Chapter 149

Chapter 149

That’s not true… I’m the one who can’t win here. I’d always gladly let you have the victory, Duke.

But that wasn’t important right now. What mattered was not letting this moment slip away. Without another word, I brought my face to his. He lifted me and set me on the desk. His hand had already slipped beneath the hem of my skirt, grazing my knee.

Should I close my eyes?! *

The atmosphere called for it, but I also wanted to see what was happening. So I kept my eyes wide open and simply pressed my lips forward. But maybe I was too tense. My teeth clacked against his with a sharp *click.*

Something had clearly gone wrong—I knew that much. I tried again, hoping to salvage it.

*Click.*

Teeth knocked together once more. Louder this time, even.

“Fff—”

Then a sound escaped the duke’s lips—a laugh, like air slowly leaking from a balloon. It was the kind of laugh you try to suppress, holding it in until you just can’t anymore. My face flared hot in an instant.

“D-don’t laugh!”

“Ah… I’m sorry. Sorry.”

He apologized, but the smile still clung to the corners of his eyes. A maddeningly irritating sight, honestly.

“Don’t—laugh at me,” I managed, my voice cracking.

“Alright. I won’t.” His reply came low, almost a murmur. Then those blue eyes of his quietly looked down at me. Meeting his gaze, my heart started pounding in a strange, traitorous rhythm. And that was precisely why I could never win. An honest, unbidden response to how much I liked him kept bubbling up, impossible to hide.

His voice came low when he answered. Then he looked down at me with those blue eyes, quiet and steady. Meeting his gaze like that, my heart began to race in a strange way. And that was exactly why I could never win against him—reactions so honest they betrayed how much I liked him kept slipping out.

“Ah, right—about our engagement ceremony…”

I blurted out the first nonsense that came to mind, deliberately avoiding the duke’s eyes. My arms, which had been looped around his neck, slipped down. I was hoping to fumble my way past that embarrassing moment from a second ago.

“They say flowers will be scarce, seeing as it’s that season. Hmm… but it’s fine—they can add more lighting instead. My friend Hereis works at the Imperial Castle, and apparently that’s what they do there.”

“……”

Without a word, the duke stepped closer. I edged backward the same distance.

“The ceremony somehow landed right in the middle of the Academy’s semester. But Lucia said she could skip a day of classes, so that’s okay too.”

“……”

“And…”

By now, even I didn’t know what I was saying. It felt like every sentence drifting through my head was just tumbling out of my mouth. And through it all, the duke kept closing in. If I leaned back any further, I’d topple over backward. But he kept pressing forward, relentless.

“Laura.”

When there was nowhere left to retreat, he caught my waist and the back of my neck. Then he laid me out neatly on the desk.

“Can I keep going?”

His voice, honey-sweet, clung to my ear.

“Yes—yes sir!”

I clasped my hands together over my chest as if in prayer and nodded vigorously.

“Just… don’t grit your teeth so hard.”

“Ah. Right. Of course.”

I instantly let the tension drain from my jaw and parted my lips, which had been pressed tight. The duke let out a soft huff of laughter and cupped my face. My nerves left me no choice but to roll my eyes around frantically.

Ah, screw it! A woman should have guts!

With a surge of bravado, I looped my arms back around his neck. But that was exactly the moment. Over his shoulder, I spotted a wisp of smoke rising. The moment it took shape, it flinched in surprise, trembling. Then it formed the shape of a long tail, wagged it twice, and quickly slithered away into nothing.

It seemed to be saying, ‘Sorry. Go on, then.’

Ah…

The image of a mother who had just witnessed her son’s romantic affairs.

Should I… even continue?

In an instant, my whole body went rigid. The duke paused, his movement stuttering to a halt. He must have seen it as rejection. But that was absolutely not the case.

“Ah, to hell with it. I’ll just finish what I started… She gave us space, didn’t she!”

I yanked him toward me and squeezed my eyes shut. A wet pressure settled against my lips. I let him lead, and we shared a long kiss, following his rhythm.

* * *

Dressed and made-up, the woman in the mirror was a stranger. She didn’t look like me—not like Laura Highen at all. It was as if, after smoothing on the powder, they’d painted an entirely new face over mine.

“Hah… my masterpiece. I poured my soul into this! Three hours… Ah, I’m exhausted now.”

The lady-in-waiting who’d done my makeup wiped sweat from her brow with her sleeve. Three hours and thirty minutes, to be exact. She’d been focused that long; it’d be strange if she weren’t tired. But the result was perfect. Even if it didn’t feel like me…

“Wow… isn’t that a bit too much soul? I don’t even recognize myself.”

