Ⅲ
Jacqueline left the West Berlin Family's castle.
Catherine immediately sprawled against a cushion beside her, abandoning all decorum. Stuffed with sponge and goose feathers, the cushion rested on a broad armchair, its shape working with the chair's natural curve to provide wonderfully comfortable support.
Never underestimate the luxuries nobles enjoyed.
Once they possessed power and money, nobles enjoyed pleasures commoners could never imagine.
Take this cushion, for instance. Even if Arthur had the money, he would never buy one.
Rather than lounge against it, he would prefer to turn it into gold and have a taste.
Of course, being unwilling to buy one himself did not mean he couldn't enjoy it.
And so, to Catherine's surprise, Arthur lay right down in the armchair.
He even...
Took off his shoes.
The younger twin immediately froze.
Catherine had been prepared for Arthur to lecture her a little. She hated those useless formalities, but whenever other people saw her behaving so freely, they always felt compelled to say things like, "As the daughter of the Marquis of West Berlin, you should do this and that."
She had obeyed.
But that had only irritated her more.
So, after throwing caution to the wind, the younger twin had decided she would no longer listen to that nonsense.
She had even prepared her retorts.
Yet, looking at Arthur, the words reached her lips but simply refused to come out. After a couple of soundless murmurs, they finally became-
"Arthur, I like feeling this relaxed and free, but aren't we getting a little too relaxed?"
Lying there, Arthur bent his right leg, rested his left leg on his right knee, and began bouncing it rhythmically as he answered.
"It's fine. I'm not running around naked."
Catherine: ...
Yet barely a dozen seconds later, Catherine took off