Chapter 3: What She Could Do
For some reason, he had a feeling that at that moment, it wouldn’t be Davira Claudia turning pale, but Lyra Norris staggering instead.
Just then, a knock sounded, followed by Isaac’s voice.
“Your Grace.”
“Come in.”
Kaylon watched the door slowly open before moving to the sofa.
“Sugar?”
Kaylon picked up a sugar cube from the concave container and looked up at Lyra.
Despite the simple question, Lyra couldn’t answer immediately. Having never tasted coffee before, she naturally didn’t know its flavor. She’d only heard from Lindia that it was terribly bitter, which led her to belatedly nod.
With a soft plop, the square sugar cube created circular ripples as it fell into the hot coffee. He stirred it a few times with a teaspoon before setting the cup before Lyra.
“Drink.”
Kaylon took a sip of his coffee while watching Lyra. Judging by how she hadn’t even touched the cup, she seemed to have zero experience with coffee.
“It won’t kill you, so there’s no need to be so frightened. Many people even seek out coffee houses to enjoy it.”
Perhaps this gave her some courage. Lyra carefully lifted the cup to her lips. When the bitter liquid touched her tongue a moment later, she couldn’t help but scrunch her face.
Pretending not to watch, Kaylon let out a small breath into his teacup. His eyes softened with amusement.
“Still such a child.”
“Th-that’s not…”
Though Lyra wanted to make some excuse, she couldn’t think of anything to counter with. His comment about her not knowing coffee’s taste was embarrassing, but not wrong.
As Lyra merely bit her lip, Kaylon observed her quietly. Strangely, he found it difficult to look away as her lips grew increasingly red.
He quickly hardened his expression and asked her:
“Are you bored?”
At his somewhat cold tone, Lyra looked up.
“Pardon?”
“I’ve been hearing strange rumors lately.”
“…”
“I didn’t draw up a contract just to use you as a maid.”
His penetrating gaze scrutinized Lyra thoroughly.
“Or is it your wish to live forever in servitude at someone’s feet? If so, we can terminate the contract. I have no use for such a woman.”
“…”
Tightly pressed lips, eyes wavering with fleeting thoughts. Fortunately, she seemed to understand his meaning.
Though he’d spoken rather harshly to curb her interest in unnecessary matters and make her realize her situation wasn’t so simple, the aftertaste felt worse than the bitter coffee.
Nevertheless, he continued speaking while looking at her dejected face.
“Do you remember? What it is you’re supposed to do?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Then starting tomorrow, we’ll have breakfast together.”
Just to tell her this unplanned detail.
To the woman who opened her eyes wide and asked “Pardon?” he kindly added an explanation.
“Lovers shouldn’t keep their distance. Don’t you agree?”
“…”
Her face turned pale at his rhetorical question. Kaylon watched that thin-skinned face that seemed to reveal everything inside, then quietly dismissed her.
“You may go now.”
* * *
It was her first time seeing the duke since arriving at the mansion. She had gone to him with a touch of anticipation, only to receive a scolding about her behavior.
It was ironic that while her current melancholy should rightfully stem from his reprimand, that wasn’t the case at all.
Lyra paced around her room like a restless puppy.
“Br-breakfast…”
What was she to do about this? The thought of sharing breakfast with him every morning from now on made her heart sink.
‘What should I do?’
Lyra had never sat at the same table with the family even at the baron’s mansion. This remained true even after her treatment improved. Had she felt hurt by this? Not particularly. It had been normal since childhood to eat separately, so she had simply accepted it.
So why did he want to have breakfast together? Though he had mentioned something about being lovers, that couldn’t be all there was to it…
For some reason, Lyra covered her increasingly warm face with her hands. It felt as if all her body heat was rushing to the top of her head, making her wonder if something inside her was broken.
‘This is strange…’
She collapsed onto the long sofa and immediately buried her face in a cushion.
‘Could this kill me?’
Given how her heart kept racing then slowing, plummeting then suddenly speeding up again, such an unnatural death didn’t seem impossible.
Disgusted with her runaway thoughts, Lyra bolted upright. Still, her heart refused to calm.
‘Surely he won’t criticize me for not knowing proper etiquette?’
The worry that had seized the opportunity to creep in now filled her mind. What would happen if he discovered that this foolish noble who had nothing to show for herself couldn’t even manage proper table manners?
His cold gaze seemed to pierce her as if he were really there. Lyra spent the night unaware of time’s passage, right until the moment Hannah rushed to her side in the morning, startled by her state.
* * *
The dark circles under her eyes looked ghastly even to her. However, they vanished without a trace under Hannah’s magical touch. Lyra headed down to the breakfast room, thinking this was at least some relief.
Though her body felt like lead, the overwhelming nervousness made her unsure whether she was putting food in her mouth or her nose.
In contrast, Kaylon’s movements were elegant and beautiful. Lyra kept following the motion of his hands holding the fork and knife with her eyes while mechanically chewing her food. Naturally, this left her no time to actually taste anything.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
When their eyes suddenly met, he asked casually.
“No! It’s de-delicious.”
“Is it? That’s good.”
As the meal resumed, Lyra quietly let out a relieved breath. This time, she carefully observed from the corner of her eye how he held his wine glass and occasionally dabbed his mouth with his napkin.
When he picked up his fork, she picked up hers; when he ate salad, she served herself some and took a bite; when he ate roasted quail, she ate quail; when he had sausage, she cut and chewed hers.
Before she knew it, breakfast was over. Lyra gently rubbed her overly full stomach, having eaten more than usual.
“Did you eat too much?”
Wondering if she might waddle when she walked, Lyra answered his question briefly.
“Yes.”
“And did you enjoy the food?”
She nodded and gave the same answer again.
Resting his chin in his hand while watching her for a moment, Kaylon then smirked as if unimpressed.
“Are you always this terse? You seem to have a small appetite for conversation too.”
“What? N-no. I ate a lot. As for my answers… I’m s-sorry.”
“I wasn’t asking for an apology.”
“Yes. I’m sorr—!”
Lyra quickly covered her mouth as another apology slipped out.
“Never mind that. How are you finding your stay here?”
“It’s nice. Everyone treats me well.”
“And?”
“They’re kind and gentle… and…”
What else was there? Suddenly trying to think, nothing came to mind. Even as she racked her brain while watching his reactions, both her tension-stiffened tongue and her mind seemed to have turned to stone.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Pardon?”
Her shoulders jumped as if he’d struck a nerve. When had she ever said such a thing?
“You could probably relax those shoulders. Seeing you like this makes me feel like I’m really the bad guy.”
As Kaylon chuckled and spoke jokingly, Lyra quickly waved her hands in denial.
“N-no, not at all. Your Grace is a g-good person…”
“I’d love for you to say that in front of Isaac.”
“What?”
“Nothing. More importantly, is there anything you need? Either as a lady, or things you left at the baron’s mansion? As you can see, being an only child, I’ve never experienced having a sister. If there’s anything I should know about, feel free to tell me.”
Kaylon continued the conversation with a slight fabrication. While it was true he had no sisters, he wasn’t entirely inexperienced with women. He waited patiently as she fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Lyra’s lips parted.
“…Yes.”
