Kay found Rishi’s bold way of speaking so adorable he could barely stand it.
How could such a creature exist?
He wanted to nibble on every part of her, from her earlobes to the nape of her neck, down to her fingers and toes.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Rishi asked, knitting her brows.
Kay covered his mouth with his palm.
“What do you mean, how am I smiling?”
“As if what I’m saying is funny.”
“It’s not funny. Hmm… back then, Eugene…”
“You must have laughed while watching something cute, right?”
“Oh, you hit the mark. I can’t help but laugh when I see something cute.”
Rishi pouted as if dissatisfied, but the corners of her mouth were twitching.
“If you feel like laughing because you find me cute, you can just do it.”
“I’m not in the mood to laugh.”
“That’s not true. Your lips are just about to burst into a grin.”
Kay poked the corner of Rishi’s mouth with his index finger.
In the end, Rishi lost. She let out a small laugh and offered a bright smile.
“My goodness. I didn’t think you’d laugh that loudly. I had no idea I looked that cute in your eyes, Rishi.”
“You must have a problem with your hearing. I didn’t laugh that loudly.”
“As you know, wolves have excellent hearing.”
Rishi giggled.
Her clear, refreshing laughter was pleasant to hear.
Kay wondered what kind of expression she would make if he were to scoop her up in his arms right now and dunk her into the lake.
Rishi tapped the corner of Kay’s eye with her index finger.
“That’s the look of someone thinking of something mischievous, Kay.”
“Oh my. I can’t hide anything from my wife. Next time I have a mischievous thought, I’ll have to cover my eyes.”
“What kind of mischievous thought was it?”
“The thought of what it would be like if I dunked you into that lake.”
Rishi turned her head toward the lake.
After gazing at the water for a moment, she took off her shoes, lifted the hem of her dress, and strode toward the water.
Kay watched her back, dumbfounded; it was only after she stepped in that he shouted, “Rishi!”
Already ankle-deep, Rishi turned back to look at Kay with a radiant smile.
“I was curious too, Kay. What kind of expression you’d have if I suddenly jumped into the lake. Come in, Kay. Don’t be afraid.”
“I really can’t win with you.”
Kay took off his shoes and stepped into the lake as well.
“Were you planning on winning against me?”
“You can at least try to challenge me, can’t you?”
“Don’t cry every time you fail.”
“I’m not a crybaby, Rishi.”
“Jen told me you were.”
“Ha, Jeresien Green…”
Rishi giggled and waded into deeper water.
“Be careful, Rishi. It gets deep suddenly.”
Kay hurriedly followed her.
He had a sudden premonition that he would spend his entire life trailing behind Rishi like this. It was a feeling he didn’t mind at all.
Rishi stopped where the water reached her waist and stared at the dark, deep expanse beyond.
“The water is so clear.”
“Like your eyes?”
“You really say the strangest things. Do you know what kind of expressions the people in the restaurant had when you said things like that earlier?”
“I don’t care about their expressions, Rishi. Your expression is what matters.”
“And what kind of expression am I making?”
“An expression that says you’re dying of happiness.”
Rishi giggled.
“You have a tendency to interpret my expressions however you like.”
“I don’t think so. If I were truly interpreting them however I liked, I would have chosen something else.”
“How?”
“That you have an expression that says you want to kiss me.”
Without waiting for her answer, Kay captured her lips. Her moist, swollen lips had been bothering him for a while, and he couldn’t stand it anymore.
He loved how her lips parted naturally to accept him, even with the suddenness of the kiss.
Their breath matched, and their body heat mingled. He hugged her waist tightly, pulling her against him, yet it felt insufficient.
Closer, deeper.
He felt a thirst even while kissing her.
He wondered how he had lived his life before he could kiss Rishi.
He pulled his lips away for a moment and rested his forehead against hers.
Their ragged breathing intertwined.
“Rishi, you’re driving me crazy.”
“You shouldn’t go crazy, Kay. There’s something called rabies, you see…”
“Ahaha!”
Kay burst into laughter at the unexpected retort.
“Treating me like a dog. Are you really going to do this, Rishi?”
Kay stepped back slightly and splashed water at her.
Clear droplets streamed down her neck.
“Oh my. Splashing water at your wife who is worried about you? That’s not nice, Kay.”
Rishi scooped up a handful of water and splashed it back, but he was too quick.
When she failed to hit him, Rishi puffed out her cheeks and scooped up water again.
This time, Kay dodged nimbly and threw a splash of water at Rishi with one hand.
*Splash!*
A mistake.
He hadn’t meant to splash that much.
The water that cascaded over Rishi’s head soaked her face, neck, and the bodice of her dress entirely.
“I’m sorry, Rishi. I didn’t mean to do that much…”
The moment Kay approached to apologize, Rishi launched a surprise attack.
Of course, Kay could have avoided it, but this time, he pretended he couldn’t and let the water hit him.
Rishi, having succeeded, wore a smug expression.
Kay found her so incredibly cute that he wanted to bite her.
No, he *had* to bite her.
He couldn’t hold back any longer.
Just as he was measuring where to press his teeth,
“I apologize for interrupting your delightful water play.”
Jamie’s voice came from the lakeshore.
Rishi and Kay turned at the same time.
Jamie was sitting on his horse, casting a look that clearly said, *‘What on earth are they doing without a shred of dignity?’*
“A guest has arrived.”
“Who is it?”
Kay asked, holding Rishi’s hand as they splashed out of the lake.
