After lying on the table with her face down for a while, Irene’s shoulders flinched. She slowly raised her head at the sound of the bathroom door clicking open.
“Wife, would you like to wash up, too?”
Wet silver-grey hair, broad shoulders, and clearly exposed clavicles. Droplets of water slid down his exposed skin, through the loosely open collar of the bathrobe.
Irene’s gaze traced downward, and she jumped up from her seat.
“I-I...!”
“I have prepared refreshments.”
Not knowing what to do, Louiselle saved her the moment she was about to make up some excuse. Louiselle informed them that the refreshments were ready.
“Oh, good.”
When Noel took his seat at the table, of course, Irene had no choice but to sit back down as well. Whilst Louiselle placed the refreshments on top of the table, Irene cast her eyes around. She was quite nervous, and her gaze slid past all sorts of random objects. Irene was stiff as a statue.
“Then I will be guarding in front of the door.”
As soon as Louiselle left the room, Noel poured some tea into her cup. Sweet-smelling and warm steam brushed over Irene’s skin.
“Thank you…”
After giving her thanks in a small voice, Irene took a sip. Her embarrassment seemed subdued, as a warm stream of tea ran down her throat.
Come to think about it, I might be the only one who got so worked up over it.
At the title of 'wife', she became sensitive and shivered a little. Additionally, whenever he called her that, she became all perturbed and jumpy. It was like her head blanked and she did not know how to act in an appropriate manner.
...like a fool.
From Noel’s perspective, it must have not been that much of a big deal. She felt ashamed as she was freaking out over such a trivial matter on her own.
I have to stay calm...
She could not be surprised by every single minor thing like this. She had to continue living like this for the next two years. If that happened, not only would it be difficult for her, but it would be exhausting for Noel as well. With that thought in mind, Irene raised her head straight.
“Noel.”
“Yes.”
“Um, did the investigation go well?”
“Ah…Yes. There is no definite harvest yet, but we have figured out where the demon came from. However, the location was far from anticipated, so I guess we will have to look into it again tomorrow.”
“Well, where is it?”
Noel answered Irene’s question after a sip of tea.
“It’s within the vicinity of ‘the Snow Forest’.”
“If it’s the Snow Forest...Isn’t that the place you mentioned when we were on our way here?”
“Yes, I’m not sure yet, but I followed the footsteps of the beast and it led me there. It would be a huge hassle if there were to be a problem with the Snow Tree, so I’m planning on a cautious approach.”
“Oh, I see...the epicentre of the monsters is the Snow Forest, that’s a big deal.”
“It might get complicated. But it won’t take that long. I don’t want to hurt ‘the sacred tree’ either.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard…”
“Can I ask you one thing now?”
“Yes?”
As she tried to wrap up the conversation, Noel asked with a relaxed smile. What was he trying to say? Despite being curious, Irene nodded regardless.
“What is it?”
“Am I making you uncomfortable?”
“Pardon? What do you mean, why out of the blue…”
At Noel’s sudden words, Irene tilted her head. Then Noel gave her a questionable look.
“Aren’t you avoiding me? Often these days, before and even now…”
“That, that’s…”
At Noel’s unexpected interrogation, Irene nervously looked at him, but when their eyes met, she slightly avoided him. Yet, Noel looked at her persistently.
Biting her lips, Irene barely made a sound.
“I don’t avoid Noel because I dislike you or feel uncomfortable. It’s just…it’s a little difficult to look at you at times…”
“Why?”
“I don’t know either. It’s just that…”
She did not know how to convey it properly. That whenever she saw him, her heart palpitated at an insane speed, that she could not control it? That her face blushed so hard that she avoided eye contact to hide it?
Won’t he think it’s weird?
Sure enough, it was not even a special relationship, well, at least in the other way around. But this kind of treatment and affection instilled a misunderstanding within her. The reason her heart raced, and why her face reddened every time she interacted with Noel, was simple. It might be because she had not yet gotten used to the situation.
Irene hesitated, then parted her lips.
“...sometimes it’s painful.”