An Extra Who Wants To Escape The Obsessive Male Lead - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
The people on the fourth floor probably know that we have a contractual marriage, so why did they react like that?
“Well… I’ll do it myself.”
I extended my hand. It was because I had no intention of accepting his offer since I felt bad for him. Why was he acting this way? Was it because of the poison he saw during mealtime? Did it make him more sensitive?
As I reached out my hand to grab the dress, I froze in place.
Something felt strange.
“Diello, was this dress originally in the mansion?”
“It was newly made. Of course, through a reliable source.”
As he responded, a moment of sharpness flashed in his eyes the next moment as he asked.
“Is there something strange about the dress?”
“It has a strange smell.”
I sniffed the dress. Unfortunately, Diello couldn’t purify it with flames since it was a dress. The flames of purification were still fire, after all.
“Bring all the people in charge with this dress. Including Nias.”
The next moment, he commanded the maid.
Nias was the name of the family’s doctor.
…However, there were no patients, so why did he call Nias? What use could he have? Well, maybe if there was something like poison on the clothes, he might be able to tell since Diello also seemed to feel something strange.
“Yes.”
Even though he had his usual gentle voice, the people on the fourth floor moved with more tension than usual.
“….”
It was only natural.
I looked at Diello quietly.
“Krua?”
He laughed faintly and tilted his head as if asking if there was a problem. He was the same as usual… but for a moment, I definitely felt a strange chill.
And a while later, Nias, the family’s doctor, who was examining the clothes with gloves on, had a serious expression. For a doctor, his skill in identifying poison seemed professional. It was as if he had learned about poison before learning medicine.
As I thought so, the expression of the old doctor distorted.
“…My lord, the poison has permeated the entire dress. There’s no other way to make it spread evenly other than washing it with diluted poison.”
“….”
Diello and my eyes met.
Did they deliberately make the poison spread in such a subtle way? In addition, was it because of the water that I felt the poison? If Krua had been so sensitive to water, she wouldn’t have been treated like a useless rag, but I was different now.
“The methods are becoming more subtle.”
Diello frowned.
“I’ll have new dresses prepared for you.”
“It’s okay to wear what I had.”
I extended my hand.
There were already dresses overflowing in the wardrobe anyway. Whether it was because of the reputation of the villainess Krua or if the people of Argenta were always extravagant towards their madam, there were dresses piled up like mountains that I knew nothing about.
They would be discarded if I didn’t wear them.
“I know it’s inconvenient, but would that be enough?”
He asked hesitantly.
Then, he gestured to Vielle, who was standing with Nias.
“Inspect the fingertips of the maids who did the laundry today… No.”
Diello tilted his head slightly before he uttered again.
“Inspect the fingertips of the attendants. There might be someone tainted with poison.”
When I looked at him in response to his words, he smiled softly at me.
“Even if someone has immunity to poison, there might be traces on their fingertips.”
Then, holding the newly arrived dresses in a hanger, he approached me a step closer.
“I thought that my wife would say it’s enough, but is it really enough?”
His sweet breath reached me. If someone knew one thing after being taught one, it couldn’t be said that they were ignorant.
“It is enough.”
It was perfect! I smiled at him, expressing my satisfaction.
“Then, just in case.”
Diello raised the dress.
“May I personally help you put it on?”
It was the same suggestion again.
“Well—”
There was no point in refusing twice.
When I blinked my eyes… Thud. The sound of the door closing echoed, and when I turned around, there were only the two of us in the room. Anyone could see what this meant.
They want us to have a good time.
These people…!
* * *
Among the belongings of nobles, there were many things that couldn’t be used alone. Dresses were a prime example.
The higher the status of the lady, the more complex the clothes she wore, to the point where it was almost impossible to put on clothes alone. It was only natural as the purpose was to subtly reveal the ability to control many subordinates.
In that sense, my dress also belonged to a considerably complex category.
” As comfortable as possible to move in.”
I requested, however, the dress that was brought back again was also impossible to put on alone. Even if I cleared away the intricate lace decorations, I couldn’t fasten the buttons from my back to my neck alone. The same was true for the dress I was currently wearing.
“….”
The maids on the fourth floor knew that we had entered into a contract marriage, of course. Nonetheless, since we never know when or where the rumors might spread, it was best for us to appear as a sweet couple as much as possible.
Still, I didn’t expect to be alone with him like this.
Diello, who was holding my dress, asked.
“If it’s uncomfortable, should I ask someone else for help?”
“No, it’s okay.”
I extended my hand to him, feeling strange to ask him to leave now. I felt sorry to suspect this man who was smiling gently.
