I thought you sensed me already, so I jumped at you since I missed you too." Claire said, her voice coquettish and her soft mounds pressed on Arlott's chest.
Feeling the warmth he never had, Arlott felt his breath getting unusually heavy.
'Hah… it doesn't feel bad…'
But in order not to break his character, he hardened his mind and pushed off Claire, looking at her with cold eyes.
In response to his cold eyes, Claire merely smiled and said,
"To what do I owe the pleasure of great sir Charles looking for me?"
Arlott frowned at her sudden topic change but welcomed it since he felt rather embarrassed after feeling some blood rushing to his nether region.
*Cough*
"Staying a night at the palace, seems your relationship with the Duke's son isn't for nothing." Arlott pointed out, to which Claire blushed and averted her eyes.
"Gosh don't say such things so simply, it makes me shy." she played with her fingertips, looking at him with a blush.
But Arlott looked back at her with blank eyes.
"Anyway, that is a good thing. Since your relationship with the young duke is better than I expected, it will make the plan to make you duchess faster." He shrugged.
"And may I know what that plan is, sir Charles?"
"No, you may not." Arlott scoffed and got up, walking to the dresser.
He poured some booze into two glasses and passed one to Claire, who took it with a weird expression.
It looked like cheap booze drunk by local citizens and lowly drunkards. She expected the skilled assassin such as Arlott to be at least half decent in wealth, but she might have misunderstood it.
Regardless, she smiled and raised her glass in a toast.
"Thank you, Sir Charles."
"Don't worry, Claire. I will make you the duchess, you only need to listen to my orders without fail."
"Of course, Sir Charles. I will do whatever it takes." Claire said in all seriousness.
Arlott nodded but internally frowned.
Should such a calm reaction really be expected from a person he forced to cooperate? Shouldn't there be disobedience, distrust and enmity?
'Weird… creepy.'
Some creeps ran down Arlott's spine and his instincts, tingled, telling him that something wasn't right. The plan was going way too smoothly.
Is sneaking into the capital city really supposed to be so simple? So mundane?
He expected to fight hundreds of guards in order to enter the city, but now here he stood.
Chilling in a tavern with booze in hand, food available whenever he wants and the plan to kill Duke in motion.
'Hmm technically not in motion, but it doesn't sound impossible. I can really use Claire's connection.' Arlott thought.
"Sir Charles?"
Bringing the young man out of his stupor, Claire coughed and said, "I didn't have the chance to have any breakfast at the young duke's place. Would you like to accompany me for some lunch, Sir Charles?"
"Will you poison my food?" Arlott scoffed half-heartedly but walked with her regardless, "You better take the bite first before I eat."
Claire simply giggled in response and skipped her steps to the staircase before heading into the tavern where Alia seemed to be already waiting for her.
"Lady Claire." Alia got up from her seat and bowed in greeting, her face having a cute smile on her cheeks.
But the smile instantly faltered when she saw Arlott climbing down the stairs at the same time.
'Why… Why does Lady Claire insist on treating him nicely instead of reporting his overconfident ass!!' Alia grumbled in fury.
But being tied by her duties, she treated Arlott just the way Claire asked her to. With respect and submission, something that pleased Arlott.
As Arlott and Claire sat on a two-person table, opposite to each other, Alia began to bring several dishes filled with food.
'I…' Arlott's eyes widened slightly looking at the sheer quantity and amount of food.
Despite being 18 years old, Arlott's life wasn't merciful enough to enjoy the joys of 'normal' people.
Even if he somehow had a chance to eat such dishes when his parents were alive, Arlott barely remembered anything from his toddler years.
All he remembered was he was sent to an orphanage at the age of 3 and thrown out of it at the age of 6.
The orphanage was cheap, the life on the streets was merciless and the assassin clan was brutal.
For the last 15 years, Arlott never had the liberty to enjoy such normal things which might even be mundane for some people, such as Claire.
She looked at the food casually and served it on her plate, stabbing her fork into it and eating. She didn't stare at it nor did she feel glad, it was as if she knew the food would come to her anyway.
On the other hand, Arlott felt emotional looking at the food.
There was chicken, steak, fresh vegetables, bread, rice and even some fish!
There was even a crab-like huge dish kept in the centre, something Arlott hadn't even heard of before!
He looked at it in curiosity, which was quite unfiltered and Claire noticed it.
Despite his face not visible, just from the eyes, she could see him staring at the lobster with interest.
"That's a lobster. Do you want me to break it for you?" Claire leaned on her palm and gazed at Arlott.
A cute, innocent smile played on her lips.
Arlott was tempted to reject her offer, but he was also tempted to eat something he had never even seen before.
The creature was huge, its shell was bright red and the decoration on the plate was impeccable.
'It's fine… these 3 days are to relax.'
Arlott consoled himself and looked at Claire, barely hiding his intrigue.
He nodded, "Much Appreciated."