“Nonsense! The makeup *is* the real face. You just hadn’t revealed it until now!”

She snapped back at me, then wobbled out, muttering she needed a rest. Even after she left, I stood there for a while gazing at my reflection, admiring my face. My skin looked so smooth I almost gasped.

“Wow… incredible. Absolutely stunning. Turns out I’m quite the beauty!”

I murmured to myself without thinking. But then, the duke’s reflection suddenly appeared in the mirror. I turned my head to find him standing there, impeccably dressed.

“Ah, you’re here?”

I tested the waters, speaking to him. A nervous flutter—what if he’d heard me talking to myself?

“You’ve always been beautiful.”

He let out a light laugh. The kind that said, clear as day, he’d heard every word.

Tch… Picking *now* to tease me.

“…Why didn’t you knock before coming in?”

“Because the door was wide open.”

As I grumbled, he pointed toward the door with his thumb. The lady-in-waiting must have left without closing it. Heaven help me. She’d probably been too exhausted to remember. I was left speechless.

“Let’s go. The engagement ceremony will start soon.”

He added, stepping closer and offering me his hand. With no other choice, I placed my palm in his. We slipped out of the room and walked side by side down the corridor.

“You must have worked hard preparing.”

He looked down at me.

“Well… I can’t exactly deny that.”

I was the one overseeing this entire banquet from start to finish. Not that I didn’t lean on plenty of people—I knew my shortcomings. Still, my touch had passed over every last detail. I’d poured real effort into preparing a flawless engagement party. Of course, for a secretary it was grossly overstepping my bounds. But I’d be his fiancée soon enough. So what did it matter?

“Still, it was fun. It’s our engagement—I wanted to do it right. But I could never do it twice. Honestly, it was exhausting.”

“Then nothing to worry about. We won’t be having two engagement ceremonies.”

Chattering away like that, we found ourselves before the banquet hall doors. I took a long, nervous breath. A moment later the doors swung open, revealing the hall decked in dazzling lights. The Duke and I stepped inside slowly.

“Congratulations on your engagement.”

“Congratulations.”

More people had gathered than I’d expected. Strangers—faces I’d never seen—flocked to the Duke’s side and offered their congratulations. Judging by their bearing, a few of them seemed to be royalty. Not that I knew them, but I had to exchange pleasantries in a daze all the same.

“Lady Highen, you look lovely today. Illiaje, congratulations on the engagement.”

Soon the Marquis approached us, speaking in that ever-genial tone of his. We returned his warm greeting with gratitude.

“Laura!”

Just then, Hereis came up to me. She greeted the Duke and Marquis first, then abruptly grabbed my hand.

“You look stunning today. Congratulations.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

But beside her stood that bird-brained young lady—no, Lady Teamir—who’d always tormented me. I’d sent her an invitation on a whim, and it looked like she’d taken it.

“Congratulations…” she said in a small, deflated voice.

She’d always been insufferable, but today she struck me as almost endearing. Perhaps it was simply a generous day—my heart felt too full to care about all the times she’d tried to make my life miserable.

“Thank you,” I said.

So I gave Lady Teamir a bright smile and offered my thanks all the same.

“Unnie!”

“Big siiiis!”

A little later, my siblings swarmed around me. I noticed the fourth and fifth were wearing outfits made from the same fabric. It looked like someone had been frugal with the cloth, out of habit.

“Wow. You matched Roti and Ryan’s clothes? That’s adorable.”

But cute was cute, so I looked down at the children dressed in sunflower-yellow and commented.

“Yeah. Big brother even tied our ribbons.”

Roti spun in place as if she’d been touched by a god. Ren just shrugged beside her, then let out an awkward cough, glancing between the Duke and me.

“Congratulations on the engagement. I’m glad my sister seems happy here… and thank you, Your Excellency.”

That didn’t sound like him at all. He looked like a child trying to act grown up, and I had to bite back a laugh. Of course, I kept it bottled up tight on the outside.

“Your Excellency, Lady Highen!”

After that, we met a priest who’d arrived dressed neatly. Without his vestments, he seemed like nothing more than a plain, handsome young man.

“Now that you possess such immense divine power, you won’t have any need to call for me.”

He said it with a look full of disappointment.

“Probably not.”

“It’s a relief you’re not possessed, but I’m a little sorry about it. If either of you ever have business at the temple, please do seek me out. I’ll grant you a blessing.”

“Yes, we will.”

The priest offered a short farewell and withdrew. Even after he left, we still had to greet a great many more people.