ITMWG 123

Chapter 123…

Keeping things neat and tidy.

Altair naturally leaned against Nadia, putting his weight on her.

She stumbled slightly under the unbearable weight, seemingly a little startled. At that, he raised his head slightly and then took in her complexion.

Nadia’s body instantly felt lighter, but she started to miss the warmth I’d lost as she looked back at Altair. He frowned and sighed.

“I guess I need to break this habit. This could lead to a dangerous situation.”

“A dangerous situation?”

“If you fall, it’ll be a disaster.”

“No matter how unreliable I may be… I won’t fall over something like this. I can handle it.”

Nadia spoke confidently, having never fallen before, but seeing Altair’s tight-lipped silence, it seemed he wasn’t convinced.

His gaze, scanning her up and down, seemed to say,

“You…can handle me…?”

How should she persuade this stubborn person? She rolled her eyes, and then her mind suddenly snapped.

“In that case…”

Nadia smiled, carefully burrowed into Altair’s arms, and hugged him tightly.

“I suppose Altair tries handling me then.”

It felt incredibly awkward to approach first, but thinking back, she regretted always waiting for Altair to approach her.

She was always the kind of person who waited from afar, waiting for others to open up.

She worried that if she reached out, they would ruthlessly reject her.

That’s why she became a timid, passive child.

But I don’t want to just wait anymore.

She had lost many precious things by staying far away, trying to find the right time to avoid getting hurt.

Now, she wanted to try taking the initiative, one step after the other.

Just as she was afraid to open up to someone, they must have been afraid to open up to her, too.

Her heart pounded at her unusually active approach.

Altair, too, seemed flustered, as if he hadn’t expected her to approach and embrace him.

Altair, who prided himself on being unrivaled in physical activity, froze in a daze, unsure of what to do with his hands. The sight made Nadia laugh.

“Why? Am I too hard to handle?”

She tried to gently distance herself, but Altair awkwardly embraced her with his arms, which had been flailing in the air.

“No way. I can handle it anytime.”

A large hand gently stroked her back, and her whole body felt like melting chocolate.

She leaned completely against Altair and inhaled comfortably.

The familiar scent that supported her, reassured her.

Altair smelled like a giant, ancient tree guarding a forest.

It wasn’t the refined, ornate scent of the gentlemen of the capital, but that made it all the more pleasant.

Nadia slowly closed her eyes, feeling a strange languor in the unfathomable warmth.

“Did you greet the Duke properly?”

“…Yes.”

But Altair did not seem as comfortable as she was, as she felt a strange pause in his reply.

The hand stroking her back was also stiff.

Her eyes shot open, and she raised her head to look at Altair.

Perhaps because their eyes met suddenly, Altair’s hand, which had been diligently stroking her back, suddenly stopped.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“…No.”

“You are uncomfortable.”

“Well…”

It seemed he didn’t find her as comfortable as she found him.

“I find Altair very comfortable…”

Somehow, feeling depressed, her shoulders slumped as she took a step back. Altair ruffled his hair, a look of distress on his face.

“So you just find me comfortable?”

“Huh?”

“I feel uncomfortable every time I see you.”

“Un-Uncomfortable? With me?”

Nadia’s mouth fell open at the shocking words, and Altair let out a deep sigh.

“Yes. I’m sensitive to even the slightest movement of yours and react accordingly. Perhaps this isn’t normal.”

Altair’s gaze was filled with passion as he looked at her. And her face flushed as she realised what he meant.

Looking at her obviously flushed face, Altair chuckled and bent down to meet her eye level.

“So it’s not you who should be depressed, it’s me.”

“Well, if that’s the reason, then you don’t have to be so gloomy…”

“…?”

“… I’m the same as Altair.”

Altair tilted his head slightly, as if he didn’t understand what she meant, so Nadia carefully kissed him on the lips.

It wasn’t a childish, hasty kiss like in the courtroom.

She cupped Altair’s cheeks and leaned in until they were touching.

Altair, frozen in her clumsy, cautious movements, began to respond little by little, and the kiss quickly deepened.

When her breath hitched, feeling as though she couldn’t take it anymore, she cautiously pulled away from him.

But Altair, as if disappointed, didn’t let go easily. He leaned in closer and gently nipped her lip.

As Nadia’s eyes widened at his behavior, which was like that of a sulky puppy, Altair’s eyes also rounded in surprise.

“Did I bite too hard?”

“No. I was just surprised…it was pleasant!”

When she quickly added that she liked it, fearing it might embarrass him, Altair chuckled.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Huh?”

“I liked it too.”

Alter tapped his lips with his finger, and her face heated up again at his words.

“Initiating everything and being embarrassed are two different things.”

“Well, it’s not bad, though.”

Altair smiled with satisfaction, picked her up, and sat down on the sofa. This left her sitting on Altair’s lap like a child.

This was their first time sitting like this, and their gazes were much closer than usual, so everything Altair saw was so vivid that her face got more flushed than it already was.

As Nadia lowered her head, bashful, Altair chuckled softly and ran his hand through her messy hair.

At that, she silently focused on the sensation of Altair’s fingers brushing through her hair. Before long, he spoke.

“Did you get another checkup when you arrived at the mansion?”

“Yes. He said there was nothing wrong, so don’t worry. I’m about to go with Blan to meet the culprit now.”

“I see…But the atmosphere in the mansion seems off.”

Altair seemed to have noticed the chaotic atmosphere inside the Vine mansion on the way here.

“It seems the news from the courtroom has spread. They must be agitated after learning I’ll be their new master.”

“Do you intend to forgive and accept them?”

It was the same question Marie had asked.

“Do I seem that soft?”

“I heard you even spared the man who attempted to kill you.”

“Oh, that guy.”

He must have heard through Cain that her uncle’s informant had been chosen to join the Knights instead of being killed.

Come to think of it, since Altaïr was the leader of the Knights, it was even stranger that he didn’t know about it, since it was already decided that way.

“Cain knew I was hesitant about killing people, so he suggested a sound plan. He said that being in the Knights would be harder than dying. I think that’s an exaggeration, though.”

“Hmm.”

Altaïr’s eyes narrowed as he responded ambiguously to her.

“So was what he said true? That Knights’ training is harder than dying?”

“It’s not average, but… I wonder if there’s a special training course waiting for the guy who tried to harm my wife?”

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were utterly cold.

Nadia didn’t know what kind of training he was planning, but she couldn’t help but think, ‘That guy’s in big trouble!’

“Oh, by the way. When are we going back to Aylesford?”

Bringing up the Knights naturally made her worry about Aylesford.

If everything had gone according to plan, they should have already returned to Aylesford and taken care of the estate.

A series of unexpected events had significantly delayed their return.

And now that she had been granted the title of Marchioness, she couldn’t even anticipate a return date.

Nadia couldn’t even begin to imagine how long it would take to properly reorganise the Marquis, which had fallen into disarray under her uncle.

“Pavel may be holding things together well, but it’s not good for the master to be away for so long…”

Moreover, even after the reorganisation was complete, Nadia couldn’t leave for Aylesford with peace of mind.

To fulfill her duties as a Marchioness, she couldn’t just leave the capital.

Things were going well, which was good, but the thought of the practical issues already made her head spin.

Altair, as if he understood her concerns, lightly tapped her forehead with his finger.

“For now, let’s focus on reorganising the Marquis’ household. Think about what happens after that. Your head isn’t big enough to hold all your worries, so share them with me.”

Altair’s words had such a strange power, making even the most complex problems seem simpler.

When he said that, Nadia felt like it all would be just fine, and the throbbing headache vanished.

“Got it.”

With that, she cleared her head of all confusion and focused on the most pressing matter.

First, start with reorganising the Marquis’ household!

❈❈❈

The servants of the Vine Marquis had gathered in the grand banquet hall since early morning, gossiping.

This was because the new master of the Vine, Marchioness Nadia Vine, had issued a summons.

“Who knew it would take a turn like this?”

“Yes. It’s not uncommon for masters to change overnight, but to think that timid young lady, who had been kicked out of the mansion, would become the Marchioness.”

“What will become of the venerable Marquis of Vine?”

As they had said, the Marquis of Vine was a prestigious and storied family. As a result, most of them had worked for the Vine household for generations.

They lamented, as if they were the elders of the family, and worried about the future of Vine.

Some remained silent and solemn, but they were few in number.

Just then, the tightly shut door opened, and the servants, sensing a presence, quieted down.

They turned their heads and saw, indeed, the new head Nadia Vine standing at the entrance, observing the servants.

The servants simply stared blankly at Nadia, who stood still at the entrance, instead of stepping inside.

Then, Marie, who had accompanied her, bellowed.

“What are you all doing instead of bowing to the Madame?”

At the sudden shout, the servants finally bowed.

They hadn’t even considered bowing to the young lady they had ignored for so long.

Only after confirming that everyone was bowing to her did Nadia step inside.

As she passed the assembled servants and reached the front, Cain, who had been guarding Nadia from Marie’s side, quickly brought a chair over, and Nadia gracefully sat down.

Nadia tilted her head, taking in the faces of the servants gathered in the grand ballroom.

“I told all the servants to gather.”

Not only was there no familiar face, but even a cursory glance revealed a very small number of attendants.

It seemed only about half the attendants were present.

At Nadia’s question, someone muttered among them.

“Everyone has work to do.”

The person who spoke was someone Nadia knew well.

He was the servant who had coldly ignored Nadia during her upheaval. He was a close associate of the butler and held considerable power among the attendants.

Seemingly thinking that Nadia’s gaze towards him had not changed much, the attendant snorted and began to act condescendingly.

“If we rest even for a moment, the mansion won’t be properly maintained, so if you suddenly issue an order to assemble like this, it’s only natural that not everyone will be able to gather.”