'Yes.
I'll give Dale a rest today.'
I went to the kitchen and poured boiling water.
“Enya.”
He patted the towel with astonished eyes.
His wet black hair looked darker today, contrasting with his clean white skin.
'Even if Marquis Schultz is handsome, in my opinion, Dale is more handsome.'
Secretly in my heart, I stood by Dale.
"Sit down.
I'll do it right away.
Dale drinks green tea too, doesn't he?"
But where are the green tea leaves?
Since it wasn't Grunwald's house, I wasn't sure where it was.
I opened all the kitchen drawers.
“It's in the ceiling drawer.”
"Yes!"
The moment I got up and turned around.
“!”
I could see Dale's broad chest in front of me.
He opened a high drawer for me and took out the tea leaves for me.
'I don't even have to breathe!'
I held my breath and remained still.
Good ideas...good ideas...
But it's very close.
The chest, no, the whole body was very close.
But why can't I turn my head?
All I have to do is turn my head.
Why can't I do that?
Suddenly I opened my eyes and looked at Dale's body.
“It will be difficult to get it out because it is stored higher than Enya.”
"Ah.
Thank you.
I really needed it."
My heart raced when I saw this amazing sight.
But looking at that innocent expression, it seemed like I was the only one with strange thoughts.
“Wait a minute.
Enya, your face is red, doesn’t that mean you have a fever?”
“Me?
Oh no.”
I made tea while ignoring Dale who was looking at me with a worried look on his face.
But Dale was staring at the cup.
He hesitated for a while, holding it tightly with both hands.
'It seems really disappointing.'
What Dale is doing now is a kind of fulfillment of the contract.
I felt like he really liked me, so I felt like I was going to marry him.
Dale is really good at acting.
"Oh, by the way, Dale.
Who was that person from earlier?"
At that moment, Dale's hand, which was fiddling with the teacup, stiffened.
“I don't know him well.”
"truly?"
Although there is a clause in our contract that states “avoid disclosure of secrets whenever possible,” it doesn’t seem appropriate to ask about it now.
Because he looked like someone who wanted to hide something.
'Then it is right not to ask.'
If you think about it closely, it was also a secret.
We have pledged not to violate each other's privacy.
While I was drinking my tea, I looked at Dale.
“No.
Actually, I wasn’t that curious.”
“…”
Dale seemed to think and opened his mouth sharply.
“That person is Cassion Schultz.
This is the man who recently became Marquis.”
“Is it so?”
I pretended not to know.
“How did you meet Marquis Schultz?
"I'm curious."
“…”
“It's the first time I've seen Dale's friend.”
“We are not friends.”
Dale firmly distanced himself from Marquis Cassion Schultz.
It's the first time I've seen him express his opinion so clearly.
“We've known each other for a while because of work.
He only knows your face, so he won't cause any trouble to Enya.”
Dale said with an apologetic face.
Why me suddenly
“I didn’t want to tell Marquis Schultz about Enya.”
"Ah.
Are you afraid he'll tell my father?"
There was a connection between our family and Marquis Schultz.
If Duke Lockhart supports the Emperor, then Marquis Schultz stands with the Emperor.
Since the protagonist, the current Emperor, was a prince he did not know existed, Marquis Schulz was secretly helping him.
Marquis Schulz was a friend of the Emperor.
Because they were the same age, they became close friends.
'They are the same age.'
For a moment, I felt dizzy.
If I know Marquis Schulz's age, I can also know the Emperor's age.
“Dale, how old is Marquis Schultz?”
“I think he's twenty-two.”
Marquis Schultz is twenty-two years old.
So the Emperor is now twenty-two years old.
“The identity of the Emperor is completely shrouded in mystery, but I believe that the age of the Marquis is the same as that of the Emperor.”
“....”
At one point, Dale tightened his hand holding the teacup.
“This means that the Emperor is also twenty-two years old, right?”
I looked at Dale.
“Dale is 22 too?”
“…!”
I looked at him frankly.
A look of disappointment appeared on Dale's face.
He looked at me, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Enya, I….”
“My brother is also 22 years old.”
“…?”
After thinking about it, I realized that it's surprising that there are so many people around me who are 22 years old.
Even Rosanna, who I was working with, was 22 years old.
Aunt Marge's nephew was also said to be 22 years old.
“I think a lot of people were born that year...!”
“….”.
“Oh, there was a festival back then, right?”
“….”.
“I think I heard that around that time an ancient object was discovered in the temple.
It is widely rumored that children born that year will be blessed by the ruler...”
“I think Dale's parents heard this story too.
Am I right?”
“….”.
Dale looked at me with an ambiguous expression.
The silence stretched on and I looked at the clock.
It's getting late.
"Dale.
Which room should I use?"
Dale tilted his head.
“You haven't decided which room I'll use, have you?”
“Ah..”
Dale closed his eyes as if he had forgotten something.
“I will guide you.”
Dale took me to the third floor.
The third floor, unlike what she expected, was neat and well-organized, and had a similar structure to the second floor.
“There are several rooms.
Um, can I use any room?”
“As you wish.”
You choose the closest room.
If the room is too far away, it will be difficult to go up and down the stairs.
“I'll take it!”
But the room was very clean.
As for how clean it was, there was nothing.
There is no furniture at all.
“…?”
Dale also looked equally confused.
He didn't seem to know why the room was empty.
"Ah!
I'll take the next room."
But the next room looked the same.
An empty room without any furniture, like a house about to be moved.
"strange?"
The next room was the same.
There were only three rooms on the third floor, so there was nothing to see.
“Sorry.
Something seems to be wrong.”
Dale stroked his hair with a confused look on his face.
“If you don't mind sharing the same floor with me, you can stay on the second floor.”
“Then I will stay in the room on the second floor.”
I went to the second floor and opened the door again.
Empty!
However, all the rooms on the second floor were empty.
There was no furniture, as if someone had taken it.
“Could there be a thief?”
But even to Dale, this situation seemed unbelievable.
"It's weird.
So, is Dale's room okay?
Can I see it?"
“I will open it.”
The furniture in Dale's room was still there.
The desk, nightstand, dresser and bed were in the same condition.
I looked around Dale's room and thought about it.
“Why are the other rooms just empty?”