* * *
When no further reaction came, Eren, realizing what he had just said, began to blush pink across his cheeks.
After a brief silence, a voice like velvet spilled out—and at the same time, the arms around his waist tightened.
“That was quite the tempting provocation.”
The hands that clung to him were tenacious, as if they had no intention of letting go.
“You should’ve known that I might not take words like that as a joke.”
There wasn’t a trace of a smile on Ashard’s face.
His golden eyes, fixed solely on Eren, shimmered with a beast-like possessiveness.
“It’s not too late—you could still turn the carriage around.”
Eren’s pupils quivered as he read the look in Ashard’s eyes—like he’d bolt straight to the bedroom if Eren just gave the word.
As if to emphasize his words, the hand wrapped around Eren’s waist began to knead slightly, unlike before.
Eren suddenly yanked himself out of Ashard’s grasp and darted into the carriage like a frightened herbivore fleeing a predator.
Sitting with arms crossed in an X over his chest, he glared intensely, as if to scream, ‘Don’t come any closer!’
Ashard, clearly amused by Eren’s wary posture, chuckled softly and climbed into the carriage without hesitation.
The inside was large enough to fit ten people, easily.
But of course, he sat right next to Eren—uncomfortably close.
“W-Why are you sitting so close?”
“You told me not to avoid you, remember? Or did you change your mind already?”
“That was then! Don’t move a single step closer… please!”
Eren tried his best to sound stern and commanding—at least by his own standards—but it clearly didn’t have any effect on Ashard.
“What if I don’t move my feet? What about my hands?”
Somehow, Ashard’s hand had made its way onto Eren’s thigh, and it started gliding upward.
Eren finally snapped to attention and quickly slapped the hand away, scooting across to the opposite seat.
Now seated face to face, Eren hugged his knees tightly and shot a harsh glare.
His whole expression screamed danger.
‘What is wrong with this guy?!’
Ashard merely gave a harmless shrug, as if to say ‘okay, I’ll stop teasing’.
His long legs crossed elegantly—it looked like something out of a magazine spread.
‘So what, being good-looking means you can do whatever you want?!’
Eren puffed up his cheeks in protest, clearly pouting.
And yet… he couldn’t stop glancing over at Ashard.
‘It’d be rude not to appreciate such a beautiful face when it’s right in front of you,’ he told himself.
“Do you always say provocative stuff like that out of habit?”
“…Huh?”
“If it’s a habit, you should work on fixing it. With a face like yours and words like that, no one’s going to just let it slide.”
Ashard’s voice was low and calm, almost like a warning.
Eren gulped.
He knew exactly what Ashard meant—after all, he was the main character in this world, and in stories like this, the pretty boys always ended up beneath someone by chapter three.
If he had stayed in Effentel, he probably wouldn’t have made it out of bed most days.
This was practically a blessing.
‘It should be fine… so why does it feel so annoying when it’s him saying it?’
If anyone had been the provocative one, it was Ashard.
Ever since they met, Ashard had constantly pushed Eren’s buttons.
That one little comment from Eren didn’t even compare.
As Ashard smirked smugly, Eren’s eyes narrowed in irritation.
That guy definitely saw him as a plaything.
“You really shouldn’t say things like that,” Eren said, trying to sound dignified.
“Sure, it’s just the two of us now, but your daughter is back at the estate.”
“…What?”
Ashard’s eyebrows furrowed at Eren’s confidently spoken words.
He looked genuinely confused.
‘She’s not even of age yet! And that father of hers is—!’
“You called her Lady Melody, right? Even if she doesn’t show it, what do you think she’d feel seeing her father act like that?”
Eren fired off his words like scolding a child, and Ashard blinked in disbelief.
He wanted to say something, anything—but no words came out.
It felt like getting hit over the head with a hammer.
This boy was so confidently wrong, it almost hurt. Ashard’s lips curled upward, and then—
“Hahahahaha! Wait—what did you just say? Father?!”
“Did I say anything wrong?”
“Pfft! Ahahahaha!”
Ashard burst into laughter, clutching his stomach, while Eren looked utterly confused and flustered.
What on earth was so funny?
About five minutes later, Ashard finally calmed down, wiping away the tears in his eyes.
Eren sat sulking, clearly annoyed that he wasn’t in on the joke.
‘What was that tiny brain of his even thinking?’
Ashard fought to suppress a grin at the sight of Eren’s pouting lips.
“That’s not what you think.”
He hadn’t even imagined that kind of misunderstanding.
No wonder Eren had been acting so weird after overhearing that conversation with Melody.
Eren blinked, confused again.
‘Not what I think?’
He didn’t get it at all.
“Melody is my brother’s daughter. That makes her my niece.”
“…?”
Eren froze in place.
‘Niece…?’
“Then… why call her a Lady…?”
“Because she’s the heir to the Fridit Dukedom. The title should’ve gone to my brother, not me, but… circumstances changed.”
Silence fell inside the carriage.
Eren’s face went bright red as the realization hit him.
He wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
But if he admitted it, that guy would definitely tease him about it.
So he decided to double down and act like he was right all along.
“A-Anyone could’ve made that mistake! It wasn’t just me. It’s a perfectly reasonable misunderstanding.”
“If you say so. I’ll let you have that one.”
He sounded like he was letting Eren win a round, which somehow made it even more annoying.
‘…He wants me to walk into the Imperial Palace looking like this?!’
As soon as they arrived at the palace, Ashard handed Eren a long, black cloak with a deep hood.
Eren knew he had to keep his identity hidden—but this?
He was about to meet the Emperor, not sneak into a thieves’ den!
Why did he have to wear this?
Ashard had told him repeatedly to pull the hood all the way down, but Eren felt like that would just make it impossible to see his face at all.
Even if he wasn’t used to noble etiquette, he at least knew—you don’t cover your face when meeting the Emperor.
Every part of him screamed that this was wrong.
“Hurry up and put it on. It’s time.”
“…You really expect me to go in like this?”
“Exactly like this. Hood up, face covered.”
When Eren hesitated, Ashard sighed and snatched the robe.
He draped it over Eren’s shoulders and fastened every button, from his throat all the way down to his feet.
‘Does this really need to be this extreme?’
Since it was the Emperor’s order, there was no need to hide his appearance from him.
It’s not like the meeting had been arranged unknowingly.
Even so, the way Ashard covered himself completely, as if there was absolutely no need to reveal anything, made Eren feel a little puzzled.
With swift hands, Ashard fastened the last button, gave Eren a once-over, then bit his lip tightly.
“Is there no way to cover up that face too?”
It was a low murmur, but still loud enough to be heard.
Judging by his expression, if they stayed like this a moment longer, he’d slap a mask on him without hesitation.
Just then, the timing was perfect.
* * *
