I decided to ask Isaac about the plan to deal with Lennox. He smiled mischievously and held out a hand toward me. I looked at his hand, puzzled.
"Why your hand?"
Isaac's fingertips brushed against mine.
"Let's start by holding hands."
"Start by holding hands?"
"Yes, the plan requires us to look like lovers if it's going to succeed."
Isaac's attitude was as natural as breathing. Without leaving me room to protest, he began to intertwine his fingers with mine. I was taken aback but forced myself to pretend I was convinced, a gentle smile on my lips. My lips seemed to twitch, but I managed to hold his hand without looking awkward.
"...Haha, that's really simple. This is natural, right?"
"You look awkward, Mel."
The moment I heard his words, I became acutely aware of my condition: a stiff body, an awkwardly rising smile, and burning ears.
What kind of wooden doll am I?
I coughed briefly, turned my gaze to the side, and said, "…Well, I think I'll be better at pretending to be a lover after I hear the plan you've made. Please tell me."
Hearing my answer, Isaac lowered his eyes, still holding my hand tightly. "Yes, that's good. First of all, the plan to capture Duke Hesman..."
I listened seriously, but he was slowly starting to get closer. The tips of our noses were so close they were almost touching.
"...Is this also part of the operation?"
He gently rubbed my cheek with his free hand, as if wiping it, and whispered in a husky voice. "It's operational practice. Lovers shouldn't blush because of this."
I understood perfectly. This was a 100% selfish move on his part.
"I think you're being too selfish..."
"I got caught again." He chuckled, his eyes folding into elegant crescents and a natural smile spreading across his mouth.
He's laughing so much! I think I finally understood how people felt about a nine-tailed fox.
I bit my lip tightly and tried to push his shoulder away. It took a lot of courage for me, as I'm weak to visual stimuli and the temptation of handsome men.
However, to my surprise, the laboratory door was thrown open with a loud bang, and a boy's voice rang out.
"Mel! I've finally saved Tern..."
I turned to meet Dominic's gaze as he entered.
Why does he look like he's seen a ghost?
As Dominic's words trailed off, I realized the current situation. I was holding hands with Isaac, and his face was right in front of mine. Anyone who saw this situation would think…
"Hey, what kind of promiscuity is this?" Dominic stood at the door, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Isaac, and then at our clasped hands. "What kind of trick is this?"
He strode over and grabbed Isaac's collar. "You scoundrel! You rude bastard! What are you doing to my young Mel!"
Young Mel? I'm an adult, you know.
"Calm down for a moment."
Dominic's face was flushed with misunderstanding, but Isaac still didn't let go of my hand.
"I think there's a misunderstanding."
He instead placed his hands on top of Dominic's to remove them. Dominic glared at Isaac and grabbed him by the back of the neck.
"...It's not forced, for now."
I thought that after listening to me, Dominic would drop his clenched fist. But Dominic looked at me and whispered seriously, "Mel. If you're being threatened, just blink."
He looked quite sincere, but there was one thing Dominic overlooked.
"Naturally, human eyes blink."
"Oh, that's right."
I decided to tell Dominic about our plan before he got even angrier.
"This is not just some casual thing..."
Actually, it is a 'casual' thing. I tried my best to ignore the voice in my head and continued. "We are carrying out an operation to capture Duke Hesman."
"That adulterous man?"
"Yes."
Dominic's expression still looked uncomfortable. However, he seemed to find some stability in the word "operation." Sitting right next to me, Dominic asked Isaac seriously, "What kind of operation is so strange? Mel is still young. Hmm, if Mel lives to be about a thousand years old, she can fall in love then."
...Those were the words of a thousand-year-old bachelor, so I couldn't refute them. Listening to Dominic's final words, it was clear that Isaac would face difficulties in his strategy. I sighed inwardly.
Isaac looked at us with a puzzled face and replied, "Dominic, you don't want Mel to be taken away."
Dominic crossed his arms and warned, "...No. Don't act as if you've seen through my heart. Just know that Mel and I are like brothers by blood."
When did we share blood? When did we sign a contract? I wanted to refute Dominic's words, but he was too serious.
Moreover, Isaac went one step further. He clasped my hand tighter and said, "I'm jealous because you said you shared blood."
Isaac grinned at Dominic. "Dominic, shall we talk for a moment?"
"I have no intention of having a conversation with an unscrupulous person like you."
Dominic seemed very tough, but Isaac did not back down.
"I have a good sword."
