There were rare intervals of quiet, but it always asserted itself again before long. This particular moment was no exception.
“Ahem!”
I cleared my throat to cover my embarrassment.
He was surely aware of it himself? He could hardly have missed the state he was in.
And my position on the matter remained, as always, entirely unchanged.
‘There will be no sleeping together. Not now, not ever.’
“Oh — what’s that?”
I fixed my gaze on something near the base of the dining table with great apparent interest. Then, with the air of someone compelled by curiosity to investigate, I began to peel Kael’s arm slowly away.
I slid off his thigh with measured, deliberate calm. My expression remained deeply focused. And the moment I judged I was out of his reach—
“Aha!”
I bolted back to my own seat on the other side of the table.
Kael’s expression was unreadable — somewhere between mocking, exasperated, and mildly contemptuous.
“From this day until the wedding — no contact! Whoever initiates contact first must grant the other person one wish! And I am warning you in advance, I will ask for something deeply embarrassing and strange!”
I declared this with full conviction.
‘That ought to be clear enough.’
* * *
The long meal came to an end.
The window along the first-floor corridor showed a world turned utterly black outside. Only the faintest glimmer of moonlight crept through. Accounting for how long dinner had taken, it was probably around ten o’clock.
Kael said he would walk me back to the annex. Along the way, he mentioned there was something he had meant to give me and began searching through his jacket.
His expression, as always, was carefully neutral — but given that he had been looking for some time without success, it seemed he had run into difficulty.
“Can’t find it?”
“I must have left it in the bedroom.”
“What is it? Is it urgent?”
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“Something important.”
He appeared to have no intention of elaborating.
I followed Kael to his bedroom.
* * *
“A contract outlining the rules for the lesson period.”
‘He’s awfully fond of contracts. He must be a meticulous planner.’
He had said he wanted to conduct groom lessons, and I had been genuinely curious what that would entail — but the contents turned out to be unremarkable.
— ‘Party A shall make a thorough study and analysis of Party B’s preferences.’
— ‘In the course of this, Party B is obliged to answer Party A’s questions honestly and in good faith.’
— ‘Party B may go out freely. However, for safety reasons, an escort knight or personal attendant must accompany her at all times.’
— ‘Party B’s travel to and from her family home shall be freely permitted. However, this is restricted to weekends only; visits on weekdays are not permitted.’
— ‘Party A and Party B shall share one meal per day together.’
— ‘Party A and Party B, as a betrothed couple, shall hold the same rights and obligations as a legally married pair.’
— ‘Accordingly, Party A shall faithfully fulfill a husband’s duties, and Party B shall faithfully fulfill a wife’s duties.’
— ‘To that end, Party A shall provide Party B with an appropriate monthly personal allowance.’
Let me note: he had written himself in as Party A as a matter of obvious course.
So I was Party B, was I?
‘Groom lessons and everything else — it’s all things he wants for himself, isn’t it. Hmph.’
The content was, fortunately, perfectly ordinary. For a document he had written himself, that was something.
‘Essentially, he wants to spend time together and learn the preferences of the woman who is to become his future duchess.’
There were detailed sub-items: food preferences, average hours of sleep per night, and so forth.
Less alarming than I’d expected, honestly.
“Read it through and sign.”
‘Well, this much seems fine.’
The content was largely what had been outlined at mealtimes back at the Florence estate, things I’d already been made aware of.
“Sign here?”
“Yes.”
I wrote my name in the blank beside mine.
“You don’t need to read all of it?”
“I read all of it.”
“All right.”
I was growing sleepy. I wanted to get back and go to bed.
“Wash up before you go.”
“I beg your pardon? Why?”
“One ought to wash before sleeping.”
“…I’ll wash in the annex.”
‘What is he planning now?’ His intentions were altogether too easy to see.
“I don’t think you’ll be going there tonight.”
“What do you mean! Are you about to say something completely off the mark again—!”
“Party A and Party B shall share a bed once per day. Frequency to be agreed at approximately five times per session.”
