Something big and hard was poking her butt through the thin fabric. Damia was puzzled and twisted her ass a little. It was unfamiliar, but it was a strange feeling –she had experienced such a sensation at least once before.

Confused as to what was against her, Damia moved her buttocks once again to figure out the identity of this feeling. In desperation, arms stretched out from behind her, grabbed her waist tightly, and growled small.

“Stay still, Damia.”

The nervous voice held tones of urgency. The moment she heard it, Damia realized —What was touching her ass.

“……!!”

Instantly, Damia’s cheeks grew hot, and she stiffened her body awkwardly without knowing what to do. The man’s large body was against her back, and the masculine forearms wrapped around the waist were of particular concern.

It was that moment. Louise Ferira opened the door.

“It’s a big deal. Cesare has to come back from Daeshin as soon as possible.”

“I can’t help it. He’s going to get the ‘stuff’. It’ll be hard to come back until I get it.”

Stuff? Damia narrowed her eyes. She knew that Cesare was in Daeshin now.

‘But I thought you went to tell my father.’

However, listening to Louise’s words, Cesare seemed to have gone to get something. He was a human being who could not always be vigilant.

Damia held her breath, and she continued to listen to them. Fortunately, they didn’t realize people were hiding in the locker. Akkard, who was also interested in conversation, and did not disturb Damia anymore. This made it easier to listen to the discussion.

“It’s very difficult. You have to get Cecil Evergreen as soon as possible, but to do that, Cesare has to return.”

The next moment, her friend’s name popped out of Louise’s mouth. Damia couldn’t understand why Cecil was mentioned here. Then the man kicked her tongue just in time and blamed Lousie.

“I’m sure you’ll get along with her. I don’t know why it’s so hard to get acquainted with each other.”

“It’s easier said than done! Cecil is that foxy girl’s friend! Surely she must have said something to Cecil.”

Louise bit her thumbnails and gritted her teeth. Damia smiled, knowing what she was talking about.

She was right that Cecil hated Louise. But that wasn’t the fault of Damia. Louise pursued Cecil too tenaciously and tried to get her to do what she wanted. Cecil was exposed to her neurosis.

‘But I thought it was because Cecil was my friend.’

When Louise was a child, she had been trying to take her Kael away from her, so Damia thought it was the same for Cecil. But now that she heard this conversation… it seemed Louise approached Cecil with some other intention in mind—rather than pettiness.

“Anyway, now I have no choice but to wait for Cesare while looking at the trends.”

“Wait until the goods come from the temple?”

“That’s right. Once you feed Cecil Evergreen… then it’s over.”

Louise’s fierce voice showed a triumphant look, and Damia, who was listening to her, bit her lips. She was fearful that something terrible would happen to her dear friend.

Then the man across from her Louise suddenly opened his mouth.

“Why do you look forward to it so much? Is it because you like obeying Cesare?”

“So? Is there another reason?”

“I think there is.”

“What are you talking about, huh?”

A dark shadow came to Louise’s voice. Her temper was hard to deal with, but the man was a bit different, so he casually scratched a sore spot.

“You don’t know? Don’t you know Sister Damia?”

Damier opened her eyes wide at her name flowing out of his mouth.

‘Who is it?’

Is there anyone who could call her sister? An only daughter, Damia, was puzzled. She stuck closer to the door and looked at the face of the man talking to Louise. And she soon found out who he was.

‘Klaus Hari?’

Klaus, the only son of Count Harry, had a unique and subtle appearance, mixed with blood from the West and East continents because his mother was from the East.

Damia’s father ran several businesses, including items that were delivered on Klaus’s mother’s behalf. And one of them was the tea leaf business with Count Harry.

Because of this, he sometimes followed his father to Count Harry’s. Damia and Klaus, who had no siblings, quickly became friends, so they had a pretty good relationship until puberty came. Maybe it would be nice to call him a childhood friend.

‘Although it is all in the past.’

Adolescence, like measles, transformed heterosexual relationships into a different form than before. Klaus gradually began to distance himself from her, and after a few years, they even ceased to talk to each other.

It was a pity. But Damia didn’t really care. At the time, she was too overwhelmed and aware of her first love, Kael.

***