Alisto hesitated for a moment as he looked at the piece of chicken stretched out in front of him, then slowly opened his mouth.
He thought he would be disgusted because it was a fork used by someone else, but surprisingly it was okay.
“Delicious, isn't it?”
The woman's expression as she asked if the food was delicious was so bright, that she would have said it was delicious even if she fed him mud.
Alisto nodded without resistance.
“Yes”
Then the saint laughed again, as if she liked something.
As she laughed, her round face seemed rounder.
Although she was thin, her facial features were basically round, from her eyes and nose to her mouth.
He didn't know how a nose could be round, but it looked bright and round like a small pearl.
***
Ruby subconsciously hummed to herself.
She remembered the sapphire that Mr.
Ferrell, the candlestick official, had given her as a bribe not long ago.
How much would you make if you sold that piece?
Since it is large in size, it must fetch a good amount.
Will this be the end?
Of course not.
As long as she worked as a maid for the Crown Prince's beloved fiancée, the bribes would flow incessantly.
The pay is high, and the side money is plentiful, so it kills 'two birds with one stone'.
If Miss Atha became an official Crown Princess, and then Empress, how much money would she make?
You may be able to buy a house with a garden, and perhaps hire a housemaid as well.
She liked Miss Atha too.
She moves actively, relies on herself, eats everything well, does not curse, and is not sensitive.
In this time, she was an extremely rare lady who was easy to serve, so Ruby felt energetic even after work.
'I should rush home and tell my older brother not to worry about entering the academy, his sister will make a lot of money in the future.'
With joyful steps on her way back, Ruby met a familiar face at the staircase on the first floor.
"Oh?
Ruby!"
“Mary, hello!”
It was Mary who met her while working as a maid at Blossom Manor.
Unlike Ruby, Mary was an ordinary maid and not an 'owl', so she had recently been wondering why Ruby's sudden job change.
Of course, there was nothing Ruby could tell her.
As she was about to pass by after a passing greeting, Mary took her arm and spoke.
“Hey, did you hear that news?”
Ruby gently shook Mary's hand off her arm and gave an apologetic smile.
“I'm sorry, but I'm a little busy now, I have to rush home to take care of my brothers.”
As she quickly went down the stairs, Mary couldn't wait to keep her tongue inside her mouth, so she quickly followed her and whispered in a low voice.
“They say Mr.
Ferrell is dead.”
Ruby's steps suddenly stopped, and Mary excitedly ran over after seeing the immediate reaction, and stood next to Ruby, whispering in a mysterious voice.
“And most shockingly, do you know what?
The body was found without a tongue, which means it was not an accident.”
Ruby's face paled as Mary continued talking.
Was the death of Mr.
Ferrell, who had bribed her to find out the truth about Miss Atha some time ago, just a coincidence?
both.
It can never be a coincidence.
Then I heard Mary's terrifying words.
“Ah, right.
You said you went to the third floor, right?
As…”
Ruby quickly turned around and cupped Mary's mouth with her hand, while raising the index finger of her other hand in warning.
“You, don’t feel curious, don’t ask, and don’t say a single word.”
When Mary nodded vigorously after realizing the seriousness of the situation, Ruby removed her hand from her mouth and stepped back.
Ruby and Mary exchanged looks with faces full of terror, and then left almost at the same time, without one of them being ahead of the other.
***
At that time, in the dance hall.
Cedric's steps, who were only following Atha's trail, stopped.
Her man has appeared.
Until recently, he was thinking that he hoped Crown Prince Atha wouldn't make her feel lonely.
But seeing them together like this made bitterness rise up in his throat.
While he was standing in amazement, the host approached him with a bang.
“Here you are, I've been looking for you so long.”
Cedric looked away from Atha, and confirmed the identity of the man who was with the host.
He was a stocky man with a neat moustache.
“This is Count Curtis, engaged in trade, mainly in luxury goods such as porcelain and carpets.”
“Welcome, Monsieur Marquis.
I am Bosie Cortés.
I have heard a lot about you from Count Carrion.”
Count Carrion was the one who exchanged letters with the Crown Prince to gain support in eliminating the pirates.
Cedric relaxed his expression and shook hands with Count Curtis.
“Count Carrion is a man to whom I owe some credit.
Are you in business?”
“Yes, Mr.
Marquis, since you have completely eliminated the pirates this time, won’t the sea trade route be opened in the future?
So, there are some things I would like to discuss with you about this, so can you give me some time?”
“Sure, do you know a quiet place?”
“There's a club upstairs, I'll take you to it.”
***
After finishing a filling meal—
Atha left the ballroom and got into Alisto's carriage with him.
Maybe because they were alone in the small carriage space, she felt a little nervous.
In the previous dance hall, the space was large and the people were many, and she could break the ice by sharing meat sometimes.
But inside the car, she couldn't find anything to say.
She looked furtively at Alisto sitting across from her.
When she saw his face, she suddenly remembered a fact she had recently discovered.
That is, when she sees a handsome man in front of her, the corners of her mouth automatically rise.
This is real.
In this situation, there was not a single reason to smile other than that face.
Even with her mind distorted by that suspicious priest.
Didn't her mind empty in an instant?
Is this the effect of a handsome man?
Her heart began to beat unnecessarily.
***
Alisto was watching the saint calmly.
She was constantly moving her eyes.
As if she was worried or nervous.
Since the woman sitting in front of him was behaving like this, he felt as if the infection of that anxiety or tension had been transmitted to him.
When his normally slow beating heart started to speed up a bit, he took a deep breath to calm himself.
'I feel like the car is getting hotter, or is this just a feeling?'
If he had been alone, he would have opened the car window, but he did not.
The saint was wearing a dress with a round chest opening, and a large area of her skin was bare to the point where her collarbone was visible.
Since the sun has set and the air is cold, fear that you will catch a cold if you are exposed to the cold wind.
It is better to endure this heat than to make a weak person sick.
Since she looked weak and was exposing her skin like that, he couldn't help but be concerned about her.
Speaking of which, why did she wear a dress with such a wide slit?
So that her skin is fully visible.
‘…?’
No, her skin...?!
As he continued his thoughts, Alisto's face suddenly began to heat up.
He had just realized that what his eyes were seeing was the saint's 'skin'.
He felt embarrassed to look at her, so he quickly lowered his gaze, and his eyes fell on her thin hands, which were moving in confusion.
Okay.
Better look at her hands.
Since she was constantly moving them, he wouldn't get bored.
This was the first time he had watched a woman's hand so calmly.
Suddenly, he had a question.
Are other women's hands so white and small?
Or is the saint the only one like this?
Even without checking, her hands were extremely thin, to the point that he felt like both of her hands would fit into one fist of his.
Suddenly, he was curious to know what it felt like to hold that hand.
'...hold her hand?'
Are you crazy?
Why do I have such vile thoughts?
Of course, given his goal, it was time to start with physical contact.
Nothing brings lovers who have just started a relationship closer together as quickly and deeply as touch.
But for some reason, he felt it was a very hypocritical idea.
The idea that he doesn't want to hold this woman's hand just to achieve his goal.
He looked out the window.
Because he thought it would be better to divert his attention from the saint now.
But soon his eyes returned to looking at her, as if they were betraying his mind.
At this point, he had no choice but to confess.
He wanted to hold this woman's hand now.
He did not know whether it was because of her beauty or her softness, but he was sure that it was not just his goal.
“Can I hold your hand?”