The book in her hand fell on the carpet. Raymond, who was still standing still with a slightly bent posture, grinned.
“You caused a big accident and disappeared at will.”
His face reddened as his hand ruffled his hair. The texture of her soft lips still remained on his.
He never dreamed that his first kiss would be so absurd.
A long time passed, but she did not come to his bedroom again that night.
***
After waking up, Ellie hurriedly touched her lips.
“Crazy.”
It wasn’t her intention, but she kissed Duke Rufus on the lips. It wasn’t a real kiss, but the feeling of his lips touching hers was vivid.
Ellie, who came down the bed, wandered around with an anxious face in the cramped bedroom. She doesn’t know what to do.
What if he thought it was intentional?
Sometimes, she imagined kissing his beautiful lips, but that was literally just an imagination. She really had no intention of putting it into action.
First of all, she had to apologize and give an explanation.
Ellie hurriedly lay down on the bed again. But as soon as she closed her eyes, she opened her eyes again because his soft lips still appeared in her mind.
Her heart was pounding like crazy. She jumped up and let out a long, deep breath. Still, her heart did not stop beating.
“Calm down, Ellie Miller.”
That was an accident. Nothing more or less.
Reflecting on the unintentional accident, Ellie lay back in bed and closed her eyes. The scented candles she made were not very helpful now.
The more she thought that she should sleep, the more her mind became clearer. As she tossed and turned, it was already past five in the morning.
Having given up on sleeping, Ellie got up from the bed. Her mind was blank, but if she slept now, she wouldn’t be able to wake up in the morning.
She didn’t want to be late for work again, so Ellie took a shower and got ready to go to work. She shook off her drowsiness with a cup of coffee.
Leaving her house half an hour earlier than usual, she arrived at the Duke’s mansion and walked slowly through the garden. Today is going to be a long day.
Ellie went to the aide’s office and sat in her seat, checking the documents while waiting for Arthur. At nine o’clock, Arthur opened the door to the aide’s office and entered.
“Good morning…… you look tired today, too.”
Said Arthur with a cheerful voice as he looked at her complexion.
“No, I’m fine.”
Ellie replied with a smile.
“Are you not feeling well? I don’t think you’ve been sleeping well lately.”
“I just have a lot to think about.”
Trying not to recall the accident that happened last night, Ellie said in a calm voice.
“If you have any concerns, feel free to tell me. I will help as best I can.”
Arthur Winston was a pretty good boss. At his words of consideration for her, Ellie smiled.
“Thank you.”
“There will be a lot of work today. Are you okay?”
“Yes. You have to report it, right?”
She took the report of the mines invested by Duke Rufus and handed it to Arthur.
“There will be a riot.”
Arthur sighed as he looked at the report. Ellie left the aide’s office following Arthur, who was on his way to report to the Duke of Rufus.
Arthur entered Duke Rufus’s office alone, and she waited outside with a notebook to write down.
“Are they shamelessly asking for more money? They are like scammers! Tell The Gilbert[1] clearly: no further investment, if they don’t show any results in exactly three months, I will meet them in court!”
[1] The Gilbert is the name of the company.
Duke Rufus’ angry voice could be heard outside the office. Duke Rufus invested quite a lot of money in the mine where magic crystals were said to be buried.
However, the pace of mine development is slower than expected. It seemed Duke Rufus’ patience had reached its limit. Ellie, who was standing outside the office, hardened her body. It seemed that he was angrier than usual.
Arthur, who was devastated by Duke Rufus, came out of the office with a dead face.
Ellie walked over to Arthur’s side and carefully said to him, “I will contact The Gilbert.”
“Ok, thanks. He’s in a bad mood today. What the hell happened?”
At Arthur’s low murmur, Ellie quietly bit her lip. She had a feeling that she was the one who somehow put the Duke in a bad mood.
Recalling the accident last night, Ellie bowed her head with a flushed face.
