DSDD 03

Chapter 3

He’s still blindingly beautiful.

Swallowing nervously, I looked him over carefully.

Golden hair that shone brilliantly like the sun, and clear aquamarine eyes so beautiful that I hesitated even to meet his gaze.

Smooth, fair skin, a high and perfectly straight nose, and lips that curved gently upward at the corners.

If an angel from one of the temple murals were to descend into the real world, wouldn’t he look exactly like this?

The fact that he was wearing a pure-white uniform only made the impression stronger.

But wait.

Why is he smiling at me so brightly?

Anyone watching us would think he had just met someone he had been desperately waiting for.

And…….

Did he just call me ‘Erna’?

Anyone watching would think he had just called the name of his beloved.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“It’s all right. I’m the one who suddenly came here without sending word.”

My anxiety only grew.

After awkwardly greeting him, I sat down across from him.

His sudden appearance had left my mind in complete chaos, but at the same time, I thought perhaps this was actually for the best.

All right. Since things have come this far, why don’t I test the waters?

“It’s been four years. I believe this is the first time we’ve met since graduating from the academy. Have you been well all this time?”

I decided to start with something harmless.

Beginning by emphasizing that I was seeing him for the first time in four years, I watched his reaction.

If the man I had met that day really was the Grand Duke, he would surely react somehow.

I waited for his answer with a strategy of sorts in mind.

“Well.”

Huh?

What was this strange reaction?

The Grand Duke gave me a slightly meaningful smile before answering ambiguously.

While I was left wondering what that was supposed to mean—

“By the way, Erna.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“You’re not going to call me ‘senior’ anymore?”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m quite sure we agreed you would call me that.”

“I did?”

What was he talking about now?

We were alumni of the same academy, but we weren’t close enough to emphasize any sort of senior-junior relationship.

We had barely even crossed paths, and I had even fewer occasions to speak to him.

He’s talking as though we used to address each other casually…….

“Oh, yes. Senior. It’s been a long time.”

But I didn’t deliberate for long.

Honestly, I had no memory of ever making such a promise, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

The urgent matter was figuring out whether we had actually ended up in the same bed.

But…… how was I supposed to ask?

1. Did we happen to sleep together that day?
2. Did we happen to cross the line?
3. Did we do anything we might regret?

I couldn’t bring myself to say any of them out loud.

If it were true, that would be a problem.

But if it wasn’t, the aftermath would be even worse.

Besides, if he really was the man in question, wouldn’t he have said something already?

Something like—

“I wonder if your body is feeling better now. I’ve been worried the whole time that you may have overexerted yourself that night.”

Yes.

Something exactly like that.

……Huh?

My eyes widened on their own.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t say anything and could only blink.

Then the angelic man gave me a faintly devilish smile and slowly approached.

I trembled as I stared at him.

No way.

Surely not.

There was no way…… right?

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh? You intend to deny it?”

“Haha. Deny it? I really don’t know what you mean, Your Highness…….”

I desperately rolled my eyes around and continued pretending I knew nothing.

The Grand Duke silently stared at me.

Then he lowered his head with an expression of disappointment.

“You’re really being too cruel.”

His weak voice somehow made me even more uneasy.

When he raised his head again, there were tears in his eyes, like drops of dew clinging to a single rose.

And then came the words—

“You took my purity that night, yet you’re pretending not to know.”

A bombshell.

Good heavens!

I stared at him in shock, my mouth hanging open as I stammered.

It was shocking enough that the ‘Leon Obsidian’ written in the note really was that Leon Obsidian.

But then there was the word purity coming directly from his mouth.

And furthermore……

Even I was the one who attacked him?!

I wanted to argue that this was complete nonsense, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth.

The drop of water clinging to the Grand Duke’s eyebrow slid down his smooth cheek.

At the same time, my heart seemed to drop with a heavy thud.

His face looked as though he were both upset and wronged at having something precious taken from him.

That single tear proved everything.

It proved that there was no escaping this absurd crisis.

Damn it……!

