After returning to the villa and eating dinner, the entertainment began.

　While we were in the village, preparations seemed to have been made perfectly, and the entertainment went on without a hitch.

　I personally thought the performances and the magical performances were good. Lysia seemed to be interested in all the entertainment, so I'd say it was a success.

　After the entertainment is over, all that's left is to go to bed.

　By the way, Lysia is going home tomorrow morning as expected.
　Tomorrow, after breakfast, I'll present her with a gift on my way home. I hope she's happy with it.

　Although the lunch date failed, Lysia didn't really mind, and it's safe to say that we managed to end the day without any major problems.

　There's a small problem, though, that I didn't get a grip on Lysia's personality or thoughts at all. Considering his politics and ambition, there's still a good chance he's not just a good kid. Well, it wouldn't be the only time I would meet her today. It would be nice to meet her a few times and get to know her exactly what's going on inside.

　I turned the duvet over to sleep in my room.

　At that moment, I cringed.

　There was someone inside the duvet.

　At first I thought it was a prank by one of the twins, but upon closer inspection, it was not.

　She had blonde hair and was about ten years old....

　No, this girl.........

''How was it, Ars-sama?''

　It was definitely Lisia.

　I'm confused, not knowing why I'm here or what the question is.

'Are you surprised?'
Oh, surprise, surprise...
Yes. You looked so pretty with your eyes wide open.

　Lysia said with a smile on her face.
　Instead of the people-friendly smile she had on her face from the first time we met, it was now a nasty smile that reminded me of a little devil.

　I clearly don't know what he's trying to do.
　I'm trying to wrap my head around what kind of response I should make. It's a terrible miscalculation, as I thought I would just sleep in peace today.

''Well, this isn't the room Lisia-sama is sleeping in, is it?　Perhaps a vassal has led you to the wrong place?
No, sir. He showed me his room. And then he slipped out.

　My room itself is not locked, so I can get in. Did someone tell you where my room is?　Well, if you tell him you just wanted to see him for a little while at night, he'll tell you.

Why are you doing this?
'Master Ars has always been a calm man, and he rarely changes his expression, so I was curious to know what he would look like if surprised.

　Am I the only one who feels like that's not an explanation?

　No, you weren't that kind of girl, I almost tsked.

　Lysia seemed to see the look on my face and guessed what I was getting at.

　She raised her upper body, sat up on the bed, and

'You said at lunch today that you liked a girl you could talk to honestly, right?　So I came here to talk to you in private. It's just a side note that I surprised you.

　That's what he said.

　I regained my composure slightly after hearing that answer.

　I thought he hadn't responded to that reply, but was it surprisingly effective?

'Well that's something I should welcome. I've always wanted to get to know you better, Lisia-sama.

　It's a welcome situation to be able to expose your true nature from the other person. I don't know how he came to that idea, though.
　Although I do know from the exchange we had just had, that by daylight, Lysia hadn't made a mistake in the idea that she was making herself look good in her calculations.

''Oh, I'm somewhat embarrassed to hear you say that. I would like to know more about you, Ars-sama. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this.
What do you mean...?
I have the ability to see the color of another person's face and get an idea of the emotions they are feeling when they look at me. The only emotion that Master Ars saw in me was suspicion.

　By looking at the complexion of others, I can get some idea of what they think of me.
　An ability similar to my appraisal?　
　Did she have that kind of power?
　Does that mean that she was completely aware of the fact that he continued to suspect her until now?

'As for being suspicious when we first meet, well, it happens. Some people are very cautious. Even so, we can usually talk to them for a few minutes and they can let their guard down. But even though Master Ars talked with you for several hours and helped you solve more problems, your suspicions grew, not less. Finally, he asked for my true feelings. What is it that you suspect about me, Lord Ars?

　The look on Lysia's face as she said this seemed to indicate impatience and frustration. She seemed frustrated that I didn't move my emotions the way she wanted.

　I guess she's feeling impatient because she's been liked by so many different people with her own conversation skills, and she's feeling impatient because of something like me. That's why you're here to ask, at the risk of exposing your true nature.

　This is just my imagination, but maybe the reason he threatened me in bed was to relieve some of that irritation.

'Lady Lycia, I have the power of guessing the abilities, aptitudes, and ambitions of others.

　I decided to be bold enough to speak here. I didn't think it was fair for me to be the only one to remain silent when Lysia told me about herself.
　If she's going to be my wife from now on, it wouldn't hurt to tell her.

