Chapter 369: The Other Person’s Name
“…!”
When I heard Siana’s words, a chill ran down my spine for a moment.
After a brief pause, Siana spoke.
“Master… I can smell a woman’s scent on you. Could it be that you spent time with a woman today?”
“U-um…”
There was no way I could say that I’d been dining with Rezamiliana-sama, the First Princess of this country.
So I carefully chose my words before answering.
“Y-yeah… I just went out for a meal.”
“…A meal, you say.”
Without mentioning that I’d been with Rezamiliana-sama,
And without saying anything about how she spoke to me about an engagement in the throne room of the royal castle, I told her only that I’d gone out to eat.
Then, Siana continued.
“However, if it were only a shared meal, I don’t believe the scent would linger this strongly by the time you returned home… for it to remain this strong, it would have to involve something like close physical contact for a while… otherwise, it can’t be explained.”
“…!”
Sharp…!
But until I reached an answer myself, I couldn’t tell Siana about the proposal from Rezamiliana-sama either.
Thinking that, I forced out an unfamiliar lie.
“…Maybe it’s because our seats were close during the meal? I think the scent just naturally lingered on my clothes because of that.”
“Even if your seats were close, the scent wouldn’t remain this strongly…!?”
As she spoke, Siana stepped closer to me.
For some reason, her eyes widened in shock.
“This… scent… why… is this scent…?”
Murmuring under her breath, Siana froze in place for a few moments.
She looked as though she’d seen something unbelievable.
“Siana…? What’s wrong?”
I knew I had to hide the fact that I’d met Rezamiliana-sama,
But more than that, concern for Siana took over, and I called out to her.
She snapped back to herself and looked into my eyes.
“I-it’s nothing! I’m sorry for stopping you right after your return! You must be tired after just getting back, so please go and rest your body!”
“…Thanks, then I’ll do that.”
I was a little concerned about how Siana had acted just now,
But since she said so, it probably wasn’t good to press further, and more importantly, I also needed to sort out my own thoughts.
So for now, I accepted her words and decided to rest.
Siana’s Side
Walking down the hallway of the mansion, Siana felt more confused than she had in quite some time, unable to sort out her thoughts.
At first, she had simply been suspicious about who Lux had met, since he carried a woman’s scent.
But when she closed the distance and smelled it more closely, it was a scent she knew very well.
But something like that… no, that can’t be possible…
Unable to fully sort through her thoughts by the time she reached her room,
She stepped inside and sought an answer to her question.
“Violet!”
She called out that name.
Then…
“Yes, Ojou-sama.”
Violet appeared before her.
“Today, I ordered you to keep watch around Lux-kun since he was going out later than usual, didn’t I? I have something to ask about that right away… who exactly did Lux-kun meet today?”
In response to that question, there was no way the name she had in mind would come up.
Thinking that as she asked, Violet paused briefly before speaking.
Then, she answered Siana’s question.
“The person Rodwell-sama met today… was the First Princess, Rezamiliana-sama.”