Having no appetite, Ellie only had a quick lunch. She took a cup of coffee and sat down on the garden bench. Basking in the warm sunlight, she kept her eyes closed regardless of her will.
Then she finally fell asleep. Ellie sighed quietly at the view of Duke Rufus’ bedroom in front of her.
After coming down from bed, she approached the window. Then she could see herself dozing off on the garden bench.
There was still about thirty minutes left for the lunch break. She was worried that she would not be able to wake up less than that time. Should I go downstairs and wake myself up?
As she was thinking about this, she heard the sound of the bedroom door opening. Ellie was startled by the sight of Duke Rufus entering the room and moved away from the window.
If he saw me dozing off, he could have suspected me.
As she stepped back to avoid him approaching her, she was in front of the window again.
“How dare you run away after taking my first kiss?”
Her eyes widened spontaneously at his words that it was also his first time. When she thought about it, it was only natural that it was his first time. Because she had never heard of him dating anyone before.
“Sorry, I am sorry.”
Turning away from the window, Ellie apologized in a trembling voice.
“It was not intentional. It was a mistake.”
“Do you think you can hide behind the word ‘mistake’? You still took my first kiss.”
At his words emphasizing the ‘first kiss’ again, Ellie bowed her head.
“It was my first time, too.”
His expression softened slightly as she replied in a small voice.
“You’re not saying let’s pretend it didn’t happen because it was our first time, are you?”
Only his expression softened, but his tone of voice was still sharp.
“I am sorry. I will make sure this never happens again.”
“Okay. If you’re sorry, make sure you come before midnight every day from now on.”
At his unexpected words, Ellie raised her head.
“Yes?”
“Your voice helps me fall asleep quite a bit.”
Looks like he asked her to read a book to him. She was relieved that she could help Duke Rufus even a little, and not only cause inconvenience.
“I can do anything for you. I will read you a book every time I come here.”
“It is forbidden to touch my body or come close to me without my consent.”
Hearing his words in a sharp voice, Ellie hurriedly nodded her head.
“Of course.”
He held back a smirk at her answer without hesitation.
“If there is a book you want to read, write it down here. I will get it.”
He held out a paper toward her. Ellie, who was trying to write down the book she wanted to read without much thought, stopped.
She almost got in trouble. Perhaps the Duke of Rufus is more familiar with her handwriting than her face.
Recalling Duke Rufus reading her handwritten reports almost every day, Ellie put down the paper.
“I will write it down later when I remember it. There are a lot of books here too.”
“Okay. So, read one right now. I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m very tired now.”
At his sudden suggestion, Ellie put on a bewildered expression.
“I am sorry, but I have to go now.”
I had to wake up before lunchtime was over.
“I have some work to do.”
He frowned slightly at her words.
“I can’t help it. Go ahead then.”
“I will come early tonight. Then, sleep well.”
Ellie, who said goodbye to Duke Rufus, looked thoughtful for a moment.
It seems that my body is still asleep. I need quite a bit of agitation psychologically to wake up.
Seeing Duke Rufus staring intently at her who did not disappear, Ellie smiled awkwardly.
“Duke.”
“Why?”
“I am sorry, but I will only do one thing you hate.”
As she approached the Duke of Rufus, she looked hesitant for a moment and stretched her arms toward him. Then she hugged him.
Duke Rufus looked down with an absurd look.
“What are you doing?”
With her eyes tightly closed and her face resting on his firm chest, Ellie let go of her arms with a guilty expression.
“I don’t think this is enough. I thought I’d wake up because I’d be nervous if I hugged you.”
As she sighed, Duke Rufus looked at her with a furious gaze.
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“What? You’re not nervous even if you hug me?”
It was then. A knock on the door could be heard.
“This is Arthur Winston.”
The moment Arthur’s voice was heard outside the door, she disappeared in an instant. Raymond, who was left alone in his bedroom, smirked.
“You said you weren’t nervous even when you hugged me, but you just disappeared by the knocking sound?”