CH 61

“You found a Guide?”

“Not just any Guide, but the one who’s meant for me. Don’t you want to know who it is?”

I was overcome with the urge to cover Ciel’s mouth right now, as his eyes were fixed on me despite him continuing to talk to my mother.

If nothing else, he looked utterly certain that I was the one who had guided him.

Or perhaps, was he only pretending not to think about the other facts now?

If I thought about when he snuck into my room that night, it seemed possible. I thought that he would believe the lies that I insisted on, but thinking back on it, why was I under that notion? All I had to remember was that Ciel wasn’t the kind of man who’d easily accept something like that.

What would happen if I told my family that I was a Guide?

Originally, the saintess was supposed to be the only Guide in this world. But why did things change like this?

Was the novel I read before really a novel about this world? And what about the allegedly prophetic novel that had been distributed by the temple?

The more Ciel spoke, the more I was filled with confusion. Around the same time I became determined to reach out and cover that mouth of his, Mom spoke up.

“Ah, by the way, look at the time! Duke, I apologize but I believe I’ll need to be on my way. Our conversation today was quite informative and interesting, but we can’t skip lunch today, can we?”

“…Ahh, of course.”

“You must have come here because of lunch, right, Rin?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been praying that we won’t have any potatoes today, and I got curious whether God heard my prayer, so I came here to ask you about it.”

“Fufu, yes, God must have listened to our Rin’s prayer.”

Mom patted me on the back and winked. As she got up from her seat in a hurry, I followed after her.

Then, Ciel quickly got up and strode out the door. Was he angry because we cut him off?

As I thought so, I found that he was still there, holding the door open with an elegant posture.

“Oh my, what a pleasant sight. It’s not something we see from the men in this family. Thank you, Duke.”

“You’re very welcome, Ladies. It’s only natural for me to do so.”

As if she liked Ciel’s actions quite a bit, Mom left the drawing room with a completely different demeanor compared to how she was before.

I followed behind her, but as Ciel closed the door, he caught up to me.

To be precise, he was only one step away as though he was walking next to me.

Since Mom was in a hurry to prepare for lunch, she went straight to the kitchen—and I tried to catch up to her, but as Ciel was close by, he held me back.

“Lady.”

“…What?”

“I’d like to talk to you before the meal. May we?”

“…As you can see, I’m quite pressed for time.”

“Then we can just talk here. Would that be alright?”

This…

I looked up at him, unable to hide my baffled expression. Being as tall as he was, I had to crane my neck a little.

When he saw my reaction, his lips formed a small smile. However, he hurriedly schooled his features and erased that smile.

I had no idea what in the world was in his mind, so I just scowled at him. Even so, he asked in a polite manner.

“I won’t take up too much of your time. It’s just… There’s one thing I’d like to ask you.”

“…Then, shall we go to the rear garden? I do hope it really isn’t going to take a while, just as you said, Duke. I would like to head to lunch at once.”

Even though I answered with deliberate rudeness, he looked rather happy to hear my response. Getting upset for some reason because of his mysterious smile, I was the first to step outside.

When we finally reached the middle of the rear garden, I stopped and looked back at him.

Looking at me with the same persistent gaze as before, he opened his lips to speak.

“That night.”

Unknowingly, I felt my shoulders flinch the moment he said that.

Why the hell was he bringing that up again? If he kept doing this, I might really just tell my parents.

“I want to apologize for my discourtesy.”

“Oh… Ahem. I can’t say that I’m alright with it, but for now, let’s just keep it in the past. I do hope that you won’t thoughtlessly come into my room again.”

There’s only one reason I hadn’t told my parents about this incident.

It’s because I was worried that he would tell them that I had manifested as a Guide.

But he was already about to reveal that earlier, wasn’t he?

Should I take this opportunity to warn him?

However, as I came to this thought, he spoke up.

“But I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“You already knew that you’re a Guide, didn’t you?”

“……”

The sudden question rendered me speechless.

Didn’t he say he’s only here to apologize…

As I reacted stiffly, he did not miss this for a second. He began to ask more relentlessly.

“Besides that, when I had collapsed at the mountain behind the mansion, you went there, didn’t you? And that night as well, you guided me as soon as we touched.”

As he brought up what indeed happened that night, I could say nothing back, and I couldn’t deny it either.