88 – Memories of a First Kiss (2)

“······So, why did you waste my time again?”

“You’re talking about wasting time. Poor. Listeners get hurt.”

“····.”

“Ha ha.”

I let out a sigh.

From the side, Mikhail’s stinging gaze hit me, but it wasn’t enough to stop my sighing.

The reason is obvious, but it was because of what happened at the duke’s residence earlier.

– The day you kissed someone for the first time… When?

– Princess? You seem to be misunderstanding something…

– ······Do not come close. Because it’s creepy

– ···.

It’s been a very long time.

Seeing Rebecca’s sincere contempt.

As far as I remember, I don’t think I’ve seen him since the first day we met.

After that, I don’t know what part was the trigger, but strangely, Rebecca’s personality became harmful.

After glaring at me for a while, Mikhail shook his head as if he couldn’t help it.

“Anyway, from what I’ve heard, your fiancée is seriously mistaken. Is that true?”

“Yes. That’s a very great illusion.”

As Mikhail said, I expected Rebecca to be very delusional right now.

“Your first kiss is what she believes she is not.”

“······Yes. I guess so.”

The illusion that the object of my first kiss was someone other than myself.

It was an absurd idea, but considering Rebecca’s position, it didn’t make sense.

“My fiancé remembers that day as a dream.”

My fiancee believes that the day will be a dream.

Because I remember the first time I spent the night at the duke’s residence in Valencia, and kissed me in my sleep as a dream.

He only remembers the dream that day, but it was natural for him to be embarrassed when I told him that I had his first kiss that day.

······No, not embarrassment, but contempt. Anyway.

“Why don’t you just be honest. What happened that day is not a dream.”

“It’s not that I didn’t think of that, but… There’s a problem.”

“Problems?”

“Yes. My fiancee is very shy.”

“····.”

“The moment I tell you that it wasn’t a dream, your face will turn red and you won’t see me for a week.”

I’m joking, but it was true to some extent.

– It wasn’t a dream…?

I was picturing Rebecca’s reaction when I told the truth, even though I hadn’t actually experienced it.

Having heard all I said, Mikhail now had an expression bordering on contempt.

“I really want you to go out and die.”

“You’ve been talking too much since before. Low.”

“You are sincere without a single lie. Do you really have no intention of treating your lord with respect?”

“If Captain Veronica is polite to me first, then I will follow.”

“······You don’t have to go around saying that you don’t intend to wear one for the rest of your life.”

“Did you get caught?”

“····.”

Mikhail’s eyebrows are inevitably frowning, although he tries to put on a calm expression.

It was a lot of fun to just watch it.

Suddenly, while sitting in the prince’s office today, it occurred to him that he hadn’t met Veronica.

“By the way, did the knight commander go on a business trip? I don’t think I’ve seen him before today.”

“Finally brings up something worth talking about.”

“I think it was a topic worth talking about until now.”

“What a story about how happy you are with her fiancée.”

“Isn’t that practical enough?”

“…Enough, I’ll answer what you asked.”

Perhaps he sensed that there would be no end if he spoke any more, Mikhail completely cut off any room for further discussion.

Sorry. I thought it was a topic worth talking about.

“The Knight Commander is on a business trip as you expected.”

“May I ask why?”

“It’s the reason you know. It’s related to the church I talked about last time.”

“Are you in charge of the investigation, Captain?”

“It’s something ordinary people shouldn’t know about. It would be right to leave it to someone you can trust.”

“Well, Captain Veronica is a low-level person who can be trusted more than anyone else.”

“Except for the occasional confrontation with me, he is the perfect person.”

The expression on Mikhail’s face when he said that was more resolute than any expression on Mikhail I’ve ever seen.

To think that a person who had looked at me with contempt just a moment ago made that face as soon as the story of the knight commander came out.

I wonder if this is the reason why the saintess brought up the story of Rebecca when she had to drag me to the last masquerade.

I felt like I was experiencing Estelle’s feelings indirectly, so I was confused.

