A few seconds of silence followed my words. In that brief moment, the slight intoxication from a few glasses of wine abruptly faded, and I immediately regretted letting it slip. What I had mistaken for courage was nothing but a reckless audacity and overreach. No matter how urgent or greedy I felt, that was just too blatant a suggestion.

“Then, excuse me.”

“Excuse you? Come in.”

Fortunately, Selian readily accepted my proposal.

Unlike me, Selian was an ordinary girl. While my mind was filled with devious thoughts, her pure heart surely didn’t catch on to my scheming intentions.

Perhaps she felt a tinge of sadness at the thought of parting ways with me after not seeing each other for so long, leading her to accept my invitation.

My heart fluttered for a different reason than when I nervously invited her to my home.

Of course, it wasn’t the first time Selian had visited my mansion. In fact, she had even stayed for a few days back then.

The only difference from now was that during our travels to defeat the Demon King, Selian and I were just close friends, not lovers. There was no reason to attach any strange meaning to sleeping over at a friend’s house, and nothing had happened between us.

But this time was different. Selian and I confirmed our feelings for each other. Naturally, I had to be more cautious and, of course, I felt extra nervous.

“Welcome, my lord! Marquis Deretia is with you as well!”

“I’ve seen you before! Nice to meet you again, Selian Deretia.”

As soon as I stepped into the mansion, Gilbert greeted us, as if he had been waiting for our arrival. Having already met Selian before, they exchanged pleasantries.

I felt as anxious as a kid caught doing something naughty.

“Uh… um, could you bring out that cheese from last time? With a suitable wine to go with it?”

As I took a step forward to hide my face from Selian, I winked at Gilbert with one eye and spoke in a casual tone.

Gilbert tilted his head for a moment, then seemed to remember something after spotting my frantic winking and bowed his head.

“Understood. Shall I bring it to the room?”

“Yes. We had dinner outside, so it’s just for a light drink now. Thank you very much!”

Fortunately, Gilbert quickly caught on to my act and backed away. I glanced at Selian, relieved to see that she hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

“Shall we head to the room and wait?”

“Even so, since we came all the way here, I should greet your sister…”

“Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay. She’s probably busy doing the homework Frecia assigned her right now anyway, so it’s more of a nuisance to interrupt her.”

“If you say so, El…”

Honestly, I felt so embarrassed that Gilbert had discovered Selian’s presence. If my sister found out I had brought Selian here, I wouldn’t be able to hold my head high.

Of course, my sister still lacked common sense, so she probably wouldn’t question or attach any meaning to Selian being here with me.

“This room is different from the last time.”

“Ah, that’s because back then, it wasn’t this room but my sister’s room.”

At that time, I was hiding my identity from my family and friends, so I stayed in Elysia’s room instead of Zeno’s. However, my sister had returned, and now that my identity was fully revealed, there was no reason to insist on her room.

“Sure enough, I can see El’s taste reflected in the decor; this room is reminiscent of the one used back at the academy.”

Selian, looking tired from walking, plopped down on the bed in the corner and began glancing around the room.

Though she likely had no ulterior motive, I couldn’t help but feel conscious of her sitting on my bed.

“I’ve brought the cheese and wine you requested.”

Just as I was lost in my thoughts, I heard Gilbert knocking and his voice came through.

He didn’t really need to knock since he knew his way around the mansion, but instead of getting a subordinate to do it, he’d come himself.

“Come in.”

Upon my cue, Gilbert paused for a moment and then stepped in, skillfully opening the door with one hand while holding a plate with cheese and wine.

When I turned to Selian, she had already gotten up from the bed and was sitting at the table across from me.

“If you need anything, just call.”

Having fulfilled his purpose, Gilbert promptly exited. The room was now left with just the two of us.

“Shall we have a drink first?”

I attempted to hide my awkwardness as I quickly pulled the cork from the wine and poured it into the glass in front of Selian. The well-aged wine poured smoothly, filling her glass about a third full before I stopped.

Immediately, Selian reached out, snatched the wine bottle from me, and filled my glass just like I had done for her.

