Chapter 22

TL: gaeulriri

Editor: Daed

I turned around and stopped trying to run away. I stared at him in utter disbelief.

Wasn’t it obvious from my expression that I was tired of him?

If you want someone to believe you, then you have to say something that actually makes sense.

But since he was so persistent, I decided to pretend to believe him.

“Um, I’m sorry. I appreciate your feelings, but I can’t accept it.”

“I know that you feel burdened.”

“If you know that, I hope you will let me go now.”

“But if you give me a chance, it would be a great honor for me.”

Excuse me? Didn’t you hear me?

Lord Moore looked so desperate. He stopped acting like a shy boy confessing to his first love. Instead, he began to act like a womanizer again.

Since the start, you approached me selfishly. Because I avoided you, you skillfully stopped me from leaving. When I started to listen to you, you pretended to be a meek man. And now when I avoided you again, you were being selfish.

‘Please be consistent with your character!’

I apologize if I was too rash with my evaluation of him, but as you know, I felt emotionally numb towards men.

Instead of making me happy, an abrupt and careless approach like this made me uncomfortable and drew my suspicions.

“I’m really sorry, but I’m busy right now.”

“Then, can I see you again next time?”

Lord Moore asked restlessly. Rather than regretting my decision, I became impatient.

I didn’t know why, but I felt desperate to leave this place.

“Well…If fate allows it, perhaps we shall meet again.”

That meant that I didn’t want to meet you again.

“Can you give me a chance to fulfill that fate?”

“I can’t.”

As I said so, I walked away from Lord Moore.

But this time, he suddenly grabbed my wrist. I flinched in surprise at the sudden contact.

What was this persistence? Why were you doing this to me? Were you going to die if you didn’t meet me again?

“Please let go of me.”

I turned to him, frowning.

“Don’t touch me without permission, it’s unpleasant.”

“Wait a minute. Lady, please give me a chance.”

He expressed his intentions with such an abject tone, but Lord Moore didn’t seem to let go of my wrist no matter how hard I tried to escape his hold. Then he smiled and tilted his head toward me.

This crazy bastard.

I moved my face backward self-consciously. Lord Moore looked down at me with an inscrutable expression, then he whispered into my ear while maintaining his composure.

“If you get to know me better, you will change your mind.”

I was really sure that it wasn’t something he had done once or twice.

I had heard about your career in flirting with women. Why did you find someone who didn’t even want you?

Somehow, I felt like I shouldn’t listen to him from the beginning, I should’ve just ignored him.

But who would have expected to meet a bastard like him, not even on the streets, but in the Imperial Palace? I mean, it was the Imperial Palace……

‘Ah, that must be why.”

I scrunched my face like a sheet of paper in thought. But now that I have grasped the whole story, my face lit up.

All the riddles were solved!

‘Is it the Crown Prince’s order?’

He tried to look neutral, but he must be on the Crown Prince’s side.

I wrote a mental note, ‘Aratha Moore, the Crown Prince’s lackey. Then I clicked my tongue.

Poor Claudia. Had she been through this every day?

I felt like I could understand her feelings, although it was still nothing compared to what she had been through and what she would face in the future.

“I told you to let me go.”

In the end, I had no choice but to use self-defense.

I took a deep breath and exhaled again.

Lord Moore smiled slyly, wondering what a small creature like me could do.

Hah, this was the self-defense that I did whenever I met the debt collectors. Maybe now was the time to demonstrate my ‘run and hide’ ability.

I kicked him in the nuts and fled the scene as fast as I could.

***

I got rid of the crown prince’s lackey. After sprinting away, I gradually slowed down my pace.

You couldn’t come after me, could you? I ran as fast as I could, but I was only a little out of breath. I was not exhausted at all. On the contrary, my physical strength seemed to be better than before.

The only thing I had done so far was to roam around the Chamberlains’ mansion.

Yes. The Chamberlains’ mansion was so spacious that there was no need for me to exercise.

