In the restroom of the Order's guard post, it was so quiet that only the steady drip of the faucet could be heard.
Carlotta submerged her entire face into the sink. The biting cold water enveloped her skin as she tried to extinguish those restless, flickering sparks deep within her heart.
Only after several long seconds did she abruptly lift her head. Water droplets slid down the ends of her hair and splattered into tiny droplets on the floor.
She braced her hands against the cold edge of the counter and gasped for air.
In the mirror, the girl's cheeks were tinged with an unnatural flush, her eyes glistening, her chest heaving violently with each breath.
Everything that had just happened flooded uncontrollably back into her mind.
Why… did I have such strange thoughts?
I even… said such shameful things.
That's not right. I'm not like that at all!
I am the Second Young Miss of House Montelli, the next head of the family!
How could I… have such strange thoughts?
No. I'm supposed to be the one in control of everything!
She drew a deep breath, struggling to calm the churning emotions in her chest. Slowly, she lowered her dripping hands and looked back at her reflection.
But in the next instant, her memory betrayed her once more, the image of herself, weak and helpless, cornered against the wall by Ray, surfaced vividly before her eyes.
She couldn't lie to herself. In that moment, completely engulfed by his overwhelming presence, the runaway pounding in her chest had indeed carried a certain secret, hidden anticipation.
"C-could it be…"
"That I actually… yearn to be treated that way…"
Once this thought surfaced, she could no longer suppress it.
She suddenly realized that even those seemingly casual, intimate moments they usually shared seemed to be the same.
Being pinned beneath him as he thrust into her, all her struggles rendered utterly futile, that strange sense of security instead brought her a satisfaction she had never known before.
"Mm…!"
The girl abruptly covered her flushed face with her hands and shook her head violently, as if doing so could hurl those shameful thoughts completely out of her mind.
That's right. It was just an accident.
It had to be just an accident!
"Lady Carlotta, are you alright? Do you need any help?"
Phoebe's gentle voice suddenly drifted in from outside the door.
Carlotta gave a small start and quickly reined in the emotions swirling in her eyes.
She adjusted her temple hair one last time in the mirror, took a deep breath, and put back on the elegant mask befitting the Second Young Miss of House Montelli.
"I'm fine."
By the time she pushed the door open, she had already reverted to the composed, dignified lady of the house she always was.
Phoebe was standing in the hallway, clutching her ornate cane. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but the words timidly retreated back down her throat before they could escape. In the end, she simply hung her head and stared blankly at the tips of her shoes.
Carlotta took all of this in.
If she were being honest, she bore no ill will toward Phoebe.
It was just…
She occasionally got jealous, that was all.
"Where's Ray?" Carlotta asked.
Phoebe lifted her head and answered timidly, "He's already left with Miss Zani."
The thought that she had actually agreed to let Ray go see Cantarella made Carlotta sigh inwardly. In the past, she would never have allowed such a thing.
But now…
She gathered her thoughts and turned her gaze toward the bashful girl beside her. "You should be off duty by now, right?"
Phoebe blinked, unconsciously clutching the cane in her arms a little tighter. "Mm, more or less. What is it, Lady Carlotta?"
"Would you like to go grab a late-night snack together at the Margherita Family Restaurant?" Carlotta tried her best to keep her tone casual.
Though the situation at hand was urgent, she held absolute trust in Ray, that man always managed to turn peril into safety.
Besides, when it came to matters concerning the Fisalia family, her position made it truly inconvenient to interfere.
Right now, aside from waiting, perhaps the only thing she could do was to build a better relationship with the "sister" before her.
As was well known, the relationship between House Montelli and the Order had always been like fire and water.
Carlotta had always intended to cultivate factions within the Order that were favorably disposed toward her family. She simply hadn't found a suitable angle of approach.
But now…
Wasn't there a perfect candidate right here?
That guy Ray clearly cared deeply about Phoebe. They had likely even been physically intimate already… In that case, why not go with the flow and turn this connection into leverage?
Helping Phoebe gain a firm foothold within the Order would undoubtedly bring more benefits than drawbacks to House Montelli's future plans.
After all, Phoebe surely wouldn't make things difficult for her "good sister," would she?
"Eh, right now?" Phoebe was still quite visibly surprised to hear that Carlotta was actually inviting her out on her own initiative. "Well… I suppose it's fine."
"Then let's go." Carlotta turned around, but then stopped and looked back as if something had just occurred to her. She asked, without much thought, "Oh, by the way, have you and Ray… done it already?"
"D-Done it—?!" Phoebe's face instantly flushed scarlet, her voice shrinking to the barest whisper. "Th-this kind of topic… maybe we should talk about something else…"
"Change the topic? Very well." Carlotta nodded agreeably, but a hint of slyness flickered through the depths of her eyes. "Then let's discuss serious matters. Phoebe, what are your thoughts on… the position of Primus?"
Phoebe was so stunned that her mouth fell slightly open, as if she had just heard some utterly preposterous proposal.
She stood frozen for a long moment before finally finding her voice again. "Um… Lady Carlotta… perhaps… we should go back to the previous topic… Actually, talking about that sort of thing… I don't think it's such a big deal after all."
...
...
"So the Young Miss is into that kind of thing?" Ray sat in the passenger seat, staring at the scenery flitting past outside the car window, murmuring quietly to himself.
In the driver's seat, Zani yawned lazily, her fingertips tapping lightly against the steering wheel.
"I really didn't expect it either." Her voice carried a hint of amusement. "That ever-so-elegant and poised Young Miss, actually saying something like that. Is this what they call a contrast?"
She shot Ray a sidelong glance, a meaningful arc curving at the corner of her lips.
"Isn't that exactly what you men like? A noble lady, unattainably out of reach in public, only to reveal a flustered, bashful side in front of you alone… Come on, tell me, what exactly did you do to our Young Miss? How did you manage to 'train' her so… completely different?"
Ray turned his head back helplessly, the light and shadows from outside flowing through his eyes.
"Don't make me sound like some kind of pervert." He sighed, his tone tinged with a note of resignation. "I've never done anything out of line to Carlotta. Besides, gossiping about your own boss like this behind her back, aren't you afraid she'll dock your pay and bonuses?"
"Isn't it just the two of us here?" Zani said with an indifferent shrug. "It's not like the Young Miss is going to find out. Oh, by the way, that stone tablet you and the Young Miss were talking about, what exactly is it? Is it really important?"
Ray nodded. "Yeah, you could say that. But it's hard to explain clearly in just a few words right now. When the time is right, I'll tell you everything from the beginning."
"Mm, I understand."