A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke
chapter-ex5

“Should I take my shoes off first?”

Esther sat awkwardly in the middle since there was no set seat.

Admiration instantly leaped from Esther as she took off her shoes and carefully dipped her feet in.

“Wow.”

Esther looked to the side with wide eyes, and Noah did the same.

The two laughed at the fact that they felt the same thing.

“Very good. Warm.”

“I know. I wish I could move this to the imperial palace.”

Water continued bubbling out from the lower part of the hot spring where their feet touched.

Esther thought it was a little hot, but the warmth enveloped her feet and her fatigue was relieved.

“Honestly, I was worried before coming, but I’m glad I came.”

“You must be tired, you’ve been working continuously.”

“No. I’m having fun.”

Noah closed his eyes and looked at Esther enjoying the foot bath. Then a playful glint emerged in his eyes.

He scooped some water with his hand and splashed it on Esther’s lap.

“Oh, hot! You…!”

“I was wrong. Sorry. Sorry!”

Esther started splashing water just like Noah had done.

They couldn’t stop laughing as they kept splashing water on each other.

Then, Noah grabbed Esther’s hand as she was pouring water on her.

“It’s amazing being with you.”

“What?”

“If you think you can’t be happier than this, more always comes.”

Esther’s cheeks turned red at Noah’s frank expression.

Esther and Noah couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

As the atmosphere ripened, Noah slowly drew closer to Esther.

Swallowing dry saliva, Esther was about to close her eyes when she heard a clearing of the throat from behind.

“I… I brought tea.”

“Thank you.”

Stunned, the two of them turned away from each other.

The priestess left immediately, but they were so embarrassed that they could not continue what they were doing.

“Would you like a drink?”

“Yes.”

A pleasant conversation flowed while drinking herbal tea.

With their feet warmed and relaxed, they didn’t even know how the time went by.

“Look over there.”

“Can you see the moon?”

The shape of the moon was faintly visible in the sky, where the sun was slowly setting.

“Pretty.”

“You are prettier.”

Esther lay down on her back, glancing at Noah, who was only looking at her, never at the sky.

“You should lie down too.”

Noah complied, laying down and looking up at the sky.

A delightful situation where the feet were hot, the upper body was cool, and the reddish-purple sky was visible.

Esther, who was smiling happily, felt Noah’s gaze and turned her head towards him.

Then Noah twisted his upper body, raised himself halfway, and put his lips on hers.

“……!!”

Surprised, Esther’s eyes widened, but she did not avoid it.

Noah’s hands gently wrapped around Esther’s waist and face.

His wet hands touched her skin, and the coolness made her hair stand on end.

With trembling eyelashes, Esther closed her eyes tightly.

His kisses were deeper and longer than usual. She couldn’t come to her senses because he held her tight and didn’t let go.

After a while, Noah withdrew in regret.

Embarrassed, Esther shifted her gaze. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Noah.

Her long eyelashes were lowered. Her cheeks had a lovely shade of red.

Noah’s smile deepened as he looked at Esther, who reacted no different from when she was a child.

“Your face is red again, Esther.”

“It’s because it’s hot.”

“The water is hot.”

Esther was bothered by Noah’s hand, which was still holding her waist.

Besides, his face was too close. No, just all the parts that came into contact with him were hot.

Was the water in the hot spring hot, or was the body temperature high?

Thinking that she would melt away if she stayed any longer, Esther pushed Noah’s chest lightly.

“I want to get up.”

With a smile, Noah lifted Esther’s chin and lightly kissed her on the lips.

“Lift your feet up.”

When Esther calmly took her legs out of the hot spring, Noah caught it.

“What are you doing?”

“Wiping it.”

Noah unfolded the towel they had received from the priestess earlier and carefully wiped the moisture off Esther’s legs and feet.

This made Esther nervous and shy, and she gripped a part of her dress tightly.

“Done.”

“…Thank you.”

Noah took Esther’s shoes and put them on her feet.

As he did so, Esther’s eyes were fixed on him.

“Noah.”

“Huh?”

Noah, who was belatedly washing his legs and putting on his shoes, looked at Esther.

“I love you.”

Noah’s eyes widened.

It was not the first time she said it, but so far, it was because he expressed it first. This moment was simply thrilling.

Noah hugged Esther tightly.

“I love you more.”

The time they had here filled them with so much joy that they wondered if they could be this happy.

“Let’s go back now.”

After leaving the hot spring, the two ate dinner in the village and headed to the temple.

As they neared the temple, Esther sighed and muttered,

“I feel uncomfortable. They wouldn’t even dream that we are together.”

“Since the water has already been spilled, let’s only think about us for now. I’ll tell them when I get back.”

Noah offered to share the guilt and held Esther’s hand.

“…Okay.”

