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"Um... Hunter? I'm sorry, but could you lend me some clothes? Just a T-shirt would be enough..."
Her cheeks flushed deep red with humiliation.
"Would you be okay with that? Clothes a pervert wore," Hunter sneered.
With her head bowed, she pouted and stole a glance at him, but he suddenly whipped back the sheets and stepped out of bed naked. Startled, Jiyu quickly turned her head the other way.
Before long, Hunter returned after throwing on some shorts and thrust a T-shirt toward her.
"Here."
"...Thanks."
Taking the shirt, Jiyu cautiously gauged his reaction. He arched an eyebrow at her as she opened and closed her mouth as if she had something to say, but then fell silent.
"What now?"
"Um... could you turn around?"
Hunter glared at her.
"Ha, you're really something, Jiyu Parker. You had sex with me yesterday. Don't you remember?"
"......."
"Do you think I haven't seen your body? Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?"
When Jiyu couldn't even respond and only turned redder, he let out a short sigh and finally turned around. He crossed his arms and grumbled.
"There, happy?"
"...Yeah. Don't look back, Hunter."
As she double-checked, he smirked.
"Even if you begged me to look, I wouldn't."
Quickly pulling the T-shirt over her naked body, Jiyu cautiously extended her legs off the bed. She stood up unsteadily, putting strength into her thinly trembling legs.
"Ugh..."
A groan escaped her lips instinctively from the stiff muscle pain.
Despite saying he wouldn't look even if begged, Hunter turned around immediately and asked bluntly, "Are you okay? Can you walk?"
Wearing the oversized T-shirt like a dress, Jiyu didn't answer and took precarious, staggering steps.
Watching her with a mixture of guilt and worry in his eyes, Hunter grumbled.
"This is why you should have exercised more normally—"
Jiyu whipped her head around and glared at him fiercely. Hunter cut himself off and shut his mouth. Then, he shouted behind her as she wobbled across the room.
"Breakfast. Nine o'clock on your terrace!"
Jiyu gave a barely perceptible nod and hurried out of the Alexander Suite as if escaping.
At exactly nine o'clock, Hunter stormed into the Elizabeth Suite, pushing a breakfast cart. As soon as he saw Jiyu, who had just finished showering and changing, he gestured with his chin toward the terrace.
"Let's go."
He unfurled the folded parasol and placed plates covered with silver dome lids one by one on the round table.
Beyond the terrace railing, the deep blue sea surged gently. The morning sunlight sparkled dazzlingly, as if diamonds had been scattered across the water.
It was a bright morning with a gentle breeze lightly fluttering her hair. The terrace was bone-dry, as if it had never rained.
Perhaps because she had expended too much energy yesterday, she was starving. Under Hunter's watchful eye, Jiyu opened the lids one by one with great anticipation.
Appetizing pastries and an omelet, fresh fruit, and yogurt appeared in succession. Then, she opened the lid positioned in the center. Her bikini was lying on the plate.
Startled, she slammed the lid shut with a loud clatter. Seeing this, Hunter clutched his stomach and laughed.
No wonder. He had been watching her open the lids so intently.
She recalled how, during their childhood, he used to hide a very realistic plastic cockroach inside a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and laugh hysterically as Jiyu screamed and threw the sandwich away.
"Grow up, Hunter Hamilton," Jiyu grumbled, her face flushing as she picked up the plate with the lid still closed.
After tossing the bikini into the bathroom laundry basket and returning to her seat, Hunter, who had been observing her with a persistent gaze, spoke up.
"You're staying at the villa today, right? You look uncomfortable even walking."
Jiyu fell into thought while stirring her yogurt, which was topped with plenty of fresh fruit.
Tomorrow was the day Hunter's family would return from Monaco. Therefore, today was the only chance to wander around just the two of them without worrying about others' eyes.
"I really want to visit Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Tomorrow... everyone's coming back, so I don't know what the schedule will be."
Hunter poured a glass full of orange juice and placed it in front of her, speaking nonchalantly.
