Saving My Bias from Mishaps (9)
“KYAAAAA!” Startled, I screamed at the top of my lungs as I jumped away.
Hades covered his ears with a frown.
“Why are you acting so surprised?”
“W-what do you mean?
Of course I’m totally surprised!
What are you doing here?!”
Hades tidied up the front of his robe, which was wide open and exposed, then sat up on the bed before letting out a chuckle.
For a long time, he just stared at me as I instinctively raised my arms to cover my chest.
“…If anyone walked in, they’d think I was the one all over you last night.”
“T-then….”
It was me…?
“I honestly think you would be an excellent actress if you performed in the capital.”
“Huh?”
When I exclaimed in confusion, Hades shrugged his shoulders and continued, “You were especially good at acting as though you were unable to wake up from your deep sleep.”
“W-what are you saying?
I really did just wake up!”
“Yeah, I’m sure you did.”
Although Hades didn’t explicitly accuse me of lying, he clearly wasn’t taking me seriously.
I was stunned that I had suddenly become a scheming woman who pretended to be asleep just so that I could indulge myself in Hades’ embrace.
Dear God, if you really do exist, I want to ask you: what have I done to deserve this kind of ordeal?
Do you truly have no plans to cure Hades of his excessive narcissism?
“Your Grace, I think I should clarify this at least….”
Hades crossed his arms and raised his chin as if he was doing me a favor by listening.
“I’ve never had such bad sleeping habits before.
I have no idea what came over me.
I’m sure I was dreaming, and then before I knew it, I….”
“Aha!
So what you’re trying to say is that you were crawling all over me not knowing if it’s a dream or reality?”
“That description is a bit….
I mean, I… I wasn’t aware of what I was doing….”
“So you immediately clung to me the moment Abel left the room?”
“Oh, right!
Childe Louvremont!
Where did he go?!”
It was then that the door cracked open, and Abel walked into the room, holding a jug of water that was as big as himself.
With a bright smile, he greeted us when he saw that we had woken up.
“Good morning!
I went to get water in case you were thirsty.” Abel trotted over to the table with his short legs and placed the jug on top of it.
Abel, just ask the maids for stuff like that….
Hades must have thought the same, for he pointed at the bell rope near the headboard with a slight frown.
“Abel, that thing exists for a reason.
You could have just asked the servants to fetch it for us.
Why did you get it yourself?”
Abel climbed up the bed and perched between Hades and me.
“Yes, but I wanted to bring it for you myself.”
“Oof!” I clutched my chest because my heart was thumping again at Abel’s cuteness.
Hades looked at me as though I’d gone insane.
I opened my eyes wide and asked, “You could have stopped him from leaving.
Why didn’t you?”
That way, we could have avoided this embarrassing situation altogether.
“I was also sleeping.
I only woke up because a certain someone was attempting to crawl into my shirt with no shame.”
I couldn’t find any words to refute him.
As far as I could tell, he didn’t seem to be lying.
Why though?
Why did you do it, half-asleep me?
“In any case… I would like to offer my sincere apologies, Your Grace.
It seems I’ve made you quite uncomfortable with my misconduct.”
“Oh, not at all.
Besides, it’s not like I didn’t expect you to act this way….”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, I’d best get going if I want to prepare meeting with my vassals.
I would have not woken you up if I wasn’t so busy.
It’s a pity for you, but better chance next time.”
With those words, Hades left Abel’s room right away without giving me a chance to explain myself.
I stood dazed, staring blankly at the closed door for a long time.
By now, I had lost all will to clear up his misunderstanding.
* * *
After stepping out of Abel’s room, Hades leaned against the hallway wall and took a deep breath.
He’d put too much energy into trying to appear calm.
“Whew, hah….”
Hades wasn’t lying when he told Aisha that he was asleep when Abel left the room.
Last night was the first time in a long time that he slept so peacefully.
It was a sudden warmth that roused his consciousness and thrust him back into reality.
When Hades opened his eyes, Abel was nowhere to be found, and Aisha’s face was buried against his chest—his bare chest, because his robe was open.