　Lysia doesn't know if she believes me, but she looks a little surprised.

''Lysia-sama had ambitions far beyond normal human beings and a high degree of political acumen, which is why I suspected that all of her actions could possibly be due to calculations.
....

　Lisia is silent for a while as she listens to me.

''........There's no doubt about its power. It's true that I have ambitions.
What kind of ambition do you have in mind?
There's no ambition for a woman to have other than to be discovered by a man of position and talent.

　Non-existent, that would be an exaggeration, but for the most part it would be true.

'So you don't want to marry a man like me, then?
'Yes. In fact, before I came here, I was thinking of trying to break it off in the end. But I changed my mind just now after hearing about it from Master Ars.
Why?
''Although it is true that Lady Ars is only the successor to a weak lord now, I am convinced that the power you possess will increase your position in the future. For now, I would like to marry Master Ars.

　He said he wanted to get married for some very cash reasons.

　I've certainly said that I like girls who say what they really mean, but I'm a little uncomfortable with the response when they expose themselves so much.

'I'm glad you want to marry me. I would like to marry, too, if I could.

　For now, I answered that for the moment.
　Whether or not I will marry Lisia in the future is honestly a matter of concern.

　Perhaps as long as I'm showing my excellence, Lysia will be a reassuring ally, but if I show even the slightest weakness, there's a chance I'll be betrayed.
　However, there's no way that the son of an upstart weak lord would have any kind of premature matchmaking, so I think I'll end up marrying Lysia.

　Personally, I don't dislike a child like this who has a black stomach.

　Unfortunately, she's unlikely to have any romantic feelings for me. I'm not sure if there's any such thing as a love affair in the first place, since it's a marriage decided by both parents, but I think it's better to like each other if possible, but Lysia is completely pragmatic and I don't know if there is such a thing as a love affair in the first place.

I'm relieved to hear that. Well then, I guess that's it for me.

　I thought we would talk some more, but Lysia got up early and left my room.
　I guess she was satisfied because she knew why I was suspicious.

　I breathed a sigh of relief when Lysia left.

　I was quite surprised at first, but it was nice to know a side of Lysia. Because if I had left her without knowing anything about her, I would have been left hazy.

　With a clear mind, I lay down on the bed and pulled the covers over me.

　The bed Lisia had slept in earlier had a nice girl smell to it. I fell asleep while smelling it.


　○


...wind.

　After leaving Ars's room, Lysia breathed a sigh of relief.

　After that, Lysia smiled. It wasn't a smile she made to look good to others, nor was it a nasty smile she gave Ars. It was a smile that leaked out naturally.

(I wonder what's making me so happy?)

　That's what I asked myself, but I knew the answer to that question.

　He was glad that Ars had asked him to marry her.

　She had been liked by most people because of her ability to guess the emotions that were directed at her, her ability to hold a conversation and her natural charm.

　She has been liked by both men and women of her age as well as adults. She assumed that was the norm.

　Such was the case with Lysia, who today, after being doubted by Ars for a long time, felt impatient, frustrated, and unconvincing emotions, as well as being intensely attracted to Ars somewhere in her heart. Lysia didn't yet know what those feelings were, but she absolutely wanted Ars to love her.

　That's why she was irresistibly happy to be told that they were getting married.

(He did indeed say that he would marry me, but he didn't seem to like me. I'll make him like you in time.)

　Since she had exposed her true feelings, her suspicions were cleared, but Lysia knew that she had never gotten him to like her.
　Of course she didn't have the naive idea that exposing her true feelings would get her to like him. Instead, she thought they would hate her. Even so, she still thought it was better than being kept in doubt, so she took the plunge.

　When you think about it, not being disliked isn't that bad of a situation. Lithia was taking a positive view.

(But that first thing was a mistake. I managed to fake it, but...)

　The first thing that happened was that I crawled under the down comforter of Ars.
　I fooled myself at that time that I wanted to see his surprised face, but in reality, I didn't. When I thought it was the duvet Ars was sleeping on, I crawled into it because I felt compelled to crawl under it. I had a bad feeling, but I couldn't help but suppress it.

　The moment Ars came into the room while she was diving, Lysia's liver chilled, but she had some time to think of a way to deal with it before she got into bed.

　By the way, she really thought the surprised face was cute.

　Recalling the smell of Ars's bedding and the look of surprise on her face when she had crawled under it, Lysia went back to the room she was supposed to stay in today, her cheeks relaxed again.