Chapter 19

“Uh.”

Before I could even step back in surprise,
Karl’s hand quickly brushed the corner of my mouth.

“You got something on you.”

“…Ahem!”

He pressed my lips firmly, then pulled his fingers away.
Sure enough, there was meat sauce on them.

I felt a bit embarrassed, but I tried to act shameless.

‘See? If you had just given it to me, I wouldn’t have made a mess while eating.’

“Your hand is really…”

“…”

“You’re surprisingly touchy.”

Karl reached out again and rubbed my cheek and lips a few more times.

Beth was too busy enjoying her meat to see what was happening.

I appreciated the wiping… but this felt more like—

‘Is he playing with clay or something?’

Just as I was about to swat away his arrogant fingers—

“How clumsy.”

He repeated the exact same words I once said to him.

But what shocked me more than that…

“…”

Was that Karl licked the sauce he wiped from my mouth.

Sreuk.

His red tongue came out and slowly licked the sauce off his glove finger.
It was a bit shocking to watch.

Even though he was eating sauce from someone else’s mouth, it didn’t look gross—it actually looked… kind of attractive.

‘Wow. His face really does all the work.’

I opened my mouth, partly in awe and partly dazed.

“Why did you just…”

“Why are you eating that, you pervert?!”

But before I could say more, Beth saw the scene and shouted in shock.

“That shameless guy!”

Although… something about the way she was yelling felt different than before.

“Trying to seduce a noble lady like this! You sly fox!”

…She sounded like someone out of an old drama.

Maybe it was because they had a moment earlier when they got along well,
Or maybe the meat Karl gave her was just that good…

“You handsome little stray cat…”

Even while cursing at him, Beth was now admitting that Karl was good-looking.

But there was one more problem with what she said.

‘She’s saying it like I really might be getting seduced.’

Then Beth grabbed the knife I had in my hand.

Even though I felt a little betrayed, I still glanced at Beth’s hand holding the knife tightly.

‘She might cut herself.’

I wasn’t worried about Karl at all. Someone that skilled wouldn’t get hurt by a maid.

Honestly, even if Beth tried to stab him, the knife would probably bounce off his muscles.

“Just this once, let’s let it go.”

I tried to calm Beth down, hugging her gently while taking the knife from her hand.

Karl’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I thought the same thing when you suddenly asked me to carry you before.”

“You asked him to carry you?!”

“Wait, no—”

“You really don’t care if it’s a man or woman, do you?”

“What do you mean I don’t?!”

While I was stumbling over my words and Beth was in shock, Karl just kept talking.

“You’re very close with the servants, I see.”

“…”

“The Grand Duke would be very hurt if he saw this.”

He said that with a pitiful look on his face.

Although, it seemed more like he was pretending to be sad than actually feeling it.

The way he exaggerated his expressions made it clear he was teasing me again.

Still… a handsome face can sometimes be persuasive all on its own.

His long lashes trembled, and his golden eyes looked a bit watery.

“…”

It felt like I was in one of those dramatic divorce TV shows, where someone says, “See you in court in four weeks.”

And I was the husband being sued after cheating on his loyal wife…

‘No, wait—this is getting ridiculous.’

Unbelievable. Is he really just a side character?

Beth also seemed stunned by his looks, her reaction slightly delayed.

“You’re trying to get between me, the loyal maid, and my lady…”

Then she paused mid-sentence.

“Wait… now that I think about it, Miss. You did ask me if I’d marry you once, didn’t you?”

“…”

She wasn’t wrong, so I couldn’t deny it. I just stammered.

Karl’s eyes narrowed even more after hearing such a suspicious sentence.

It looked just like a wife accusing her cheating husband.

“…You said you came here as the Grand Duchess,”

“……”

“You proposed to someone else too?”

Now I really sounded like a terrible person.

I started making excuses I never planned to.

“It’s not what you think.”

“And you even kept the person you proposed to by your side as your personal maid?”

“It was just something I said when I was a kid.”

