Uncomfortable Silence
The silence was unbearable. Time dragged by with agonizing slowness. How had it come to this? No matter how I turned it over in my mind, the situation made no sense, and I kept letting out deep, hidden sighs.
Now that both of you stand to become the next heads of the Count’s family, it is important to understand each other’s duties. For the time being, the two of you will handle the work together.
Father’s words had led to this. Aria had appeared at our mansion without warning early that morning, and we had begun the day’s tasks side by side. That arrangement had continued straight through to the present moment.
Hadn’t we promised not to interfere in each other’s affairs? So how had we ended up like this again? Could this woman have orchestrated the whole thing…?
In a situation I could not begin to comprehend, the quill in my hand had been trembling faintly for some time, producing letters that bore no resemblance to what I intended.
A sharp scratch broke the quiet.
I had written it wrong again. With a sigh, I turned to reach for the correction fluid—only to meet Aria’s eyes where she sat beside me.
Her ruby-red gaze held mine in quiet regard. She was as breathtaking as ever. Her brilliant silver hair caught the light with a soft shimmer. Her fair, milky skin looked so smooth it made one’s fingers itch to touch it.
She must have noticed my mistake; a small bottle of correction fluid already rested in her hand.
“Use this.”
“…Thank you.”
The exchange was utterly dry. The bottle passed from her fingers to mine.
Calm down.
I tore my eyes away from the pull of her presence and tried to reason with myself. These feelings were nothing more than base physiological instinct. The domain of impulse, untouched by reason. Men’s eyes simply turned toward beautiful women; that was all. There was no deeper meaning. I must not assign any.
Aria’s gesture probably meant nothing, either. It was only another of the villainess’s fox tricks.
Clinging to that rationalization, I brushed correction fluid over the ruined section of the document, waited for it to dry, then carefully rewrote the line.
Aria remained seated beside me in silence, her gaze fixed on my moving hand.
Most people in this situation would have asked why I bothered with handwriting when a typewriter existed. Even Father could not understand my stubborn preference. Yet Aria simply watched with those emotionless eyes and offered no questions.
Given her personality, I would never have expected her to endure anything so tedious. Is she simply uninterested?
But if she were uninterested, she would not have noticed my small error and immediately offered the correction fluid. And—though it might have been my imagination—I had been sensing subtle glances from her direction for some time.
What is this?
I could not read her at all. Thinking about it any further would only bring a headache, so I quickened my pace, determined to finish the day’s work as swiftly as possible.
POV: Aria
He looked magnificent. Leo writing by hand with that pen—magnificent.
I knew I shouldn’t, yet I could not look away.
In our previous life, Leo had never used a typewriter. He simply found handwriting more comfortable. To some it might have seemed terribly inefficient. But his clean, elegant script possessed a charm no machine could replicate. In truth, most people who received his documents preferred that flowing handwriting to the rigid uniformity of typed letters.
I was no exception. Having once admired his penmanship and begged him to teach me, the sight still made my heart flutter no matter how many times I witnessed it.
To see Leo writing with a pen once more—it was an overwhelmingly emotional scene. The way his handsome face tightened slightly in concentration was an added gift.
I was glad I had asked Father that morning to let me experience the Stuart family’s work. Forgetting my own station entirely, I simply watched Leo as he lost himself in the documents.
“…Ah.”
A small sound escaped him.
He had made a mistake. I noticed instantly. It was rare for Leo. I quickly picked up the correction fluid and stole a glance at his face. There was a chance he would ignore me, but I still wanted to be of even the smallest help.
His hand, which had been hovering uncertainly, suddenly stilled. He had seen what I held.
“Use this.”
I offered the bottle as though I had been waiting for the moment. Leo looked momentarily dazed, then slowly reached out and accepted it.
“…Thank you.”
Yes!
Joy surged inside me. The knowledge that I had helped him filled me with happiness I could not show outwardly. After watching him quietly for a little longer, a mischievous impulse rose and I inched my chair closer to his.
No reaction.
A sideways glance confirmed he remained utterly absorbed in the documents. When Leo focused on something, his concentration was so formidable that nothing nearby could distract him. I tested the waters and slid my chair even closer.
Our shoulders brushed.
Still no reaction. Then perhaps a little more—
“Um… Lady?”
“Yes?”
At some point Leo had lifted his gaze from the papers and turned toward me. I froze like a child caught in the middle of a prank.
His troubled voice reached my ear.
“Isn’t the distance… a little too close?”
“Ah…”
Was it that obvious?
Of course it was. Approaching so boldly, it would have been strange if he hadn’t noticed. I flinched, drew back slightly, and offered an excuse.
“I wanted to understand exactly what kind of documents you’re preparing. Since I’ll be working with you from now on.”
Leo’s brows drew together in clear puzzlement.
“No one is watching. There’s no need to be quite so diligent…”
“Even when no one is watching, acting with integrity is the duty of a noble. That is what Count Stuart taught me.”
“……”
He had no rebuttal. It was a line Father had often repeated in our previous life. Sure enough, Leo nodded slowly, seemingly convinced.
“…I see. Then do as you wish.”
It seemed I had gotten away with it. I might have been imagining it, but after our date last weekend, the distance between us felt slightly narrower. He was still reserved, yet the atmosphere was no longer as stiff and frozen as when we had first met.
Perhaps it was only my own delusion.
Still, even if we could never return to the way things once were, this small measure of closeness was enough. I comforted myself with that thought and stole another glance at his face.
Fortunately, Leo was here. The fear that had haunted me this morning had not come true. He was alive and well. That fact alone made my heart feel ready to burst with happiness.
Thank you for staying alive, Leo. Truly.
By the way, he really was handsome. My man. Just looking at him made my heart feel as if it would explode. The excitement would surely keep me awake all night.
POV: Leo
This woman had lost her mind.
She must have been struck by lightning during the night. If not, then I was the one who had gone insane.
First she had pulled her chair closer, then she had begun pressing her shoulder against mine with deliberate subtlety. When someone approached this obviously, it was impossible not to notice. The faint, sweet scent of her perfume rose from her skin and teased my nose until my head spun.
“Um… Lady?”
“Yes?”
When I finally called out to her, her slender shoulders gave a visible flinch.
“Isn’t the distance… a little too close?”
“Ah…”
Ah? What do you mean, ah? I don’t know what game you’re playing, but what kind of nonsense is this now?
“I wanted to understand exactly what kind of documents you’re preparing. Since I’ll be working with you from now on.”
What kind of rubbish was that?
“No one is watching. There’s no need to be quite so diligent…”
When I muttered in disbelief, she immediately launched into her excuse.
“Even when no one is watching, acting with integrity is the duty of a noble. That is what Count Stuart taught me.”
“……”
Where on earth had she heard that? Had she been eavesdropping on Father?
Left with nothing to say, I let out a small sigh of resignation.
“…I see. Then do as you wish.”
Even afterward, her constant furtive glances continued to twist my insides until I felt genuinely ill. I deeply regretted ever believing her promise that we would not interfere with each other.