A Villainous Aristocrat’s Pursuit of Peace ~ Reincarnated as the Most Talented Mage in History, I’ll Achieve Supremacy in order to live a peaceful life with My Maid~

It was during my suspension from school when I was enjoying my “vacation” of sorts. It seemed like school was also on break that day, and from the morning, Rud and Sasha, the silly couple, were at my lodging.

At first, I thought I wouldn’t want them to turn my room into their playground, but I started to think that it wasn’t such a bad idea to have some fun like this.

Well, I wouldn’t say that out loud because they would probably come over every day if I did.

Apparently, their parents approved of their relationship, but the nobles around them found it troublesome, so they couldn’t go out together without facing various dangers. That’s where my lodging came in handy.

Even though I’m from the Duke’s family, most people tend to steer clear when I’m around.

And just like always, as Mea and I were training to control natural mana together, Rud suddenly brought up something like this.

“Hey… we haven’t played outside at all recently.”

“That’s unavoidable, Rud. We should be grateful for being allowed to use this place.”

Sasha, who responded with a “Meow” to Rud, was adorable, even in my eyes, who was devoted to Mea.

Yeah, Rud really found himself a great wife.

“That’s right. You should be grateful to me for letting you in here every day.”

“I’m the one who cleans up the room, though.”

“That’s an unspoken agreement!”

I retorted in a hushed voice, and Mea chuckled at my reaction.

Ah… what a wonderful everyday life. This is it, exactly what I’ve been wishing for since I was reincarnated.

But as Rud said… it’s true that I haven’t played outside at all recently. Alright!

“Today, let’s go shopping! Rud said he’ll carry all the bags.”

When I said that, Rud, who was leisurely drinking tea, choked and looked at me with tears in his eyes.

“Darn it… you remembered… I thought you had forgotten…”

“Who would forget? I never want to carry your bags ever again.”

“I feel the same—huh!?”

Rud let out a small scream and looked to the side, where Sasha was smiling darkly.

“Rud… you were thinking that…? I bought them for you…”

“O-of course, I’ll let you carry them. Ahaha, ahahaha…”

Ignoring Rud’s wry smile, I turned to look at Mea.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?” She tilted her head with a puzzled expression.

“No… I just thought today, too, Mea looks incredibly beautiful,” I replied.

“…Ambushing me like that is unfair, Jin-sama,” blushing slightly, Mea said, looking adorable.

As I smiled at Mea, I heard a voice from somewhere.

“…They’re not even dating, but I can feel a strong sense of freshness in their relationship.”

“Yeah… it’s uncomfortable having such a lovey-dovey couple nearby.”

Don’t say that, it’s you who shouldn’t be talking.

I mentally retorted while listening to the conversation of the two lovebirds.

“…So we came here, but what do you want to do?”

In the end, we had ventured into the capital city because we were bored just staying in our room. However, it was frustrating with a lovey-dovey couple right in front of us, completely ignoring my words.

They even held hands to flaunt it… I’ve never even held hands properly before…

To be honest, I envy the couple in front of me. It might be the first time since coming to this world that I’ve felt jealous of someone else.

“Ugh… they’re radiating ‘relationship goals.'”

I couldn’t help muttering under my breath. Fortunately, it seemed like no one heard me, and there was no response, which was somewhat irritating in itself.

As I tried to divert my gaze from the scene in front of me, I saw Mea looking at my hand intently.

…What is this creature? She’s way too cute. She’s gone beyond being an angel; she’s a goddess. Oh, that frustrated expression is adorable too…

I let my face relax and gazed at her, and she noticed it, and our eyes met directly. However, neither of us looked away. Furthermore, we both simultaneously looked at our own hands.

Huff… I guess I, as the man, should take the lead here.

Listening to the pounding of my heart in my chest, I gathered my courage and held Mea’s hand. We couldn’t do the typical lovers’ hand-holding, but her hand was warm and small.

“!? … Th-thank you…”

“N-no, thank you…”

I focused on our hands for a while, and for some reason, Mea blushed crimson and stammered her thanks. Normally, I would have teased her with something like, “Why are you thanking me?” but I was too nervous at the moment, so I couldn’t come up with a witty response. Well, there was no helping it.

Both of us, feeling embarrassed but not letting go of each other’s hands, followed the lovey-dovey couple in front of us.

“…They really are full of that fresh new-relationship energy.”

“Yeah, they both look so embarrassed. But they won’t let go of each other… I guess ‘silly couple’ really does exist…”

So, I really don’t want to hear this from you two.