MBSGBC 11

Chapter 11

The night swept in like a storm and shook me relentlessly. I woke up praising myself for having cast the concealing spell.

Unmentionable parts ached, and the muscle pain all over my body was no joke. The reason I could barely move was especially obvious—a large arm was wrapped around my waist.

“I did it…”

I pressed my forehead and writhed in inexplicable anguish.

I’d gone and done it!

“You awake?”

At the man’s voice from behind me, I whipped my head around.

Lion Voltain looked surprisingly fine. True, he was still clad in nothing but dishevelment, but the traces of magical exhaustion on his face were nowhere to be found.

The dark circles under his eyes and the pale complexion were all gone—his face was devastatingly beautiful. I wanted to stab my own eyes out. The moment he smirked, everything somehow felt like it didn’t matter.

“Don’t smile at me.”

“Then who should I smile at? The person who tormented me all night?”

“Wh-Who tormented whom…! Ah, stop looking this way!”

I turned my head away, wrapped myself in the blanket, and picked up my clothes from the floor.

Hmm, completely wrinkled and even stained.

As I deliberated between wearing the ruined clothes and requesting new ones—which would be better for my social dignity—Lion moved first. With a light gesture, he nullified the room’s concealing spell. Then he raised his voice casually.

“Is anyone outside?”

A cautious voice came from beyond the door.

“Yes, Your Grace the Duke. It’s Cyril.”

“Bring me a set of clothes. And one set for your mistress as well.”

“Do you require assistance?”

“No. We’ll manage.”

I felt like I might faint from shame!

As I sat on the bed covering my face with both hands, Lion’s arm pulled me back into the bed.

“Sleep a little more.”

In the arms of a man with a broad chest, my mind grew complicated. In both my past and current lives, the option of such wanton behavior before marriage had never been on my radar.

“Did you trick me?”

“What do you mean?”

“A mage like you suddenly suffering from magical exhaustion—it’s suspicious.”

Lion yawned and pulled me closer into his embrace. A languid voice reached my ear.

“A child isn’t something you make alone, you know.”

“That’s true.”

“So I overdid it a little…”

He added in a drowsy voice.

“As a side effect, once a month, magic drains out of me unbearably…”

He finished with a laugh in his tone.

“Having you here makes it much better.”

His black hair clung to the nape of my neck. The sensation of him pressing his head against me like a child seeking affection was vividly overwhelming.

“We made a promise, didn’t we?”

“What promise?”

“You have to protect me.”

I truly felt like crying.

“…Please stop telling me secrets!”

When I had fully dressed and stepped out of the guest room, the newly arrived servants were lined up in two rows waiting for us.

Rita, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cyril in the front row, shot me a sly thumbs-up with a lecherous expression. I could almost hear her voice saying “That’s our Miss…!” and I immediately wanted to pass out.

I tried my best to remain calm and slowly opened my mouth.

“Where’s Lucian?”

At my question, Cyril answered calmly.

“He hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Let him sleep. It’s still before breakfast—just make sure he’s up by then, alright?”

“Understood.”

“Any special happenings in the meantime?”

“One invitation arrived that you should see right away. I’ve placed it on the desk in your study.”

“Good. I’ll head to the study.”

I forced my wobbling legs to move toward the study. Lion, with no regard for propriety, tried to carry me, but I slapped his unruly hands away.

On the desk in the study lay an envelope sealed with red wax.

“Why would Countess Chastang invite me…?”

The mistress of Count Chastang’s household—a close aide to the king—was a leading figure in high society and a high-ranking noble with whom I had no connection whatsoever.

I opened the envelope and read the letter. It was an invitation to a flower appreciation gathering to be held in two weeks.

On the surface, it was a peaceful invitation, but this was…

“A summons to the guillotine.”

Yes, it was practically an execution in high society.

Lion, reading my letter from behind, muttered nonchalantly.

And he was right. Countess Chastang was notorious as high society’s punisher.

She had a habit of summoning young ladies whose conduct in social circles was deemed poor and pointing out their faults.

Thanks to her fearsome reputation and status, any young lady thus criticized would easily sink in high society.

I could roughly guess the reason for the invitation.

She wanted to see for herself what kind of person a noble lady rumored to be engaged to a commoner really was.

Countess Chastang had summoned me for a similar reason in my past life, and I had suffered a great humiliation.

“Wow. I already thought things were bad, but now I really want to faint.”

“You can’t faint.”

“Excuse me?”

“You need to start preparing right away. Surely you’re not going to that gathering looking like *that*?”

“What’s wrong with how I look?!”

Lion, looking down at me, shrugged.

I looked down at myself. A plain brown dress. Long hair left untied and hanging loose…

Cold sweat trickled down my spine.

I couldn’t refuse Countess Chastang’s invitation. Considering her influence in high society, doing so would be tantamount to declaring that I was turning my back on it.

So to put my situation in metaphor—

“…I can’t go to a gathering looking like *this*!”

Yes. This was an emergency.

I didn’t have a formal dress. After graduating from the Magic Tower, I had been too busy with work to attend any proper balls for quite some time!

Moreover, I had sold off every piece of jewelry I owned to fund my gambling bet.

If I showed up like this, the ladies wouldn’t even bother to mock me.

They’d naturally assume I was a maid!

“Two weeks isn’t an impossible amount of time to have a dress made.”

Lion, unaware of my plight, muttered.

“If we pressure a dressmaker, they could probably complete it within a week.”

Cyril added.

Rita, who had been watching the exchange between these two oblivious people, activated her brilliant improvisational skills.

“Two weeks is too short for a custom-made dress! Of course, if the Duke commands it, it could be made—but rumors would definitely spread. The high and mighty would find fault with that too. An unmarried man and woman—ahem, cough, anyway!”

Rita counted on her fingers as she listed methods that she clearly remembered my mother having used at some point.

“Dressmakers always have unsold inventory that couldn’t be delivered because of some petty complaint or another. I’ll look for something that suits you, Mistress. We can alter it so the original client would never recognize it, so don’t worry. This kind of business is valuable to them, so the dressmakers will keep quiet too.”

Rattling off her explanation, I nodded. It felt far more realistic than pressuring someone to create a brand-new dress out of thin air in two weeks.

“We can use the jewelry we have at home! You’ve barely ever worn any of it out, Miss.”

“Rita. I have a confession.”

“…What is it?”

“I sold it all…”

“E-excuse me?!”

This time, Rita collapsed to the floor.

“No way…! You never even got to properly wear them, Miss…”

“Rita!”

“Those ruby earrings! Oh…”

Lion, who had been watching our little farce, tossed out a remark.

“Jewelry—you can just buy that.”

“That’s true.”

Rita, looking up at me with a sullen expression as I swiftly changed my tune, staggered to her feet and brushed the dust off her skirt.

“But even if you’re buying ready-made clothing, you need to move today. That kind of inventory isn’t always available.”

I massaged my temples and spoke.

“But with Lucian at home, leaving feels a bit…”

My worry was resolved in a surprisingly simple way. Lion Voltain casually opened his mouth.

“Just take Ru with you.”

I fell into thought.

An unmarried man and woman—officially unrelated—exchanging clothing gifts could be a bit, somewhat, rather uncomfortable…

Then what about an unmarried man and woman shopping together with a child in tow?

“Obviously not!”