HDBMTD 96

~Chapter 96~

“Oh no, the spray is empty.”

Tita, who was helping me get ready, spoke. I needed to hide my identity for the Club meeting, but the hair-dye spray had run out.

“I’ll get a spare. Please wait a moment.”

“Alright.”

While Tita left, I looked into the mirror.

It had been a while since I studied my reflection like this. Something felt different from before. Most of all, the burn scars had faded a lot.

‘My recovery is better than I thought.’

Though time had passed, my body’s condition had improved a lot. I still relied on painkillers, but not nearly as much as before.

It hadn’t even been three months since I woke up in the Imperial Palace, yet everything already felt like a distant past.

The biggest change was probably my relationship with Nocturne.

Temporarily, we had formed a pair—and I had even heard him say he loved me.

‘It feels so strange…’

Maybe because I had seen him stepping out of Aria’s shadow, it felt like far more time had passed.

Our pair was temporary, with the mission to destroy the Cambiata Club. But for me, I also had the personal goal of freeing him from Aria’s shadow. Thankfully, that already seemed achieved.

As I reflected on the past, my thoughts drifted naturally to the future.

While imagining life after Cambiata’s destruction, I muttered softly:

“Next time, maybe Nocturne should pair with Minette…”

Just then, feeling stiff, I rose from my seat—only to see Nocturne standing at the door.

“Ah.”

“I came to get you since you were late…”

He stepped inside, looking confused.

“Did I hear you wrong? Did you just say I should pair with Minette?”

“Ah.”

So he had heard my muttering. With his hearing, of course he had.

It must have sounded strange. Embarrassed, I quickly said:

“No, not me pairing with her…”

“Then who?”

When I hesitated, his eyes widened.

“Me?”

“No—it was nothing. I really just said it without thinking. Words just slipped out—”

“What kind of nonsense is that? How do words like that ‘just slip out’?”

He pressed his forehead as if sorting his thoughts, then sighed and brushed back his hair before walking toward me.

He took my hands, sat me back in the chair before the mirror, then knelt on one knee to look up at me.

“Right… there were rumors about Minette back in the palace. I should have explained earlier.”

He rushed to justify himself.

“There was nothing between us. We only had drinks together, that’s all. Minette wasn’t trying to seduce me—she just wanted to provoke Padva’s jealousy. To put it simply—”

Like a man caught in an affair, he watched my face anxiously as he poured out excuses.

But I interrupted him gently.

“I know you have no interest in Minette.”

“You… know?”

“Yes. You pushed her away in front of me.”

I remembered it clearly—rumors had spread in the palace, and I’d even seen Minette on his lap. But I had never suspected Nocturne liked her.

“Men don’t push away someone they’re interested in so harshly.”

“…Then it’s even stranger.”

His blue eyes wavered.

“If you knew I had no interest, then why imagine Minette and me as a pair?”

“That’s…”

I couldn’t answer.

The real reason wasn’t the rumors. It was because Minette had feelings for him. She had buried them because Aria—her closest friend—was his partner. She knew it was impossible, so she forced herself to cut it off.

But now Aria was gone. Wouldn’t it be okay for them to be together?

Nocturne was an S-class combat type, Minette an A-class mental type—rare matches in the Empire. Same age, both good people, childhood ties from the Academy.

But I couldn’t say any of this. Especially since Minette hadn’t even confessed. It wasn’t my place to reveal her heart.

“It really was just a thoughtless comment,” I said instead.

Nocturne’s face looked deeply unsettled.

“Why do you say it like that?”

“…What?”

“You’re not thoughtless. You don’t even know what it means to have no thoughts.”

“…”

He was right. With memories of constantly reading others’ minds, truly emptying myself was impossible. Aria had struggled with meditation for the same reason.

Caught off guard, I finally admitted carefully:

“Once my relationship with you ends… I thought maybe Minette would be the most suitable pair for you.”

“…What?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m not angry,” he said—but his grip on my hands tightened until I flinched. He quickly let go, his pale face flashing with panic.

Silence hung between us before he asked softly:

“So… are you dissatisfied with me?”

“No.”

“Then are you unhappy with how things are now?”

“No, nothing like that.”

He gripped the chair’s armrest hard.

“Then why are you thinking about ending this if everything’s good?”

I hesitated.

“…Because this was supposed to be temporary.”

Nocturne fell silent, staring at the floor. His broad frame, head lowered, looked like a crouched beast. His voice was low when he asked:

“Why must it be temporary?”

“…Because that’s what we agreed.”

“But you said it’s good now. You said you’re satisfied. Then why must it end as just temporary?”

“That’s… because it was decided from the start. I don’t know why you’re suddenly bringing this up.”

“You’ve already called me ‘Duke’ twice,” he muttered.

I froze, speechless, turning my gaze away. At that moment, a flicker of orange hair passed outside the door.

“Later. For now, let’s go—we’ll be late,” Tita’s voice came.

“….”

Nocturne looked up at me, his face torn with conflict. His lips trembled as if he wanted to speak, but in the end, he swallowed his words and rose heavily.

Only after he left did Tita come in hesitantly, holding the spare spray.

When we finally finished preparing, we left the mansion.

Nocturne helped me into the carriage as always, holding my hand—but his expression was stiff.

From the moment the door shut, silence filled the air.

Even the aide, noticing the tension, stayed quiet until we arrived. At the destination, he finally spoke cautiously:

“We have arrived.”

I lifted my head and looked out the window.

The building before me stood grand yet eerie.

It was the site of the Cambiata Club’s private gathering.