Chapter 4

Chapter 4

She didn’t make any loud noise to seek out Ciel, not wanting to risk displeasing him if she were caught.

Eris carefully placed the items she had brought onto the table.

Now she just needed to get out safely.

Creak—

Huh?

Eris flinched, her shoulders trembling at the presence she heard behind her.

“Eris.”

This voice shouldn’t be here right now.

“Eris?”

She had to handle this as calmly and composedly as possible. She could do it.

“Yes, Lord Ciel. There was no answer when I called for you—”

The moment she gathered her hands from setting down the items and turned around, Eris’s fragile composure completely shattered.

Naturally, the neat excuse she had prepared couldn’t be finished either.

The sight that met Eris’s eyes was simply too overwhelming.

First, a dishevelled mass of wet, silver hair blurred her vision. Transparent droplets clung to the ends, then fell, plip, plop, tracing paths down his neck and onto his smooth shoulders.

“What are you doing hiding in here?”

“Oh, the clothes…”

The man’s broad shoulders looked as sturdy as a fortress, and the line from his chest to his abs seemed intricately carved, as if by a meticulous sculptor.

“The clothes?”

“Well, I knocked, but there was no answer…”

The glistening water on his wet skin trailed down the curves of his abs with every shallow breath he took.

Mesmerized, Eris’s gaze followed a single droplet, her face flushing like the setting sun.

The droplet’s final destination was the towel precariously draped around Ciel’s waist.

“Why, should I take this off for you too?”

Eris’s expression twisted into one of horror the moment his large hand touched the towel at his waist.

“No!”

“It seemed as if you were salivating, Miss Eris.”

“I—I wasn’t!”

“If you’re honest, I can take it off for you.”

“No, I said no!”

Eris glared, eyes wide, monitoring his playful hand gesture, fearing that this little duke might suddenly go mad and toss aside the towel barely covering his lower half.

The man’s long, slender fingers, which had been tapping, tap-tap, near his hipbone, finally stopped.

“Didn’t you say it wasn’t for this reason?”

“What?”

Eris stiffly raised her head at the cool voice that descended like a parabola.

“Now that we’re alone in the mansion, have you changed your mind?”

“What are you even…”

“Do you want to have s1.x with me?”

Ciel casually swept back his wet hair and took a large stride toward Eris.

A rich, strong scent of soap wafted over, beginning to swirl at her nose.

She needed to say no, but her vision blurred. Thoughts raced out of control, unsure if she should speak first or act.

“Tell me honestly.”

Ciel, who had drawn close, lowered his head and whispered into Eris’s ear.

“You’ve—you’ve misunderstood, I think.”

Eris clenched her fists, finally regaining her composure, and replied.

“It was a misunderstanding? Really?”

“Yes. Didn’t you ask for new clothes to be prepared? There was no answer when I called, so I had no choice. It’s also my duty to check if anything has happened to the person I’m guarding.”

Hmm. Ciel let out a long breath, took a step back, and smiled.

“Alright. Please continue to do so in the future, then.”

“…Of course. As long as Lord Ciel doesn’t make unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“If I misunderstand? Will you not check?”

His mischievous eyes were clearly teasing her.

Eris gnawed at the soft skin inside her lip, her brows furrowed. When she remained silent, Ciel swiftly changed the subject.

“Miss Eris, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier.”

“Yes.”

“Have we really never met before?”

Eris looked up at his voice as he tilted his head. Ciel was scrutinizing her, as if to devour her, examining every inch. Eris avoided his clear yet sharp gaze and replied.

“No. Not that I recall.”

It was better if he didn’t remember her until the day this journey ended.

Bringing up their past connection in the current situation would only amplify her guilt.

“I see.”

“Then please rest now. If you need anything, feel free to call. I’ll be staying in the first room directly to the right of Lord Ciel’s room.”

“Eris.”

A subtle pressure seemed to weigh down her entire body. Ciel held her back again, unaware of Eris’s desperate wish to escape the room.

“Yes. Is there anything you wish for me to do?”

“Can I truly entrust my back to you, Miss Eris?”

“If you doubt my skill, you’re welcome to spar with me.”

“I’m asking if I can trust you.”

Eris narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t trust me.”

“Don’t trust you?”

“Yes. Keep doubting me, just as you are now. I only do the work I’m paid and commissioned for. I won’t be upset if you don’t trust me.”

Here is the English translation of the novel excerpt, keeping the tone atmospheric, sharp, and emotionally tense.

—

“Yes. Please, keep doubting me just like that. I am merely doing the job I was paid to do. I won’t be offended even if you don’t trust me.”

She meant it. Eris desperately hoped Ciel would do exactly that, but her response only drew an unreadable smile from him.

—

‘While you were out at sea, some rather interesting information came in.’

When Ciel decided to come to the Kingdom of Celis, he carried only one mission in his heart.

To find the ‘Trace of Black Blood.’

Books of prohibition woven with ancient, dense curses and sorcery possessed a bizarre, indestructible immortality. To cope with the tyrannical records left behind by their ancestors, the five great families that supported the Empire, including the Imperial Family, had divided them up, sealing them away one by one in the deep abyss.

Thanks to that, it was now a book only briefly mentioned in Academy history classes, and most ordinary citizens of the Empire believed those forbidden texts had vanished entirely.

Yet, the forbidden book still existed. It crouched in the shadows, hiding its malice while dreaming of the resurrection of lost magic.