"What does my family returning have to do with going to Saint-Paul-de-Vence? There are more than a few people lined up to see my father, so they probably won't arrive here until dinner time. My mother will be busy shopping all day. If you're that worried, we can leave tomorrow morning and come back in the afternoon. It's a small town, so half a day is enough to see everything."
"...Would that be okay?"
"Yeah. So stay put at the house today."
"Alright, then. Let's do that."
Having pushed his will through as always, Hunter smiled thinly and took a refreshing gulp of orange juice.
The sun, perched in the middle of the sky, poured merciless sunlight over the terrace.
Squinting, Jiyu shaded her face with her hand and let out a full sigh. She had overeaten because she was so hungry, and now her stomach felt bloated.
"I want to take a walk in the garden to help digestion; would that be okay? You don't have to come with me. It's not far, I can manage that much on my own."
Cap d'Ail was not a hotel, but the Hamilton family's private estate. If Lauren were here, she would have asked for her permission, but currently, the only Hamilton remaining here was Hunter.
Asking for permission before acting independently was a habit left over from the two years she had lived as a servant for the Hamilton family.
Hunter crossed his arms and shook his head. Then, he stared at her with a quite serious expression. The atmosphere felt ominous.
"Do you know about this?"
"...About what?" Jiyu asked back with an anxious look. Was he going to be stubborn and say no?
"1928. An unfortunate incident happened here."
Her eyes widened at the sudden change of subject.
"An unfortunate incident?"
He nodded.
"Yeah. The 'Savoia' family, I believe. A famous Italian noble couple was invited to Cap d'Ail. They had a young son, and that boy went to play in the garden alone and got lost. Back then, it was more of a forest than a garden, and they say there were many wild animals. After searching for three days and nights, they found the child unconscious near a pond. They cleared the forest and made a garden afterward, but just know that it's wide enough for someone to go missing for three days."
He smiled mischievously, openly trying to scare her.
Jiyu swallowed hard. Her timid heart hammered in her chest.
Imagining herself foolishly getting lost in the garden and disappearing while people wandered around searching for her—setting aside the fear, the mere thought of it filled her with shame.
"...C-could you come with me?"
Hunter shrugged with an indifferent face.
"If you want."
The gardens of Cap d'Ail created a unique atmosphere, blending conifers and tropical plants. Hunter led her along the shortcuts scattered throughout. He told her stories he had heard as a child about the Hamilton family and Cap d'Ail in his characteristic short and blunt manner.
"The gazebo and the Japanese bridge over the pond were built by my great-great-grandfather for my great-great-grandmother. He was known as a huge old grump, but he was quite devoted to his wife."
They played chess, struggling to push the pieces across a giant marble checkerboard, and she learned how to play pétanque.
For Hunter, he explained the rules with surprising sincerity and spent his short patience teaching her how to throw the ball several times. However, the balls Jiyu threw never even got close to the target, rolling off in other directions every time.
"Jiyu Parker. How is it that you don't know how to do anything physical?" Hunter grumbled, unable to hold back.
Jiyu gave Hunter a sidelong glance and tossed the heavy metal ball haphazardly. The ball flew in a parabola, landed on the fine gravel, and rolled right into the ball Hunter had thrown. His ball was knocked out of the line.
Jiyu's jaw dropped. Then, she started jumping up and down, laughing out loud.
"Hunter, did you see what I just did?"
Watching her with an incredulous expression, Hunter pulled her toward him.
Jiyu, suddenly caught in his arms, blinked in surprise, but he lifted her chin. Then, he kissed her sweetly until the strength left her knees.
As the walk, which felt like a date, ended and she followed Hunter out of the garden, Jiyu suddenly tilted her head. It was true that the garden was large enough that one couldn't see it all at once. However, the paths were very well-defined, and the third floor of the villa protruded enough to serve as a landmark from anywhere.
It felt like she could avoid disappearing just by walking in that direction.
"Hunter?"
"Hmm."
"How old was the child who went missing?"
Hunter paused. Then, he shrugged.
"Three."
"What?!"
As Jiyu stopped and looked up at him with wide eyes, he laughed brightly and pulled her along.
"Let's go canoeing."
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