Chapter 101
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Chapter 101
'Why can't I get used to that face?'
He'd merely asked while meeting my eyes, so why couldn't my heart settle down?
The resentment that had burned moments before melted away like snow, leaving nothing behind.
I grasped at my racing heartbeat and pondered his earlier question.
'What do I want to do?'
I'd grumbled because I'd asked him to help with my studies, and Lahedis had done exactly that—teaching me nothing but academics. But now that he was asking what I actually wanted, I couldn't think of anything specific.
Nothing came to mind.
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
As he coaxed me gently, I felt oddly embarrassed and fidgeted with my fingers.
Lahedis caught the tip of my finger.
Startled by the sudden contact, I looked up at him, and Lahedis gazed back at me with a question.
"Then shall we just keep looking at each other like this?"
I wouldn't mind that.
His large hand, murmuring as if to himself, toyed with my fingertips before completely enveloping my hand.
It wasn't the first time we'd held hands, and yet my face flushed intensely from something as simple as hand-holding.
'...It tickles.'
I couldn't tell if it was the ticklish sensation from the hand playing with mine, the warmth of his gaze upon my face, or my heart pounding away.
But that touch, that look, this flutter in my chest...
I didn't hate it.
No—I actually liked it.
In that small, unremarkable contact, in that gaze, I could feel his emotions directed entirely toward me.
With just that one touch, my lips threatened to curl upward as if I'd never felt hurt at all, and I fought to suppress my smile as I asked Lahedis a question.
"When people are in a relationship, what are they supposed to do when they meet?"
"Well, since this is my first time too, I'm not sure."
It was refreshing to hear Lahedis—who was always unhurried and composed about everything—admit he didn't know.
'Though he's certainly skilled at teasing me, for someone claiming inexperience...'
Lahedis, who had been toying with my hand while thinking, spoke.
"Looking at other people... well, it doesn't seem like there's anything particularly special about it."
"Really?"
"Eating delicious food, going to nice places, making memories... It's simply that someone appears in my life to share everything with."
"I see."
Someone to share everything with.
It was a phrase that made my heart tingle strangely.
I was quietly savoring those words that secretly pleased me when Lahedis asked.
"Is there anything you'd like to do with me?"
After a moment of thought, I carelessly voiced the emotion that surfaced in my mind.
"I just... as long as it's with you, anything is fine with me..."
I realized how embarrassingly honest those words were when Lahedis's hand, which had been playing with mine, suddenly stilled.
'...Did I just say something too honest?'
I startled belatedly and looked toward Lahedis.
"Are you seducing me right now?"
The playful glint in his eyes from moments before had vanished, replaced by a gaze of quiet seriousness.
Flustered, I slipped my hand free and asked hastily.
"Is there... is there nothing you want to do with me?"
At that, Lahedis regarded me intently, watching as I desperately tried to change the subject.
"...?"
In that moment of uncertainty, Lahedis opened his mouth with an unhurried smile.
"There's plenty. Things I want to do."
The way Lahedis said it—his gaze, his voice—carried an unmistakably suggestive weight.
Without thinking, I let my imagination wander into dangerous territory (?), and my face flushed so intensely it felt like it might burst.
And at that very moment.
"Mwah!"
"Chirp?"
The spirits, reacting to their contractor's apparent crisis (?), burst forth unbidden!
'Oh no! Why are they coming out again?!'
It was utter chaos.
In the end, I leaped to my feet to escape Lahedis's gaze.
"I, I have materials to look for!"
With that, I fled hastily between the bookshelves as if running for my life.
Leaving Lahedis behind with a bewildered expression.
* * *
Lahedis watched the pink hair disappear between the shelves, then let out a helpless laugh.
"...This is driving me mad."
Until recently, he had been visiting the Marquis Estate regularly.
Usually during the day, since both Igraine and Dain would be away at their duties.
But the problem lay with more than just those two.
Every servant in the Marquis Estate watched him with keen eyes, as if they'd received orders from their masters themselves.
Their gazes burned with the fear that he might somehow steal away the precious young lady who softened the atmosphere of the household.
