CH 45

Chapter 45 – Licking me languidly

Translator: Yonnee

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It felt like we were falling sharply, but that wasn’t the case. Ciel’s control was always perfect. Aiden and I landed on the ground gently.

Still, perhaps because it’s been a while since I experienced this, but it seemed like I had gotten nervous.

I relaxed as soon as I let out a deep sigh, but at the same moment, the radial guiding that I had been keeping a tight lid on until now had trickled out a little.

In any case, Ciel wasn’t here, and he was the only Esper around who could receive my guiding, so I just carried on in that state and talked to Aiden.

“Young Duke, please go ahead inside the mansion.”

Aiden was just standing there with a pale face, so I grabbed his hand and pulled him along. He still had his eyes locked on me for some reason—he never really stopped staring since a while ago— but that didn’t matter to me right now.

“Oh gosh, Milady!”

As she was passing by, Mary found me and immediately ran to my side.

“Mary, please show the Young Duke to the guest room, and ask another maid to prepare and deliver a warm cup of tea for him. After leading him there, can you come to my room and meet me there?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Soon after, I tried to let go of my grasp on Aiden’s hand, but before I could, Aiden asked. He tightened his grip on my hand this time as if he didn’t want to be separated.

“…Where are you going?”

“There’s something I need to check for a moment. Would you be so kind as to let go of my hand?”

“Ah… Sorry.”

At my request, Aiden let go. There was a sad expression on his face as he did.

There’s not much of an age difference between us, but it really felt like he’s a younger brother of mine.

“Since monsters have been spotted, I think I need to check it out.”

“You will, Lady Irene?”

“Only from afar.”

“Oh, I see. That’s so amazing of you…”

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

I curtsied towards him and quickly left them there.

Ever since I was young, I had always watched as Dad and Brother would leave whenever monsters appeared. It’s been a long time since I felt this, but I had a sinking feeling that something would happen.

I heard Brother say this to me once before, that if you go up the mountain behind the mansion, it’s easy to see the garrison’s quarters from afar. I will go on horseback up there.

As soon as Mary came into the room, I took off my dress and changed into an equestrian suit.

It seemed like Mom wasn’t informed that I had returned to the mansion, so in the meantime, I quickly sent word that I’ll be hiking up the mountain behind the mansion. It wasn’t that high either, and I got to the top quickly enough.

Just as Brother mentioned, I could see the garrison’s quarters clearly, and the area beyond that as well. However, my eyes gravitated towards one person who was soaring up in the air. From my point of view, he was only the size of a fingernail, yet I couldn’t help but know who it was.

And it’s because of the red flames burning around him.

Seeing this filled me with a sense of relief. It’s not that I didn’t trust Dad and Brother’s skills in dealing with the monster attack, but an Esper like Ciel could easily defeat them all in one fell swoop with his abilities.

Should I be grateful that the monster attack happened when he’s here?

I’d been rushing to come up here with expectations to see this sight, and now that I’d seen it, I couldn’t help but feel relieved.

Only then did I take in my surroundings properly. I never had the chance to hike up this mountain before, even if it was so close to the mansion.

Its tall trees stretched so high up that it seemed like they could reach the sky, and the sunlight streaming through the gaps in their leaves was a beautiful sight.

I went further, slowly steering my horse. Though I could appreciate its beauty, at the same time, this mountain felt unfamiliar.

The leaves rustled in the wind. I could also hear birds chirping and squirrels moving busily around me. The fresh breeze passing through the trees cooled my perspiring neck.

I hiked to the mountain’s peak out of curiosity, but there’s nothing else to be seen here. It was a low mountain that could more aptly be called a wide hill instead, so it didn’t feel like a steep summit.

As I climbed further on horseback, a large, open meadow entered my vision. The thicket was still bountiful in this area though, so it’s not exactly an empty clearing.

It seemed like there were crops being grown here? I noticed familiar leaves growing nearby.

“Potatoes…?”

It was close to the mansion, so these crops might be the work of Mom or Uncle Hans. I was aware that she’s managing the household’s internal affairs frugally, but I wouldn’t have expected that she’d have crops grown secretly like this.

After scanning the mountain’s summit once more, I soon turned around.

But at that moment, the refreshing wind disappeared. Hot air blew in, as if the entire area had become a steam room.

And soon, someone fell from above. No, it’s not that he ‘fell’ completely, but regardless, it sounded like he crashed.

This alone compelled me to realize who that person was.

How many people in this world could fly anyway? And besides that…

There was only one person out there that I had just confirmed was flying through the air.

“Duke?”

I called out like that, quite sure that it’s him. But it seemed like he couldn’t hear me.

It wouldn’t sit well with me to leave a person here all alone, especially since he had collapsed.

All the more because I had just seen him use his abilities.

Did he need a Guide right now? If he couldn’t receive a guiding session, what would happen?

In spite of myself, I already knew that this would have to be solved with guiding, one way or another. I steered my horse towards that direction, approaching him cautiously.