“It’s going to be a pretty big deal. It’s not that I don’t show up at Viseltium for a reason.”
“You haven’t attended a social gathering since the day you took over the title.”
Seira’s opponent was bound to be astonished. Although the scale may be different, the number of large and small social gatherings held within a year reached to about a hundred.
It was already seven years since she succeeded the title of Duchess, so it was said that Louis Franto’s intelligence was considerable or that he’d been watching her for a long time.
“I fully anticipate what will happen,” Louis grinned.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“…”
Whatever he imagined, she was sure it would be more than that, but Seira kept her silence. Hadn’t she fulfilled her responsibility already for warning him?
‘We haven’t even signed a contract yet.’
One had to experience in person to know how things went.
“Oh,” Louis said as if he forgot something, “Just in case, I’m not really loyal to one partner.”
Seira also thought she should find out more about Louis Franto, and she naturally changed her mind.
“I think it will be the same in the future. Does it matter?” she asked.
A heat cycle may come unexpectedly anytime and anywhere. So far, there has been no accident with Aven, thankfully. But she didn’t know what would happen in the future.
It was difficult to claim that the contract was breached because she had a relationship with another alpha.
Louis smiled and answered her without skipping a beat, “I have no intention of interfering with the Duchess’ private life. It’s a relationship that could benefit both sides. We shouldn’t put restrictions on what we want.”
Seira nodded at his cool answer.
“Well, then.”
“Right, can I send you a dress to the Askan mansion in the imperial capital tomorrow, right?”
“Do you know my dress size?” her brow shot up in incredulity.
“Yes, I know.”
Seira’s eyes narrowed, and asked further, “How come you’re so sure?”
“If you don’t believe me, I can confirm it. First, the bust…”
“That’s enough,” she put up one hand with her palm facing Louis, “If you say one more word, I’ll break the contract.”
Lewis looked perplexed at her words.
“I still have more to say,” he pouted.
“…that’s what I mean,” Seira replied coyly, and he smiled as if relieved.
“I’m glad to hear that,” he said.
“So, what do you have to say?”
“Ah…”
Louise’s face lifted a smile. After correcting his posture and adjusting his voice, he looked directly into Seira’s purple eyes, and said, “Duchess Ascan, will you call me by name as your temporary companion?”
Seira groaned slightly at his polite request. Her opponent was much more cunning than she expected.
“All right, Louis.”
“Thank you, Seira.”
Seira held out an empty glass towards him with a frown on her face, and Louis filled her glass over as if it was only natural.
* * *
The Ascan mansion of the imperial capital was a very practical structure. This is because the estate was half a day away, so there was no need to stay that long, as well as no need for a hall for holding a banquet.
A beautifully constructed two-story building was located in the center, with a garden in the front, a training ground, and a knights’ quarters in the back.
The detached house was also located behind the main building and across from the knights building, but it was now empty.
“Captain!”
The knights scattered in the smokefield rose in dismay as they saw Aven. Zion took a step back, gagging at the smell of sweat from the crowded knights who were busy snooping outside the training ground.
“Didn’t the Duchess come with you?” one of them asked.
The wizard Zion was the only one who accompanied Aven.
“Get your personal belongings out. I’ll give you five minutes,” Aven said to the knights who looked disappointed.
“Ugh…” they groaned in unison.
Magic was the fastest and best way to overhaul a building that had been empty for months. Now that the main building was finished, it was the knight’s quarters’ turn.
Most of them didn’t unpack their luggage, and only piled it up on one side with their weapons. However, there were a few who were actually tidy with their stuff.
“She really didn’t come with you? Or is her excellency in the main building?” one of them rushed to ask Aven.
If Seira was in the main building, they had the time to go immediately.
“Stop snooping. The Duchess won’t be back until evening,” Aven said coldly.
“Why? Where did she go?”
“What about an escort?”
“Hey, what kind of escort do you need?”
Ignoring the noisy crowd, Aven spoke to Zion, “Let’s go and get this thing over with.”
But Zion didn’t help him either. He crossed his arms in front of him and raised a brow as he pried, “So where did she really go? Huh? Did the Duchess meet someone? When will we meet him?”
A tiny wrinkle cracked in Aven’s straight forehead. The knights who saw his expression immediately backed away.
“Hey, now that we’ve rested enough, how about we go to train again?” one of the knights said to his fellow knight.
“Sure, let’s go,” another agreed and went far from Aven and Zion.
The Knights of Askan knew how Aven changed drastically when he was angry.
“Did she go on a date? Did she get a new boyfriend?” Zion continued to ask without pausing.
“…”
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