It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 145
Of course, in the novel, there was no such scene where Lionel barged in during the act.
Isn’t that always how these things always go?
The tension lies in the thrill of almost getting caught, and no reader actually wants to see characters flounder in shame because they were really found out.
Lines like, “What do you think Lionel would say if he saw this?” or “The bed reeks of your lewd scent. There’s no way he won’t notice.” Dantère torments Vivian with words like that, but they’re only words.
Dantère had been certain Lionel wouldn’t return home that night. Because he was so familiar with the servants, he’d quickly picked up on the atmosphere in the mansion.
He might have intended, at the start, to actually show Lionel the scene, but in the end, he only went through with it once he confirmed the bedroom’s owner wouldn’t be there.
Cruel and soft at once, reckless and still a coward. That was typical of Dantère.
He even went so far as to eliminate all evidence afterwards, changing the dirty sheets and covers with fresh ones once it was over.
And knowing all of this from having read the original novel, I had no choice but to stop Lionel.
‘What was I supposed to do?’
If he burst in now and kicked Vivian and Dantère out of the bedroom, who would clean up the mess? He couldn’t exactly wake the maids in the middle of the night.
And leaving it there until morning felt just as unpleasant.
It was better, then, to let them finish and clean up after themselves.
Besides, there had to be a reason Lionel allowed Dantère and Ardin to come and go through the mansion as they pleased.
Just as Ardin was necessary for mana stone refinement, Dantère, too, must have had some kind of role.
It would be better for Lionel to deal with this after he’d cooled down, when he could think clearly, and not when his anger was boiling over like now.
‘How should I phrase this?’
I couldn’t just tell Lionel the truth outright, not when he was already furious. I glanced up at him, trying to read his mood.
‘How can I say this in a way that he wouldn’t find it strange?’
Then, a thought flashed through my mind, and I spoke carefully.
“…Because I don’t want you seeing another woman’s naked body besides mine.”
Technically, it was his sister’s body, but what lived inside it was a stranger, a possessor whose identity was unknown. So it wasn’t wrong to see her as someone else entirely.
Which meant there was nothing odd about me expressing jealousy.
“Ah…”
At my petulant little complaint, Lionel’s hardened expression softened in an instant.
“I see.”
“Let’s just scold them properly tomorrow, okay?”
“All right. We’ll do that.”
His voice had lightened, and seeing him like that made me smile, too.
‘Lionel really does like it when I’m jealous.’
To be honest, I liked it too.
When Lionel showed jealousy toward Halid, it flustered me, but it also made me happy. It meant he cared that much about me.
“Still… there’s only one bathroom. What should we do? Should we bathe together again like yesterday?”
I tilted my head, voice lilting.
It wasn’t that I was trying to seduce him because I craved something. I just… didn’t want to be apart from him. Not even for a moment.
“That would be best, since you need to rest soon.”
Lionel answered at once, stepping toward me as he began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt with one hand.
Naturally, I handed him my dress.
The ribbons at the back, which had been tied neatly when I dressed that morning, had already loosened from what we’d done in the carriage. Thanks to that, the dress slipped off easily.
I undid my garter and slipped off my stockings and petticoat. Only my undergarments remained when Lionel suddenly swept me into his arms and strode toward the bathroom.