Dominic faltered. However, his mouth was still tightly closed. Isaac spoke again emphatically. "I also know an interesting story about the famous swords of the Tolton Mountains."
Dominic's eyes widened. I tilted my head inwardly.
What is the famous sword of the Tolton Mountains?
What was so special about the famous swords of the Tolton Mountains that it made Dominic's mouth open and his resistance suddenly disappear? But that was only for a short time. Dominic, who had looked so cheerful moments ago, was silent for a moment, then pretended to be indifferent and continued, "...It's just a sword."
Dominic, who was red to the tips of his ears, jumped up. He turned his back and headed toward the window, sneering as he lined up a few of the potions in his hand in the laboratory.
"Let's talk about the famous sword. It's just better not to think about convincing me. And take your hands off Mel."
What the heck? We're still holding hands? I hurriedly let go of Isaac's hand.
But Isaac didn't stop me. Instead, he whispered to me, "It's a fake relationship, but I feel like I'm being allowed to date."
"Uh..."
Dominic was neatly arranging the medicine near the dragon egg on the table in front of the window. Then Isaac whispered in a low voice that only I could hear. "It's good. It looks like you're really in a relationship."
It goes without saying that both of my cheeks turned red. I really care about everything you say, you rascal!
"So, before we talk about the famous sword..." Dominic turned his head after arranging all the medicines. His sharp gaze swept over the two of us. "What are your plans to catch Hesman?"
According to Isaac's initial plan, I went to the House of Babyloa with my knight. After stopping at a boutique to get dressed, I got out of the carriage with the Kinnoa family's seal, which the emperor had personally given me, and looked at the main gate of the Babyloa family.
"Marquis Meldenik Kinnoa."
The Babyloan knight, on alert, bowed his head to me and said, "I'll take you inside right away."
I held a golden invitation that looked like a ticket between my index and middle fingers, and flicked my hand. "Yes."
I entered the house, escorted by the knight. The huge corridors, the portraits of ancestors on the walls, and even the knights... Everything was just as gorgeous as before I left, but there was a subtly gloomy atmosphere. Even the faces of the servants walking down the hallway were not at ease. There were rumors that the head of the family was insane, and Sheria, who was likely to be the next head of the family, was in prison, so it was only natural that the atmosphere in the family would be subdued.
Everyone seems to feel a sense of crisis.
Before I knew it, the family's butler, who had followed me, continued cautiously, "All the senators who invited the Marquis are inside. They are listening comfortably."
I stopped and looked back at the butler.
What's wrong? He was the same one who tormented me when I was in the House of Babylon.
"Meldenik is always a slow learner, unlike a noble family. Compared to Sheria, she is far from enough."
The butler, who claimed to be Mrs. Hildegard's confidant, used to belittle me. I was amused to see him sneering at me now.
I asked, remaining calm and pointing to a large room in the corner of the hallway. "That's the reception room, right?"
"Yes."
"Go in."
I watched the servant open the door and walked in front of him confidently.
Shall we catch two rabbits from now on?
The fact that the Senate invited me today was also based on Isaac's thorough calculations. He had told me a trick to use the Senate to get the Marquis of Kinnoa's property back.
"The time has come to implement the method of seizing the property of the Marquis Kinnoa and Lennox."
Isaac handed one of the elders false information: that he had evidence that would decisively bring down the Babylonian family. Normally, they would have doubted the authenticity of the information, but now that the family's survival was uncertain, the elders' reason had been half-blown away. To them, I was the great person who brought down Sheria Babylois and trampled on Duke Hesman. It wouldn't be surprising that I knew about the Babylonian family's corruption. The elders, who were sick of false rumors, wanted to meet me and try to appease me for a while.
I didn't expect the Babyloan Senate to contact me so soon.
It was obvious that they would have to find out if there was real evidence of the family's corruption and try to threaten or appease me.
Suddenly, I remembered the first time I decided to leave my family and open a stationery store. On the day I was kicked out for money, the people of this family cursed at me as I left. But now a lot of things have changed.
"Marquis Meldenik Yves Kinnoa is here."
I looked at the faces of the elders who were waiting for me in the drawing room and jumped. There were old elders with gray hair and age spots on their faces, and there were elders who were relatively young and flexible in their thinking. However, they had one thing in common: They blamed me. When Meldenik's mother died and I was kicked out of the family, they were the first to point fingers.
"Long time no see, everyone."
I greeted them with a big smile. It was a splendid return that no one could have imagined in the past.