Chapter 89

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Feigning Forgetfulness
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She opened the door to the study and entered with her usual expression.

“Hello. Du—Gerald.”

“Why’s the way you address me slipping back again?”

She’d changed it quickly, but he’d caught her. She wanted to say, ‘I’m nervous,’ but to avoid showing it, she smoothly changed the subject.

“Was your day peaceful?”

Marin approached the duke and picked up the bowl containing the Mandelsong herb.

“Do you remember what happened yesterday?”

“I don’t remember what happened yesterday.”

Marin squeezed her eyes shut and spat out her prepared line in an instant.

I can do this. Play dumb.

“……Is that so?”

She cracked her eyes open and stole a glance at him. He was leaning back in his chair leisurely.

“Yes.”

Maintaining a calm facade, Marin placed the cloth over the duke’s eyes and applied the Mandelsong paste.

“I asked how your day was. Busy.”

“Oh, you were busy. Did you have a lot of reports today?”

Good. That sounded natural.

Marin smiled inwardly with satisfaction and responded mechanically to the duke’s words.

“No. Chest workout.”

“Oh, chest…….”

Up close, she could see the duke’s mouth corner twitching upward slightly.

He’s already starting to tease me when I’m not even mentally prepared?

Marin did her best to stay composed and replied nonchalantly.

“Oh, w-well, ahem. Chest workout, I see.”

“Someone kept groping it.”

“Oh, someone kept, ahem, gro— ahem, ping, ahem, it, ahem.”

Marin wanted to collapse and cry right then and there.

Was speaking this difficult? She barely overcame herself to finish the sentence.

Good job, me.

“I told her to stop groping my chest, but she wouldn’t listen.”

But the duke’s onslaught continued.

“When did I do that! Oh, I see.”

Marin’s eyes widened in indignation and her voice rose, but she forcibly switched her words midway.

That person in the story isn’t me.

“She even tried to unbutton my shirt…….”

The duke trailed off in a languid voice.

Marin’s legs suddenly went weak, and she staggered before barely catching herself on the desk.

No, this guy. How much of a pervert is he turning me into right now?

“So I unbuttoned one for her…….”

“I’m sorry.”

She lost.

Marin cut off the duke’s words because she couldn’t bear to hear any more.

“For what?”

“I remember everything. When did I try to unbutton it? You can’t just make up things that didn’t happen!”

***

Marin fanned her burning face vigorously with her hand.

How embarrassing.

The duke burst into laughter.

“Stop laughing. The paste will fall off.”

“You said my smile is pretty once.”

“When there’s no paste in your eyes.”

The duke smiled silently.

If I could just smack those annoying red lips once, all my wishes would come true.

Marin pouted and pulled out a picture book.

The only way to survive was to put the duke to sleep quickly and leave.

“I’ll read. Once upon a time, there lived a rabbit and a turtle. They had a goal: to win the long-distance race held once a year. They always practiced together. Today, too, the rabbit ran hard. So its chest went thump-thump.

‘Rabbit, your chest is so bi— ahem. g.’

‘After running long and taking a deep breath, your chest gets bi— ahem. gger.’

‘Really?’

The turtle took a deep breath.

‘Is my chest bi— ahem. g now too?’”

Her pupils trembled as if there was an earthquake.

“Haah……Gerald.”

Marin let out a deep sigh and slammed the picture book shut.

Looking down at the duke, his chest was heaving. From holding back laughter.

Everything’s heaving everywhere.

Marin turned her gaze away with distant eyes.

The curtains weren’t even in the wind, so why were they shaking nonstop?

Marin gripped the picture book tightly. She wanted to tear it to shreds right then.

She had picked this book a week ago, unaware something like this would happen.

She hadn’t known it had so many chest references back then.

“……Why?”

The duke asked in a voice barely holding back laughter.

“I think I picked the wrong book. I’ll get another one.”

Marin whispered with a defeated expression.

“Good idea. If you keep holding that one, I won’t be able to sleep.”