“Once a day was just eating a meal together! And five times per — are you trying to kill me—?!”
“Read the contract again.”
“What?”
Kael tilted his chin toward the contract on the table.
‘I just read this carefully. Every line.’
Could there possibly be—
A cold shiver ran up my spine as I turned the page over.
— ‘Party A and Party B shall share a bed once per weekday. Frequency to be agreed at approximately five times per session.’
— ‘Post-session arrangements shall be carried out in accordance with Party A’s wishes.’
— ‘On weekends, no limit shall be placed on the frequency of sessions. However, should Party B wish to go out, she must first fulfill the obligations of the session as stipulated by Party A, after which she may do so.’
‘Excuse me.’
— ‘Party A shall take thorough note of Party B’s preferred positions…’
“I cannot tolerate this!”
I slammed my hand down on the table.
His intentions were perfectly transparent.
If he kept me in bed all weekend and refused to let me leave, I would never be able to go home.
“Given your preference for a rather liberal arrangement, I was making every effort to accommodate you.”
“Is that what you call this?!”
Just then, Kael gave a small, almost imperceptible grimace — and raised the bandaged hand to cradle it.
“Oh — does it still hurt?”
I padded over to his side of the table.
Not knowing the depth of the wound, I couldn’t just grab at it.
I held my hands in the air, uncertain what to do with them.
“Ah.”
He let out a quiet, flat sound of pain.
From what I knew of him, he was not a man who felt pain easily. For even that small sound to escape him, the injury must be serious.
“That settles it. Let me see.”
Kael held out his hand without resistance.
The ridiculous contract had been an act of clear manipulation, and I was furious about it — but I couldn’t turn on an injured person and demand answers right now.
“I’ll take a look. I’m not sure I can do much, but…”
I met Kael’s eyes, as though asking permission. He gave a small nod.
Very carefully, I began to unwind the bandaging.
I took his hand and turned it over, examining the front and back.
It was completely uninjured.
“You liar!”
Tricked again.
‘The absolute nerve.’
I smacked his arm several times, one after another.
“You lied to my face without even blinking!”
“You lose.”
“I — what?”
“You made a promise earlier.”
‘From this day until the wedding — no contact! Whoever initiates contact first must grant the other person one wish! And I am warning you in advance, I will ask for something deeply embarrassing and strange!’
‘Oh, damn.’
“B-but you cheated first!”
“When did I?”
“The — the contract! You didn’t tell me there was a back page! And your hand — you weren’t even hurt — I was worried you might have been seriously injured—!”
‘Pfft.’
Kael raised his hand to cover his mouth again.
This man, who looked as though you could stab him and not a drop of blood would fall — this man was laughing at me right now.
“You’re genuinely awful! To take advantage of my goodwill like this — mm—!”
I was mid-sentence when Kael stopped my mouth with his own.
Fortunately, the warm and gentle press of his lips was brief.
“W-we were in the middle of a conversation! Why did you kiss me?!”
“You really are adorable.”
“I am not adorable at all — oof!”
In one clean motion, Kael hauled me up over his shoulder. I dangled there, legs kicking furiously. I felt exactly like a limp sheet on a clothesline.
“Put me down! I’m genuinely exhausted today!”
“A contract is a contract.”
“I — I really was running around all day, spending money and going places, I’m utterly worn out—!”
“Right, which is why I’ll wash you myself.”
“That is completely unreasonable! I might actually faint!”
“I’ll have the physician on standby.”
“Let go of me!”
What was a physician going to do about a person who had passed out mid-intimacy? Was that something to announce to the whole household?
Had he completely lost his mind?
I beat both fists against his back. I thrashed my legs and twisted and fought every inch of the way.
‘Smack.’
Kael gave my backside one crisp slap.
Not just once. Twice.
“Don’t — don’t slap me there! You deviant!”
“Hold still. I’ll make it quick.”
Into the bathroom we went.
* * *
