Jeremi Iker was frowning deeply, as if his clothes were uncomfortable.

“Master Jeremi. Are your clothes very uncomfortable?”

“Yes, Lady Duchess. They’re so uncomfortable that it’s hard to even move my body. I’ve never worn such heavy and elaborate clothing in my entire life.”

“Really? But do you know something?”

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t see it yourself, so you might not realize, but the outfit suits you very well.”

Jeremi’s furrowed brow, which had been tightly knotted just moments ago, now relaxed.

“It suits me?”

“Yes. You look like a noble knight who just returned from beheading a dragon.”

When I mentioned a dragon, both Sikar Blake and Jeremi Iker flinched simultaneously and stared at me.

Jeremi seemed pleased by the compliment, while Sikar Blake looked at me as if to say, “What nonsense is this?”

“D, dragon’s head?”

“Yes. I heard many village maidens come during the coming-of-age festival. If they see you, Master Jeremi, they’ll all want to ask you for a dance.”

Sikar Blake was now openly smirking at me, one corner of his mouth lifted—clearly signaling, “Enough with the flattery.”

But I couldn’t help it. If he went to the festival in that grumpy mood, he’d spend the whole day complaining. What woman would find that attractive?

Especially since Roen fell for Kaizel precisely because of his noble bearing.

Someone once said, “Too much is worse than too little.” But that saying didn’t seem to apply to Jeremi Iker right now.

Under the influence of my excessive praise, Jeremi Iker completely forgot how uncomfortable his clothes had been moments ago. He straightened his shoulders and put on a dignified expression.

“I’m utterly overwhelmed by your praise, Lady Duchess. We mustn’t be late for the festival—let’s go quickly.”

With that, Jeremi Iker strode ahead. Watching him from behind made me want to laugh, but Sikar Blake’s glare made me quickly suppress it.

“So you lie as easily as you eat.”

“No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie. Master Jeremi in his knight’s uniform truly looked magnificent.”

“So you’re saying it’s also not a lie that he looked like he’d just beheaded a dragon?”

Ah. Of course, that part was a lie. But so what? It was a white lie.

“At least thanks to it, Master Jeremi forgot how uncomfortable his clothes were, right?”

I gave Sikar Blake a sweet smile and followed after Jeremi Iker. Then Sikar Blake came up behind me, took my hand, and said,

“I’m already rumored in Lecador to be the romantic duke who walks everywhere holding his wife’s hand. So don’t even think about letting go.”

Who was it that intentionally started that rumor, again?

“But no one here will recognize you.”

“But even with very low probability, if someone does recognize me—and if that someone loves gossip—they’ll investigate whether the rumor is true or not.”

“Just say you want to hold my hand. I’ll hold it without a word of complaint.”

Sikar Blake only snorted at me and refused to admit, even at the end, that he liked me.

“You’re the one who wanted me to hold your hand. If you’re honest, I’ll hold your hand anytime from now on.”

Though it seemed like he was already holding my hand plenty often.

“Come to think of it, you started holding my hand under the pretense of seeing memories, right? Because of that, others assumed we held hands because we were close. Ever since, you’ve kept holding my hand under the pretense of needing to appear romantic. Isn’t that right? So you’ve already held my hand to your heart’s content.”

“But it sounds like you’re saying that’s not enough, and you want me to hold it even more.”

‘Ah. This isn’t even an open-ended interpretation anymore—it’s pure self-serving interpretation.’

“What are you talking about… I…”

“By the way—you stare intently at my sleeping face every morning. Isn’t it because you like me too much?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Every morning when I woke up, I’d stare at Sikar Blake’s handsome face as he slept after sewing. But since Sikar Blake wasn’t the type to care about appearances, he’d surely think any claim that I stared because he was handsome was just an excuse.

Of course, my heart did beat—but like how one’s heart beats upon seeing a magnificent work of art. That was, after all, merely a natural reaction.

“That’s because you looked pitiful, sleeping after sewing all night.”

“That’s right. That’s exactly it.”

“Huh? No, how can that possibly mean the same thing?”

“I’ve said it many times—I won’t get angry even if you like me a lot.”

‘Me? Angry?’

Sikar Blake’s open-ended interpretation, which defied all my common sense, made me feel a bit wronged. But since we had to board the carriage Jeremi Iker had already taken, this conversation had to end with an open conclusion.

When we arrived at the small village of Lepher, the festive atmosphere filled the entrance.

As Grandmother had said, the village was so small it barely had a few households, and there weren’t even many local maidens or bachelors.

But I’d heard that by nightfall, the place would be bustling with strangers who came from all over to watch.

Jeremi Iker, upon actually arriving, seemed in good spirits and looked around with a bright, cheerful face.

“Wow. This is my first time at a commoners’ festival—it feels quite free and unrestrained, doesn’t it?”

