Chapter 16: Chapter 16

* * *

as if preparing a magnificent feast, emma unexpectedly served ordinary dishes. it was because she had been eavesdropping on luna and antes’ conversation and paying attention to them all day.

nevertheless, antes ate his meal without a word. even in response to the baron’s occasional apology for serving such simple dishes, antes replied nonchalantly, saying it was not a problem at all.

“well… now that i think about it, there’s something i’m curious about.”

while continuing their meal without mentioning fersen’s incident, the baron paused unexpectedly and spoke up.

it seemed that he had something on his mind regarding antes. antes put down his fork and assumed an open posture, as if inviting him to ask any question.

“it may be a misunderstanding, but is it true that… you have no relationship whatsoever with our luna? what does it mean that you spent several nights together…”

“cough!”

luna, who happened to be taking a sip of water, coughed and reached for a table napkin. antes handed her the napkin that was placed beside him and responded promptly to the baron’s question.

“it’s a misunderstanding that we spent several nights together. the young lady merely accompanied me on a journey, and we were together for a few days. he simply misunderstood and ran away.”

“i see, i see.”

the baron sighed with a mix of relief and slight disappointment. it seemed he had held some expectations as luna had never shown interest in men before.

while observing the baron, antes smirked and added.

“to the question of whether we have no relationship or have some relationship… i can say both yes and no.”

after antes’ significant remark, the baron urged him with hopeful eyes for a response.

ugh! what are you saying? luna continued to cough uncontrollably, unable to even refute his words, feeling miserable.

antes turned his head briefly to look at her, and his face was dreadfully shining brightly.

please, please! shut up! don’t reveal the confession! father’s wrath will reach the sky! you’ll be tormented until morning!

“it’s rare for a man not to fall for someone as beautiful and wise as the young lady.”

“hahaha!”

laughter filled the dining room as the baron’s cheerful laughter echoed. antes lightly smiled along, as if to say, ‘are you satisfied?’ after teasing luna.

luna, who finally managed to stop her coughing, awkwardly smiled, feeling her trembling under-eye due to the aftereffects.

she couldn’t help but think that after getting rid of the trash, another time bomb had rolled into her life.

* * *

the baron was very fond of antes.

to the extent that, after finishing their dinner and drinking wine together, he even suggested that antes stay the night at the baron’s residence.

‘whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate that father has no interest in the world’s impression of antes…’

since he was not aware of the rumors about antes, fortunately, there was no animosity.

she had also been unaware of the rumors about fersen and herself, so she had been able to maintain her disguise all this time.

furthermore, even though the baron had no interest in worldly affairs, he had believed in other people’s words and invested, despite baron squandering the money he had saved.

in any case, due to those reasons, luna had also joined in drinking wine to keep an eye on antes’ words. however, she hadn’t even had a few sips, and her tolerance was low, causing her vision to spin.

if she slept like this, she would suffer from a headache for two days, so luna sat at the garden table, enjoying the chilly night breeze and waiting for the alcohol to wear off.

considering the tumultuous day she had, it was a relatively peaceful ending.

“it’s cold out. what are we doing here?”

until antes appeared.

until then, he had been showering her with compliments, but now he had an expressionless face as he draped his coat over luna’s shoulders and sat across from her.

despite coming out to drink, the chilly wind was blocked by antes’ warmth.

‘just like the seira saw him in the original work.’

he had a neat and beautiful face that could brighten up the surroundings when he smiled, but his basic features were sharp and cold, leaving a sharp impression. he was tall, which added to his imposing presence.

with his expressionless demeanor, it created an atmosphere that made it difficult to even exchange a simple greeting. when they first met, he seemed relatively fine amidst the rowdy mercenaries.

“so, did you fall for me?”

“no, i just looked at you because you were in front of me.”

antes asked with a casual smile, but luna, as usual, could answer without averting her gaze or losing her composure.

it was the power of alcohol.

when she was in her right mind, just making eye contact would make her feel awkward, and she wouldn’t even think of scrutinizing his face. but as the alcohol entered her system, surprisingly, she felt unaffected.

perhaps antes didn’t like that luna showed no particular reaction, so he tapped the table with his finger.

using the invincibility she gained from the power of alcohol, luna asked the question she had been curious about all along, without wavering at antes’ smile.

