Young Master, Please Put Some Pants On! - Chapter 105

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 105

“…You used to like Vivian?”

Kermanomon was equally taken aback by the unexpected answer. He stopped in his tracks and let out a hollow laugh while running his hand through his hair.

“I’m suddenly feeling very uneasy. Don’t tell me I eliminated my own rival with my own hands.”

“Ah, it was really just a brief interest for a month or two when I was very young. I don’t see him as a man even a tiny bit now. He’s not my type at all!”

“…”

However, Kermanomon covered his mouth with his clenched fist and seriously pondered something. He had thrown out the question just in case, but he never expected this kind of answer. Until now, he had worried about guys like Arsian harboring ill intentions toward Mellis, but he had never considered the opposite case.

In fact, it wasn’t just Vivian. Starting with Vivian, then Arsian, Noel, Malcolm. Even Professor Hopnilman who taught her classes. How was it that only such exceptionally handsome men surrounded her?

“Grand Duke?”

As Kermanomon’s silence grew longer, Mellis cautiously asked while reading the mood.

“Are you perhaps jealous?”

“…A little. There are too many men around you. What if you fall for someone else who treats you well?”

At his voice, more serious than ever before, Mellis burst into soft laughter. She had known about his jealousy from before, but who would have thought it could feel this cute?

Mellis smiled gently and hugged him as she spoke.

“What kind of worry is that? The only person I like is you, Grand Duke.”

“Really?”

“Of course. And more than anyone else, you’re most my type, Grand Duke.”

“…”

At Mellis’s gaze looking up at him, he didn’t know what to do and bit his lips gently. To say he was most her type – even if it might be words to soothe his feelings, he could only feel happy.

And at the same time, he shuddered at the thought that he would inevitably lose to this woman for the rest of his life.

‘Damn, this feels insanely good.’

Wasn’t she the truly cunning one? In the end, he had to struggle for quite a while to calm his mind that had become chaotic in an instant.

* * *

The two of them set out to properly enjoy the festival. Though it wasn’t particularly large in scale, there were many sights to see and much to eat, making everything fascinating wherever they went. Mellis, who put a Snow Blossom Strawberry that could only be harvested during this period into her mouth, let out an exclamation of admiration.

“Wow, this is really delicious!”

“I thought you would like it.”

“Please try this too. Aren’t those flowers over there so pretty? The transparent petals look just like they’re made of ice.”

Time flew by like an arrow as they ate delicious desserts together, admired various exhibits, and watched people dressed in the village’s traditional costumes gather to dance.

The last place Kermanomon took her was a small dock located in the forest. Unlike the bustling outside where people crowded, this place was rarely visited. Kermanomon, who had boarded the small boat, extended his hand toward her.

“Come up carefully.”

Surprised by the unexpected cruise, Mellis curved her eyes and grasped his hand while holding onto her cloak. When he untied the moored boat, it glided forward smoothly along the waterway. The small boat carrying the two of them flowed slowly along the small riverside nestled in the forest.

Pure white snow that had not yet melted was piled softly on the densely planted coniferous trees around them, and bright moonlight illuminated the surroundings above. Each time he rowed forward, thin ice broke with rustling sounds.

Mellis, who had been looking around with an admiring face, smiled brightly and said.

“How did you find a place like this? It’s really so beautiful!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“This is my first time riding a small boat. Of course, the ship I rode on Garulus’s birthday was much bigger and more splendid, but I think I like this one better.”

Small boats were one of the common means of transportation for commoners. Hearing her say that this was even her first time riding such a small boat, Kermanomon, who had been pondering for a moment, carefully opened his mouth.

“I’ve been curious for a while, but may I ask what your childhood was like? Of course, if it makes you uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer.”

The two had often had similar conversations before. Each time, Mellis would escape the situation by saying she was a poor commoner, but there were times when her behavior felt oddly out of place. It seemed like she lacked life experience itself, rather than simply being poor.

“Ah, that’s…”

Mellis hesitated at his question. Bringing up stories of her childhood wasn’t particularly pleasant, but strangely, she didn’t want to hide it from Kermanomon. Rather, she even felt a strange sense that just sharing her inner thoughts with him would be comforting.

Mellis soon explained her past in a calm voice. About her mother’s early death, losing her father in an accident right before her eyes, and the persecution from her stepmother that followed.

“…So until I went to the Academy, I had hardly ever stepped outside the house. My memories with my parents are quite hazy too. Honestly, it would be a lie to say it didn’t affect me at all, but I’m really okay now.”

As she had worried, Kermanomon’s expression had noticeably darkened. Noticing the cold anger boiling beyond his eyes, Mellis quietly took hold of his hand.

“I’m really okay. I’ve experienced plenty since coming to the Ducal Residence, haven’t I? I know that the Grand Duke has been looking after me all this time.”

“…”

“And most importantly, there are still many things I can experience with the Grand Duke in the future. I’m happy that I can share all my first memories with the Grand Duke. So there’s something I’ve wanted to say for a while…”

At that moment, the clouds covering the moon moved, and clear moonlight poured down over her head. Her face, reflected in the moonlight, glowed softly.

Mellis, seated under the moonlight, spoke with a brighter smile than ever before.

“Thank you for broadening my world, Grand Duke.”

Thanking him for broadening her world. Though he had heard countless expressions of gratitude throughout his life, this feeling was undoubtedly a first.

The unfamiliar sensation made his stomach feel like it was completely turning over. No joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure he had experienced in his long life could have been more intense than this. Could such an emotion really be dismissed with just the word ‘love’?

“…Same for me.”

Just as Mellis met him and experienced a new world, all of this felt like a new world to him as well.

Mellis smiled brightly at his answer and asked with a voice full of curiosity.

“What about you, Grand Duke? I heard from Her Majesty the Empress before that you were quite a troublemaker in your childhood.”

“Her Majesty the Empress told you such stories too? Really…”

“Were you really a troublemaker, Grand Duke?”

“…”

Kermanomon fell silent for a moment at her question. He hadn’t brought out memories of the past for a very long time. When he recalled his childhood appearance, the images of his family who had left the world overnight would come to mind as well. Struggling with the pain toward his family, he had eventually buried even his longing and memories together, hiding them away completely.

Just as his heart began to ache sharply at the thought of his parents, Kermanomon noticed Mellis’s appearance, filled with anticipation. Letting out a small laugh without realizing it, he eventually dug up stories of his childhood as if he had no choice.

“…Well, it’s not wrong. I was quite spirited when I was young. Especially before my Beastkin Transformation, I’m told the people around me had a lot of trouble. His Imperial Majesty still gets fed up when he talks about those times even now.”

Kermanomon as a tiger cub! Just imagining such an adorable sight made Mellis’s eyes sparkle brightly.

“What was it like?”

“First of all, I was a picky eater, and because I liked animals, I would collect things like claws and feathers. And I liked climbing trees, so I would run away here and there. Oh, I was also very curious, so I would often get into fights with wild beasts.”

“What?”

“And most of all, I didn’t particularly like wearing clothes, so even after my Beastkin Transformation, I would often throw off my clothes.”

As these all-too-familiar anecdotes continued, Mellis tilted her head in confusion.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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