CHAPTER 061
At the moment when I was startled by the loosely closed chest, I heard Lewis's voice.
"What are you looking at?"
Oops.
I looked up with trembling eyes and saw Lewis staring at me. With a gaze as if looking at the Empire's biggest pervert.
"Suspicious. I was behind you, but you just had to..."
"No, it's not!"
"You could've just looked at the doorknob, so what exactly were you looking at?"
There was no point in arguing with Lewis.
He narrowed his eyes and said,
"I should tell the Duchy when we get back. That you entered my room alone in the middle of the night. And then-"
"No, please don't!"
I knew he wouldn't actually say anything! But being in this situation was flustering.
At that moment, click- the door opened.
I couldn't say anything more and fled straight to my room.
Why did I mistake the floor!
I thought I heard Lewis's faint laughter behind me.
* * *
The next day, when I met Lewis in the dining room, he greeted me.
"It's the first time seeing you since you left like that last night."
"I mistook the floor..."
Please don't bring it up. Sniffle.
Feeling embarrassed, I nodded and sat across from Lewis.
It was awkward and I had nothing to say, so I was silent for a moment when Lewis spoke.
"You're quiet?"
"Because it's mealtime, we should be quiet."
"It feels empty when you're quiet."
"Empty?"
"Yeah."
Lewis admitted it frankly and added.
"You're quite talkative."
I didn't think I was that noisy... but compared to Lewis, I guess I talked more.
Lewis didn't seem to want to talk about last night anymore and started eating.
But it seemed he didn't plan to eat in silence. Lewis pushed his portion of chocolate biscuits onto my plate.
"You like these, don't you? Eat."
"Aren't you going to eat, Marquis?"
"I'm fine."
He also gave me his maple syrup waffles.
"Eat."
"Are you only going to have an omelet for breakfast?"
"It's breakfast."
It's my breakfast too...
Eating all these sweets alone made me feel guilty. Not to Lewis, but to my body.
"But how did you remember all this? We've never had breakfast together."
Lewis chuckled.
"I remembered what you enjoyed eating."
Well, I did eat desserts in front of Lewis several times. Just because it's breakfast doesn't mean I can't have dessert, right?
It seemed Lewis had something he wanted to say as he opened his mouth again.
"Remember for next time. What I like to eat."
"You don't like anything except plain soufflé."
Seeing my puzzled look, Lewis gave a comfortable smile.
"Just choose something you like. I'll enjoy it as much as you do."
He seemed determined to accommodate whatever I chose.
Didn't he do the same when choosing soufflé? There's no need to match preferences like this.
Why is he being so accommodating?
Feeling strange, I silently cut the waffle in half and handed it back to Lewis.
"Then enjoy your meal!"
"You want me to eat too?"
Half is enough for me!
Unfortunately, Lewis didn't seem to enjoy it as much as he expected.
* * *
After breakfast, I contacted Bella through the communication sphere.
"Bella, did you sleep well?"
-Of course. Nothing happened yesterday, right? It was just the first day.
I made a mistake on the first day... Sniffle.
Unable to tell Bella, I ended the call on a positive note. After all, I had plans to go out with Lewis again.
I thought the embarrassment would fade if I kept my distance for a day, but there was no time to do so.
Lewis and I talked as if nothing had happened.
Given the reason we were here, the amount of conversation was a bit different.
"We only have two more nights here, do you think we'll find it in time?"
"As long as it's within the same area, we'll find it. The feeling will come right away."
We would find it quickly if we came across it.
I looked around, thinking. Despite the number of tourists, there were fewer people than in the bustling capital.
Then, I noticed something.
"Oh!"
"What is it?"
I was pointing at a poster.
"That play. It seems the hotel theater is also showing it."
"A play? You got excited over a play?"
Lewis squinted his eyes.
I stood my ground.
"I wasn't excited, just signaling that I found something!"
To react like this just because I said 'oh!' Is this how Lewis feels when teasing me?
Lewis seemed resigned and asked me.
"How did you know the hotel had that?"
"I wandered around a bit last night. It felt too soon to just go to my room."
