Chapter 10
“Good morning! Auntie Bell gave us some eggs today, so I made an omelet… Oh my?”
Ruby, who had been setting the table for breakfast, flinched when she saw Heter and me entering the dining room.
“Hmm~”
Ruby followed with a nasal hum and a knowing smile.
“Looks like the makeup I did for you yesterday really worked!”
“It’s not like that.”
I chided Ruby, whose shoulders were practically squared with pride.
Her skills really were impressive, but because of that impressive makeup, I couldn’t talk to Heter until half the day had passed.
‘Besides, the punishment I’m receiving now has nothing to do with the makeup.’
“My lady is right.”
“?”
I stared in surprise at Heter, who had agreed with me.
What was he talking about, after bolting because he couldn’t bear seeing me in makeup?
“If it had worked, I wouldn’t be walking around like this.”
When he casually raised his right hand, my left hand rose with it.
My left arm dangled limply in the air, while Heter’s right hand held my left hand tightly so it wouldn’t fall.
“This is merely a light punishment.”
‘Yes, it is a light punishment.’
All I had to do was hold hands with him until bedtime.
Of course, there was the minor restriction that I absolutely couldn’t let go.
“Punishment? What kind of punishment is it that the head of the household is just letting someone hold her hand?”
“Well…”
“Aha-ha-ha-ha-ha!”
When Heter told Ruby about the contract they’d made yesterday, she burst into hysterical laughter.
“Haaah, you two made a contract like that? That’s so cute!”
“What?”
No, I didn’t understand how she could call that cute.
Although I was one of the parties to the contract, what was cute about a contract that gradually transferred ownership of someone’s body to another person?
“Even so, after making a contract like that, all you do is hold hands?”
“That part is true.”
“Isn’t that incredibly cute for a romance between two fully grown adults?”
Well, after listening to her, I suppose there was something cute about it.
But there was one thing she had gotten wrong.
“I’m not dating Sir Heter.”
“Pfft! Right! Of course you aren’t!”
Ruby burst out laughing as though she’d heard something hilarious.
I hadn’t said it to be funny.
“Stop laughing and eat first. The food’s going to get cold.”
“Y-Yes, all right.”
Ruby wiped away her tears and sat down, still shaking with laughter. I was about to sit at the table when—
“Sir Heter? Why are you just standing there?”
“Ah, I was just thinking.”
Heter was standing there like a post while holding my hand, so I couldn’t sit down.
“What on earth were you thinking about?”
“I was thinking about our relationship.”
“Our relationship?”
Why was he making such a serious expression over something like that?
“It’s just a master-and-servant relationship, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t that too stiff? I even confessed that I like you, my lady.”
The slight wrinkle that appeared between his brows suggested that he wasn’t pleased with my answer.
“But what can I do? That’s the truth.”
I did like him, but only as a person.
I still didn’t feel any romantic attraction toward him.
“Sigh~ You’re the same as ever, my lady.”
Ruby looked at me with pity.
“So many men have shown interest in you, my lady, but you’ve treated every single one of them so coldly.”
That was unavoidable, considering that in the past, my identity as a man had been much stronger than it was now.
It had felt like being confessed to by a man as a man, so how could I have acted warmly toward them?
“That’s why I thought you liked women!”
In truth, when it came to men and women, my heart still leaned toward women, but I had improved a lot.
If I used to like women ten to zero, now it was closer to six to four.
“Anyway, we’re still in that kind of relationship, so don’t let it upset you. Let’s eat.”
“---!”
I pulled him toward his seat once more, and Ruby suddenly let out a sound like a dolphin.
“Did you hear that? We’re still in that kind of relationship—still! That means there’s hope for the future! I’ve never heard you say something like that to a man before!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes!”
When he heard that he was the first, the wrinkle between his brows smoothed out again.
‘He’s so simple.’
Well, considering the girlfriend I’d had before going into the military in my previous life, simple was probably better.
I’d once been told, ‘You analyzed my feelings and apologized because I told you not to touch me, didn’t you?!’ after I’d done my best to apologize because I thought she’d be angry if I really didn’t touch her….
“Ugh….”
“What’s wrong, my lady? Don’t tell me there was eggshell in it?!”
“No, it’s nothing. By the way, this omelet is really delicious, Ruby.”
“Hehe! Then now that we’ve made money from the magical beast, perhaps you could raise my salary too….”
“That won’t do.”
“That’s not fair!”
“Hehe.”
I gave a small laugh at Ruby’s crestfallen expression and was about to continue eating my omelet when—
“Hmm?”
I suddenly noticed that Heter’s omelet hadn’t diminished at all.
‘Why? Does he dislike eggs?’
I looked at him while wondering that, and then—
Drip.
“….”
Our eyes met as Heter tried to eat his soup with his trembling left hand, only to spill it back into the bowl.
‘Could it be that he can’t use his left hand?!’
I could only gape in shock.
After all, knights were so much more physically capable than ordinary people that I had naturally assumed he could use utensils skillfully with his left hand as well.
“Sir Heter. Surely you can’t use your left hand properly?”
“I’m right-handed, after all.”
“Then why don’t you let go of my hand while you eat?!”
He only needed to let go while eating. Why was he struggling to eat with a hand that didn’t even work properly?
“No. Until I perform a great deed, I don’t know when I’ll be able to hold this hand again. I want to hold it for even one second longer.”
“No….”
What a fool.
Other kinds of physical affection aside, I could hold his hand as much as he wanted.
“I’ll hold your hand later….”
At that moment, something flashed through my mind.
What if this was Heter’s plan?
What if, since the contract was already signed, he couldn’t hold my hand again until he performed a great deed, and this was an elaborate trap designed to let him hold it afterward?!
“You’ll hold it for me?”