The ‘Trace of Black Blood’ that had been leaked this time was the very monstrosity the Silverion family had guarded for generations. Regrettably, it was the doing of one of Ciel’s foolish blood relatives. As the heir to the family, Ciel had to clean up the mess somehow.

‘That woman, you know. I heard she was from the Celis Kingdom.’

‘Speak clearly so I can understand you.’

‘Your first love, I mean.’

‘…’

‘Consider this a long vacation and go visit the Celis Kingdom. Secure the whereabouts of the lost forbidden book, and why don’t you meet up with that lingering first love of yours while you’re at it?’

The Crown Prince was always one to enjoy trivial jokes.

This time too, while bestowing an important mission, he had deliberately poked at Ciel’s composure with useless chatter. As always, Ciel had to let it go in one ear and out the other.

There had been times he wondered how she might have changed during their separation, but it had stopped there. Eris Blane was not a part of Ciel’s long-term travel plans.

At least, that was true until he saw her again.

Ciel held his breath beneath a black robe that completely concealed his large frame. He hid himself in the shadows of a dark alley, fixated on one spot.

A woman stood facing the salty harbor wind, waiting for a boat that hadn’t yet docked. Ciel’s lips curved into a cool smile as he watched her.

“…Found you.”

Beneath the dazzling June sunlight, her deep red wine-colored hair shone, and her green pupils were like freshly sprouted, tender leaves.

Despite being separated for a long eight years, she exuded such a captivating aura that she immediately seized Ciel’s attention.

“It really is that ‘Eris Blane.'”

Contrary to his certainty that he would feel nothing even if they met again, his gaze refused to leave her.

“…How interesting.”

He had easily thought all he needed to do was find the Trace of Black Blood that had leaked from his family’s abyss. But perhaps that had been his misjudgment. Just seeing Eris’s face from afar seemed to resurrect fragments of the past, little by little.

It was as shocking as the day he first dreamed of holding her and unleashing his desires.

If this was fate, it was truly cruel.

Even if she wasn’t part of the Celis Royal Knights, Eris Blane was still someone appointed by the Prince. That meant he shouldn’t trust her completely.

Everyone in the Terbanne Empire had warned him to be cautious, saying her assigned mission wouldn’t just be escorting him. The Crown Prince, who had joked about him meeting his ‘first love,’ was no different.

He surely had no idea that the escort appointed by the Prince was his ‘poignant first love,’ Eris Blane.

“Again, the escort appointed by the Kingdom’s Prince must never…”

“She’s not our person, so don’t trust her, and keep her ignorant of the forbidden book.”

Ciel cut off the words coming from beside him and took a brief breath.

“Avis, do I look like an idiot?”

“…No, sir. My apologies.”

Avis, his subordinate who had been observing the situation beside Ciel, nervously shifted his eyes and fell silent.

His superior was always an unpredictable man with a peculiar streak. This had been true even during the recent naval battle, where he held the lives of many subordinates in his hands.

He had overturned a plan meticulously crafted through an all-night vigil, ordering them to infiltrate enemy lines via an entirely different route. This was at the very moment enemy ships began to faintly appear.

The war was largely won thanks to that plan. The direction of their warships had been altered, completely cutting off the enemy’s retreat.

Although his superior’s choices always proved correct in the end, life couldn’t always be lived by results alone. Avis often felt like a father raising a capricious boy whenever he looked at Ciel.

Beneath the dazzling June sunlight, her deep red wine-colored hair shone, and her green pupils were like freshly sprouted, tender leaves.

Despite being separated for a long eight years, she exuded such a captivating aura that she immediately seized Ciel’s attention.

“It really is that ‘Eris Blane.'”

Contrary to his certainty that he would feel nothing even if they met again, his gaze refused to leave her.

“…How interesting.”

He had easily thought all he needed to do was find the Trace of Black Blood that had leaked from his family’s abyss. But perhaps that had been his misjudgment. Just seeing Eris’s face from afar seemed to resurrect fragments of the past, little by little.

It was as shocking as the day he first dreamed of holding her and unleashing his desires.

If this was fate, it was truly cruel.

Even if she wasn’t part of the Celis Royal Knights, Eris Blane was still someone appointed by the Prince. That meant he shouldn’t trust her completely.

Everyone in the Terbanne Empire had warned him to be cautious, saying her assigned mission wouldn’t just be escorting him. The Crown Prince, who had joked about him meeting his ‘first love,’ was no different.

He surely had no idea that the escort appointed by the Prince was his ‘poignant first love,’ Eris Blane.

“Again, the escort appointed by the Kingdom’s Prince must never…”

“She’s not our person, so don’t trust her, and keep her ignorant of the forbidden book.”

Ciel cut off the words coming from beside him and took a brief breath.

“Avis, do I look like an idiot?”

“…No, sir. My apologies.”

Avis, his subordinate who had been observing the situation beside Ciel, nervously shifted his eyes and fell silent.

His superior was always an unpredictable man with a peculiar streak. This had been true even during the recent naval battle, where he held the lives of many subordinates in his hands.

He had overturned a plan meticulously crafted through an all-night vigil, ordering them to infiltrate enemy lines via an entirely different route. This was at the very moment enemy ships began to faintly appear.

The war was largely won thanks to that plan. The direction of their warships had been altered, completely cutting off the enemy’s retreat.

Although his superior’s choices always proved correct in the end, life couldn’t always be lived by results alone. Avis often felt like a father raising a capricious boy whenever he looked at Ciel.