Chapter 63

"Exactly what is this...?"

The confusion was palpable on Altear's furrowed face. After standing frozen for a moment, Altear, seemingly having made a decision, tightly closed his mouth and strode forward, coming close to me and bending down. Normally, I would have been startled by the sudden closeness and taken a step back, but my body was so lethargic that I didn't even think about moving away from Altear. Altear, now close enough for his breath to be felt, took a deep breath near my neck as if searching for something, then stepped back with a look of bewilderment, as if he had been greatly surprised when he entered the room.

"What is this...?"

Wondering why he was reacting this way, I blinked and then remembered that he had mentioned something about a scent when he opened the door.

"Is there something wrong with the way I smell?"

I raised my arm, pressed my nose to my skin, and sniffed, but couldn't detect any unusual scent, perhaps because my nose was already numb to my own smell. I looked back at Altear with a puzzled expression, and he groaned, then approached me again.

"It's not a strange smell... Did you perhaps put some perfume on your body?"

"Yes. Mari applied it for me. She said it's popular among the ladies these days, but I think I was scammed."

"Scammed?"

At the mention of a scam, Altear's eyes flashed fiercely, and I nodded.

"Yes. She said it's a magical perfume that improves the relationship between a husband and wife, but there's no such thing in the world. I must have been scammed."

"…If it has that meaning, it might not be a scam."

"Huh?"

"…I can clearly see why this perfume is supposed to improve the relationship between a husband and wife."

But how did Altear know that nothing had happened? I opened my eyes wide in surprise, and Altear sighed deeply, looking frustrated.

"Don't you know why you're in this state? It's because of the perfume Mari applied."

"My state...? I'm just a bit warm..."

"Look, it's not just that you're warm..."

Altear trailed off, running his hand through his hair, which made his hair messy, with the back part sticking up. I thought I should tidy up his hair, so I got up and reached out, but before my hand could touch him, he quickly turned his head to avoid my touch.

"It's better if you don't touch me right now."

"Why?"

"It seems that the perfume contains some kind of aphrodisiac. If you touch me, you'll be in more trouble."

"Huh? A, a, a...?"

I was flustered by the unexpected explanation and couldn't form coherent words. Now I understood why Mari had smiled strangely, why my body temperature was unusually high, and why Altear had covered his nose with a confused look when he entered the room.

'Mari, you're crazy!'

My face flushed with embarrassment, and my already high body temperature seemed to rise even more.

"It, it wasn't intentional!"

I shook my head vigorously, insisting on my innocence, and Altear shrugged.

"I know. My innocent wife wouldn't use something like this. Everyone knows that."

I couldn't tell if his response was a compliment or a criticism. The noble ladies of the capital considered cunning and shrewdness as virtues. They thought it was shameful to lose what they had in their hands by being foolish. Sensing my mixed feelings, Altear carefully examined my face. It seemed like he was asking for a reason, so I pouted.

"I'm not that innocent. I always have, um, incredible thoughts in my head."

In fact, I had never had 'incredible thoughts.' I was only focused on solving the problems in front of me and living well. But I felt like I should say something, so I lifted my chin slightly and put on a pretentious air. However, seeing Altear smirk, I realized it didn't work on him.

"Really? What kind of incredible thoughts?"

"Huh?"

"You said you always have incredible thoughts. What are they?"

Altear crossed his arms and tilted his head to one side, showing no sign of backing down until I answered. I rolled my eyes, desperately trying to think of 'incredible thoughts,' but nothing came to mind. I was usually not good at such things, and my brain was sluggish due to the high body temperature.

"Ha..."

I exhaled a hot breath, feeling frustrated, and slumped my shoulders. Altear flinched, bit his lip, and tapped his arm with his fingers, looking quite anxious.

"A maid daring to interfere with her master's night life. I'll have to give her a good scolding when the day breaks."

"Scolding Mari? That's ridiculous. Noble ladies' maids are supposed to do such things. She was trying to help me. This is a noble lady's business, so Altear, don't get involved."

"What kind of business is this? Why is it necessary? We don't need this to always... "

Altear's voice rose in confusion, but he suddenly clamped his mouth shut, aware of my intense gaze. I stared at him, waiting for his answer, and he muttered "Damn!" and roughly hit the wall, then strode over and leaned in close to me.

"Even without this, I'm always in a state of desire for you."