“I meant to tell you to enjoy it in advance, since I won’t hold it for you later.”
Saying that, I scooped up some omelet and put it in my mouth.
‘Phew, I almost took the bait.’
This guy… he was far more devious than he looked.
The meal continued with me having barely escaped his trap, but—
Drip.
“Ah.”
He still couldn’t eat properly.
And as I watched him—
‘Damn it!’
I simply couldn’t ignore him.
I’d already said that I wouldn’t hold his hand for him later, so I couldn’t let go now.
Clink.
“Here, hurry up and eat.”
“?”
Unable to help it, I scooped up some perfectly good omelet with my spoon and held it out in front of his mouth.
“Pardon?”
“What’s with that? I have a lot to do after breakfast. If you, Sir Heter, keep holding my hand and won’t let go while dragging your feet like this, isn’t that a waste of time?”
I pushed the spoonful of omelet a little closer to his mouth.
“Hurry up and eat!”
I was doing this because it was frustrating to watch, but saying I was busy wasn’t exactly a lie.
I really did have plenty to do, such as organizing the documents on the wages to be paid to the territory’s people for dismantling the Snow Wyrm and sorting out which products we could safely release onto the market.
“Understood….”
Eventually, after hesitating, Heter slowly put the omelet into his mouth.
“Good. Here, have another bite.”
I pushed another bite of omelet into his mouth like a mother trying to feed a child who was leaving for school without eating breakfast.
“….”
“Hwaaah….”
Yet the more he ate, the more Heter’s pale skin flushed red, while Ruby looked as though she were melting.
“Why are you two acting like that? It’s not as if this is some romantic atmosphere.”
“If this keeps up, I feel like I could spit sugar out of my mouth….”
“?”
When I gave her a completely bewildered look, Heter, who was chewing the omelet, pointed at the spoon.
“Isn’t that the spoon you were using, my lady?”
“…Ah.”
Right.
This was an indirect kiss.
Heat rushed over me.
It had been fine when I hadn’t realized it, but the moment I became aware of it, my neck and ears suddenly grew hot.
“W-What’s the big deal? Things like this happen!”
But even as I said that, I knew the truth.
There was nothing strange about two men using utensils that someone else had used, but it was different between a man and a woman.
Especially when it was a spoon, rather than a utensil like a fork or chopsticks that had less surface contact.
“…Are you giving me your spoon?”
“It’s fine. It’s already too late.”
After Heter finished his omelet, I hesitated a little when I went back to finish mine, but—
Chomp.
“….”
I simply ate it.
“….”
For some reason, the omelet tasted slightly different from before.
It was just my imagination, probably.
Definitely….
***
“Aren’t you going to train?”
After breakfast, when I returned to my study and was about to begin working,
I brought over a chair and asked Heter, who had sat down beside me.
“Yes. Surely I can take a day off.”
“Nngh….”
Well, he hadn’t even let go while eating, so there was no way he would let go just because he had to train.
‘It must be inconvenient not to be able to use both hands, but it can’t be helped.’
In any case, as he’d said, this inconvenience would last only today.
So while I carried out my duties, Heter sat beside me and fiddled with something in his left hand.
Knock, knock.
“Who is it?”
A knock sounded from outside the study.
“It’s me, my lady.”
“Ah, Sir Gold. Come in.”
“Yes. I heard Sir Heter was here, so I came to see him, but…?!”
The door opened, and Sir Gold took a step back in surprise when he saw Heter sitting beside me in the study.
“Welcome. What brings you here?”
“Um… why is Sir Heter sitting beside you?”
“You don’t need to worry about it, Sir Gold. What did you come to see me about?”
Heter spoke in a calm tone, as though he were doing something perfectly ordinary.
“Ahem. Well, the Snow Wyrm dismantling is starting again today, and all the territory’s people said they wanted to thank Sir Heter.”
“They want to thank me?”
Sir Gold nodded.
“The territory’s people all know. They know that Sir Heter nearly died protecting them.”
“I see. Unfortunately, that might be difficult. I intend to hold hands with my lady all day today.”
“Sir Heter!”
I raised my voice at Sir Heter as he lifted our interlaced hands.
“Hold hands with Miss Alice all day…? What does that mean?”
Sir Gold, who hadn’t heard the explanation yet, looked utterly flustered.
“Th-That’s what I mean, Sir Gold. Please calm down for now.”
“How dare you touch Miss Alice’s hand….”
“Sir Gold!”
Sir Gold glared at Heter as though he were looking at an enemy, then managed to maintain his composure after taking several deep breaths.
“In that case… how about the two of you go out together? I was hoping the head of the household would say a few words to the territory’s people anyway.”
“Pardon?”
He wanted me to give a speech in this state?
I looked at Heter with a doubtful expression.
‘You’ll let go when I make the speech, right?’
Heter gave me a faint smile in response to my desperate look and—
Back and forth.
He firmly shook his head.
‘Fucking bastard.’
I cursed him heartily inside my head, then turned back to Sir Gold.
“Are all the territory’s people gathered in the yard?”
“They are.”
“Understood. We’ll go shortly.”
“Yes. Then I’ll tell them to prepare.”
Sir Gold finished his business, gave us a crisp bow, and left the study.
“Are you going now?”
After Sir Gold left, Heter asked me that.
“There won’t be any time once today is over.”
Starting tomorrow, the territory’s people would be hard at work, and I didn’t want to interrupt them in the middle of it.
“Let’s go.”
“Understood.”
When I rose from my seat, Heter rose with me.
***
The study was empty after Alice and Heter left.
On the study’s desk lay the documents Alice had been looking at, a pen, and a rose made of paper.
It was such a well-made artificial flower that, once colored, it would be difficult to tell it from a real one-–but that was the flower Heter had been touching with his left hand until just now.