That was before I realized I had reincarnated.

It wasn’t because I liked women or anything.

‘It was during a time when people kept trying to arrange marriages for me.’

Since I was a noble, every time I went to social events, girls from noble families who got matchmaking offers would approach me, and I couldn’t stop that.

I kept saying I had no plans to marry, but that excuse only worked for so long.

And it was obvious from just a few conversations that I wasn’t exactly a “holy” Holy Knight.

‘Young Lord Pascal… Even though you’re small, you seem like you’d be a good family man.’

‘Huh?’

‘I don’t mean it in a bad way. Most Holy Knights seem very strict and religious, but you’re not like that…’

‘Strict? Those guys are just cross-wielding gorillas. They’re not hard to understand. I’m easier than they are…’

‘Wow, you even have a sense of humor.’

After I heard stuff like that for the fifth time, I couldn’t take it anymore and asked Beth—

If she would marry me.

‘I figured, instead of living my whole life cross-dressing and deceiving some noble girl into marrying me and making both our lives miserable…’

I thought it’d be better to just pretend to marry someone who already knew I was a woman.

I also planned to quit being a knight.

It didn’t matter that Beth was a maid.

What mattered more was that she knew my secret.

There’d be no need to hide anything…

…and she wouldn’t be hurt by it either.

‘Father will pass away before me someday,
Jayro will stay down south as a navy officer,
and Rayna will marry into another family…’

…Then I’d be alone.

‘I just didn’t want to live completely alone forever.’

But after I realized I had reincarnated and stopped cross-dressing, it became a pointless worry.

And Beth knew exactly why I had asked her that back then.

‘She even turned me down, saying she liked manly men.’

If we’re being honest, Karl was probably way more her type.

Even though Beth was glaring at Karl furiously right now.

Karl looked at her like she was ridiculous, then slowly met my eyes.

“So,”

“……”

“Our Grand Duchess—no,”

Karl paused dramatically, like something bad was coming.

“Elaine. You—”

“Why are you saying my name like that…”

“So, Elaine, you really like both men and women?”

I told him he could call me by name, but not like that…

“It’s not what you think…”

Why was I explaining myself again? I was getting confused.

“Sounds like I have more people to keep an eye on now.”

“Keep an eye on what?”

Even in that mess, I clearly heard Karl’s words.

So he wasn’t just assigned to guard me—he was sent to spy on me too?

I get it, but that still felt kind of bad…

“So, am I just supposed to watch while you mess around with other men and women?”

What now?

“I told you, I’m not doing anything suspicious like that!”

“You hesitated.”

“I was just shocked, okay? Shocked!”

“At this rate, you’ll have a scandal with everyone in the estate—maybe even your personal maid.”

“…Honestly, I’d rather you keep accusing me of being a spy from the capital instead.”

That divorce court show I heard in my head earlier had now turned into a full-blown soap opera.

‘Don’t drag me into this melodrama…’

And then, Karl casually pulled me toward him.

Like he didn’t want me standing too close to Beth.

Grab!

Beth reflexively grabbed me back.

Now I was stuck between the two of them.

…I felt like I had become the lead in a real trashy love triangle drama. Goosebumps.

Beth shouted sharply.

“Miss! Get that pervert’s hand off you! Why are you hesitating?!”

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me… you really are falling for him?!”

Her worried tone left me speechless.

Beth declared seriously—

“I’m being serious. You’ve never dated anyone, so you don’t have any immunity!”

“…”

I couldn’t say anything to that surprise attack.

‘What is this? Are they treating me like some sheltered girl who’s never even been to a market?’

Okay, it was true…

Still, it kind of stung to hear.

Meanwhile, Karl focused on one specific part.

“You’ve never dated?”

“Got a problem with that?”

It’s not like that’s something to be ashamed of.

I straightened my shoulders and answered proudly—but the reply he gave was outrageous.

“So, your body and heart are both untouched.”

…Once again, a sentence that was way too easy to misunderstand.