TWOTCL

XVll

⭑. ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ ⭑.𖥔 ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭

His hair color has returned to red….

Elysia, realizing the transformation, unconsciously held her breath. His hair had merely changed from black to red, yet the shock that enveloped her whole body was as if she had witnessed a man undressing, something she should not have seen.

“…Why are you looking at me like that? Is there a problem?”

Hadeon, fastening the magic artifact necklace infused with magic, casually turned his gaze towards Elysia.

“Y-Your hair.”

“What’s so odd about it being originally black?”

With an attitude as natural as stating that the sun had risen in the east that day, the man nonchalantly revealed a fact that was surely a great secret. The most astonishing point was what he said next.

“Let this be a secret only between the master of the Duchy, which is me, and you.”

Immediately after, Hadeon stood up abruptly, grabbed the sheet, and approached Elysia with long strides. Hadeon, who had come close to Elysia, lifted her up from the floor along with the sheet.

“Oh.”

“Do you prefer breakfast or a cup of tea?”

Wrapped in the sheet and in his arms, Elysia blushed deeply. She couldn’t discern what had just happened. It seemed like she had been informed of a very confidential matter, yet the nonchalant attitude of the person involved made it seem otherwise.

Wasn’t the duchy only allowed to be inherited by the red lion?

However, making her inner questions seem irrelevant, Hadeon, looking more charming than ever, suggested to her with a smile.

“Let’s have something to drink together first. While doing so, we can discuss a few clauses about living together from now on, Miss Elysia Pearlman.”

Elysia could only look at Hadeon, who seemed unusually pleased, in confusion.

***

The employees of the mansion looked as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. Malcolm, in particular, trembled as he poured tea into the empty cup in front of Elysia.

Their master, on the other hand, was calmly sifting through more than five newspapers spread out before him, with a steaming meal in front of him. Eventually, Hadeon picked up a weekly magazine, took out a cigarette, and placed it between his index and middle fingers. Before putting it in his mouth, he raised an eyebrow at Elysia. Noticing his offer to smoke together, she quickly shook her head.

“I’m fine. I don’t really enjoy smoking.”

Elysia bit her lip tightly. Despite the Baron, who blindly followed noble customs, being a heavy smoker, he detested Elysia touching cigars or cigarettes, thinking it would affect her blood and ‘damage the product.’

As the cigarette smoke soon began to rise and Hadeon flicked the ash into the ashtray, Elysia turned her head away from the thick smoke, yet found herself momentarily staring blankly at him, thinking how aristocratic he looked while smoking. Perhaps noticing her gaze, Hadeon frowned slightly.

“You don’t seem to like cigarette smoke.”

Startled, Elysia quickly responded.

“It’s not that. I don’t mind it.”

“Your expression says it all. You have a habit of pausing before speaking when you lie, and your nose twitches slightly. Aren’t those all signs of dislike instead of just saying so?”