"Too soon?"
Then, Lewis suddenly had a profound look on his face.
"Is that why you ended up in my room while wandering?"
"Marquis! I told you it was a mistake!"
So embarrassing, and he's teasing me again!
I moved two steps sideways to get away from Lewis.
"This won't do. I'll walk like this today."
"Why? Come here."
Lewis reached out to me.
"Where are you going? Without me."
"I'm not going anywhere. I just want to keep this distance."
"Come closer."
"Not today!"
Distance maintained.
I crossed my arms in an X in front of Lewis and looked straight ahead.
At that moment, I saw a man walking towards us, looking startled.
Why is he so surprised? Is he too handsome even for a guy?
I glanced back at Lewis. He had already come close to me.
"I won't tease you. Stay beside me."
When he says it like that, I can't refuse.
Looking ahead again, I saw the man checking his face as if he couldn't believe it. He also adjusted his glasses.
What's this?
It was even stranger. Why would he check his face after seeing Lewis?
Sensing my gaze, the man looked at me.
As soon as our eyes met, he quickly looked away.
That's supposed to be my move! Looking away quickly after eye contact!
"Don't look at him, look at me."
Lewis, noticing who I was looking at, murmured softly.
"No, it's not because I want to."
Why is he sticking so close! I quickly corrected myself.
"My eyes just went that way."
"Is that face your type?"
"Don't look at me like that. It's because it's strange! He's overly conscious of us for someone we don't know."
As I spoke to Lewis, the man turned and walked back the way he came, quickly as if he had forgotten something.
Lewis, watching the man, muttered.
"Really strange. Not exactly fleeing."
"He looked at us and then checked his face."
"Why would he be startled by us? It's not like he recognized me."
His sinister smile reminded me of the Lewis I originally knew.
Lewis started following the man. The man soon turned a corner, and Lewis followed.
When I belatedly turned the corner after being slightly behind, only Lewis was there.
Where did the man go?
"He hid like a rat."
"The noise?"
"I can't hear it. He must not have it on him now."
Last time, a small magic stone caused a disturbance for Lewis.
If he had left the noise-making device elsewhere, the silence made sense.
"Whether he's the one or not, we need to catch that suspicious guy."
Lewis decided to track him down. He was confident he could find him.
"He's on this island anyway?"
A rat trapped in a jar, I suppose.
Then I remembered something suddenly.
"Why did that guy touch his face? No one would recognize him anyway."
"Instinctively? Worried I'd recognize his face."
Lewis wouldn't recognize his face anyway. Touching his face in a direct encounter?
I recalled the man with the big glasses.
Why did he touch his face? It's not like he was in disguise.
Then, a thought struck me.
That face... could it be a disguise?
If so, that's a feature of someone. The wanted criminal Philip caught in the original story.
The con artist who wore a fake face over his real one to live as someone else.
So others wouldn't recognize his real face!
Could the wanted criminal be the same person Lewis is looking for?
"I think we can catch him."
If that's the case, I could be of help.
We could use the method Philip used in the original story.
The next day.
From the morning, guards were stationed at the port.
They were checking people leaving the island against a portrait. It looked like they were conducting a crackdown.
"Stop for a moment."
A guard stopped a skinny man and closely examined his face.
Lewis and I watched from a distance.
"As you suggested, we stationed guards at the port."
"He's probably laughing, thinking we made a mistake."
But the real ones laughing are us!
Stationing guards at the port was just a ruse.
"That criminal must have been shocked to see you on the island."
Normally, he would try to flee the island quickly.
After being chased by Lewis yesterday, he would know the port wasn't safe.
But if he was the wanted criminal I thought he was, he would think he hadn't been caught yet.
"Is he really there?"
"Yes. Let's catch him when he's off guard. Let's go, Marquis!"
Lewis looked at me with newfound interest.
"You're enthusiastic?"
"It's a rare chance to be of help."
I was always stumbling, despite knowing the original story.
This is Lewis's mission, and I should shine at least now!
Just follow me!
I confidently led the way for Lewis.
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