When she answered him excitedly, he watched her with an indulgent expression.
“Oh, I also learned that it isn’t normal to kiss another’s hair.”
“Did you, now…? Isn’t that…fascinating?”
Still smiling, Linus turned his eyes to Management, who let out a small scream and hurriedly corrected her posture.
“P-Please forgive me! I had no ill intentions whatsoever.”
His smile didn’t waver as he nodded, then he focused on Fiona again.
“Well, it’s true. Normally, you wouldn’t do something like that in mixed company.”
“Learn something new every day, hm?”
“Indeed. But I’ll keep doing it to you, Fiona.”
“Why?”
Just when she thought the problem was resolved, he threw her for a loop and confused her once more. If social convention dictated that “gentlemen don’t kiss one’s hair,” then the matter was settled, wasn’t it?
Linus chuckled wryly at Fiona’s perplexed frown. Then he scooped a skein of her hair and planted his lips on it. Management swallowed her excited shriek at his natural flowing movement and aura teeming with sensuality.
“Guess the answer, Fiona.”
Fiona blinked several times under the intensity of his gorgeous indigo eyes.
“All right. Because the people of this country love black hair for its rarity!”
He grinned in amusement when she informed him proudly.
That was the conclusion she’d drawn based on her conversation with Management. Linus was a gentleman. Gentlemen didn’t kiss people’s hair, but he did. That meant he loved black hair far, far more than everyone in this country combined.
All Linus could do in the face of Fiona’s confidence was chuckle dryly and shrug.
“I guess you’re not wrong. I do love your raven tresses, Fiona.”
“In my opinion, your silver hair is much more beautiful, Your Highness.”
Earlier in the training ground, the sun reflecting off his strands made his hair sparkle brilliantly. And even now, in this room, it looked bewitching, like gleaming silver thread. It wasn’t that Fiona hated her hair; it was simply that she thought the luster of his made it overwhelmingly more beautiful than hers.
“Would you like to touch it?”
Linus grabbed a handful of his hair and presented it to Fiona, who nodded. Opportunities like this to study it were few and far between, so she jumped on the chance. When she stroked with her fingers, the strands were velvety soft, a real pleasure to touch. Now she understood why he constantly toyed with hers.
“It’s so smooth and feels wonderful, hm?”
“Not as nice as yours, though, Fiona.”
“That’s because you’re always applying scented oils to my hair, Your Highness. But I always thought yours was naturally better than mine, and I was right.”
“He applies oil to her hair…”
She heard Management mutter something to herself, sounding somewhat dismayed, and Fiona vaguely wondered why.
“Not at all. This black stuff is incredibly lovely.”
Just as a smiling Linus kissed her hair again, the door opened.
“Pardon the intrusion! I’ll come back later!”
The man opened his mouth so wide she feared he would unhinge his jaw. While shouting the words, he scrambled frantically to shut the door.
“Or you could just state your business now.”
“As you wish, Your Highness!”
The man released the handle and bowed his head deeply.
“We received a report of an abnormality at the lake. The Lady Saint’s presence is requested immediately.”
“What exactly happened?”
“A part of the water has turned an unnatural color.”
The beautiful clear water they’d seen? How? She needed to check it right away; otherwise, it would be a disaster if the water became unusable since the lake was an important source of the liquid.
“Understood.”
“Fiona, wait.”
She stood up at once to make the necessary preparations, but Linus wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her back onto the sofa.
“While I agree that the change in the lake is a problem, we can dispatch someone from the Temple to deal with it.”
“About that, Your Highness… We received this missive asking specifically for the saint.”
A slight frown marred Linus’ brow as he read the paper the man gave him.
“Huh… Interesting.”
Linus’ voice was unusually cold. Flustered by it, Fiona turned toward him.
“Your Highness, I too am a member of the clergy and therefore capable of purification. I should be able to handle it myself.”
“If it’s something a neighborhood priest or priestess can deal with, it begs the question why they’re specifically requesting the saint. Hm… Fiona, what do you think?”
“I’ll go, of course. Even should we discover that my power alone won’t be enough, we’ll at least be able to determine how many people are necessary to solve the issue.”
Though Fiona lacked experience in the field, as an administrator in the Temple, she was quite well-versed in sending out personnel. In any case, right now, they needed to prioritize investigating and solving the abnormality.
Linus sighed and put the piece of paper down on the table.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way. Prepare the horses.”
The man bowed sharply, turned on his heel, and left the room.
“Horses? Your Highness, don’t tell me you’re going too?”
“Since time is of the essence, a horse will be faster than a carriage. Besides, you don’t know how to ride, do you, Fiona?”
Just as he said, she had no experience with riding, and it would be too difficult to learn now, so Linus’ suggestion was correct in this emergency.
“But it doesn’t need to be you, Your Highness.”
“No.”
“You must be terribly busy, so I can ask someone else.”
“Absolutely not. I forbid it.”
The steel in his voice didn’t suit the gentle smile on his face. Nevertheless, she gave in because she couldn’t think of any other argument. Accepting her defeat, Linus softly squeezed her hand.
“Now that that’s settled, let’s get a move on.”
“Um… Yes, of course.”
Either way, they were going to the lake, so she might as well be gracious and accept Linus’ offer of a horse to take them.
“If not lovers, then what in the world is your relationship…” With Management’s mumble trailing after them, Fiona and Linus left his office.