“You’re not planning to take the purity of a holy man who has devoted everything to God and then simply keep your mouth shut, are you, Marquess?”

“…….”

“I can no longer serve the doctrines of the temple with this body, which was meant to serve only God, after it has been stained and corrupted by worldly matters.”

“W-What is it that you want from me……?”

I lowered my eyes and cautiously asked.

At that, a gentle smile once again spread across the Grand Duke’s face.

As though he had been waiting for me to ask that very question.

“What else could it be? Naturally, Marquess, you—”

M-Me?

“Me.”

“You mean…… you?”

“You will have to take responsibility for me.”

“……And by ‘responsibility,’ you mean……?”

“Marriage, of course.”

His reaction made it sound as though he had just stated the most obvious thing in the world.

For a moment, my mind went blank.

Then another question came to mind.

What on earth did this man see in me that turned him on?

He was an ascetic man who supposedly didn’t bat an eye even when the most beautiful young ladies or noblewomen came before him.

It was strange that he would so readily accept being attacked by me.

Fine.

Let’s say the stupid woman who had entered my body fell for the Grand Duke at first sight.

There was that tedious and cliché step called romance, yet I had no idea why she would skip the whole thing and jump straight into bed.

But let’s say she wanted to do that.

Do people really sleep together just because one person suggests it? Does it…… really happen that quickly?

I subtly lowered my gaze and looked over my own body.

A bony body, the result of being so absorbed in work that I had always treated meals as an afterthought.

A flat silhouette with hardly any curves to speak of.

I had never even received a confession back when I was at the academy.

If there was one remotely attractive feature, perhaps it was my striking crimson-red hair.

Even that only looked this good because Laura carefully brushed and maintained it for me.

If I neglected it, my naturally curly hair would quickly become dull, stiff, and tangled.

Anyway, no matter how much I thought about it, there wasn’t a single thing about me that should have been particularly arousing.

What is this? Could it be that the Grand Duke has some unusual tastes?

If not……

“Did you perhaps drink a lot that night?”

“According to the doctrines of the temple, those who serve God are forbidden from drinking alcohol.”

“Th-Then perhaps I knew some kind of weakness of yours and threatened you with it—”

“Do I look like someone who would be swayed by something as trivial as that?”

“No, then how on earth…….”

As I asked in stunned disbelief why that impenetrable wall had fallen to someone like me, he smiled.

“After you pushed me down onto the bed, you immediately climbed on top of me.”

Gasp.

“Before I even had a chance to resist, you grabbed both my wrists and kissed me. You pinned me down with your entire body as I tried to struggle, but I couldn’t move because I was afraid I might accidentally hurt you. In the meantime, your hands quickly began removing my clothes. And your other hand moved lower, toward my…….”

“Th-That’s enough! I understand, so please stop!”

Please.

I understood perfectly well!

I was completely stunned.

Good heavens.

I really had been the one to attack a strange man first.

It was something no respectable lady would ever do.

But if the person involved was that otherworldly woman, things were different.

Judging by the flower-filled mind I had sensed from her letter, and considering she had come from some unknown, unfamiliar place, I could actually believe she was capable of doing something like that.

All right, then.

For now……

“P-Please give me some time to think.”

In my current state, any decision I made was bound to be something I would regret.

So when I asked him to give me some time, he unexpectedly nodded quite readily.

“Still, I suppose I should at least receive what I’m owed, shouldn’t I?”

Of course, he wasn’t going to let me off that easily.

I was about to ask what he meant by saying he should receive what he was owed, when he suddenly came right up to me.

He grabbed my shoulder and lowered his head.

Then his lips lightly touched mine.

Before I even had time to react, he gently bit my lower lip.

At the soft pressure, my lips naturally parted, and a warm sensation slipped inside.

A brief but deep kiss.

Then, as he slowly pulled away, a thin thread of transparent breath connected our lips.

The Grand Duke raised the corners of his mouth and smiled leisurely, as though he had just tasted something sweet.

It was an extremely satisfied smile.

As if everything had gone exactly according to plan.