Because You Looked at Him

“Is there something I can help you with?”

No matter how much he thought about it, Eren could find no reason for his presence here and asked again, bewildered.

“I don’t want a long explanation, so sit here.”

Not content with answering so calmly, Kazen pulled out the chair right next to his own seat and gestured for him to sit.

“Hah, but I am….”

“You said you wanted to make amends, didn’t you?”

It seemed to mean he should participate in this uncomfortable dinner to make up for his mistake.
He didn’t know how participating in the meal would help him make amends, though.

“…Yes, understood.”

Unable to resist this not-quite-a-threat threat, Eren reluctantly had to sit in the chair.
Kazen even kindly pushed the chair in for him so he could sit comfortably.
Catherine, who had been watching the scene as if it were absurd, scolded him.

“Kazen, have you lost your mind?
How uncomfortable must Lady Aila feel?”

Eren felt just as uncomfortable.
Feeling as if he were sitting on pins and needles, Eren could neither stay put nor leave, fidgeting in his seat.

“Madam, let it be.
It’s just that I had something I wished to discuss, as it happens.”

Thanks to Aila calmly placing her hand over Catherine’s and intervening, a major uproar was avoided.
However, her next words created another wave of confusion in the dining room.

“When Kazen and I promised to marry, we already discussed it.
We agreed to maintain our married life without interfering even if the other took a lover.”

A ‘lover’.
Given the context, it was clearly referring to none other than Eren.
But Eren, Kazen’s lover?
It was a truly absurd statement.

“However, a commoner is not acceptable.”

Undeterred, Aila drove the point home with a firmer tone.
Instantly, Eren felt the blood drain from his body, his head turning as white as a sheet.

“Th-there is a misunderstanding.”

As Eren stepped forward to correct the misunderstanding, Kazen stared straight at Aila and shamelessly grabbed his hand.

“Why is a commoner not acceptable?
You said you wouldn’t interfere with whom I see.”

Why wasn’t Kazen denying the term ‘lover’?
Trying to guess his psychology, it seemed he probably wanted to anger both Catherine and Aila right now.
But whatever the reason, it was a sufficiently bewildering situation for Eren.

“Not doing anything that would lower the dignity of my family was a condition of this marriage, I believe.”

“Ah, was it?
Come to think of it, that might have been the case.
But what can we do about it now?”

Kazen brought Eren’s hand to his mouth and planted a short, quick kiss on the back of it.
Everyone watching his action was unable to hide their shock.

Catherine was so startled she even dropped the glass she was holding.
Piercing through the clattering noise, Kazen’s shocking narrative continued.

“My body is just too compatible with this one to consider giving him up.”

Compatible?
We’ve never even tried to be compatible.

Stunned by Kazen’s unexpected statement, Eren didn’t know how to react and remained frozen, unable to say anything.

“Ka-Kazen, wh-what on earth are you saying?”

It seemed Catherine was equally shocked by Kazen’s bombshell declaration, as her voice trembled and she stammered.

“Playing around with lowborn blood seems to have made even you, Your Grace, vulgar.”

As if hearing something disgusting, Aila covered her mouth with a napkin.

“I suppose you’re right.
I wonder if a vulgar man like me is qualified to marry someone as noble as you.”

“Are you… suggesting we break off the engagement right now?”

When Aila asked with a serious face, it was Catherine who, surprised, grabbed her arm.

“That can’t be his intention.
Think of all the great help you and His Majesty have given us.
Kazen wouldn’t cast aside that favor like some beast worse than an animal.”

“It seems the debt for the kindness shown back then has been repaid in full, so breaking the engagement should be fine.”

Kazen had always talked about wanting to break the engagement, but this was the first time his sincerity felt this palpable.

“Kazen, how can you do this to me?
You can’t do this to me, of all people.”

Catherine was originally from the Kingdom of Felosia, so she did not want to ruin the relationship with Aila, a princess of her homeland.
That’s why she felt such a deep sense of betrayal over the potential breakup between Aila and Kazen.

“Mother, don’t you also live as you wish?
I, too, will live as I wish.”

At Kazen’s unruffled reply, Catherine’s face flushed crimson.
Her anger was palpable in her trembling fists.
And the fact that her furious gaze was directed not at Kazen, but at Eren, was a considerably big problem.

“I believe we need to calm our emotions for a moment.
I know it’s rude, but I will excuse myself first.”

Despite the extremely awkward situation, Aila maintained her dignity to the end and handled herself calmly.
As she left the dining room, Catherine, who had been glaring at Eren, hastily followed her out.

