ITIF Chapter 81

What She Is Permitted

Only after moistening her parched throat with tea did Giselle Grante finally manage to speak.

“Why… why aren’t you properly dressed?”

At her question, Kavelaseth shook out his wet hair and replied indifferently.

“Why should I be?”

At his expression that showed he didn’t understand why he should, Giselle Grante’s eyes widened as her lips parted slightly.

“What do you mean…”

Then Kavelaseth gestured with his eyes toward the corridor he had just walked through.

“I suppose you didn’t realize this drawing room is located between my bedroom and bathroom. Didn’t the butler tell you?”

A small sigh escaped through Giselle Grante’s teeth.

“Ah…”

Now she understood. Why he wasn’t properly dressed after bathing.

She too, if she had just finished bathing, would have been wearing comfortable clothes.

Especially if it was in her own bedroom, there was a strong possibility she wouldn’t bother dressing properly until her body was completely dry.

‘So this place where I am… is Kavelaseth’s personal space. Then what was the butler’s intention in guiding me here?’

The butler hadn’t informed Giselle Grante that this was Kavelaseth’s personal space.

Moreover, judging from Kavelaseth’s reaction just now, he too hadn’t expected her to be waiting for him here.

‘Aha…’

Analyzing the situation, Giselle Grante finally caught onto the butler’s intention.

‘He wanted to show me his master’s superior physique.’

The butler would know all of Kavelaseth’s living habits.

He would already know that when he came out after bathing, he wouldn’t be properly dressed.

Simply by arranging for her to be here at the right timing, he could show off his master’s sculpture-like beautiful body.

She understood the butler’s psychology to some degree.

To have such a body, lean without excess fat yet packed with muscle, she could imagine how much time and effort Kavelaseth must have invested.

Still, a question remained.

‘But why… did he want to show off his master’s body so badly?’

Though she had successfully analyzed the butler’s purpose, she couldn’t read his psychology.

More importantly, she was in an awkward situation right now.

Her gaze kept drifting toward Kavelaseth’s firm body. Even though she knew it shouldn’t.

This was absolutely not her will!

Wasn’t it human instinct to have one’s eyes drawn to beautiful works of art?

“If you must look, just look openly instead of stealing glances.”

Saying this, Kavelaseth calmly sat down across from her.

‘What…?’

If Kavelaseth didn’t like being stared at, he could just put on clothes.

Giselle Grante only complained inwardly as she raised her gaze.

And just as he had said, she began openly appreciating the divine sculpture.

The muscles that revealed their presence over skin that looked both elastic and soft.

That’s when it happened. A water droplet rolled off his still-damp hair.

The droplet that slid smoothly down his collarbone grazed his swollen chest muscles and flowed down along his sharply defined abs.

Gulp.

For a moment, dry saliva went down her throat. Watching that sight somehow made her tense.

‘…What, what is this?’

Feeling that she was quite conscious of Kavelaseth, Giselle Grante was extremely flustered.

Then she discovered a small mole on his left chest. As if possessed by something, she slightly rose from her seat.

And reached her hand toward Kavelaseth’s swollen chest muscle. Just before her fingertips touched his skin.

“I don’t recall permitting you to touch.”

Kavelaseth’s expression turned slightly stern.

Giselle Grante, who was about to reflexively offer an excuse, soon stopped.

And sat back down, lowering her gaze to the red tea in her teacup.

“I apologize.”

“I’ll accept your apology.”

Deflated by shame over her rather impulsive action for only a moment, Giselle Grante soon raised her gaze and asked.

“But that mole near your chest.”

“This one?”

Kavelaseth slightly lowered his head to look at his chest as he asked. Giselle Grante nodded and asked.

“How long have you had it?”

“I believe I’ve had it since birth.”

Since birth…

Trying not to show her confusion before Kavelaseth who answered calmly, she slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

The portrait of the founding emperor she had seen recently in the imperial palace’s secret library also had the same mark as the one on Kavelaseth’s chest.

‘…Could it be a coincidence?’

Giselle Grante’s expression darkened for a moment as a hypothesis came to mind.

As if noticing the sudden change in her emotions, Kavelaseth looked at Giselle Grante with a puzzled expression.

“…?”

