The Duchess of the Attic

"Is that... you mean with Claude's family?

Surprised by Claude's words, Opal gained momentum and got out of his arms.

Then I look seriously at Claude and ask.

Then Claude smiled bitterly and shook his neck to the side.

"A little different. He wants you to marry me."

Opal touched his own ear wondering if he had misheard.

That's not why I know what it is.

Claude solicited more as he saw the opal obviously wandering.

"I like Opal. Long time ago. But it was too disproportionate, and I wasn't really going to confess. Nevertheless, twice before, I have asked the Count to marry Opal"

"It's..."

"You heard from the Count, didn't you?

"Yep... the other day..."

"The other day... That's not cool..."

To Claude's confession, Opal was full of breasts, unable to respond well.

Of course I was glad to hear from my father, but I honestly wasn't happy because of my regrets for my stupid self and the thought that the rest might come from sympathy.

But now Claude told me he likes Opal.

I'm glad to hear that. That was enough.

"I was going to take the right steps then. But the truth is, I just didn't have the courage to confess to Opal. So now I'm going to say it right in person. Many times. Opal, marry me."

"... I can't do that."

"After all, are you nasty now?

"That's not true. But..."

"But what? We're friends, so we can't?

I was incredibly happy with the proposal from Claude.

So much so that it seems possible to jump off this great rock with the force that springs from within your body.

Still Opal lay his eyes down and summoned reason to say no, but Claude wouldn't back down.

"You don't like me?

"No way!"

"So you like me?

"... Claude, we have this, like, child-dyed interaction - eh!?

Opal's words in an attempt to persuade him were suddenly interrupted by Claude's kiss.

My first kiss with Claude was very comfortable and Opal wondered if this was a real kiss and returned it to me.

"Claude!"

"Didn't you like it?

"- Oh, come on, this place is so beautiful!

"I know. It's convenient to be marked from anywhere."

"So what if someone was watching you!

"What, you care about your reputation?

"I don't have a reputation to worry about, I do. But Claude needs to get married from now on..."

Claude doesn't look like he cared at all about Opal's protest either.

Claude hugs Opal again, who is angry and sad and gradually loses momentum.

"I'm gonna marry you, so everyone's gonna take a big look at this."

"... hey, were you listening to me?

"I've heard enough. Opal hates lies for a long time, and when he really has to throw up lies, he deflects his attention, and so does the story. So, Opal likes me, you mean he wants to get married, right?

The much-spoken opal hurriedly escaped the scene as he pushed Claude over.

But it was unstable on the rock, and Claude caught me jumping from the big rock onto a slightly larger rock instead of scaffolding.

"Don't be impotent, Opal. Me and you, we're already losing strength. You said it yourself, didn't you?

"That's right. So... I can't."

"What?

Not as good as when we climb, but we're lightly out of breath with each other.

The only reason Opal's palpitations were so intense was because he was being held harder by Claude than earlier.

I want you to free yourself from this torture already, but Claude's not going to forgive me.

"Claude, now that you're the Marquis... you'll need a succession, won't you? But I'm almost twenty-seven, and the kid..."

"What I need is an opal, not a heir. What I want is an opal, not a heir. Okay?"

"That's not the problem."

"That's the problem. Still stubborn, aren't you? Just say we're getting married."

"I won't tell."

What didn't bother me so much about Hubert makes me very concerned about Claude.

I wanted to have a child of whomever I wanted, if possible - Claude's child.

But given my age, I was scared.

And yet, Claude doesn't try to pull it off.

"Okay. So you want me to return the Marquis?

"It's not good! If I did that, my aunt - what would your family think! Besides, Claude will surely be a fine lord, and the people will be in trouble!

"But if Opal won't marry me, I'll be in trouble"

It doesn't work if Opal is mad at Claude for saying something terrible.

Claude's stubborn enough, too, but he doesn't seem conscious.

"You know, I also have a small piece of land that needs to be managed. I started having dogs, and I had a lot of other things to do."

"Well, I'll live over here with Opal, and I'll be back over there once in a while."

"Then I should go home now and then, shouldn't I?

"All right, let's do that. That's a decision."

I'm not good at trying to convince Claude somehow.

On the contrary, as soon as I accidentally get into Claude proposing an easy solution, it becomes a matter of decision.

"Hey, Claude. I didn't say I was getting married."

"Still, you will, won't you? So look at me, Opal."

Now even if you want to run away, you're still held tight, and you can't run away.

Hounded Opal finally surrendered and raised his face.

Then Claude smiles happily with an eye wrinkle he never used to have.

I kind of regretted it, and Opal told me a secret to keep.

"The dog I started owning is named Claude."

"... Any name changes?

"No, you can't. He's a prankster and he's still in the middle of something, but he only remembered his name. It's true that the worse you do, the cuter you are."

"... I'll accept it"

Opal laughed when he saw Claude sighing like he'd given up.

Claude then deliberately glances at his face and again hugs and kisses Opal hard.

And Opal understood that this was the real kiss.

That's right, Claude was also helping me out in that overly scenic place.

Opal floated with Naja on her first voyage and was just overwhelmed by the prosperity of her first exotic land - the kingdom of Tysey.

Travel by passenger rail from port to Wangdu.