His face was so close that his lips were about to touch mine. My heart pounded, and I opened my eyes wide. Altear bit his lip and reached for the blanket.

"Ah..."

Before I could react, he wrapped me in the blanket and laid me down on the bed. Trapped in the tightly rolled blanket, I was at a loss for words.

"But I won't touch you tonight. If I do, that cunning maid will probably use this as a trick every time."

Altear sighed deeply, lay down on the bed, and pulled me into his arms, now wrapped in the blanket. Although we were very close, the thick blanket acted as a barrier, and I couldn't feel his touch.

"If you think that, Altear, you've already lost to Mari."

"What do you mean?"

"The first night we spent together. Mari also... "

"Oh."

Altear frowned, easily recalling that night.

"Was it a problem from the start...?"

"Why is it a problem? I wanted it, and you wanted it, so there's no issue."

If either of us hadn't wanted it, even if Mari had tried to influence us, things wouldn't have gone that way. After I clearly conveyed this, Altear was silent for a moment, then pulled me even closer. I could feel his strength through the blanket.

"Why did you suddenly use this trick, knowing that?"

"Mari was worried about me. Melissa came, you know."

"Melissa? Why is her name coming up here?"

"I always envied what I had, even the smallest things. And since Altear is so impressive, I thought she would definitely try to take him away."

"..."

I tried to explain the situation as calmly as possible, but Altear remained silent. Was he upset because I had implied that he might have an affair with Melissa?

"It's not that I don't trust you... "

"Do you think I'm impressive?"

Before I could add an excuse, I received an unexpected question. I blinked, feeling puzzled, and nodded.

"Of course, you're impressive."

Altear is an excellent groom. He is handsome and doesn't treat his wife coercively.

'At first, he was a poor baron, but now he's rich thanks to the magic stone mine!'

If I had to find a suitable bride under the current conditions, I wouldn't have a chance to marry Altear.

'He would have gotten a much more suitable wife.'

Beautiful, loved by her family, sociable... There would be a line of girls with all the good qualities.

Thinking about this, I felt a bit depressed, but Altear spoke in a somewhat sulky tone.

"...You've never said that to me."

"I didn't like saying embarrassing things... If you like it, I'll say it more often!"

"Who likes it? I just didn't know you thought that about me."

Altear quickly denied it, turning his head away. His face, which he was trying to avoid, was slightly red.

"Anyway, don't worry about Melissa. I know what kind of person she is. Nothing will happen."

"But we only met briefly. How could you know everything?"

Indeed, the insight of the main character! I blinked in admiration, and Altear cleared his throat and turned back to me.

"Well... that's one reason... I don't know why I would fall for her in the first place. I'm not interested in women that way."

"Melissa is beautiful, though."

"Beautiful?"

Altear frowned, genuinely puzzled.

"She's too aggressive."

"Um... People usually call that 'beautiful and charming.'"

"I don't get it. I prefer someone who is more... "

Altear trailed off, staring at me intently.

"More...?"

Curious about what he would say next, I urged him to continue, but instead, his warm lips briefly touched mine and pulled away.

"But I said I wouldn't touch you tonight, right?"

I opened my eyes wide, confused, and Altear sighed deeply, burying his face in my neck.

"Can't I at least do this? It's okay, right...?"

*** The next day dawned. Mari, who probably thought something had happened last night, came to serve me more leisurely than usual and tilted her head when she saw the clean bedding.

"Nothing happened last night?"

"Um... Altear said he wouldn't fall for a maid's tricks. He told me not to interfere in the future."

"Oh my."

When I relayed Altear's warning, Mari's eyes widened, but she didn't look scared.

"You must have been very tired. The lord's patience is remarkable."

"He also said not to worry about Melissa. He said he already knows everything about her."

"Knows everything?"

"Yes. He said he could see through Melissa at first glance. Isn't that amazing?"

"I don't know. Is it really 'at first glance'?"

Mari smiled mysteriously as she helped me change clothes. She seemed to be thinking a lot, but no matter how I looked at her, she didn't say anything. She was determined to be a quiet maid. I gave up on getting information from her and sighed deeply, and then she finally spoke, but on a different topic.

"You should meet Butler Pavel after breakfast today."

"Pavel? Why?"

"He said the magic stones for sale are finally ready. He wants to show them to you first. After all, the capital nobles know a lot about magic stones."

Sale-ready magic stones! My eyes lit up at the long-awaited news.