True. The only noble festival I’d attended was the king’s wedding—which, while splendid and elegant, had been very uncomfortable.

Since I felt that way, even Jeremi Iker, that free spirit, must have found noble festivals boring.

The clothes we made at the temple had already been delivered yesterday to the village girls and boys, so everyone wore garments made by the temple.

Though not extravagant, the neat-looking dresses and formal attire were perfectly suited for the festival.

Of course, Sikar Blake and I were also dressed identically.

Thus, Jeremi Iker alternated his surprised gaze between the villagers and us.

“Oh. The Duke and Duchess’s attire…”

“Yes. We intend to enjoy the festival briefly here without revealing our status.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

“Yes. So, here, please call me Lady Yura, and call the Duke Master Sika. Can you do that?”

“I’m fine with it, but will the Duke truly permit it…”

“If my wife permits it, it’s as good as my own permission.”

“Truly, the Duke has changed so much since marriage…”

“Didn’t I just tell you to fix that tone of speech?”

“S, sorry. It’s just that ‘Master Sika’ doesn’t feel natural to say yet…”

Seeing Jeremi Iker suffer pointlessly made me chuckle again.

Even perfectly normal people ended up intimidated like that after spending just a little time with Sikar Blake.

“Jeremi.”

“Yes. Du… no, Master Sika.”

“We need to go somewhere briefly. Tell the village chief to start installing the street lamps first.”

We? Why us?

“Um, Master Sika. I’ll stay here…”

“I’m deeply concerned about leaving the Lady alone. Please come with me.”

“No, but…”

Since Jeremi Iker was looking at me suspiciously as if wondering what was going on, I didn’t press further and just nodded.

“Understood. Also, Master Jeremi, we’ve already sent a letter to the village chief, so starting the work shouldn’t be difficult. We’ve already received full approval. Perhaps the villagers will even help.”

“Yes. Understood. Have a good trip.”

After Jeremi Iker had completely disappeared from view, I asked Sikar Blake about this inexplicable situation.

“You don’t really need me for kidnapping Kaizel, right? Can’t I just stay here?”

“In my ducal manor, I’ve never once left you alone. Unless Vika Lamberst is beside you or Durion is guarding you, I can’t leave you alone.”

“This is a small village right next to Lepher Temple—what’s there to worry about?”

“First, you have agoraphobia. Second, you’re overly meddlesome—you jumped in to save a child and got into an accident. Third, we must always prepare for potential dangers. Is that explanation sufficient? So, obediently come along before I carry you.”

‘What, afraid I’ll actually carry you?’

“Then carry me.”

“What?”

“I said carry me. You said you’d carry me, didn’t you?”

Sikar Blake looked at me with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

That flustered look! I used to make that face all the time because of him. Seeing Sikar Blake wear that expression now gave me a strange sense of victory.

How does it feel to be on the receiving end of absurdity? Feels like your neck’s tingling, doesn’t it?

But after briefly looking at me, Sikar Blake really did scoop me up before I could dodge and started walking briskly.

“Sikar. If you like me, just say so. Don’t suddenly scoop me up like that.”

“That’s a contradictory statement. You’re the one who told me to carry you.”

“That’s because you said you’d carry me, so I told you to do it!”

“You could’ve just said no if you didn’t want to. But you were the one who told me to carry you.”

I only said it to fluster him—I didn’t expect him to actually do it!

At first, I was so flustered that I sweated and my heart raced, but as I stayed carried, I found it oddly comfortable.

So I buried my face against Sikar Blake’s back with a “whatever” attitude. Still, seeing his earlobe turn slightly red at that moment made me smile triumphantly.

‘Look at you. You like me this much, yet you rebel.’

Sikar Blake only let me down once we reached the carriage.

Then he told the coachman to unhitch the horse.

“Why unhitch the horse?”

“Because we need to ride it to meet Kaizel.”

Before I could even ask why I had to ride a horse, Sikar Blake had already mounted.

“I, I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

As I stepped backward, Sikar Blake approached me like he was herding me and held out his hand.

“I’ll be behind you. You won’t fall—come on, get on.”

Sikar Blake smiled gently at me, but to me, that hand felt like the hand of the grim reaper—chilling.

That’s how terrified I was of riding horses.

I couldn’t even handle amusement park rides…

“If you delay, Kaizel will meet Roen.”

Those words made me unable to delay any longer. More than courage, I moved almost blindly—I took Sikar Blake’s hand.

Then Sikar Blake pulled me up as if snatching me and seated me in front of him.

“Now that you’re on the horse, it’s not so bad, right?”

Not so bad? Actually, now that I was on the horse, it felt even scarier. I hadn’t realized horses were this tall—it was even more frightening than I imagined, and my heart pounded loudly.

Sikar Blake handed me the reins and said,

“Hold tight!”

The moment the horse started moving, I squeezed my eyes shut.