HGOS – Chapter 61

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Bertol’s red eyes curved lazily as he smiled at Cassia.

“Where are you headed to in such a hurry?”

“I have some business with our butler. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Cassia stepped to the left, but Bertol moved deliberately to block her again, his brow furrowing.

“Baroness. Did my words yesterday perhaps offend you?”

“Yesterday…? Ah, not at all. I’m sure an esteemed count such as yourself wouldn’t say such things with the intent of causing discord.”

She could have let it pass, but Cassia deliberately spoke sarcastically. Bringing up the uncomfortable topic of yesterday’s lunch so blatantly provoked her.

It was Bertol who had openly implied that Cassia should have been the Lady of Axios and that she was too good for, and ill-suited to, Zester. Anyone could see it was a situation where he had ‘deliberately’ sown seeds of discord, so how could that not have been his intent?

At her sarcasm, which blatantly revealed her displeasure, Bertol’s eyes widened in surprise then he burst into a loud laugh.

“Ha, hahahaha… Ah, it seems you were quite offended, Baroness. I apologize.”

“No, not at all. Truly. Don’t worry yourself.”

Cassia smiled brightly, staring at him, while Bertol continued to chuckle.

“Even if you tell me not to worry, how can I not? I’d hate to be in your bad graces, Baroness. Could you forgive me?”

“Lord Count. I told you I am truly fine. There is nothing to forgive, so please put your worries aside. I am in a hurry, so…”

She tried to step aside again, only to be persistently blocked.

“Ah!”

A sharp gasp escaped Cassia’s lips. Her steps tangled, and her ankle twisted. Stumbling, she tilted sideways and Bertol, eyes wide in surprise, reflexively caught her by the waist.

“Are you all right?”

“Let—Let me go, “

Of course, it was the worst possible timing.

Zester, who seemed to have been heading somewhere with just as much urgency as Cassia, turned the corner of the corridor at that exact moment.

Cassia, held closely in Bertol’s arms as if leaning on him, and Zester, approaching from the opposite direction, locked eyes in midair.

It wasn’t as if she had done anything wrong, but Cassia was startled. The scene, which would have looked less strange if she had acted nonchalantly, looked even more suspicious as she flinched in surprise and pulled away from Bertol’s arms.

“H-honey.”

Even her voice trembled instinctively as she called out to Zester.

At Cassia’s startled reaction, Bertol slowly looked back as well.

Zester, who had stopped in his tracks, was watching the two of them with a blank expression.

How amusing. In all this, the only one who wasn’t flustered was Bertol. He shrugged his shoulders and smirked leisurely, as if to show Zester.

“Where are you headed in such a hurry, Baron?”

It would have been nice if he had mentioned first that he was catching Cassia because she had twisted her ankle but he deliberately brought up something else. Cassia, standing behind him, tried to explain in a fluster.

“Honey, I almost fell just now…”

“I was on my way to see you, Count.”

Zester cut in, striding forward.

He walked right up to Bertol, reached out, and pulled Cassia’s arm toward him. With that firm tug, Cassia was helplessly drawn behind Zester’s back.

Zester positioned himself squarely between them, almost as if deliberately blocking Cassia from Bertol’s sight, and spoke.

“You said you wished to see the Jackal mercenaries. My adjutant has returned from the capital and gathered our old comrades from the Imperial War. I came to ask if you’d like to join us before dinner.”

“Ah, is that so? It will be good to see their faces again after such a long time. It would be my honor.”

“Yes. Then let me guide you to your room. Please wait there.”

“Very well. But, Baron.”

Bertol stared straight at Zester, unable to hide his amusement.

The sight of two sturdy soldiers facing each other was overwhelming. Both had physiques that neither could outmatch, like two mountains facing off. With Zester’s heavily guarded expression, the atmosphere between them felt tense.

“Why do you look so wary? Perhaps you think I was making advances on your wife?”

Zester’s eyes narrowed.

Anyone with half a brain could tell from Bertol’s expression and tone. Whether he truly harbored improper intentions toward another man’s wife or not, he certainly seemed to have some purpose for approaching Cassia.

Zester didn’t answer. He simply stared directly into Bertol’s reddish-brown eyes tensely. Indeed, he seemed like a dog hell-bent on guarding an undeserved master; it was surprising not to see his usual soft demeanor. He looked ready to swing at a single wrong word.

“Don’t misunderstand. There’s no need to make such a scary face. I’ll be waiting in my room, then.”

Surprisingly, Bertol meekly backed down.

He turned sharply and walked away without looking back. Zester’s intent stare followed Bertol until his figure shrank and finally disappeared.

“Honey.”

The fierce gaze that almost seemed to growl faded only when Cassia’s small voice reached Zester’s ear.

“Ah…uh…”

Zester’s expression finally relaxed, and he hurriedly turned around. Cassia was looking up at him with a worried face.

“I just ran into the Count briefly in the hallway. He caught me because I twisted my ankle. He seems to have been playing mischievous pranks since yesterday, but it was really nothing.”