We lightly clinked our glasses together in a toast before bringing them to our lips. Even as I tilted my glass to take a sip, my gaze remained fixed on Selian.

Her gently closed eyes, savoring the taste and aroma. The deep red wine, slightly staining her lips, added to her allure. The elegant curve of her throat revealed as she drank was captivating.

While I was lost in my thoughts, she opened her eyes gently to find me staring, causing me to hastily gulp down my wine. I had heard it was supposed to be extremely expensive, but the sight of Selian made it impossible for me to appreciate its taste or aroma.

Fortunately, Selian seemed oblivious to my gaze and slowly reached for a perfectly cut piece of cheese.

As the pink tip of her tongue peeked out while she placed the cheese in her mouth, an unnecessary shiver ran down my spine.

“El?”

“Ah!? Did you call me?”

Startled by her voice calling my name, I snapped back to reality. I couldn’t help but worry if she had caught me stealing glances at her.

“As you said, the cheese is really good. You should try some too, El!”

Then, Selian took a piece of cheese and offered it to me.

“Uh, okay…”

Relieved I hadn’t been caught, I internally sighed and reached out to take the cheese. However, when I extended my hand, she playfully pulled her hand back as if teasing me.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Selian shook her head and then extended her hand again, bringing the cheese right up to my mouth.

I’m not a clueless idiot; I knew exactly what Selian wanted.

“Here, open wide.”

“Ah, o-okay…”

Following her kind encouragement to open my mouth, I slowly did so. While it was certainly an act of affection that could occur between lovers, my embarrassment made me instinctively shut my eyes tight.

A brief moment passed before I felt the piece of cheese being placed on my tongue. But as her fingers brushed lightly against my tongue and then my lips while setting the cheese down, a thrilling sensation trailed down my spine.

I opened my eyes in surprise to find Selian licking the residue of cheese off her fingers, smiling softly without realizing what she had done, completely unaware of how that made me feel.

While I felt a twinge of annoyance, the guilt of harboring such wicked thoughts towards the innocent Selian weighed heavier.

I lowered my hand out of sight of Selian and pinched my thigh hard enough to almost bring tears to my eyes to rein in my mind.

Right. Selian would always be with me, so there was no need to rush. We could take our time and progress naturally.

Only then could I truly enjoy this moment with her.

*

“Huh? I’ve already finished it.”

Chatting away, I was surprised to find the wine bottle nearly empty. It was already down to the last glass.

I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost midnight. It felt like we had just started drinking, yet time had flown by while we were having fun.

“What do we do? By now, the people managing the Teleport Gate must have all left for the day…”

Especially as public servants who are strictly punctual, it was unlikely that even one staff member would remain. Of course, as the lord, if I ordered it, the employees would surely show up immediately, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to abuse my power for such a personal matter.

“I should have checked the time. Oh well, it can’t be helped. I guess you’ll just have to sleep at my place and head back tomorrow morning.”

It was a perfectly reasonable suggestion, but I only realized what I had said after it slipped out of my mouth.

“The, there are plenty of rooms! So you can stay in whichever room you want!”

I quickly shouted in rebuttal, worried she might think I was being suggestive. Fortunately, Selian chuckled in response.

“Then let’s finish this last glass and get going?”

With each movement of her neck, her throat shifted as she sipped her wine. However, Selian was slightly tipsy, showing a rather uncharacteristic clumsiness for her.

A drop of wine escaped her lips, leaving a mark as it trickled down her chin. It seemed she didn’t notice until she set her glass down.

There was no need for me to even pull out a handkerchief, so I stood up and reached out towards her.

But,

I hesitated, thinking how wasteful it would be to let a drop of wine almost fall off her chin, wishing I could steal it back, and captivated by the beauty of her dazed gaze as she slowly turned to face me.

Unknowingly, I forgot my original intention to wipe away the wine mark and lifted my hand to gently caress her chin, pulling myself closer to her.

I could feel her warmth and softness, along with the sweet yet slightly bitter aroma of the wine lingering in the air.