Jamie, perhaps afraid Kay might splash water on him too, backed his horse away.
“Not for the Captain, but for Lady Iris.”
+++
As they entered the room, Krisina approached them in surprise.
“Oh my! Why are you both so wet? What will you do if you catch a cold?”
Erwel asked with a serious expression.
“Is it an enemy attack?”
“No, just a little time at the lake…”
“Did the enemy attack just a little?”
“El, stop saying useless things and go get some towels.”
“Useless things, you say? Brittany, that wicked wom…”
*Thud!*
This time, Rishi clearly witnessed it.
Krisina’s elbow slammed mercilessly into Erwel’s slender stomach.
Rishi opened her eyes wide in shock, but Erwel only rubbed his stomach as if it didn’t hurt much at all.
“You’re the one who should be more careful, not me… look how startled Lady Iris is.”
Erwel grumbled and headed toward the bathroom.
Krisina offered an awkward smile toward Rishi.
“I apologize, Lady Iris. Erwel… that child sometimes has poor manners in front of noblewomen.”
“It’s alright, Krisina. My heart isn’t so weak that I’d be shocked by a few swear words.”
“Of course. But a few swear words are… ah, anyway, why are you both so wet?”
“I was playing at the lake with the Count.”
“Oh my. How wonderful. I thought Count Green was a very stern man, but it seems he shows a boyish side when he is with you, Lady Iris.”
A boyish side.
Now that she thought about it, Kay at the lake really was like that. His bright smile came to mind, and her heart warmed.
Soon, Erwel returned with towels. She dried her skin and changed into a new dress. Since an important guest had arrived, she wanted to show that she was living happily.
Her hair was still damp, so she secured it loosely with a pin and headed to the drawing room.
Kay was waiting in front of the parlor.
“May I go in with you, Rishi?”
Rishi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright.”
Jamie opened the door.
The man sitting on the sofa jumped to his feet.
It was Gauzer, whom they had entrusted with managing the gold mine in Lavent.
+++
After exchanging greetings, Gauzer did not get straight to the point.
He sat for a long time with a dark expression on his face.
Knowing the reason he had come, Rishi waited silently for him to speak.
After sighing several times, Gauzer finally opened his mouth.
“I apologize for dragging this out, Iris. It’s just that… it’s not good news.”
“It’s fine, go ahead and tell me.”
“The gold mine… it’s been blocked.”
“Blocked?”
“It’s a dead gold mine. Whether you go this way or that way, it’s blocked by solid rock. We can’t get any further.”
“I see.”
In her previous life, the Lavent gold mine had also been blocked quickly.
Glovern Witlow, who had received the Lavent gold mine in exchange for selling Rishi, had run wild, claiming that the Huchis family had deceived him.
When Glovern had gone to the Huchis Viscount’s mansion, Alford had been out of the house for work.
Perhaps he had anticipated such a situation and had cleared out.
Unable to meet Alford, Glovern had shifted all the blame onto Rishi.
—*It’s because of you, you good-for-nothing wench! I raised you well enough to be of some help to our family, but that damn gold mine ended before we could pull out a single thing!*
It had been Glovern’s decision to choose the Lavent gold mine and to send Rishi to Alford, yet somehow, it had become Rishi’s fault.
After hurling insults at Rishi for quite some time, Glovern had gone straight to the mine and shouted at the supervisor and miners to continue the excavation.
Even when they protested that everyone might die, it was useless. The miners had no choice but to listen to the Duke, who was as high as the sky.
And then, a miracle happened.
A miracle that occurred for the House of Witlow.
In this life, Rishi planned to make it Iris’s miracle.
“Gauzer. Did you see the north wall?”
“Yes, I went in and checked it myself. It’s a hard, massive rock, so there was nothing I could do. Skilled miners tried to break it, but the pickaxes wouldn’t even penetrate it.”
“What about explosives?”
At Rishi’s question, Gauzer held his breath. As if thinking he had misheard, he carefully asked back.
“Pardon?”
“Explosives. Have you tried using them?”
“Iris, explosives… cannot be used there. It’s too deep. To detonate explosives, someone needs to be within a certain distance, but if you detonate them there, it’s not just the rock that might break—the entire mine could collapse.”
As if he thought Rishi didn’t understand the situation, Gauzer explained.
“It won’t collapse,” Rishi said firmly.
“And no one will die.”
“No, Iris. If you were to go in there yourself, you would understand what I mean.”
“I understand. But it won’t collapse. In the rock blocking the north side, place one at the lower right and one at the upper left. Install the explosives and detonate them. The rock will break, and no one will be hurt.”
Gauzer looked back at Kay as if asking him to stop her.
Kay, who had been watching Rishi’s firm tone with curiosity, noticed Gauzer’s look and shrugged. It was a gesture that meant, *’I can’t stop her either.’*
“Iris, it will be too late after a casualty occurs.”
“There will be no casualties. But if there are, I will take responsibility.”
“No, I am the one who would be responsible. I am the manager of that place. However… even if I am a commoner, I believe that a human life is more precious than gold.”
At Gauzer’s upright words, Rishi smiled softly.
This was why she liked Gauzer.
“I feel the same, Gauzer. Do you think I don’t value human life?”
A brief silence followed.
After locking eyes with Rishi for a while, a look of resolve settled in Gauzer’s pupils.
“I decided to follow you, Iris. I will follow you.”
“Do that, Gauzer. You won’t regret it.”