“—Ruud is—Sigurd is stubborn.”
The hand that was circling my waist moved to my back before I even noticed. The big palm moved up and down as if it was slowly soothing me.
“He doesn’t date women often. Although it can’t be said as none at all, anyway, he is faithful.”
“And what does that have to do with hand?”
“Well, no need to rush. I’m going to tell you, Rivea.”
Leon-sama bitterly smiled.
“It’s not that he’s tactless or misogynic. It’s just that he has a clear preference on what he likes, and that is…”
Hand, is it?
This time, I tried to answer patiently, although it was without a voice.
As my mind still wasn’t calm yet, I decided to sullenly gaze at Leon-sama’s throat or mouth, and the pure golden and yellow diamond jewellery that I touched until just now.
“That is hand. Rather than the women’s body shape, he seemed to care more about their hands. Well, of course it didn’t mean that whichever body shape was fine, too. It was a given that he preferred beautiful women.”
“He has an interest on you,” said Leon-sama in order to humor me, but I didn’t really care about that. I continued to lend an ear in order to listen to the continuation of his words.
“—According to Ruud, hands are what represent women. He told me many times that we could evaluate their skin’s tenderness, softness, physical build, and so on. He spoke of it so often that I told him to cut it out.”
…There was the so-called palm reading in my country of origin, and how it was possible to guess a person’s life based on their hand shape, but I couldn’t really comprehend how [hand] was his number one condition in liking women.
Even as I looked at my hand again, I still had the same impression as earlier. There wasn’t anything special about them. If I had to say so myself, I think that my hands were groomed and corresponded to my occupation as a soldier. It had calluses from holding swords during my swordsmanship practice, and I also overdid my marksmanship practice, so my tendon ended up standing out. Besides, I also worked hard in martial arts, so my hands were more raised into [a military man’s hands]. Still, I groomed my hands so that it wasn’t possible to tell at just a glance.
As a result, I think that my hands were still womanly without any stiff parts or overdeveloped parts. But well, as expected, it wasn’t [tender] at all. When one looked at it, it was well-refined, but when one touched it, it would be surprisingly stiff. Such were my hands.
“Why, hands, huh…? It dated back to his childhood.”
“Childhood?”
I unconsciously parroted his words. It was such an old matter, then.
I felt Leon-sama nodding above my head, then the lips that I saw right before my eyes were moving towards the back of my ear.
Really, good grief…
“He didn’t have a healthy body when he was a child. He often caught fever and had to sleep. His body was also smaller than mine. The next day after he practiced swordsmanship or fought, he would have a fever.”
Whoa, what a surprising past.
Duke Odile was the tallest among the three dukes, and his physical build was also quite large. His name was nice to hear, and his blazing red hair also looked good. He had a close resemblance to the large built pirates who stormed into the northern ocean from the Fjord stronghold in my previous world. Despite being such a person, to think that he had a weak constitution…
“—At that time, there was a daughter of the wet nurse who helped looking after him. That girl was his first love and also the origin of his obsession on hands. Even until now, he still remembers the hand of the girl that touched his forehead when he had fever.”
“Ukh…”
Please forgive me for letting out such a strange voice.
How romantic! Good, Duke Odile! He’s way too adorable! I think that was such a good story! It’s so bittersweet that it’s ticklish to my heart!
…No, but which one comes first, the girl?! Or the hand?! He remembers her [hand]?!
Could it be, a hand fetish?! So, he’s not adorable, but disappointing?
I can’t. That was such an impolite response.
I hurriedly sealed off my mouth, but Leon-sama seemed to have seen me through even if he didn’t reproach me. Instead, he said close to my ear, “Pretend you don’t know anything about it the next time you meet him.”
“—He said lots of things about the girl’s hand, but I don’t quite remember them. Anyway, a woman’s hand is important to him. …Then, your hands…”
Leon-sama stopped sniffing the scent behind my ear somewhat reluctantly before he looked straight into my eyes.
His pupils were glittering just like a yellow diamond over a candlestick’s light. No, it couldn’t be compared to the decorated diamond. Lots of expressions colored his eyes, making his pupils way prettier than jewels. I was unconsciously fascinated by them.
Though I was trying to not be swept away by his kisses, I didn’t have a chance of winning in the end. Surely, I am such a lax woman, so I continue to think.
“—Your hands seem to be perfect.”
I was surely dumbfounded and had a stupid look on my face right now. Even so, Leon-sama said in a complete seriousness.
Rather than serious–? It was a bit scary, even.
His hand that was caressing my back was now grasping my hands.
“The other day, when you first met and talked while standing, he also took your hand, right?”
“…Yeah. It was a gentlemanly greeting.”
The first impression was well. The first greeting today also went well.
…If only he properly returned my hand.
“It seems that he’s been interested in your hand since that time. However, with Yulias acting rashly, there was no chance to continue the conversation at that place. Therefore, he seemed to be waiting for the next chance, and that…”
“Was today, right?”
I ended his sentence. Leon-sama nodded, and added more at the distance where our sighs could blend well.
“In the first greeting, he said that he would ‘treat you as a commodore’, right? Orgueil and I hadn’t made such kind of preparation. That was when I immediately understood. Even as he hadn’t finished his words. He was trying to create the chances where he could touch Rivea’s [hand].”
I smiled faintly at the frequent mention of ‘hands’ that caused this conversation to be somewhat awkward, but as expected, this wasn’t a laughing matter. After all, it was about me, about my own [hands].
“That’s why Ruud grabbed your hand and didn’t let it go. Whether it was its form, its feel, its temperature, or its build. I don’t quite understand it, but it’s surely to Ruud’s liking.”
Even if you said that it was to his liking…
Besides, if the origin was that girl’s hand, then where is she now? It will be good as long as he can grasp that hand. About marriage, he can just dissolve his authority as duke and snatch that person.
There’s no need to be so obsessed to my hand by then.
“That girl is gone.”
Is this person capable of mind reading?
Leon-sama concisely said.
“Before he even realized his own love, she was already gone to marry someone else. After she went, the town was attacked by a group of bandits, and she seemed to have remained as the wife of the fort’s lord until the very end and died.”
“……”
There was no need to have two hammers knocking like that. How sorrowful. Also.
I strongly believe that death is something so close to our world.
Our talk about hands was slightly turning out of topic, but the whereabouts of that girl was important to me, so it couldn’t be helped.
But, if she is no longer here…
I wonder if Duke Odile is still unable to move on from his first love?
The golden eyes that were at my point-blank-range overlapped with light blue eyes for a moment. Duke Sigurd Odile’s light blue sky colored eyes.
A pair of very serious eyes.
–I have a hunch that this will be slightly, no, considerably troublesome.