‘Unbelievable.’

Do you know what was more surprising? Despite all that, I was steadily gaining weight. My energy couldn’t keep up with my eating speed.

I shook my head and pulled the artifact out of my arms. It was to confirm the siblings’ location.

However, the needle that marked Felix’s location was pointing to a completely different place than before.

Huh? Did he already move?

Well, Felix was ​​able to teleport, so his position could change in a second.

Then I contemplated about going to Claudia, whose location was relatively fixed.

Every time I took a step forward in her direction, Felix’s needle followed my steps and moved quickly in one direction.

Wait, wasn’t this a reaction that would happen when the other person was nearby…?

I raised my head in the direction that the needle was pointing.

There was a man clad in white sorcerer’s robes leaning against the wall.

His shoulders shook as he used a hand to cover his face.

“Felix?”

Even from a distance, he looked shiny.

I ran to him in hurried steps. But then I slowed my steps because I was stunned to see his face.

Somehow, it looked like he covered his face and shook his shoulders because he was crying.

He kept silent even when I approached him. I asked anxiously, examining him from side to side.

“Did something happen?”

After a while, he coughed and put down his hand that was covering his face.

“No, it seems like I’m just too worried.”

There was a laugh in his voice that he couldn’t hide.

Were you worried about me? I’m worried about you right now! What happened anyway?

I felt relieved after confirming that Felix was not crying, but rather, holding in his laughter.

Felix looked at me with an affectionate gaze and politely reached out to me.

Was he asking me to hold his hand?

I placed my hand over his without any doubt or hesitation. His hand was not hot nor was it cold; it was a moderately pleasant body temperature.

“Your wrist is red. Does it hurt?”

Felix asked, carefully examining my wrist.

Only then did I find a clear red handprint on my wrist.

How hard was he gripping back there? That damn bastard.

“It doesn’t hurt that much……”

Wait a second.

“……Did you see it?”

If he didn’t see it, he wouldn’t check my wrist as soon as we met.

If so, you must have seen my self-defense.

Did I go overboard with the surprise kick? Thinking that Felix had seen everything, I suddenly experienced belated regret.

But Felix’s response washed away all my concerns and regret.

“Yes. It’s unfortunate.”

Unfortunate?!

“Um, I didn’t want to be that violent too. At first, I was trying to solve it through conversation, but I… No, Lord Moore…”

Felix squeezed my wrist lightly and let it go while I was making an excuse.

With magic, the red handprint on my wrist disappeared without a trace.

“That rude hand, I will make it impossible for it to hold anything ever again…”

“…… ”

“It’s unfortunate that you have to solve it with such a generous disposition.”

What did you mean by ‘generous’? Felix said those scary words with a fleeting smile like a spring breeze.

If there were many kinds of lives to be lived, living with him would be as peaceful as the air.

‘When someone who is normally calm gets angry, it will be really scary.’

I thought about his words about making Lord Moore’s hand unable to hold anything ever again.

Soon after, my dangerous imagination quickly disappeared inside my head.

As he took hold of my hand again, Felix told me,

“Actually, I came to pick you up because Chloe prepared tea time.”

I belatedly realized that our hands were intertwined.

Unlike Lord Moore, I didn’t mind at all if Felix touched me even on the tips of my nails.

When did I get used to physical contact like this? Before, I used to be shy and avoided Felix like I did with other men.

“Is there a grapefruit tart?”

After flicking my fingers a few times, I asked about my favorite dessert.

Felix replied with a sweeter smile,

“Of course.”

I looked up at that smile and stepped forward as if I was possessed. For some reason, I strangely felt hot.

***

I thought my kick must have really hurt him because until the day of the ceremony arrived, Lord Moore was nowhere to be seen.

Just in case he sued me, I seriously thought about how to deal with it.

But later, I learned that he had rolled down the stairs and been admitted into the hospital ward.

He was treated for a fractured arm.

Report mistakes and chat with us on discord: https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu