MTST 03

Chapter 3

Cecilia let out a soft chuckle.

“He was quite the handsome fellow, so he certainly gave my eyes a treat. It would have been wonderful if Lady Lilian had been here too!”

I suppose I was a bit curious.

Given that Cecilia usually showed zero interest in men, her words were genuinely enough to pique my interest.

I tucked the pouch securely inside my coat.

“Well then, I’ll be on my way.”

“Yes, yes! Do come back whenever you need anything.”

With Cecilia’s cheerful send-off, I stepped out of the apothecary.

A bit of a shame, really.

I would have loved to see Betty just one more time.

Just as I was reluctantly forcing my heavy feet to move forward—

Whoosh.

A brisk, refreshing breeze swept through the air, sending my hat fluttering away on the wind.

I hurriedly reached out, but it had already carried too far for my fingertips to grasp.

Thwack.

At that exact moment, however, a hand shot out and caught the hat.

……A man with the exact same shade of hair as Betty from last week.

His chestnut-brown locks danced softly in the wind, revealing his neat, well-defined features.

“It seems this hat remembers our meeting.”

With a teasing lilt in his voice, the man offered a faint, crooked smile.

“Though the same apparently can’t be said for its owner.”

I barely managed to force the words past my lips.

“Surely not… Noah?”

“That’s right, Lady Laura.”

His voice sounded strangely different from last time, though.

…………Or is it just my imagination?

Stepping closer, Noah smirked and gently placed the hat back upon my head.

“Is this fate, I wonder?”

To think a face like that had been hidden beneath a humble traveler’s hood.

Along with a wave of surprise, those utterly common brown locks caught my eye once more.

This surely meant he was a commoner.

Or perhaps a commoner-turned-noble who had bought his title with wealth.

Since he had been accompanied by a knight last time, the latter seemed far more likely than the former.

I barely managed to pull myself together and opened my mouth.

“A coincidence, nothing more. I happened to come back because there was some medicine I couldn’t pick up from Lady Cecilia last week.”

At my words, Noah’s gaze drifted briefly toward the apothecary.

“How fortunate. I happened to have business in the village myself.”

“What kind of business?”

“If I told you, you’d have to come along with me. Are you alright with that?”

It was a shameless line if I had ever heard one, yet I found myself letting out an unexpected laugh.

“Well, I happen to have far more time on my hands than I look.”

“Then you’d make a thoroughly faultless companion.”

One corner of Noah’s lips hitched upward.

The gentle warmth of the afternoon sun, accompanied by a cool, crisp breeze. It was the absolute picture-perfection of weather for a stroll.

Soaking up the sun’s rays to my heart’s content, I glanced sideways at Noah, who was matching my pace stride for stride, and broke the silence.

“Anyway, you spoke with such grave seriousness that I genuinely thought it was a matter of life and death.”

“Are you implying that taking a walk with Betty is a waste of time?”

“Now when on earth did I ever go that far…………?”

At my grumbling complaint, Noah burst into light, airy laughter.

Wagging her tail as she trotted ahead of us, Betty looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

Though she still wasn’t quite used to walking outside, stopping to sit down on her haunches every few paces.

“Whatever possessed you to take her in, anyway?”

“She was dumped on me by an acquaintance.”

Noah clicked his tongue as he continued,

“Just handed her over and bolted without a word.”

“Even so, you’re taking responsibility for her. That makes you a good person.”

“Who? Me?”

“No, you.”

I extended an open palm and gestured vaguely toward Noah, earning myself a thoroughly bewildered look from him.

Was he genuinely lacking that much self-awareness?

“Do you like dogs?”

“Not particularly. Once that little monster grows up, I’m tossing it out.”

For a man who claimed not to care, both of his hands were currently occupied with bags full of puppy treats.

Honestly, what a joke.

His stubborn, prickly act somehow only made him feel that much more approachable and amusing. Catching me staring, he carefully inquired,

“And you?”

“Pardon?”

“Judging by how fiercely protective you are of Betty, I take it you’re rather fond of dogs.”

“I love them.”

Who in the world could possibly turn down a cute living creature?

Right on cue, a sleek black cat hopped up onto a nearby park wall. Startled by the sudden apparition, Betty let out a squeak and jumped back in fright.

My gaze was momentarily pulled toward the cat, but Noah, who had been intently watching me, casually dropped a remark.

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“W-Well, actually, I suppose I do have a slight soft spot for black cats.”

At my confession, Noah paused in his tracks.

For some reason, his face seemed to tighten slightly as he glanced down, stealing a quick look at his own dark hair.

It wasn’t like I had lied, yet a strange prickle of guilt began to gnaw at my conscience.

“Still, every creature has its own unique charm! I pretty much love anything cute.”

“Anything cute…………”

Murmuring my words under his breath, he clenched his fists tight.

At that moment, Betty, still thoroughly intimidated by the feline glaring down from the wall, whimpered and scurried backward, sitting right down on the path. Then, casting a frantic glance behind her, she bolted straight back toward us.

Specifically, straight toward me rather than her actual owner, Noah.

Seeing Betty clinging to the hem of my skirt as if begging to be picked up, I nervously glanced up at Noah. Catching my unspoken plea, he gave a subtle nod.

“Go ahead and hold her.”

“A-Are you sure it’s alright?”

As I carefully scooped Betty up into my arms, a soothing warmth radiated against my chest.

A soft, tickling sensation bloomed in the corner of my heart.

“Unbelievable. The ungrateful mutt doesn’t even recognize its own master.”

Noah grumbled under his breath, though he didn’t look the least bit genuinely displeased.

Watching Betty burrow happily against my chest, an involuntary exclamation slipped past my lips.

“I think she likes me!”

“Oh, dear. What am I going to do? I’m suddenly tempted to just spirit her away to my home.”

To enjoy all the pleasure of a pet with none of the responsibilities—what absolute bliss.

“Well, what do you know. Never would I have guessed that chance meeting with Lady Laura would make me an accomplice to puppy kidnapping.”

“What can I say? You’ve crossed paths with the wrong person.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll hunt you down no matter where you run.”

I set Betty back down onto the ground, but clearly preferring the comfort of my touch, the puppy immediately scrambled right back into my arms.

In the end, I had to hand the squirming little ball of fur back over to Noah.

“I suppose our walk has come to an end for today.”

As I murmured the words, Noah let out a soft, trailing sigh.

Perhaps unaccustomed to the outside world, the puppy stubbornly refused to let go of his coat.

Or perhaps Betty was simply too adorable. The stroll felt far too short-lived.

……What a pity.

Maybe it was just because the weather was so lovely, but the realization that the walk was already over filled my chest with a lingering sense of disappointment.

“Is your home far?”

“It’s close by.”

A carriage ride would take me there in no time.

“Hurry home. The world outside is a treacherous place.”

“What, do you take me for some helpless child?”

“That’s precisely why I’m telling you.”

The moment I narrowed my eyes in mock offense, Noah let out a low snicker.

“If you’ve got complaints, you should have grown taller than me.”

With Noah’s playful parting shot, our walk officially drew to a close.

Yet neither of us made a move to take that first step away.

We simply stood there, staring quietly at one another.

There’s no guarantee we’ll ever stumble into another coincidence like this.

I wanted to see Betty again.

Where else was I ever going to run into a creature this endlessly charming?

The moment our gazes collided in the quiet air, Noah was the first to break the silence.

“Betty seems quite fond of you.”

“Well, I happen to be quite fond of Betty, too.”

I answered instantly, as if waiting for the cue, causing Noah to look down at me with a soft, steady gaze.

A strange, fluttering sensation stirred within me.

Was it because of this restless warmth blooming in my chest? For some inexplicable reason, maintaining eye contact with Noah suddenly felt terribly difficult, so I instinctively lowered my gaze and gently tapped the toe of my shoe against the dirt path.

Then, Noah carefully broached the subject.

“Would you mind if I wrote to you?”

Carrying just the faintest hint of nervous hesitation in his tone.

A letter.

I liked the sound of that. It meant we wouldn’t have to rely purely on blind chance to secure our next meeting.

“Not at all.”

Yet, the moment the words left my mouth, a sudden, sobering thought struck me.

I had lied about my name, and I hadn’t given this man a single piece of real information about myself…………….

If I give him the Count of Carpena’s estate as my address, he’s bound to find out I lied.

As if reading my troubled thoughts, Noah casually offered a compromise.

“I don’t have the petty, malicious hobby of digging into the home address of a lady with whom I share a casual acquaintance.”

“Besides, my own circumstances are just as complicated.”

Noah gave a light tilt of his chin toward the direction of the apothecary.

“I’ll leave the letters at the apothecary. Just drop by whenever it’s convenient for you to check.”

“Thank you for being so considerate.”

A wave of profound relief washed over me.

………………Though it really was rather strange.

If things were genuinely this inconvenient, we could have simply chosen not to exchange letters at all.

At that moment, Noah’s lips parted slightly, as if he still had something left unsaid.

As I blinked in surprise, he hesitated for a brief second before forcing the words out.

“Will you write back?”

His question sent another jolt straight to my heart.

Seeing him actively avoid my gaze made me feel a sudden, wicked urge to tease him.

“Hmm…………”

Feigning deep, agonizing deliberation, I tilted my head and dragged out the suspense.

As my silence stretched on, the corners of Noah’s expression began to subtly tighten.

Seeing his reaction, I finally broke down and burst into laughter.

“Of course, if you’re going to sit around waiting for it.”

Noah’s eyes widened in surprise. But the next instant, he brought a hand up to rub tiredly at his face.

“Good grief. You’re going to give me quite a workout trying to reply to you.”

When he finally dropped his hand, his features were overflowing with a deep, fond smile.

Returning to the imperial palace, Theodore slipped the ring from his finger.

In an instant, the man’s entire appearance and aura shifted completely.

Gone was the gentle-eyed man who bore a striking resemblance to Beatrice; in his place stood a sharply refined, almost fastidiously pristine nobleman.

……So you prefer cute things, do you?

No matter how hard he scrutinized his own reflection in the mirror, there wasn’t a single remotely cute thing about his natural face.

Besides, it was a horrifyingly alien word he had never once heard used to describe himself in his entire life.

Even if one were to stretch the definition and call him feline, his face resembled a predatory leopard far more than a house cat.