Episode 36

“Have you finished your meal?”

It was Abel. In response to his question, I nodded quietly.

Though I’ve encountered him often, for some reason, just looking at Abel made me feel a bit emotional.

Without realizing it, I must have been under some stress. To feel this emotional just from seeing Abel’s face… My nose tingled.

As he closed the tent, Abel checked my face. His expression darkened slightly as he looked at me.

Approaching me, Abel placed his large hand on my forehead and cheek. With his other hand, he checked the temperature of my face.

“…You’re running a fever?”

“Maybe because I fell into the water yesterday.”

As I spoke, I regretted it. I hastily added, as if it were nothing much.

“Lady and the gentleman asked for a hat.”

Referring to her as “lady” reminded me of Isis. I quickly added,

“So, Miss Amy.”

“… ”

Abel didn’t say anything more to me. He simply ran his thumb over my forehead.

A warmth began to emanate from his fingertips.

Eventually, when he removed his fingers from my forehead, a warm energy spread throughout my chilly body.

“Wow… you’re like a magician.”

With admiration in my voice, I exclaimed, and Abel chuckled, tousling my hair haphazardly. I looked up at him silently and spoke.

“By the way, you’re really popular.”

“Who’s saying that?”

Pointing at Abel with my finger without saying a word, he chuckled.

“Who says that?”

“That’s true.”

“It’s not like that.”

“Seems like everyone has their eyes on you.”

In response to my cheerful words, Abel just smiled and ruffled my hair. Well, what good would it do Abel to be popular anyway?

Abel’s warm hand felt nice. His familiar scent and the sight of his smiling face as he looked at me.

“Um, may I come in?”

Then Emma’s voice came from outside the tent. At that, Abel whispered in my ear.

“That friend of yours let me know you were here.”

“…Emma?”

He nodded his head.

“You’ve got a good friend. Lucky you.”

Abel opened his mouth with a proud expression.

So Emma came to get Abel. I hadn’t expected that at all.

As the tent opened, Emma hesitantly came inside. She looked at me with a awkward smile.

“Sorry for interrupting… but Miss, she’s looking for you.”

A sense of foreboding crept over me. Knowing that there’s only one Miss who would be looking for me, I asked in a dumbfounded voice.

“Who…?”

Emma spoke with a trembling voice.

“Miss Amy.”

* * *

“Of course, Lord Theodore is likely to win. He’s someone who’s completely obsessed with hunting.”

“In that case, Duke Akaruth isn’t someone to be underestimated either.”

“But the duke has never properly participated in the tournament. He often doesn’t even attend.”

Amidst the heated debate over who will win the tournament this time, Amy welcomed me warmly.

“Welcome, Chase.”

“Oh my, Miss Amy. Could this be the child you mentioned last time?”

Amy smiled faintly.

“Yes, he’s the child I specifically asked for from His Grace.”

…What did she ask for from Raiden?

In confusion, I rolled my eyes around. But soon I realized that there were other boys my age around me.

If there was one commonality, it was that all of them looked pretty handsome. Anxiety crept up my body.

“This is cheating! I lost completely this round.”

“Then please bet on me, Miss Catherine.”

With a loud noise, Catherine folded her fan and sighed deeply, pushing the gold coins that were in front of her towards the center of the table.

Mrs. Anders, who was watching her, asked Amy.

“Amy, then are you not going to participate in this round?”

“Yes, ma’am. A new round will start soon.”

I looked at Amy with undisguised anxiety. Then she lightly patted my shoulder as if to reassure me and led me away.

Where she took me was inside a tent with the sign of Marquis Herwin hanging on it. Unlike the tents used by servants, this one was very spacious.

In one corner of the tent, there were only partitions with colorful suits and a man wearing a hat.

And I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had seen him somewhere before.

Amy pushed my back toward where he was standing.

“I’m counting on you. Let’s make today’s protagonist you.”

“Miss…?”

“Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll do my best.”

Amy sat down on the sofa. My pupils were still shaking. But then the man grabbed my shoulder and turned my body toward him.

As he looked me up and down, he let out a small sigh.

“Where did you find someone like this?”

