Our Summer Is Not Over - vanish into fiction

It seemed Dylan understood that the reason for Mia’s strange reaction was because Jose knew about ‘Mia Blair’ as a person.

“Was there something else between you and the fourth prince?”

“…No, of course not. He just happened to find out about my identity, and thinking of his usual behavior made me anxious, that’s all.”

Dylan did not press further.

Mia was relieved at that. She didn’t think he fully believed her. But the fact that he didn’t ask for more details meant he would let it go for now, so there was no need to stir up trouble by bringing it up again.

She looked at Dylan as he let out a quiet sigh. His bright blue eyes met hers for a moment, then Dylan spoke calmly.

“Go back to the annex first.”

“But I haven’t tried on the finished dress yet.”

“I’ll check it for you. You’ve already had enough to deal with today over something you didn’t even want.”

“That may be, but…”

“It looks like today’s work has piled up, so I won’t be able to go to bed early. Don’t wait for me. Go ahead and sleep first.”

Before Mia could say any more, Dylan stood up.

When she didn’t make any move, he took her hand and pulled her up. She looked up in surprise, and when their eyes met, Dylan leaned in and kissed her, as if saying goodbye.

The lips that had drawn near lightly didn’t part once they touched. Dylan kept his gaze fixed on Mia. Without realizing it, she closed her eyes and parted her lips, and his warm tongue slipped inside.

It was gentle and soft, nothing aggressive or dizzying.

Mia didn’t pull away, instead holding tightly to Dylan’s arm.

That kiss felt like comfort from him. As if, not knowing anything or the full story, he was telling her it would be alright. That everything would be alright.

The kiss was slow and sincere, so much so that Mia could feel every bump on his tongue. When it finally ended, Dylan slowly pulled away. With an indifferent gesture, he wiped the saliva from the corners of Mia’s lips with a handkerchief, then wiped his own.

After finishing this sequence of actions with no wasted motion, Dylan, in his usual detached manner, practically pushed her out of the sitting room.

“Hurry back and get some rest.”

It wasn’t until Mia heard the door close behind her that she realized she was out in the hallway.

At the same time, her mind flashed back to the kiss with Dylan. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t seen everything there was to see between them, so something like this shouldn’t have been embarrassing.

Still, it was oddly ticklish and strange.

It was the kind of gesture that didn’t suit someone so blunt-faced. Mia pressed a hand to her chest.

Her heart thudded low in her chest, and she couldn’t tell if it was from the anxiety Jose had caused or from Dylan’s ticklish behavior.

For some reason, it felt as if her heart was beating in her mouth.

* * *

“He really must be busy.”

Dylan didn’t come to the bedroom, even late into the night. He hadn’t seemed this busy even when she’d pressured him some days ago, so it seemed urgent work had piled up.

Shaking her head, Mia tried to brush aside thoughts of Dylan.

Not that it was much, but she also had things to do. She didn’t have any official duties as the Duchess of Rihardt, but she was managing the residence herself. It was work she had been doing for the three years Dylan was gone.

“I believe I need to draw up the paperwork regarding the staff salaries today—could you please bring the relevant documents to my study?”

Before heading to her office, Mia turned to the servant waiting outside her room and asked for the materials she needed.

As always, she expected a simple ‘yes’, but the servant replied awkwardly.

“Madam, His Grace took all those documents and materials with him yesterday.”

“…What?”

“He also told me to let you know that, from now on, he’ll be handling all related matters himself, and you can rest easy.”

Mia could not quite process what she had just heard.

Dylan had taken over her work? Why on earth?

He should be busy enough already as both the Duke of Rihardt and Admiral of the Navy. Instead of reducing his workload, he had personally taken on something he didn’t even need to care about, which Mia couldn’t understand.

She had no intention of being a burden to him, so she would have to talk to Dylan and ask for her responsibilities back.