Vivian, knowing this, would grow embarrassed even at the mere holding of hands at the Marquis Estate.
'So I made an excuse about being busy and lured her to the Duke's Residence instead....'
When she hesitates, startled, as if she might flee, she whines that he shows no interest in her.
Yet the moment he touches her, her small head flushes crimson and she bolts like that.
The immediate reactions were amusing to tease, certainly enough.
'...I've only managed to hold her hand so far, but when will I finally be able to devour her whole?'
The road ahead was long, but he had decided not to rush.
After all, the fact that Vivian reacted that way was proof that she now saw him not as a 'friend' but as a 'man'.
And....
'Well, she's cute anyway.'
Recalling Vivian's flustered expression, Lahedis chuckled softly, then rose leisurely and stepped between the bookshelves where she had hidden.
Vivian was indeed reading books—her claim about having materials to find wasn't a lie.
Lahedis approached her side and asked.
"What materials do you need to find?"
He toyed with her tied-up hair, playing with the strands, but Vivian seemed so accustomed to his touch now that she showed no sign of reluctance or self-consciousness.
"I'm searching for information about high-ranking demons."
"High-ranking demons?"
"Yes. I know that only high-ranking demons can manipulate two or more spirits, but it's been so long since I read that book that I can't quite remember it."
"If it's related to your mother, wouldn't it be simpler to just ask your father?"
"I did ask him, and he said Mother was just an ordinary demon."
"...Is that so?"
"What if Father doesn't know either? What if Mother deceived him... just like I lived without knowing Father's true identity?"
Vivian hummed with a mixture of jest and earnestness, as if the thought infuriated her all over again.
"So I'm going to find out myself."
After pulling out one relevant book, Vivian scurried over to the next shelf.
Lahedis's eyes narrowed as he watched her.
'If she were merely a high-ranking demon, there's no way he wouldn't have known the Demon King's true identity.'
After Dain's identity was revealed and he returned to the Knight Order, Lahedis had decided to wait and tell Vivian once matters were largely settled.
After all, an outsider who didn't know the full circumstances couldn't simply meddle in family affairs.
But now that he and Vivian were lovers—though Dain still disapproved—the situation was different.
'I can't suddenly tell Vivian, but I could ask her father.'
He decided he would need to meet with Dain soon and followed after Vivian.
* * *
On my way home after parting with Lahedis.
'Hmm, I found no new information.'
I'd searched through the Duke's Residence library thoroughly, but found only the information I already knew—that only high-ranking demons could manipulate two or more spirits.
'I thought if I could learn the source of my power, I might become more skilled in spirit magic.'
As I comforted my disappointment, the carriage arrived at my home.
Just as I was about to step down from the carriage, I noticed another carriage waiting in front of the Estate.
Seeing Inyoung descending from that carriage, I called out to him with delight.
"Father?"
Before he noticed me, I glimpsed a fleeting exhaustion crossing Curtis Rohan's face as he stepped down.
But the moment he saw me, his expression brightened as if that weariness had never existed.
"...Vivian?"
"Why did you come home so early today?"
"You don't like that I came early? Am I interrupting your date?"
At his pointed question, I flinched.
'Of course, the fact that I was just with Lahedis isn't entirely inconspicuous...'
But my joy at seeing him was genuine—it felt unfair to be accused like that!
"No, no! I'm just happy and curious! You've been so busy lately."
"I've wrapped up most of my work, so I took a vacation starting tomorrow."
Curtis Rohan tidied the back of my hair with practiced ease as he answered.
It had become disheveled from leaning against the carriage during the journey.
"A holiday?"
"I've been bothered that I haven't taken our princess on a proper outing to the countryside. I thought we might visit the Suburban Villa this time."
The Suburban Villa!
When I was a commoner from the countryside, I'd never even dreamed of such luxurious everyday pleasures.
I nodded eagerly, unable to conceal the excitement blooming across my face.
"I absolutely love it!"
I failed to notice how the soft afternoon sunlight lingered long in Curtis Rohan's eyes as he gazed upon me.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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