Chapter 75
The Male Lead Obsessed with Proposing
69. A Secret Between the Two of Them
“Senelia?”
Benerucia, who had gone out for the hunting festival, returned home and asked the butler about Senelia’s whereabouts.
It was natural for him to be concerned since she had come out almost every day for eight years to greet him, and today she hadn’t even shown her face.
“She’s still in the drawing room.”
The butler answered Benerucia’s question immediately.
His hand, which had been removing his riding gloves, paused.
“…Still?”
Demonic.
The magician Benerucia had found had no ties to anyone.
Since he was someone Clifford couldn’t manipulate or find weaknesses in, Benerucia had introduced Demonic to Senelia without worry.
But it had been early morning when Benerucia arranged their meeting.
And yet, by the time the sun was setting, their conversation still hadn’t ended.
Benerucia furrowed his brow slightly.
Without hesitation, he headed toward the drawing room where Senelia and Demonic were together.
However, he couldn’t immediately open the door.
A soft murmur, in a language he couldn’t understand, reached his ears—so distinct it almost felt deliberate.
As he approached the door to knock, his hand fell.
Grasping the doorknob, he opened it directly.
For once, he saw Senelia smiling genuinely.
“‘So…’”
Because Benerucia had opened the door quietly, Senelia and Demonic hadn’t noticed his presence and continued their conversation.
Even Senelia, who was extremely wary of others, was sitting next to Demonic on the sofa as if sharing a secret.
Seeing that, Benerucia’s lips twisted.
Although it was the first day he had met Demonic, Benerucia disliked how quickly he had gotten close to Senelia.
“Celli.”
Benerucia deliberately made his presence known, approaching and wrapping his arms around Senelia’s shoulders from behind.
He placed his left hand, which bore the same ring as Senelia’s, over her shoulder, deliberately catching Demonic’s gaze.
Even though he knew it was childish, he couldn’t stop himself.
Because, without a doubt, Benerucia had never seen Senelia let her guard down around anyone so quickly.
“Ah… Your Grace, you’re here?”
Senelia finally noticed Benerucia and stood to face him.
“Your Grace.”
Demonic also rose and bowed to Benerucia.
Until Benerucia arrived, Senelia and Demonic had been conversing in a language no one else could understand. Now, as if nothing had happened, they were speaking in the Empire’s language.
This made Benerucia’s chest tighten even more.
He had been the one to suggest she learn magic, which involved a language only magicians could understand. Yet, he couldn’t ease his discontent.
“Seems like learning magic was quite fun, Celli.”
Benerucia intertwined his fingers with Senelia’s and gently pulled her toward him.
His gaze swept over Demonic.
Ever since receiving information about him, Benerucia had disliked his appearance; seeing him in person only reinforced the resemblance to Senelia’s first love or to Yeneloff Pendragon.
“Oh… it’s already this late…”
At Benerucia’s words, Senelia finally noticed the setting sun and trailed off in surprise.
Demonic, as if realizing the time had passed without him noticing, stepped back with a shocked expression.
“Seems I’ve been troublesome from the first day. I didn’t expect time to pass like this. I hope I haven’t taken up too much of your time, Senelia.”
Senelia.
At the sound of Demonic using her name, Benerucia’s eyebrow twitched.
Unlike Benerucia, who had only been allowed to call her Senelia after becoming her lover—two years after they started their relationship—Demonic had been permitted to use her name from the very first day.
It felt unfair to Benerucia.
Before becoming lovers, he hadn’t even thought to ask for permission to call her by name. But jealousy made him forget all that.
“Then I shall take my leave.”
“Ah… you’ll come again tomorrow, right? Demonic?”
It was already evening.
It was natural that Demonic would leave.
Yet Senelia seemed disappointed, as if she hadn’t considered it.
Understandably so—Demonic was the only person she could talk to about memories others couldn’t know.
Benerucia, unaware of this, disliked how much Demonic had won Senelia over.
“Make sure you return safely, Demonic.”
So Benerucia wrapped his arm around Senelia’s waist and held her close as he spoke.
The hesitation he’d shown even to hug her the previous night was consumed entirely by the emotions rising within him.
His tone was firm, almost like a command.
Demonic observed him curiously.
Benerucia’s possessive demeanor was like a fierce dog guarding its master, yet neither Benerucia nor Senelia seemed aware of it.
“See you tomorrow, Demonic.”
Senelia, still oblivious to Benerucia’s feelings, waved at Demonic with a regretful expression.
She had yet to fully acknowledge how much Benerucia loved her, and thus couldn’t perceive his disapproval of Demonic.
Senelia was perceptive, but she could hardly anticipate possibilities she had never considered.
“Yes, I hope you both have a peaceful evening.”
Demonic bowed lightly and left the drawing room.
Senelia seemed like she wanted to see him off but couldn’t.
As soon as she tried to take a step, Benerucia pulled her back to him.
“…Your Grace?”
Senelia finally focused entirely on Benerucia.
Thud.
The drawing room door closed behind Demonic.
Satisfied that it was firmly shut, Benerucia muttered in annoyance.
“So, he’s Demonic, and I’m ‘Your Grace,’ huh?”
His words were more of a complaint than a question.
Demonic was a commoner without a title, so there was no other way to address him.
Senelia was understandably flustered.
“…Then, what should I call you?”
Benerucia fell silent at her question.
He realized his actions had been unreasonable.
Even though they were to be married, Senelia still often called him “Your Grace” instead of using a nickname, as she had for the past eight years, maintaining a boundary with him.
Benerucia was displeased with that distance.
“…Celli, sometimes you’re too slow.”
Normally perceptive, Senelia was unusually oblivious at times like this.
He wanted her to call him by a nickname rather than the formal “Your Grace,” but his pride wouldn’t allow him to whine like a child.
He also knew that it was his own actions over the past eight years that had kept her distant, so he couldn’t blame her.
He could only sigh.
“…Was your previous task not completed properly?”
Senelia cautiously asked, reading his expression.
In the end, she decided not to avoid helping with the hunting festival preparations.
Unless Clifford welcomed the Empress, these were tasks she would have to do even after marrying Benerucia.
So Benerucia planned to find assistants to help her.
Even royalty supervising festival preparations rarely did everything alone.
Since the visit from Lucalina, Clifford had been unusually quiet, not summoning Senelia, but Benerucia couldn’t simply rely on that.
Thus, he spent the morning visiting noblewomen with influence in court and society.
If Senelia had been influential in society herself, she would have sought their help directly.
However, Benerucia had prevented her from receiving proposals for years and even ruined her reputation with other noblewomen, so it was unavoidable.
Seeing her worried expression, he quickly reassured her.
“…No, Duchess Alcheska, Countess Canolia, and Marchioness Petriccio have agreed to help.”
These noblewomen, famed in society, were extremely haughty.
Senelia had been worried about her reputation ever since Benerucia said he would meet them.
Finally, her shoulders relaxed slightly at his words.
Taking advantage of the moment, Benerucia asked,
“By the way, Celli, what were you talking about with Demonic earlier?”
