CH 36

Can two people be so similar like this?

From the indifferent expression she assumed, to the gait of her walk, and even the habits and posture she had while holding the bow and pulling the bowstring… Everything perfectly matched, as if she was Seohyun herself.

His fingertips trembled automatically.

His breath became rougher.

His mind became so overwhelmed that it turned blank.

No matter how much he rubbed his eyes, that woman looked so much like his wife—that it felt as if he was about to lose his mind.

Even the fierce gaze in her eyes as she looked at her target looked exceedingly similar to how Seohyun did it. Without being able to breathe properly, Ciel watched her, completely enraptured.

Then, the wind suddenly blew in towards her, in the reverse direction.

Like a deeply ingrained habit, Ciel changed the flow of the wind and helped her secretly.

And just like that, the arrow flew forward with such force—dead center. Cheers broke out behind her.

Even the aloof manner in which she checked the target was exactly how his wife would have done it. He watched her intently without blinking at all.

Regardless of how many times she shot the arrows, her posture did not falter. And as time went by, she began to aim for the target more precisely.

She was remarkably skilled in handling the bow, to the point that it looked as if she had been doing it for a long time now.

That’s not the kind of skill that one would have with only one or two years of experience…

As he was so utterly focused on Lady Closch, he only belatedly realized someone’s gaze fixed on him.

Ciel made eye contact with Baron Closch, and he had no choice but to face him, his expression awkward.

At the end of the day, it became evident that there was something missing in the documents that his aides had prepared.

Not written anywhere was the fact that the baron was a swordmaster.

Feeling the other man’s blatant hostility towards him, strangely enough, Ciel felt awkward.

It was only natural for him to stand confidently in front of the baron because he was a duke, but…

Where in the world was this sense of awkwardness coming from.

* * *

After that, Ciel met with the baron separately outside the mansion. Despite the wide difference in their statures, Ciel politely apologized first.

And, he made up an appropriate lie to excuse his actions.

“It wasn’t my intention. I’m currently on a territorial inspection with my younger brother because I’m showing him the outskirts of the Empire.”

“…The Young Duke, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“There are a lot of other places to explore, you didn’t have to come all the way here.”

“I’m on my way back from checking the other places. To be precise, I wanted to check the places that don’t have any portals.”

The baron had been so polite towards Ciel when they met at the imperial palace, but right now, he was not even hiding his hostility towards Ciel, who was still slightly disconcerted by it.

“But why were you looking at my daughter, sir?”

And true enough, the baron’s words were enough to indicate why exactly he was being hostile towards Ciel.

Wasn’t this written in the intel report as well?

Just how incredibly the baron adores his daughter.

“It was merely by chance. It’s very rare for me to see a young noble lady handling a bow like that. My eyes naturally gravitated to her.”

Ciel had absolutely no intention of telling the truth.

The baron was already terribly wary of Ciel when all he did was look at the man’s daughter.

If he were to come out and say, ‘I came here to investigate your daughter because there’s something suspicious about her’…

No questions asked, Ciel was sure that he’d be expelled from the baron’s fief right then and there, regardless of whether he was a duke or any higher-ranking man.

“That’s true,” the baron replied. “And I’m not just saying this because she’s my daughter, but the level of skill she has is certainly not anything ordinary.”

“Yes, certainly. That’s even more the reason that I couldn’t look away. Her dexterity is incredible, and…”

“It’s only natural, of course. For Your Grace to acknowledge her skill, I couldn’t be prouder. I mean, it’s only been a week since she took up the bow. And even this very day is part of that first week. She practiced shooting the day after I bought her that bow, though after that, she had to lie down in bed for a few days because she was sick—but the moment she felt better today, she got up to practice shooting again, but my golly, that perfect marksmanship of hers is just…”

Ciel immediately figured out how to navigate this conversation with the baron.

“I see. I was also amazed that her shots went straight to the center of the target. But you mentioned that she was sick?”

“She suddenly had a high fever at dawn that day. I was so out of my wits with anxiety because it went on for two days.”

“A high fever…”

“Yes, that’s right. The doctor also said that he didn’t know what caused it. Her condition was truly fine besides that, it’s just that her temperature was so high. I was so very worried, and I wasn’t able to sleep at all. I’m sure you’ll understand how I feel later when you have children of your own, Your Grace.”

“I suppose. Still, I can understand. My brother was quite frail as well when he was younger.”

“Ahh, I see.”

As Ciel was talking to the baron, he was so conscious about anything he’d say which the baron might find offensive or unpleasant.

“Then, are you staying at an inn?”

“Ah, it hasn’t been long since I arrived here at the Closch territory. The first thing I did was to find a room, so…”

“I don’t believe that there are any inns in our territory that’s suited for any nobles.”

“Well, it was quite neat regardless…”

At Ciel’s answer, Arthur’s eyebrows went up in surprise.

From just his outward manner, the duke looked like the kind of person who’d be incredibly fastidious about where he’d be sleeping.

It seemed like the duke was more easy-going than the baron had expected.

Chucking away his earlier hostility towards the younger man, the baron spoke jovially.

“Then, please stay at our mansion! Wouldn’t that at least be better than an inn?”

Hearing this, Ciel was surprised, and his eyes briefly went wide.

Those words were like music to his ears.