Chapter 10

I woke up from the bed, changed my clothes, and headed towards the dining room at the Duke’s Residence.

The place, which gave off the impression of being rather small for a dining room in the residence of an influential noble of the Empire, was where Asulin and I had breakfast.

“Such a large place wouldn’t be used for meals unless there’s a banquet. This size is just right for the two of us, don’t you think?”

“That’s true.”

Thanks to Asulin correcting my thoughts later, I realized this was a place meant for simple meals. It didn’t matter much though.

‘This place is better than the banquet hall at the Sword Mansion…’

The sight of the dilapidated Sword Mansion overlapped with the image of this neat and luxurious small dining room of the Duke’s Residence.

And meeting such a splendid dining room made me wonder how everyone else was doing.

Suddenly, I worried about whether those left behind were faring well.

Even if I had no good feelings towards my biological father who dragged me out of the back alleys, I couldn’t help but miss the people who saw me off when I left the Sword Mansion, seeing them as precious connections.

Memories flooded in.

I barely managed to soothe Asulin, who was about to give up on the headship of the household that she was forced to take over, after my true identity was revealed.

I also managed to calm down the knights who still held a deep loyalty to the family, urging them not to die of starvation but to rebel and die gloriously.

When I left the mansion, I had cried and protested that I would defend the Sword Mansion at all costs, and I was seen off by the servants.

Though we started as shadows and fakes, our bond became strong at the end.

They were someone I missed and worried about.

Even though the situation seemed better than expected, I felt anxious because their worry could lead them to make hasty decisions without knowing my circumstances.

‘I’ve only been gone for less than a month. How could they possibly act rashly?’

I tried to shake off these thoughts and gather my resolve, but recalling the effort it took to soothe my sister, who kept insisting that I must protest to the Emperor about the injustice of this marriage, made me realize that I should consider the possibility of such a thing happening.

‘I need to write a letter to my sister today, telling her to behave herself and not do anything reckless.’

I quickly thought about what I needed to do today.

It was a thought that didn’t require the infinite acceleration of my consciousness to process.

But when I turned my gaze to Asulin, she sat silently across from me, looking at me without a word.

“….”

I wondered if I had wasted too much time.

“I had to close my eyes for a moment because I had something to think about.”

I explained why I closed my eyes immediately.

“….”

Despite hearing my reason, Asulin’s gaze remained fixed on me, curious and unchanging.

“What? Why is this happening? Even though I washed up before changing clothes, did the Sword Demon notice something wrong with my face?”

“Is there something wrong with my face?”

I asked Asulin with suspicion.

“….”

She maintained a strange expression, not answering.

“What’s going on? Why are you acting like this?”

“Asulin?”

I called her name with more force in my voice.

“…Ah!”

Finally, Asulin acknowledged my question, and a soft exclamation escaped her lips, ending her observation of me.

“There is a problem… Yes, there is.”

Hearing my question properly, she finally answered.

“What kind of problem makes you look at me so intently?”

If there was a problem, I needed to know what it was to fix it.

“The problem is your appearance. You’re so captivating that I can’t help but stare.”

“What? That’s all? …Huh?”

I blinked, surprised by her seemingly unbelievable statement.

“Even though I never noticed it when we faced each other on the battlefield every day, now that you’ve dressed up, you look really…good.”

Hehe

Asulin laughed with a teasing tone, making her laughter echo through the entire dining room where we both sat.

“I didn’t know you were good at joking.”

I tried to lighten the mood, but…

“I don’t like pointless jokes.”

Asulin puffed up her cheeks slightly and narrowed her eyes, denying my statement.

From her expression, I knew she wasn’t joking about my appearance.

“Hey…”

“…What is it?”

“Everything is fine, but it looks odd when you puff up your cheeks like that in front of the servants.”

I tried to stop Asulin, who was carelessly changing her facial expressions without considering others.

“Hmm.”

Seeing the embarrassment in her own action, Asulin coughed lightly and adjusted her expression.

Her cheeks deflated instantly, returning to their original form, and her eyes opened wider, revealing their emerald green color.

When her cheeks were slightly puffed, she looked cute, but now she looked beautiful.

Even though the change was drastic, almost like her facial muscles were paralyzed.

Tap tap

Asulin tapped the table lightly with her right index finger, showing a nonchalant attitude.

“The servants here have known me for a long time. They won’t spread rumors based on my changing expressions.”

She assured me that her behavior was harmless.

“Ahaha. Right.”

I nodded, understanding her point.

“Does that mean I just need to stay quiet?”

“Right.”

She smiled brightly, warning me not to share what I just saw with anyone else.

Even though I had no interest in gossiping about anyone behind their backs, except for my biological father.

“I won’t tell anyone. I don’t plan to say anything.”

I agreed with her.

To show my satisfaction, Asulin nodded, but then added:

“Besides, no one would believe that the beloved of the Sword Lord, known as the Sword Demon, would be seen puffing up her cheeks like a pufferfish. There’s no need to talk about it unnecessarily.”

With a confident tone, I strongly insisted that I wouldn’t tell anyone.

Thinking she would be satisfied with my trust, I tried to smile softly, but noticed that Asulin’s tapping on the table had stopped.

Curious, I opened my eyes to meet her gaze.

“…….”

I observed Asulin, whose expression I had never seen before.

The faint blush on her ears had spread to her cheeks.

Her emerald green eyes, usually soothing and calming, were now aimlessly flickering without direction.

This alone told me that her state was unusual.

“Hic!”

Now she was hiccupping, making a scene. I tensed up, thinking I might have done something wrong.

“It’s… No, it’s nothing. It must be because it’s warm, and I couldn’t help but hiccup.”

“…It’s winter.”

“…It’s because the heating system here in the Duke’s Residence is so good that I don’t feel the season.”

Tap tap

Asulin tapped the table again with her right index finger while explaining her hiccups.

Her expression returned to normal almost instantly.

The sudden transformation made me think it was just an illusion.

‘Was I mistaken just now?’

I wanted to rub my eyes and confirm, but decided against it.

Considering Asulin’s abilities, I understood what had happened.

She had the ability to observe countless fragmented moments using accelerated consciousness, creating her own domain and moving forward.

She invented her own great sword technique, different from the ones derived from the Sword Lord, and if she hadn’t been born in the Sword Lord’s territory, she would have been recognized as a master and granted a noble title.

So, if she can change her expression faster than my perception, it’s pointless to dwell on it.

“By the way, it seems like we’ve been sitting here for a while. Have you eaten yet?”

I changed the subject, talking about the upcoming breakfast.

“Not too urgent. Just wait a little, and you’ll see dishes that will make your eyes widen,” Asulin replied, still tapping the table with her right index finger.

Although her demeanor was relaxed, the rhythm of her tapping became slightly irregular, and although the redness on her cheeks had faded, her ears were still flushed.

She seemed relieved by my casual change of topic.

…Yesterday, too, I felt strange discovering new sides of someone I thought I had seen everything of on the battlefield.

But instead of feeling uncomfortable, it was more intriguing.

…Sure, she’s cute and pretty, but…

‘Given my current situation, isn’t it necessary to observe even these new aspects?’

I pushed aside my reluctance to accept Asulin’s new side.

…There’s a paradoxical aspect where I hide the truth from her while continuing to observe her, which pricks at my conscience, making me feel gloomy.

But what can I do? After volunteering to take on the name, I must at least try my hardest to ensure the survival of my family.

Creak-!

I gathered my resolve and watched the servants enter the dining room with trays of food, their movements calm and composed.

Despite my complex emotions, I was used to adjusting my external expressions, having done so many times before.