The duke permitted it while still suppressing his laughter.

“I think so too.”

Marin slumped her shoulders and trudged toward the study door.

Ha, life is bitter.

The moment she closed the study door, the duke’s laughter rang out.

Right. The male lead has to laugh too. People have to laugh and live.

Marin tried to hypnotize herself with positive thoughts, but her eyes kept misting over.

* * *

Arriving at the training grounds and warming up with a jog, Marin was startled to see Garnet.

Garnet’s lush blonde hair had been chopped off.

“Junior Garnet? Your hair…….”

“How is it? Suits me?”

Garnet awkwardly touched the back of her boyishly short hair.

Marin nodded quickly. It suited her too well.

But why so suddenly?

“I’m going to become a knight. This hair is like my resolve.”

Garnet smiled refreshingly.

***

“What?”

Marin’s eyes widened in surprise.

The novel only briefly mentioned ‘learning the sword from the butler,’ so she hadn’t known Garnet wanted to become a knight.

“So I have something to ask you, Senior Marin.”

“Ask away.”

“Why do you train in a skirt?”

Marin trained every day in the most worn-out dress she owned.

“I’m learning for self-defense. I thought training in the clothes I usually wear would let me move naturally in an emergency.”

“Oh, then I should switch to pants from now on.”

“Good thinking. But you’re serious about becoming a knight?”

“Yeah. Is it weird for a woman to become a knight?”

Garnet was sincerely asking for her opinion, not in her usual prickly, haughty cat mode.

Marin shook her head with a ‘what are you talking about’ smile.

“No. I’m honored to be the one gifting the first sword to a future knight.”

Garnet blinked, not understanding.

Marin brought over the long leather bundle leaning against a tree behind the training grounds.

As if telling her to unwrap it, Marin held it out, and Garnet took it reflexively and undid the leather straps.

“Oh…….”

Under the leather was a scabbard adorned with soft wave patterns of gold dust on flesh-colored metal. The white hilt embedded with multicolored jewels looked incredibly mystical, unlike anything Garnet had seen before.

She carefully gripped the hilt and drew the sword, revealing a blade so clean it mirrored her face.

“……Why this?”

Garnet’s green eyes trembled in bewilderment.

“I wanted to gift it to you as a senior. Truth be told, though I called you ‘junior’ freely here, I also wanted to get close to Lady Adria. It’s a bribe, a bribe.”

Garnet carefully set the gifted sword down on the leather and hugged Marin tightly.

Taller than Marin by a handspan, Garnet buried her face in her shoulder.

“Thank you. I’ll treasure it forever.”

Marin patted the back of Garnet’s short-cropped hair. Cutting such beautiful hair like this. Her resolve was impressive.

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t it weird to go back to polite speech with your junior?”

Garnet reverted to her prickly cat self.

“Right, Junior Garnet.”

“Hey, you two have a heartwarming senior-junior bond, but training time’s up.”

Ubis, who had appeared out of nowhere, slung his scabbard over his shoulder and spoke.

“Got it.”

Marin ran off across the training grounds first.

Ubis looked at Garnet’s shortened hair with a regretful gaze.

“Why? Weird?”

“It was pretty. Oh, of course it’s pretty now too.”

Garnet’s eyes widened in surprise at Ubis’s frank words.

“Why? Weird because I’m using casual speech?”

Garnet nodded with a dazed expression.

Though she was more shocked by his words.

“You want to be a knight, right? You’re my junior now, so casual speech from here on. Call me senior. I got orders from His Grace, so I’ll work you hard from now on.”

Ubis’s eyes sparkled mischievously.

“Sounds good.”

“Hey, to your senior. Yes, sir.”

“Yes. Yes, sir, Senior.”

Garnet quickly corrected herself. She had to start from the very bottom now.

“Good, junior. Twenty laps around the training grounds starting today.”

“Yes!”

***

Garnet replied with a voice full of spirit and began running around the training grounds.

Marin’s back was visible in the distance.

I have to catch up. And advance forward!

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