Chapter 42

I don't smell like anything? How is that possible?

Lia sniffed her clothes skeptically. The incense pouch Pipi had placed in her pocket seemed to have been rendered useless by all the running she did today—her clothes reeked of sweat.

"I think you need to see a doctor if you can't smell how sweaty I am," she said.

Claude opened his eyes at her rather serious tone before breaking into laughter, pressing his forehead against her shoulder. The gap between them grew smaller as his laughter grew louder.

She felt like he was making fun of her. Thinking that perhaps something was wrong with her sense of smell, Lia turned to nuzzle her nose in his neck. She didn't know where the sudden courage came from—perhaps it was because they were both hidden in the darkness. Her hair brushed against his neck as she inhaled deeply.

His laughter stopped abruptly. Claude sat still, leaning against the back of the sofa, eyes fixed on the ceiling.