“I’m home, Agnes.”

“Um, er, Lord Na— Mnh?!” While I was still feeling bashful, Lord Nazel placed his hand around my back, embraced me tightly, and stole a kiss from me. My drowsiness was blown away in a second. “Ah! Wai— Mm!” I was really shaken up, but Lord Nazel did things his way like usual and didn’t seem to care at all. “Mh! Mnh!” I was so overwhelmed that I went red-faced and closed my eyes, but Lord Nazel was still merciless. He sighed.

“Open your mouth, will you?”

“No, stop it. Not out he— Fgh?!”

Lord Nazel placed one hand on my cheek and kept kissing me deeper and deeper. After a short pause, he slowly moved his lips away from mine.

“Heh heh, it’s adorable how you’re always shy no matter how much time passes, Agnes. You seem fully awake now, so let’s head back to the manor. There’s something I’d like to show you.” Lord Nazel took both my hands in his and helped me stand up, and then with his free hand he picked up both the now-empty sandwich basket and my canteen filled with herbal tea before walking across the garden.

We crossed a path surrounded by large flowers, which were in full bloom thanks to the dry season, and arrived at the kitchen’s rear entrance. Lately, we often used this entrance to come and go from the kitchen. We quickly went inside and came across Mather getting dinner ready. The entire room was filled with the aroma of vegetable broth—no doubt meant for soup—and the assistant maids were peeling a large number of potatoes. Did this unique, refreshing aroma belong to some kind of herb?

“Thank you for the tuber sandwiches, Mather. They were delicious. The same goes for the herbal tea.”

Mather smiled as she accepted the empty basket from Lord Nazel.

“I’m glad you enjoyed them. Please look forward to my next creations.”

“Yes, I’ll be eagerly waiting to try them out.” My appetite had been ravenous lately, so I really meant that.

I followed after Lord Nazel as he left the kitchen and headed toward his laboratory in the depths of our manor.

“Um, Lord Nazel? You d