Of course, it wasn’t as though he had expected the night to pass by without anything happening.
After all, Aisha was so eager to stay with him that she even asked Abel to summon him in her stead.
Still….
‘What’s with her?
Doesn’t she feel embarrassed?’
He hadn’t expected her to go so far as to open his robe and snuggle into his arms.
Flustered, he tried to push her tiny head away and even called her name twice, but that only seemed to make her cling to him even harder.
When her face began to brush against his bare chest, Hades got into a little dangerous state.
He was a healthy, 27-year-old young man, and the warm breath touching his skin was enough to trouble him.
He doubted Aisha could still be asleep after all his efforts to wake her and concluded that she was only pretending to be sleeping in order to embarrass him.
Finally, when he couldn’t take it anymore, he decided to push Aisha away with all his might.
At that moment….
‘What was that?’
Thump.
Hades heard something fall.
This sound could have come from either his chest or his head, but he couldn’t tell for sure.
Still, he knew that it happened when Aisha raised her head, or more precisely, at the exact moment he looked into her blue eyes.
The way she looked up at him, her eyes wide as if she was surprised….
Hades raised his hands, lightly slapped his own cheeks, then shook his head.
“Whew!
Hah!” He proceeded to take a few deep breaths and even jumped in place several times, shaking his arms.
‘Damn it.’
* * *
Thump-
Hades was willing to bet even the handkerchief Aisha made for him on the fact that this thumping noise was coming from his heart.
Thump-
Every time Aisha’s face popped up in his mind against his will, he heard the same sound.
Thump-
‘Ah, damn it.’
“Your Grace…?”
The voice calling him brought Hades back to reality.
“Ah, yes….”
Count Mason Gasfelle was looking at him curiously.
Two middle-aged noblemen were sitting on either side of the count.
The three nobles gathered today were Louvremont’s vassals, who had come to discuss the duke’s marriage.
The three of them became Hades’ right-hand men in the process of electing his advisors after he became duke.
After he became duke, Hades ousted many advisory houses from their positions and accepted several new ones.
In short, Count Dayne Rasley and Count Romardio Garen were two of the few advisors Hades judged that he could trust.
Unlike the Gasfelles, with whom the duke reluctantly had to compromise every time because they were Agatha and her husband, Hades often summoned Count Rasley and Count Garen to the Louvremont estate to discuss the affairs of the duchy together.
“Where were we…?”
The vassals found it strange that the duke was having trouble concentrating on the meeting.
It was very unlike him.
Hades gave an awkward cough, then added.
“I have a few cases to think about….”
…As if.
Hades shook his head vigorously.
Even he himself found it odd that he was idly thinking about something else in the middle of an important meeting.
“We are more than happy to follow your decisions.
As soon as we hear back from Baron Heathcliff, we will assist you in every way we can to help organize the wedding.”
“…What?” Hades doubted his ears for a moment when he heard Mason’s words.
He had come to this meeting expecting a heated debate.
He thought Mason would never approve of this marriage, given how much he disliked Aisha.
As such, Hades was prepared to press forward with this marriage, even if it meant he had to ignore some opinions from his vassals.
Besides, ever since he decided to make Abel his heir, it had become impossible for him to marry someone suitable to the Louvremont name as his vassals so wished.
But…his vassals consented to the marriage without even so much as a quarrel.
How?
Hades nodded, still a bit dazed.
“I see…If that’s what you all are intending, I’m glad we won’t need to have an unnecessary argument then.
As soon as Baron Heathcliff agrees, we will…”
“Thank you, Your Grace.
I presume that means the Heathcliff house can afford to agree and accommodate to our terms?
That is a relief indeed,” Mason interrupted before Hades could finish.
Terms?
What terms?
His mind must have been elsewhere when they were talking about it.
Hades asked awkwardly, “And what were these terms again…?”
“This marriage will unite her family to the duchy.
Since there will be many eyes watching, it is only proper that the Heathcliffs prove that they are a house worthy of the Louvremont name.”
“So?”
“So for this ceremony, the Heathcliffs must pay a dowry of 8 billion nort, give or take.”