Amy let out a small sigh as she looked at me, still stiff as a board.

“You must have heard earlier. I specifically requested him for today from His Grace.”

“…”

“Right now, I’m your master, Chase.”

Amy’s voice was kind. But the air inside the tent was strangely tense.

My mouth felt dry. As the atmosphere became more tense, the man smiled and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t be nervous. It’ll be over once you put on the disguise.”

“…Disguise?”

It felt like someone had hit the back of my head hard.

“Yes. Have you heard of ‘Marie’?”

I slowly nodded in response to his question. Then he nodded as if to say it was okay.

“It’s a contest to choose the man who looks best in women’s clothing. During the hunting competition, while the men enjoy hunting, the ladies enjoy the Marie.”

…It’s the first time I’ve heard of this.

“If you win, it will be a great honor for you, Miss. So, relax. If you become this year’s Marie, you will surely receive a great prize.”

The prize wasn’t the issue. Sweat started to form on my back.

“Oh, by the way, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Harmott.”

I struggled to speak.

“…I’m Chase.”

“Okay, Chase. You’re more beautiful than any man I’ve seen before. If you just step out, victory is already assured.”

Clutching my fists tightly, I cautiously glanced at Amy. I needed to come up with an excuse.

I lowered my gaze and tried to look as pitiful as possible. My heart was still beating irregularly.

“Miss, the truth is… I’m… I’m rather delicate, so I’ve been bullied a lot. But if I were to dress as a woman, the bullying would get even worse. So, I…”

Harmott, who was holding my shoulder, paused for a moment.

“Sorry, Chase. I’m in a hurry this time, so I don’t think I can help you.”

“…”

“Let’s get started, Harmott.”

Harmott glanced at me with pity in his eyes for a moment, then led me behind the partition.

“…I’ll start measuring.”

I gritted my teeth.

‘I should plead with Harmott.’

It was almost impossible to hide the fact that I was a woman from Harmott, who designed clothes tailored to the body.

Harmott, measuring my body with a ruler, paused. Then he looked at me and licked his lips nervously.

It seemed like he was about to tell Amy the truth across the partition at any moment.

Desperately, I clasped my hands together and shook my head frantically.

Harmott looked down at me silently. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.

‘Please…’

I desperately grabbed his hand.

Harmott, with my hand in his, glanced briefly at the partition. He was probably looking at Amy beyond it.

“Miss.”

It felt like my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t muster the courage to look at Harmott, so I quietly lowered my head, the fear creeping up as I tightly shut my eyes.

“Um, the space inside the partition is a bit tight. Would it be okay to send someone when Chase is ready?”

But then, I suddenly raised my head at Harmott’s following words.

From beyond the partition, Amy’s hesitant voice was heard.

“Um… it shouldn’t matter. When Chase is ready, please bring him out.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Miss will be pleased.”

Shortly after, the sound of Amy leaving the tent was heard. I felt my legs go weak and I sank to the floor in hesitation.

Harmott looked down at me with a perplexed expression and quietly spoke.

“You’ve never been caught… until now?”

“…I’ve had suspicions, but this is the first time I’ve been caught.”

Harmott let out a small sigh.

“I don’t understand why nobody noticed. Of course, everyone probably assumed you weren’t a girl because you were wearing male clothes…”

Harmott reached out to me. I hesitated, alternating between looking at his hand and his face, then cautiously took hold of his hand.

With his support, I struggled to stand up from the floor.

“…Thank you.”

But I couldn’t understand why Harmott had kept my secret in the first place. His intentions were unfathomable.

I rolled my eyes and cautiously spoke.

“…May I ask why you chose to hide me?”

“Well, there’s no specific reason. Maybe because you seemed to have a story? I like people with stories.”

It wasn’t really a convincing reason to hide my gender.

“…And personally, I felt it would be a waste.”

“A waste?”

Harmott nodded lightly. He took out a dress he had prepared beforehand and examined it on my body. Then, he made some adjustments to parts that were larger than my body and added frills to cover up any awkward areas.

I waited for him to continue speaking for a while. Eventually, after finishing the adjustments, Harmott spoke up.

“So, Chase, you’re going back to being a woman.”