Although it had been a strong country for a long time, the kingdom had developed to such an extent that it did not think it had been rough with the plague and civil war eight years earlier.

The technical skills of this country were meant to be known in man-testing, but they were still sweet.

This certainly also convinces me that the social community became noisy when the engagement of Opal and the Marquis Roussel of the Kingdom of Tysey was announced.

With Opal, who was finally able to live quietly, many more invitations came after the engagement was announced.

But those seemed clear at the bottom of my mind that I wanted to get close to the Marquis Roussel, and Claude and I gave a no reply to everything laughing.

Apparently no one has noticed yet that Claude, the Baron's three sons, is the Marquis of Roussel, and not a single one has been delivered to Claude.

That's the same with Hubert, who asked his father several times when those two had become so close.

But without answering, my father advised me that I should think about myself and my future family, because Opal's personal affairs were no longer relevant.

Hubert said he's been completely quiet since then, and some of the social community seems to take a downward look, but both Opal and Claude had decided to ignore it.

(I don't mind, but I'll have to show my face to the social community in that country from now on, and I'll have another chance to see the Duke, won't I? One of these days you'll know who the Marquis Roussel is...)

Opal is an investor in man-testing and is not out of touch with Hubert.

Plus, I just started an organization for women, so from now on, I'll have to be in a social setting to solicit donations.

At that time, the train arrived at the station, just thinking that we should talk about what was needed.

And the Opals, who got off the train, broke up with the barons and their wives and boarded the three carriages of the Marquis family that Claude had prepared.

Claude joins Opal, Naja and the dog Claude in a carriage to the Marquis residence of Roussel in the King's Capital.

Eventually, when the carriage began to run, both Opal and Naja were just admiring the streets seen through the windows.

The dog Claude is in the carriage because he was put in a gauge on board and on the train, or in the carriage he sleeps snuggly in his seat and puts his jaw on Claude's lap.

The human Claude was in a subtle mood and was silent for a while, but opened his mouth remembering what he had to talk about before he got married.

"Speaking of which, I forgot to tell you, on my way home this time, I was telling His Majesty that I would not return to this country until I had been acquainted with my marriage."

To Claude's sudden confession, Opal returned consciousness to the car in surprise.

Naja keeps a peek out the window whether she cares or not.

"... what were the aunts going to do?

"We're all adults, so you can act on your own as long as you have arrangements in place. More than that, now it was my intention not to hesitate to dictate Opal. I thought quite a bit about how I could get out of just childhood taming. Well, if it hadn't worked out, grab it, but I'd have brought you to this country and spoken to you again."

"Claude... grabbing people is a felony."

"It's okay. Your Majesty said it." Then grab that childhood, but come back. "

"... I heard His Majesty the King of the kingdom of Tysey was a very fine man"

"He's a fine man. So here's the deal."

"Do you still have it?

"It's no big deal. Your Majesty is supposed to give me the Duke when I return, as a condition of leaving this country. I don't want to, but the previous commotion has reduced the number of Aristocrats, so there's more."

"I don't think it's a problem to have extra... So, Claude's gonna be the Duke?

"In this country. So Opal will be Duchess again. More territory, but it would help if you could manage it together."

"That's... of course, I'll try, but... I'm anxious."

"Don't worry about it. You two would be fine, wouldn't you? Besides, Opal is good at territorial management, and I'm a fruit payer."

"... being a duke and having more territory... big deal..."

While Opal was stunned by what he had just heard, the carriage arrived at the Marquis de Roussel residence.

When Opal gets off the carriage with Claude's hand, the Baroness, who had arrived earlier, is having an inspiring reunion with the familiar deacons and servants.

The family left it to their mother to decide it was okay, and Claude began explaining alongside Opal looking up at the Marquis Mansion.

The dog claude has gone up and down the stairs.

"This is the Mansion in the King's Capital since the time the Roussels were Earls, and half the servants have not changed. But I'm sorry about your mother, but it was a little inconvenient, so I modernized it."

"... very, very nice."

"I'm glad you think so. But if you try living it, maybe not, so you can always tell me if you're unhappy. I'll fix it again."

Opal looked up at the Marquis de Roussel mansion, but there was a figure in his brain of the Duke of McCloud mansion that he looked up on that day of separation.

For this reason, Opal answered blurry, but consciousness returns to the present with the words of Claude that followed.

"I'm sure I'm not dissatisfied. And... the attic seems comfortable to live in."

"Oh. No matter how much attic it is, it would feel better to have bigger windows if we were to use it as a room, wouldn't it?

"Right. That's for sure."

Opal, who answered confidently, turned his full grin toward Claude.

Having seen that smile, Claude raises one eyebrow as she asks.

Because I know Opal very well, I think I realized it meant something.

"Sometimes it's fun to cage in the attic,"

"Then I'll have a cage with you."

Without surprise at Opal's words, Claude answered with a grin.

In that claude-like return, Opal laughed out loud.

If it is indeed Claude, we will surely enjoy it together no matter what happens next.

The memories are - living in the attic willingly, you should talk about it one of these days.

Claude would laugh at me again and ask.

So now you just have to look forward.

Opal, smiling with Claude, went up the stairs step by step to the mansion where the two of us were going to live.