After the date, the two returned to the temple and got off the carriage.

“See you tomorrow.”

It was when Noah held Esther by the shoulder and lightly kissed her on the forehead.

Puck, the sound of a loud punch could be heard.

Noah and Esther turned their heads at the same time, with the feeling that they had made a big mistake.

…And Esther exclaimed in astonishment when she discovered someone who should never be here.

“Dad?”

“…….”

“…Why are you here?”

“I must ask His Highness the same question. Why are you here?”

Shocked, Noah stood still in a daze. Then he recognized reality and quickly lowered his head.

“Hello, Father.”

“I can’t say hello.”

Restless at Deheen’s cold voice, Esther intervened between the two men.

“What brings you here?”

“I came to make a donation to the temple.”

Esther knew right away that donation was an excuse and that he had come to see her.

She sighed and looked around.

“Did you come alone?”

“We came along too. Of course.”

The twins walked out from behind the tree. Fire was burning in their eyes.

The ferocity seemed as if it would never go away, so Noah gulped.

“I heard from the priest and hoped it wasn’t true… Explain why you are here.”

Anger resonated from Deheen.

If the opponent wasn’t Noah, he would have been on his knees right away.

“Dad. This is…”

“I asked His Highness.”

Esther wanted to explain, but Deheen blocked in a single strike.

“I stopped by because I had something to do nearby, and I remembered that Esther was there, so I came to see her.”

“When?”

“Yesterday.”

Deheen’s anger was tempered a little by the fact that Esther and Noah hadn’t been together all this while.

“Did you make an appointment to meet?”

“No. We made no promises.”

“Really, Dad. And I was going to tell you right away when I go back.”

When this situation happened after only two days of being with Noah, Esther began to feel it was unfair.

She didn’t do anything wrong, but they came without a word and created this situation.

“If you came yesterday… where did you sleep?”

“Of course, not in Esther’s bedroom. I was given a room on a different floor.”

“How many days were you planning on staying?”

“About a week…”

“Then would you have stayed together if I hadn’t come?”

“…….”

“It’s really disappointing. And Esther, you too. How did I raise you!”

Unable to bear the sight of Deheen hitting himself in the chest to express his feelings of betrayal, Esther raised her voice defiantly for the first time.

“If I told you, would you have let Noah and I be together?”

“That…”

Deheen couldn’t answer.

“You allowed our relationship. We just went on a date. I don’t think there’s anything to be angry about.”

At Esther’s first bold retort, Deheen was speechless.

Then Judy interjected, snorting loudly.

“All men are the same. You have to be careful.”

“Brother is a man too.”

“I am not a man, I am your brother.”

“Yes, Esther. This time, you’re in the wrong. Don’t meet secretly from now on.”

When even Dennis spoke in an old-fashioned way, Esther reached her boiling point. Placing her hands on her waist, she shouted,

“I heard that you two are dating too! You still didn’t tell me. Now that I think about it, you often stayed out. Why am I the only one not allowed to do anything?”

Then, Judy and Dennis averted their gaze with sullen expressions.

“I didn’t sleep out. That’s Judy.”

“Hey! You met the lady more than me. This flirt…”

The content of their words was irrelevant.

Esther turned away from her brothers and raised her voice.

“I am now 23-years-old. Please respect this much. All the ladies from other families are married… I can’t get married if you’re overprotective like this.”

“That would be better.”

Esther glanced at Dennis, who was muttering behind her, then at Judy, who was agreeing with him.

At this time, Noah, who had been bowing his head like a sinner the whole time, raised his head.

“I didn’t and won’t do anything that is shameful. So I won’t even apologize. Meeting Esther is not something to be rebuked for.”

Faced with Noah’s steadfast and direct gaze and firm confrontation, Deheen grabbed the back of his neck.

But on the other hand, he thought that the time had really come.

Noah wouldn’t be very trustworthy if he kept looking at him even after he allowed them to date. If it’s like that, how could he hand Esther over?

A satisfied smile appeared on Deheen’s face, pleased with Noah’s dignified appearance.

‘You’ve finally become reliable.’

‘I knew this moment would come, from the time I allowed you two to date years ago.’

In order to hide his smile, Deheen deliberately turned around coldly.

“…It’s late. Let’s go to bed today. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Dad.”

“See you tomorrow too!”

The corner of Deheen’s mouth twitched higher at Esther’s cute call, which was an attempt to relieve his anger, but he never looked back.

It was his last petulant act.

Ame: I was gleefully rubbing my hands in delight, grabbing the popcorn and going “ahahaha caught in 4K!” Then I reached the part where Esther went, “We’re not doing anything wrong!” That’s when I remember my poor friend and her husband, even after 5 years of marriage, all their weekends and holidays are interrupted by her parents who just can’t seem to let go of their daughter ;-;