that woman?”
“Yes. The way she acts makes it hard to take my eyes off her.”
Nox almost burst out yelling on the spot.
It wasn’t because she was cute—it was because you never knew when she might cause another disaster! That was why you couldn’t take your eyes off her!
He wanted to shout, to correct Lucas’s mistaken feelings right then and there.
But all he could do was scream inwardly, silently.
“She’s a woman whose background hasn’t even been properly investigated.”
Lucas said nothing, as if he had swallowed his tongue.
But his gaze alone spoke volumes.
It was the look that said—
So what?
Nox knew that if he pressed any further, he would cross the line as a loyal subordinate.
He swallowed down everything he wanted to say and bowed his head slowly.
“…Understood.”
Not wanting to displease him, Nox was ready to withdraw quickly.
“Nox.”
He froze mid-step, on his way to the door.
“Tomorrow…”
“…”
“I’d like you to clear that place for me.”
And then Lucas mentioned, of all things, that outrageous location for tomorrow’s date course.
“W–why that place…?”
“I think it would be a fitting course to both introduce her to the North and serve as a date.”
“…”
“Am I wrong?”
With such conviction in his tone, as if it weren’t strange at all, Nox couldn’t even argue.
Had it not been for that, he wouldn’t have called in sick the very next day.
ִֶָ___________𓂃 ࣪˖ ִִֶֶָﾒ ་༘࿐__________
“Julia, here. Apply a bit more carefully.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The moment I hurried back to my room, I began pestering Julia.
I was getting a beauty pack applied, said to be good for the skin, while also receiving a massage from the maids at Garnet the butler’s special arrangement.
“Ahh, I’m melting.”
“Your shoulders seem very tense.”
No wonder. Ever since I’d arrived in the North, I’d been darting around all over the place.
Under their expert hands, I melted like pudding.
“If I’d known, I would’ve had a new dress made.”
“But I have plenty of clothes.”
Julia seemed more excited about me going out with Lucas tomorrow than I was, as if it were her own business.
In a way, she was more combative than me.
“Or at least we should have brought some fine perfume. His Grace doesn’t particularly care for perfumes, but still… I’ll make sure we request some from the upper house next week so you can use them.”
She seemed to think tomorrow’s date was as important as I did.
With a solemn face, Julia replaced the beauty pack every thirty minutes and even urged me to take out all the dresses and accessories from my magic bag.
“What, only thirteen dresses?”
Unable to resist her persistence, I showed her everything I’d brought, and she looked utterly disappointed.
“Molga says that if I wear expensive dresses, they just end up covered in dirt anyway. So I didn’t even think about bringing anything too nice. I barely managed to sneak these in.”
Julia didn’t know who Molga was, but she didn’t pry either.
Whether it was because she was sharp or just simple, I didn’t know. But I liked that about her.
“They’re lovely, but I still wish I could dress you in something even more perfect.”
Julia puffed out her cheeks, looking genuinely upset.
I waved my hand dismissively.
“Fashion is completed by the face.”
Having lived in a country obsessed with appearances, I knew this truth all too well.
But Julia tilted her head, unfamiliar with the word.
“Fashion?”
“Yes. No matter what clothes you wear, if your face is pretty or handsome, even shabby clothes look like luxury items.”
“Luxury… items?”
Apparently, even after all this time, my Korean vocabulary still hadn’t fully left me.
Catching myself, I explained again.
“It means even if the clothes are cheap and shabby, if I wear them, they’ll look expensive and elegant.”
“I see…!”
If it had been Molga, she would’ve nagged me for bragging again. But Julia just accepted it with sparkling eyes.
I was the one who felt burdened by it.
People in the North were strangely quick to flatter me.
Still, I couldn’t deny that the compliments made me smile from ear to ear.
Julia gave me a meaningful look.
When I tried to dodge her gaze, she grabbed my arm.
“W–what is it?”
“Tomorrow, you must succeed on your date!”
“S–succeed in what?”
“Oh, my lady, you know what I mean.”
I avoided her eyes, my cheeks burning, and Julia pouted.
“His Grace might not even think of it as a date. He might just believe he’s introducing me to the North. Maybe I’m the only one thinking it’s a date.”
“If a man and woman spend private time together, that’s a date, isn’t it?”
Hearing her uncharacteristically logical response, I nodded.
“Right? That’s what you think too?”
Julia’s words cleared away the nagging doubt I’d been feeling.
“But Julia, leaving the date aside—what exactly do you mean by ‘succeed’?”
“Well, that night you didn’t get to…”
“That night?”
“That evening when you and His Grace had drinks together…”
Aaagh!
I knew exactly what she was referring to and shot up from the bed.
The maids giving me a massage jumped in alarm.
“Oh my, our lady! How shy you are.”
Julia covered her mouth, laughing.
Her mischievous smile made me burst out in protest.
“There’s no way that’ll happen!”
“Yes, yes. You never know with these things.”
“No, I mean it—!”
Who knew how far her imagination had gone? I could feel myself heating up.
I fanned myself furiously, shaking my head.
Before she said anything else about that night, there was one thing I had to make clear.
“That’s not my taste!”
In the end, I spilled one of my twenty-four preferences to Julia.