* * * *

After that, the dinner Eren had so diligently prepared came to a hollow end as no one touched it.
Eren, too, was in no mood to get food down his throat and put down his spoon early.

“Follow me.”

As if his appetite had also vanished, Kazen spoke as he rose from his seat.

“Will you be going straight to your bedroom?”

Following closely behind Kazen, Eren asked.

“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep.
I want to get some air for a bit.”

Feeling stifled perhaps, Kazen approached a window in the corridor and flung it wide open.
As the cool night breeze tickled his forehead, he finally seemed to catch his breath, inhaling deeply.

“Then, how about taking a bath instead?
It would help clear your mind, and you might sleep better.”

“Hmm, well….”

In response to Eren’s suggestion, Kazen stroked his chin and trailed off.
He looked as if nothing quite appealed to him.
When Kazen made that expression, it was highly likely he had already decided in his head what he wanted to do.

If he would just say what it was, Eren would prepare it immediately, but sometimes he liked to pose riddles like this.

“Would you care for a drink, perhaps?”

“Hmm, not a bad idea….
But I don’t feel like drinking at home with those unwelcome guests around.”

Eren felt a flicker of joy at having found the answer Kazen wanted, but the last sentence gave him pause, and he furrowed his brow.

“Do you mean you’d like to go out to drink, then?”

Kazen didn’t particularly enjoy going to taverns.
In fact, the act of going out to drink was quite unfamiliar to nobles.
They always kept fine wines stocked at home.

“Shall I fetch a change of clothes for going out first, then?”

“Do that.
I’ll be resting in the bedroom, so you bring them to me.”

“Yes, I will prepare them right away.”

Eren sent Kazen ahead first, gathered the clothes he would change into, and headed for the bedroom.
Even after going to the bedroom, Kazen remained seated by the window.
It seemed he had been quite troubled.

“Allow me to assist you with changing, Your Grace.”

Eren neatly laid out the outdoor clothes he had brought on the bed stool.
Kazen approached the bed, loosening his tie.

“By the way, where do you intend to go?
If you tell me, I will have a carriage prepared.”

Eren took the tie and waistcoat Kazen had removed and asked.
Kazen, who had been unbuttoning his shirt, paused and tilted his head thoughtfully.

“Shall we go to that tavern you like?
What do you think?”

For a moment, Eren was lost in thought, unable to recall which tavern he was referring to.
Then, belatedly, he remembered the tavern where he had drunk three glasses of absinthe and gotten utterly drunk.

How did Kazen know about that?
As Eren stood there dazedly lost in thought, he realized belatedly.
That day, the person he had met while drunk was Kazen.

“…May I ask just in case, was it you, Your Grace, who brought me home that day?”

“If it wasn’t me, how do you think you got home that day?”

It was true, even though he’d doubted it.
In disbelief at the reality, Eren’s eyes widened.

“H-how….”

He wondered how Kazen knew he was at that tavern, how he had brought him home even if he knew, and most puzzling of all, why he had done it.

“Truthfully, I thought about leaving you on the street, but then who would handle the Ducal affairs?”

“How did you know I was at the tavern?
You should have been at the party….”

“You saw me kissing Harold, didn’t you.”

For a moment, it felt like his heart dropped with a thud.
His mind was in such a jumble he didn’t know how to respond.
He never imagined Kazen knew he had witnessed their kiss.

“H-how did you know that?”

“I kissed Harold there on purpose, to show you.”

It felt like his heart didn’t just drop but stopped altogether.
He couldn’t think of anything anymore.
He felt dazed, as if a giant hammer had flown in and struck the back of his head.

“Is it that shocking?
That I did such a thing with Harold.”

Kazen grinned as if he found Eren’s reaction amusing.
But seeing Eren standing there dazedly without any response for a long while, he gradually furrowed his brow.

“Eren, have you lost your wits?”

As if finding it absurd, Kazen reached out and waved his hand in front of Eren’s eyes.
Confirming his pupils were unfocused, Kazen grabbed Eren’s chin and brought his own face close.

“Ah….”

Only then did Eren startle and step back.
However, because he was held by Kazen, he couldn’t pull his head away.

Kazen’s actions over the past few days had been a bit too much for Eren.
The incident with Harold, the matter with Arnold, and now with Catherine and Aila.
He wanted to know what Kazen was thinking.

“…Might I ask why you did that?”

Looking into his eyes, Eren asked very cautiously.
He couldn’t even control the trembling in his voice.

Kazen, who had been quietly observing him, curled up the corner of his mouth.
Eren thought for a moment it was an incredibly charming smile, quite unbefitting the situation.

“Because I disliked you daring to covet Harold.”