Cassia made excuses after excuses about a situation where nothing had happened, sighing inwardly dozens of times. Damn Count Axios. Whether in her past life or this new one, he never failed to make her skin crawl.

“Yes, I know.”

Zester replied but his eyes were unfocused. Cassia finally let out the sigh she had been holding back and added.

“Are you angry? Really, nothing happened.”

She wasn’t sure of Bertol’s intentions, but if she only looked at the situation itself, she couldn’t accuse him of making advances. In her past life, there had been a specific trigger, and he had openly expressed, ‘I’m interested in you,’ but now… If she could, she wanted to tell Zester that this was the guy who had proposed she become his mistress and didn’t mind hitting on her behind his back, but unfortunately, that hadn’t happened in this life.

Cassia groaned inwardly and bit her lip.

Zester, who had been staring blankly at her, slowly shook his head.

“No. I’m not angry at all. Why would I be?”

“Your expression is a little…”

…Like you’re about to lose it. Swallowing the rest of her sentence, Cassia smiled awkwardly.

“Ah… my expression…”

Zester let out a short ‘ah’ like a person who was out of it, then raised his hand to touch his face here and there. He even mumbled, ‘Expression…right, my expression…’

“I’m fine. Really. Where were you going?”

“Oh, right. To see Paul. It seems Clara took a leave of absence, and I wanted to know exactly what happened.”

“Is that so? Paul should be in my study. Let’s go together.”

“Didn’t you say you were going to see the mercenaries with Count Axios? I can go alone, so don’t worry. You go ahead.”

But when she took a step, her ankle throbbed and she furrowed her brows.

“Damn it. Did you sprain your ankle?”

Zester noticed immediately like a ghost.

“No, it’s not sprained, just a little sore from twisting it. These things get better after a bit of… Ah!”

Before she could finish, Zester swept her up into his arms. With one arm under her back and the other under her legs, Cassia’s body rose weightlessly. Startled, she flailed slightly.

“Honey! At least warn me first!”

“You should have been more careful. I’ll take you to the study. Talk to Paul there.”

Cassia stared at Zester as he began walking, and another sigh escaped her lips. He was still acting strange. He spoke as if everything was normal, yet his expression looked like his soul had slipped out somewhere.

To her sharp eyes, his head was surely filled with all sorts of unnecessary thoughts. For instance, worries like ‘What kind of guy is this Bertol?’… Or perhaps the scene he saw just a moment ago wouldn’t leave his mind.

“Um, Honey.”

Cassia gently wrapped her arms around Zester’s neck and pulled, calling him.

Zester, who had been walking steadily, suddenly stopped, fixed his gaze, which had been looking forward, intently on Cassia, and opened his mouth.

“I lied.”

“Hm? About what?”

“That I wasn’t angry at all. That was a lie.”

“Ah…”

“I don’t mean I was angry at you. There’s no reason to misunderstand that situation. You simply twisted your ankle, and the Count fortunately helped you. If he hadn’t, you might have fallen and gotten hurt even worse…”

Cassia just listened calmly to Zester’s rambling words.

“What gentleman would just watch a lady fall? So I’m not angry at the Count either. But if you ask whether I was angry, then no, well, that’s not it but at the same time, yes, I was.”

“What does that even mean? I don’t think we’re speaking the same language.”

“Sorry. You know I’m not good with words.”

“Anyway, you mean you were upset, right? That’s understandable. Cheer up.”

Cassia comforted Zester. She still wasn’t certain whether it was a real misunderstanding or not, but remembering the situation with his childhood friend Vita, she fully understood his feelings right now.

Even without intending to, situations that can strangely invite misunderstandings can happen in life, no?

Feeling Cassia’s hand gently cupping his cheek, Zester shook his head.

“No, honey. Cassia.”

“Yes?”

“I think this is a bit serious.”

“What is? Your angry mood right now? Okay, fine. It was my fault for stupidly twisting my ankle, so just—”

“No! How is that your fault?!”

“Ugh, then what do I have to do to make you feel better?!”

“It isn’t about making me feel better!”

“Then what!?”

Zester looked as if something really big had happened. He licked his dry lower lip, took a deep breath, and finally spoke.

“It’s not your fault. And it’s not the count’s fault. And it’s not a situation to be pettily angry about, but I was angry. What I was angry about was… that the Count’s hand was touching your body.”

“Ugh… isn’t that exactly what we’ve been talking about? You were upset about what happened—”

“No. It’s completely different. I feel like a crazy person right now. Whatever the situation was, whatever situation arises in the future, if I ever see someone else touching you with my own eyes, I think I’ll end up like this again. This is very serious.”

Zester nodded with a profound expression, as if he was analyzing his own psychology. Then he added.

“Somehow…I feel like I’m becoming obsessed with you like a sick person.”

His face, on the verge of tears, slowly lowered until it rested against Cassia’s chest. The way he nuzzled in was almost pitiful.

“If you get sick or tired of me being like this and want to leave, what should I do?”

What was he even saying?

What kind of thoughts was this man having all on his own?

Cassia was utterly dumbfounded at the absurdity of his worries.

 

 

 

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