“Then, may I ask you for a little favor?”
Fortunately, the dress I was about to put on was not revealing.
“Of course.”
Diello approached me. He looked like a skilled butler, holding stockings and various pieces of clothing in his arms. I received the silk stockings from him and sat down.
Rustle.>
Even though I had intended to put them on myself, he willingly knelt in front of me, resting one knee on the ground.
“Excuse me.”
He smiled lightly and took the stockings. The moment when his hand, which was holding the stockings, touched the tip of my foot, a strange warmth spread through my slightly cold toes.
Diello smiled awkwardly.
“Your feet are cold.”
As he gently wrapped his hands around my foot and carefully pulled the stockings up, his hand dug under the slightly lifted hem of the dress. Thanks to his tapping on the side of my knee with his thumb with a knocking gesture, it didn’t feel like an unexpected intrusion.
Rustle.
The lifted hem settled onto my knee, and a soft kiss was felt instead of the cool air that should have been circulating. It was a sensation that raised warm heat.
After wearing the stocking, he looked up at me.
“You’re more skilled than I thought.”
When I finally spoke after seeing his appearance, Diello blinked his blue eyes.
“I imagined myself helping you many times.”
Imagined…?
“…Helping me put on clothes?”
Duke Diello, personally helping me put on clothes? Just as I was feeling puzzled, he chuckled softly as if sensing my confusion and answered.
“Yes, just in case. It might become necessary.”
He spoke as he kissed my knee again.
“At least, I shouldn’t be caught off guard because of formal wear.”
I thought his lips on my knee trembled for a moment. It wasn’t tension. Rather, it felt like he was suppressing something, like patience.
“Formal wear…”
I pondered his words. He meant helping a woman put on formal wear?
“… You’ve practiced, haven’t you?”
Otherwise, how could he be so skilled?
“No, I haven’t.”
Diello frowned in response to my words.
“It’s my first time, and also the first and last time.”
He replied firmly.
He brought me my new dress and buttoned up the back. He even brought a cardigan and put it on me, his eyes shining with delight.
“….?”
Even after I was fully dressed, he held the metal part of my cardigan lightly with his hand.
“Diello?”
The touch of a strong man’s hand on my neck felt ticklish. It must be a meaningless touch. It was just a favor.
A favor…
“The metal feels cold. I’ll warm it up.”
As he let go of the metal part of the cardigan, the warm metal touched my neck.
“Ah.”
I found myself gasping without realizing it. It felt like his warmth that I occasionally felt in the morning was touching the back of my neck. Human warmth… something that ignited more than just human emotions.
“It’s enough now.”
Eventually, he tidied up my dress with ease.
It was so natural… from dismissing the people as if to lift the weight off my shoulders to the end of the event.
Smooch.
…And even the moment he pressed his lips against the back of my hand just before escorting me outside.
From the back of my neck to his fingertips above my knee and his lips touching the back of my hand, it felt like sparks were igniting everywhere as if flowers were blooming in full bloom. This shouldn’t be happening.
I couldn’t think too much about it.
While I was biting my lip in confusion, Diello had a gentle expression on his face.
“Shall we go?”
However, at that moment, I wanted to ask Diello the question.
…Was this all just practice?
Was it really just a practice to deceive others?
* * *
Diello carried on with his external schedule as if nothing had happened. Once we were out of the room where it was just the two of us, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.
After the incident with the poisoned food, now, even my dress had been tampered with. Someone clearly has their sights set on me, and it could be someone who wants my life, because it was not someone who sabotaged Diello’s clothes, but they tampered with my dress.
“Be careful, Krua.”
Diello repeated those words again and again.
In addition, not only did he restrict the people coming towards us to the fourth floor, but he also reinforced security. However, even with all those precautions, there was one thing we couldn’t prevent.
“Emergency! The endless sea second zone has been breached!”
The knight who rushed in during our meal was clearly a knight who had just come from the front lines. Moreover, I later learned that he had served in Argenta for over a decade.
Although he was from Argenta’s third floor or below, I only let him in because I recognized his face.
…No one could have imagined that he would be bought by Cartiel.
“I apologize, my lord.”
The knight who spoke like that took out something from his pocket instead of reporting about the endless sea second zone.
“….!”
In an instant, not knowing what was happening, I widened my eyes. It was because I saw the knight who had rushed in to report take out a pouch from his arms.
“Krua!”
At the moment when Argenta’s power shone from the man’s fingertips, Diello, who was sitting across from me, suddenly approached and enveloped me.
And then…
Boom!
As a small explosion was heard, the dining room was instantly engulfed in a white mist.
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