“You trust Captain Veronica more than anyone else. Is there any special reason?”

“I don’t have a specific reason. I can’t figure out the truth of what you say.”

“Degradation.”

“Why are you calling me? Every time you call me, something bad happens.”

“Are you in love with Captain Veronica?”

“······Do you have a reason for suddenly thinking that way?”

The prince’s voice was very serious.

As if you don’t know what you’re talking about out of the blue, as if you’re dumbfounded because it’s so out of the blue.

Should I say that this part is like a prince who always fights among nobles?

“There may be many reasons… But the biggest reason is this.”

“I really wonder what the reason is.”

“The look in your eyes when you look at the captain is very similar to the look in your eyes when you look at me.”

“····.”

It must have been very difficult for even the crown prince to hide his usual gaze.

It was literally.

The look in Mikhail’s eyes when he usually looks at Veronica is similar to the look in Rebecca when he looks at me.

I hate that person so much that I really want to hit him once, but the look in my eyes shows that I endure it because my heart for liking him is bigger than that heart.

Others may think that Mikhail is only like that because he is kind. Having experienced such eyes for quite some time, I was able to fully notice.

The fact that Mikhail was kind in the first place was also a nonsense story for me, who knew the current Mikhail.

“····.”

After hearing my reasoning, Mikhail kept her mouth shut as if he had nothing to say.

Perhaps he is thinking hard.

I wonder where the hell went wrong. I wondered what crime he had committed in his previous life to meet a servant like me.

I wondered how to get out of this situation.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“······No. You seem to have something to say.”

“Are you really in love with Knight Commander Veronica?”

“Do you have a disease that you can’t believe after deducing yourself?”

“It’s strange. It’s because these two people don’t usually seem to have anything to do with the feeling of love.”

“····.”

“Then what’s your relationship with the saintess?”

At this point, additional questions arose.

In the vague memories of the original story, it seems that Mikhail was dating Estelle.

Why am I yearning for Knight Commander Veronica, who was never mentioned in the original work?

As soon as I thought of the original work, like a vending machine that came out when I pressed a button, I got an unwelcome headache, but this question was a question I wanted to solve even at the risk of a headache.

“I just joined hands with the saintess to settle the matter with her church.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do I really have to say this twice?”

Apart from the surprise that the crown prince was really yearning for his knight commander, now I was worried about the original work, which didn’t fit at all.

With the exception of the first incident, the imperial banquet, and the subsequent hunting competition, none of the events in the original story happened.

And I had already personally realized that the personalities of the characters were completely different from the original.

It was only natural that doubts about the original work would grow.

Mikhail sighed as if he didn’t know why he was even talking about this.

“I can’t help it because I already found out… But at least I want you to keep it a secret from the knight commander.”

“Don’t worry. Who am I?”

“······The main culprit of occasional murderous urges?”

“Ah. You’re joking too much.”

“I’m not kidding.”

“Anyway, don’t worry. I’m not stupid enough to tell you this.”

“·······I believe it.”

With Mikhail’s expression completely different from what he was saying, I finally stood up.

“Are you going now?”

“Yes. I was looking at the degradation, and for some reason I thought there was a possibility for me.”

“·······What does that mean?”

“Let’s go first. Lower.”

“····.”

Until I arrived at the office, I was full of worries about how to resolve Rebecca’s misunderstanding.

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Now I was full of confidence that everything would work out.

It was absolutely not because my situation was better than that of the prince.

***

After Albert left, the office was again filled with silence.

Mikhail was slowly drinking a cup of strawberry-scented tea.

“······I must have committed many sins in my previous life.”

Otherwise, there is no way I would have such a close friend by my side.

I knew from the past that he was quick-witted, but I didn’t expect that he would even notice his romance.

Because I believed that I had been hiding it well.

“······Whoa.”

My head hurt.

I haven’t touched a cigarette yet, but I’m sure it’s not because I’m in the mood for some reason.

······No. Has he ever touched a cigarette?

The only thing that really helped was the tea he was drinking.