“If you have no other business, now that I’ve seen you, I’ll take my leave for today. I have other plans.”

Wanting to leave hastily, Giselle Grante said this and stood up.

For a moment, it seemed regret appeared on Kavelaseth’s face, but thinking it must be her imagination, she immediately turned around.

Leaving the drawing room, she walked down the wide corridor and let out a light sigh.

Actually, she had planned to broach the subject of the portrait if she met Kavelaseth today.

But it seemed there was no need.

Because she began to think the mark said to appear on descendants of heaven might not be false.

****

The butler, who had been conversing with a servant in the corridor, spotted Giselle Grante and asked.

“Leaving already?”

“I have other plans afterward.”

“That’s unfortunate… Then I’ll see you again next time.”

The butler followed Lady Amaterasu with his eyes as she walked away, then went out to see her off.

In truth, the butler had been anxious all along.

Worried that his master might end up unable to marry at this rate.

Of course, if anyone had heard the butler’s thoughts, they might have dismissed it as nonsense.

His master, Duke Cardia, was considered the empire’s top marriage candidate, so if it became known that he wanted to marry, young ladies and nobles would surely line up in front of the Cardia ducal residence.

But even if he somehow got married, what came after was the problem.

Dry tone, blunt and stiff attitude.

In the butler’s opinion, his master had such a cool demeanor that he seemed to need a more caring or gentle side. At least toward women.

Since he currently had virtually no family, the butler hoped he would find a wife he loved and build a happy household.

But when that happiness everyone else enjoyed seemed so distant…

Having a woman—not just once, but repeatedly—visit the Cardia ducal residence was like a miracle to the butler.

He immediately consulted Count Preston about this.

When he subtly informed him of Kavelaseth’s recently changed circumstances, Count Preston came up with a good idea.

[It would be best to use everything available.]

What he meant by everything available was to fully appeal to Duke Cardia’s charms that could captivate the opposite sex.

He said that Lady Amaterasu might be the only person who, despite countless rejections, still hadn’t left Kavelaseth’s side.

Though Lady Amaterasu still hadn’t shed her youthful girlishness, she could be captivated by the sensual and mature bodies of knights.

So the butler deliberately arranged for her to see his master’s bare body.

Fortunately, as he’d hoped, his master appeared before Lady Amaterasu shirtless.

Now the young lady would surely find the knights’ bodies she’d seen in the training grounds puny in comparison. And yet…

‘Why did he let the beautiful young lady leave with such sad eyes…’

It was a moment when he felt somewhat resentful of the master he served.

After seeing off Lady Amaterasu, the butler immediately headed to the drawing room where Kavelaseth was.

Fully prepared to grumble a bit at Kavelaseth for letting the young lady leave like that despite creating such a good opportunity.

****

Left alone in the drawing room after Giselle Grante departed, Kavelaseth looked at the empty teacup placed beside the still-steaming cup.

As he blankly stared at the lip mark remaining on the edge of the already empty teacup, he recalled what had happened at the Founding Day celebration not long ago.

And the sweet voice that had whispered in his ear.

[Happy birthday once again.]

The fact that his birthday was on Founding Day was virtually top secret.

After the previous Duke Cardia passed away, almost no one knew except the butler.

So normally, he should have disposed of both Giselle Grante, who knew his secret, and Mikhail, who had told her.

But he didn’t do that.

And he was still searching for the reason why.

Why he had just let Giselle Grante and Mikhail know his secret.

It was such an important secret that if it became known externally, not only he but all the nobles of the alliance could be in danger.

Kavelaseth recalled Mikhail’s gruff face.

Then he seemed to somewhat understand why he’d let Mikhail, who had spilled his secret to Giselle Grante, live.

‘Even bad feelings are still feelings, I suppose.’

Certainly, his relationship with Mikhail definitely originated from a love-hate dynamic. Then what about Giselle Grante?

Keeping his gaze on the lip mark remaining on the edge of the empty teacup, Kavelaseth slowly ran his thumb over his dry lips.

While recalling Giselle Grante’s appearance just before she left this place.

When she first saw his bare body, her startled rabbit eyes and flustered manner—that was one thing, but the way she slyly stole glances at his body was utterly mischievous.