* * *
Even though I was relying solely on the lamp light leaking through the crack in the door, his features were so distinct that the shadows fell sharply across his face.
Every time his pupils moved beneath his lids, his slightly curled eyelashes fluttered.
The bridge of his nose, breathing languidly, was sharp and straight, and his lips were firmly closed.
Before my regression, I had been too busy just trying to survive.
I never had the peace of mind to look at his face leisurely.
And when I was reborn and reunited with him, I wasn’t in the right state of mind to be praising the looks of the man who was destined to kill me.
Whenever our eyes met, my heart would drop with a thud, and my gaze would fall to the floor—how could I have ever looked at his face properly?
So, you could say today was the first time I really examined his features closely.
“……He really is incredibly handsome.”
Well, I suppose that’s why he’s the protagonist.
I finally understood the saying that a day can fly by just looking at a beautiful person’s face.
As I stared at him, losing track of time, I suddenly heard a faint hissing sound, like wind brushing past.
I tried to brush it off, thinking it was just a draft coming through the door, but then—rustle—I suddenly felt a presence behind my back.
I whipped my head around. In that split second, fhwip, something brushed past my face.
“Aaack!”
Startled out of my wits, I fell backward and landed hard on my butt.
Rubbing my cheek where the cold sensation remained, I looked around with wide eyes.
Then, I spotted a black shadow quickly crawling up Locke’s face.
I almost screamed but hastily covered my mouth.
It was definitely a bug.
Given that it had wings and moved at that speed, it was that creature—the one that makes my skin crawl just thinking about it…!
That was the one thing I never wanted to encounter.
‘Le-let’s just pretend I didn’t see it.’
Feigning innocence, I subtly picked up the basket I had placed on the floor and stood up.
But I had to wake him up to feed him, and if he turned his body the wrong way while waking up…
A squashed bug was 200 times worse to look at than a whole one.
“This is driving me crazy.”
I hovered anxiously before eventually hugging the basket with my left arm and leaning my upper body back as far as possible while stretching out my right arm.
I began to lightly poke at Locke’s hair and collar, hoping the thing would run away on its own.
An “Ugh…” escaped my lips every second.
Even though I poked him several times, there was no reaction, so I grabbed his clothes and shook them.
Internally, I told myself it must have run away by now, but since I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, doubt kept creeping in.
Thinking this would be the last time, I slightly lifted his black hair.
It was then.
I saw a bulging black shadow between his earlobe and his cheek.
Found it!
“Huh?”
Looking closer, it didn’t have the silhouette of a bug.
The shape of its head and tail looked more like a snake.
However, it had small feet and wings, making me wonder what on earth it was.
Just as I was about to look up to see if it was clinging to the ceiling and casting a shadow on Locke’s face— ‘Clap!’ Locke snapped his eyes open, grabbed my shoulder, and pulled me down with force.
“Whoa!”
My body was dragged along, and after stumbling as I tripped over the edge of the bed, I fell right on top of his chest.
“……Ah, my Young Master does this every time I let my guard down.”
Looking intently into my eyes with his smoldering golden orbs, he spoke with a smile spreading across his lips.
The sight of our bodies overlapped didn’t look particularly appropriate, so I tried to push myself up quickly.
“It’s a mistake, a mistake! It’s not like that, just now…!”
Because his hand on my waist was pressing down firmly, I couldn’t get up at all.
Ultimately failing to find my balance, I flopped back down, and his broad, solid palm hovered near the seam between my blouse and trousers.
I couldn’t help but tense up.
“Why? Seeing as you’re playing tricks, has another situation arisen where we need to kiss?”
My face heated up at those words, and I quickly pushed myself up again.
Fortunately, this time Locke had loosened his grip, so I was able to stand up safely. I rotated my stiff shoulder and grumbled.
“Don’t say such ridiculous things.”
“Then? Was a spider trying to bite me again this time?”
“It’s a different fellow this time.”
“I like that our Young Master is so consistent.”
“It’s true. I really saw it. But it wasn’t a bug; it looked like a snake with wings. But can snakes even have wings?”
Locke blinked blankly at my words for a moment before narrowing his eyes.
“……I should be punished,” he muttered, whispering in a low voice.
“Me? Why? What did I do to deserve punishment?”
As I trembled and appealed my innocence, the corners of his eyes, which had been fixed on me, curved gently.
“Ah, I was talking to myself. I meant I should be punished for foully doubting the Young Master’s pure intentions. And as you know, there is no such thing as a winged snake. It would be more realistic to say a dragon appeared.”