“you said you can’t use honorifics.”

“that’s right.”

“but you were doing well before, right?”

“because that was the young lady’s father.”

“what does that have to do with this?”

“i have to make a good impression.”

why do you have to make a good impression on my father? and in the end, it means you can use formal speech.

as luna’s expression turned stern, antes stopped tapping the table with his finger and began to make excuses.

“it’s the first time i’ve used honorifics, really.”

“but you’re so fluent in it?”

“i haven’t had any decent company to use it with until now. it makes me happy that i’m using it well enough to get you angry.”

luna narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge whether he was lying or not. but there was nothing to see from someone who was clearly intoxicated and had narrowed eyes.

in the end, she blinked to recover her vision, realizing that it was pointless to keep her eyes narrowed. antes, who had been observing her with an amused look as if finding her behavior cute, chuckled softly.

“you said you would use honorifics with me first.”

“i even compromised by using mercenaries.”

“…”

yes, that’s how it was. be thorough. there’s no room for mistakes.

why would someone as impressive as you fall victim to someone as despicable as fersen in the original?

it seemed like he had an inferiority complex towards fersen. he aimed for his position and wealth, committing all sorts of evil deeds.

seeing him in person made it even harder to believe, but fersen and antes were relatives.

the direct descendants of duke rodrian and marquis vincent families. the marquis, who lost and was driven out in a fight with the direct descendant. it was an old story, but such a past existed, and due to his inferiority complex, antes committed acts to reclaim fersen’s position.

of course, it couldn’t be fully trusted from seira’s perspective, but still. even so, since the author set it up that way, the antes in the original and the antes in front of her would undoubtedly have no significant difference.

“why, should i start using honorifics now? if you wish, i will do so. beautiful and wise young lady luna peils.”

however, no matter how you look at it, he didn’t resemble the antes from the original, so when luna silently stared at his face again, he smiled brightly and said those words.

ugh, even his unnecessary flattery gave her goosebumps. luna brushed off her arm and frowned.

“ah, forget it. it would be better to use informal speech.”

“that’s a pleasant sound to hear. unless it’s really necessary, i don’t want to use honorifics anymore. it gives me goosebumps.”

with the agreement reached, the conversation came to an end. luna had countless questions she wanted to ask him, but she kept her mouth shut.

as the only daughter of a mere baron, asking about the profound battle between the male protagonist and the villain would only raise unnecessary suspicions. besides, she wasn’t in her right mind due to the alcohol.

“…well then, i’ll go in now. i have some appointments tomorrow morning. it’s getting chilly, so please go inside quickly as well. you might catch a cold.”

antes followed alongside luna as if he had come out to the garden because of her and asked about tomorrow’s schedule.

“weren’t we supposed to go through the documents together tomorrow?”

“i’m just going out for a short while in the morning. you must be tired coming up from vincent territory, so get a good rest until late.”

“where are you going?”

“…um, i just have a place to visit. i have some money to repay, you know.”

strictly speaking, it wasn’t borrowed money that needed to be repaid, but rather money that needed to be thrown in the face.

in any case, she planned to go down to the peils estate and throw a check at seira, after she made her mine for gold. it might seem sudden after some time had passed, but it would make her feel relieved.

“oh? you didn’t seem like someone who would borrow money, surprisingly.”

“it was unwanted money, to be honest. i didn’t even use it.”

“i guess there’s a story behind it.”

“that’s one way to put it.”

it wasn’t a particularly pleasant story, so she didn’t feel like explaining it in detail.

they had reached the stairs leading up to the second floor. luna returned the coat he had draped over her shoulders back to antes.

“well then, have a good night.”

“it’s a shame to part like this, so let’s meet in our dreams.”

“…it’ll become a nightmare.”

why does he have to be like that, really? he’s not even an old man, but he’s making dad jokes.

luna, who was annoyed, turned on her heels and headed towards the stairs, and from behind, she heard laughter.

it was chaotic, but it wasn’t a bad night.