🌷 🌷 🌷
“LADY Narve, you seem to be in a good mood today.”
Samael, who was working uncommonly seriously, looked up from his paperwork. Ophelia turned from where she was returning a book to its spot in the bookcase and flashed a bright smile.
“Yes! Tonight I’ll be going to stay over at Lord Gian’s house for the first time in a while!”
The temperature in the Director’s Office suddenly dropped by at least 10 degrees. Angelo shivered and rubbed his hands up and down his arms. Totally oblivious, Ophelia hummed a happy little tune and returned to shelving books.
She hadn’t seen much of Gian since he said they should just stay friends after how things went on their last date, and he’d stopped sending flowers. Ophelia had mixed feelings about that. On one hand, it was a bit of a relief not to worry about being courted by a dear friend, but on the other, she couldn’t help feeling a bit sad.
Then, just yesterday, Gian had contacted her, saying he’d just gotten a new board game from overseas and inviting her to stay over so they could stay up late playing it together. Those words had instantly blown away the fog that seemed to have settled over Ophelia recently. It also served as the impetus for her to finally realize her own feelings.
“Ophelia, could you actually be considering… M-Marrying Duke Vigatto?”
“Angelo, you idiot! You can’t ask something like that here!” Bruno cried, frantically slapping a hand over Angelo’s mouth. Claudio had been sitting at his desk, absorbed in reading some paperwork or other for ages now, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t hear what they were saying.
Ophelia turned to Angelo with a look of genuine surprise. “Marry Lord Gian? I’m afraid not. After discussing it, we’ve decided to just be very good friends who understand one another. He’s a bit pushy, but we get along well because we enjoy the same kinds of foods and books and so on.”
Ophelia’s older brother was attentive to the point of being meddlesome, but she’d always wanted an older sister to enjoy doing various things with. That feeling had become clearer to her in the time they’d spent apart. She felt the same way about Gian as she did about her brother after they stopped working together.
That was what Ophelia had realized—that she considered Gian, or rather Julietta, as something like an older sister and she’d had a heart-to-heart about her feelings with Gian that led to them deciding to remain friends.
The temperature in the Director’s Office returned to normal as suddenly as it had dropped. Claudio’s gaze flicked in Ophelia’s direction, and their eyes met.
“Um, Director… About my transfer request…”
Claudio’s shoulders jerked in surprise. “O-Oh, yeah, that… I’ve been busy and haven’t gotten around to it.”
“Eep?!”
Without warning, Ophelia’s knees suddenly folded. She lost her balance and tumbled against a nearby desk, where she managed to catch herself with her left hand. Claudio made a face that seemed to say, “Oh, crap!” and Samael pointedly averted his gaze. Their behavior confirmed her suspicion that Claudio had lied, leaving Ophelia flabbergasted.
No way, the director told a lie?!
Seeing Ophelia with her mouth hanging open, frozen in shock, Claudio abruptly stood.
“No, um… These guys are still saying that we need the extra help, so…”
Ophelia stumbled again, and the hand she swiped out instinctively to grab onto the bookshelf met nothing but thin air. Claudio darted forward to grab her hand and brought his other arm around behind her back to catch her before she could fall over.
Angelo, seeing the two of them practically hugging and staring deep into one another’s eyes, unintentionally let out a wolf whistle.
“…”
“D-Director…?”
“No, I… I actually lost your transfer request…”
Claudio reflexively held Ophelia tighter as she shook in his arms, unwittingly bringing their faces even closer together. Bruno held his breath and wrung his hands anxiously.
As if he couldn’t stand the fragile silence that had fallen heavily over the room, Samael pointedly stretched his back, arms raised over his head, then rose from his chair. “Oh man, I’m starving! Bruno, Angelo, let’s have lunch in the cafeteria!”
“Thank you for the invitation, Assistant Director. I believe I’ll join you,” Bruno said without delay.
“Whaaat, but things are just getting good!”
“Idiot! Read the room, will you?!”
Samael exited the office first, dragging Angelo along behind him. Bruno followed the others, but before closing the door behind him, he turned to face Claudio.
“Director… For someone who doesn’t lie, you aren’t very honest with yourself, are you?”
The door shut with a firm click, and Claudio clicked his tongue irritably. After a long moment frozen in shock, Ophelia blushed bright red and hurried to extricate herself from Claudio’s arms, blinking repeatedly.
“So, Director… Um, about my transfer request…”
“Huh? O-Oh, yeah… I had every intention of getting around to it, but…”
Ophelia was standing on her own at this point, but she again lost her balance, and Claudio had to grab her arm to steady her.
“Well, I don’t really care either way, but…”
Ophelia’s hand trembled in his grip, causing Claudio’s mouth to twist with displeasure.
“…”
“…Director?”
“…”
Claudio, who’d fallen sullenly silent, covered his eyes with his free hand. What Ophelia could see of his lapis lazuli eyes peeking through the spaces between his fingers almost seemed to be glowing with a faint light radiating from within.
“Um, Director… About the transfer request, I want to resci—”
“Ophelia.”
“Y-Y-Yes?!”
“…You don’t have to go back.”
“…What?”
“You should stay here… Stay with me… From now on…”
After a moment of stunned silence, Ophelia gasped and looked down at her arms and legs.
They weren’t shaking even the tiniest bit.
Which could only mean… These were Claudio’s true feelings, at last.
The moment she realized it, Ophelia’s face started to burn.
“…Yes. I’ll stay, just like this, from now on.”
Ophelia nodded, her cheeks bright red, and the hand that had been covering Claudio’s eyes slipped down his face. He blinked once, slowly, and let go of Ophelia’s hand.
“This time, did you properly understand what I was trying to say?”
“Yes, I understand.” Still blushing, Ophelia straightened her posture, coming to attention. “I promise to work hard to fulfill my duties here in the Director’s Office!”
“Huh?”
“I’ll try to find ways to be useful outside of investigations as well!”
“Huuh?”
“I’ll do my best to improve my skills so I can always work for you here, Director!”
“You really didn’t understand what I was trying to say after all…”
Deep wrinkles were chiseled between Claudio’s brows as he growled that. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, but it seemed that she misunderstood something. Perplexed and flustered, Ophelia turned and walked toward the door, even as Claudio strode after her. Her hand fell on the doorknob, and without turning, she shouted, “I-I’m going to go join everyone for lunch…!”
“You brought a packed lunch, didn’t you?”
In stark contrast to his quiet words, the sound of Claudio’s fist hitting the office door above her head echoed loudly through the empty room.
Return of the terrifying wall slam!
Stiff with fear, Ophelia reflexively turned to face Claudio, and when she found herself face-to-face with him in close proximity, her shoulders curled forward, and she froze in place.
Feeling as if she were awaiting the announcement sentencing her to death, Ophelia couldn’t even breathe, focused entirely as she was on the words that would come next. However, Claudio spoke in a gentle tone she’d never heard him use before.
“Ophelia.”
She’d never realized that her own, familiar name could sound so wonderful.
With each second that passed, the strength seemed to seep out of her body until the majority of her weight was pressed against the door behind her.
“Ophelia, I…”
Each word he rasped in a low voice just beside her ear sent her heart racing a little bit faster until she was genuinely worried it might beat right out of her chest. Then, out of nowhere, a shudder ran through her body. With matching gasps, the two of them turned to find six familiar eyes peeking in at them through the crack in the just-barely-open door.