That sounds even more like fantasy, what are you talking about?
“Then, is it a monster? Did it come out attached to our bodies that day?”
Locke took a long look around the room.
“Having stayed here, there are certainly many bugs. What the Young Master saw must have been a bug.”
“I said it had wings!”
“There are quite a few species of bugs with wings.”
“It had a tail, too!”
“They were probably mating, so two of them were stuck together.”
“Ugh, don’t say such horrific things. It makes me not want to be here.”
“I never asked you to stay.”
“How heartless to the person who brought food because they thought you’d be hungry.”
Honestly, the idea of two winged bugs mating was more plausible than a winged snake.
I had only seen a shadow, not a clear form, so I was unsure myself.
Accepting Locke’s explanation, I sat beside him and opened the basket.
When I asked if he knew how to carve a steak and said I’d cut it deliciously for him if he left it to me, he naturally took the knife and fork from my hands.
Since it was summer, his slightly cool body temperature felt pleasant as we brushed against each other.
I sat still and watched his elegant hands as he neatly sliced the lamb.
He held the fork and knife with such perfect etiquette that it was hard to believe he was once a beggar wandering the marketplace.
The utensils moved fluidly, and he didn’t scrape the plate once until he had finished cutting all the meat.
To be honest, he was more graceful than most nobles.
I looked up at Locke’s face.
His behavior that differed from usual, his excessively refined dining etiquette, and those eyes from that time that he occasionally revealed to me.
Suddenly, I imagined that the man in front of me might be living through multiple lives just like I was.
I wondered if he already knew everything but was pretending otherwise, enjoying the sight of my desperate struggle to survive.
A chilling cold spread through my body, making the hair on my skin stand on end.
My heart shrank, and my breathing became shallow.
‘No. That can’t be.’
If he had regressed, it meant he knew he was of imperial blood.
Knowing that, there was no way he would submissively stay at the Count’s estate while being abused by me and Cassian.
Moreover, for someone who had grown accustomed to imperial life to eat scraps of mediocre food and wear shabby, old clothes was nonsensical.
Even with a little thought, wouldn’t it be much more beneficial to prepare for a rebellion as quickly as possible, seize the throne, and crush the Hestian family with massive power?
Even if he endured it to get revenge on me, does it make sense for him to be calmly cutting steak for the object of his revenge?
It seemed my imagination had grown because I kept experiencing impossible things.
I decided to drop the “Regressed Locke” theory here.
Still, just in case, I decided to throw out one question.
“Your table manners are very good. Where did you learn them?”
“I occasionally saw the Count and Lord Cecil eating from over their shoulders,” Locke replied calmly.
Since he said he learned by watching two people who were nobles by birth, it was somewhat understandable.
“You’re a quick learner, aren’t you? You must be very smart.”
“It’s more that the Young Master is on the slower side.”
“Stop talking back like that—Mmph!”
I tried to protest, but a piece of well-cooked meat entered my mouth.
The softly cut texture touched the tip of my tongue. I glared at Locke while busily moving my jaw.
The juices burst forth, and a deep flavor soon filled my mouth.
As the faint scent of spices spread, I couldn’t help but be impressed.
“It’s really delicious! You try some too!”
I used another fork to poke a piece of meat Locke had cut.
Then, I held it in front of his mouth and urged him.
After hesitating for a moment, he slowly opened his mouth.
He quietly accepted and bit into the meat on the fork.
Even that short movement was imbued with dignity.
After chewing the meat quietly a few times, Locke gave a small nod.
Seeing his satisfied expression, a soft feeling spread near my chest.
“It’s good, right?”
“Marianne is a good cook, after all.”
“By the way, I kept my promise, right? About returning before Cassian.”
Locke nodded quietly without much of a touched expression.
What, is that it?
After all the trouble I went through…
I didn’t even realize how tired I was while running around, but now that the person involved wasn’t acknowledging my hard work, a wave of disappointment washed over me, and I began to show off.
“I even rode a horse with this sick body just to keep that promise. Do you know how much Howard scolded me? You would probably be moved to tears if I told you how much I bustled about just to prove your innocence!”
At my words, Locke let out a short laugh. It was the first time.
Not a sneer, but a pure, clean smile that sprang from genuine inner amusement.
Suddenly, this moment felt precious.
This peacefulness, facing a Locke who was in a whole body and bore me no ill will.
Feeling a sudden lump in my throat, I kept my head down and simply chewed on the meat in silence for a long while.
* * *
