Chapter 55
Chirp, chirp. The sound of mountain birds singing made Rubiana’s eyes snap open.
Above her was an unfamiliar ceiling, and beside her, Elion was sleeping.
Their hands were tightly clasped together.
A small laugh escaped her at the sight, but the next moment, the events of last night flashed through her mind like a slideshow.
“Ah…!”
Rubiana’s face slowly twisted in horror.
“Ah, what a fool I was. Elion, today you’re the main character. I’m the female lead, you’re the male lead. How does that sound?”
“And the villain is really strong… but addicted to magical stabilizers, so he’s manipulated by evil hands. He’s a villain, but also a bit pitiful.”
“Now… shouldn’t we get to our tasks for the day, Elion?”
“Your body’s perfect. Totally my type! No, no, wait. It’s the type every woman wants! Truly like a male protagonist. Not a villain at all.”
Every word she had carelessly blurted out while drunk was remembered clearly, without omission.
“I’m doomed! Completely… doomed! Why do I even live?”
Her entire body burned red from head to toe.
She was embarrassed, mortified.
She wanted to run and hide.
Rubiana wasn’t normally weak to alcohol, but yesterday, tired from a long journey, the first hurried drink had apparently been the culprit.
“Rubiana, you idiot! You’re really… completely useless!”
She was tugging at her hair, berating herself, when she heard rustling beside her.
Elion had woken up.
She didn’t have the courage to meet his gaze in this state.
There was no time to think.
Instinctively, Rubiana squeezed her eyes shut.
She planned to pretend to be asleep.
“Rubiana, awake? …Not yet, huh? Thought you were.”
Elion, half-sitting up, stared intently at her face.
Soon, a soft touch landed on her forehead.
It moved from her forehead to her cheeks, along the bridge of her nose, down to her chin.
The ticklish sensation made it nearly impossible to keep pretending to sleep.
His teasing lips nibbled gently on her earlobe, murmuring:
“Since you went to sleep early, we couldn’t do what we planned last night. So I think we should do it now.”
The warm breath on her earlobe made Rubiana’s face twitch involuntarily.
As she struggled helplessly, Elion’s calm voice continued.
“It might be rude to do this to someone who’s still asleep… but since that was the purpose of our trip… maybe it’s not so rude after all.”
His mischievous lips moved to her nape, nibbling lightly, then licking and sucking with more pressure.
“Perhaps… you’d secretly hope for this if it were someone else.”
“S-stop!”
She could somehow endure the earlobe, but not the nape.
With a start, Rubiana opened her eyes and quickly pulled back.
Their gazes collided in a dizzying mess.
Rubiana desperately tried to escape Elion’s lingering eyes, but no muscle obeyed her will.
“So, finally awake, heroine. You haven’t forgotten that I appointed myself your male lead, right?”
His playful blue eyes sparkled, while Rubiana’s face gradually turned pale.
“You initially called me a villain, but then recognized me as the male lead. Remember, heroine?”
Rubiana, abandoning her original plan to pretend she remembered nothing due to drunkenness, shouted:
“I remember! I remember everything! That’s why I’m extremely embarrassed. So please, let’s never mention last night again, okay? Please.”
Since she couldn’t handle Elion confronting her head-on, surrendering immediately seemed the best choice.
At least it would be slightly less humiliating.
Hearing Rubiana’s desperate plea, Elion furrowed his brows and brushed his chin.
“Ah… what a pity.”
“But I said that during this week here, I’m the main character. I can do whatever I want. So… right?”
“You really remember everything. Good.”
Pffft—hah hah hah! Elion burst into laughter he’d been holding back and lay down again.
Rubiana couldn’t stand his teasing and sulked.
“Ah… I’ve completely lost!”
She narrowed her eyes into triangles and said sulkily:
“Not today. Your Highness has been demoted from male lead back to villain.”
Hmph. Rubiana turned her gaze away.
Yet Elion just chuckled.
“You’re wrong, Rubiana. We agreed to call each other by name. Now, try again.”
“….”
“Hurry.”
“…Elion.”
“That’s right.”
Elion intertwined their hands and closed his eyes.
Rubiana followed, closing hers as well.
Since this was a trip for recuperation, sleeping in was essential.
The two lounged in bed late into the morning, only having breakfast-lunch around noon.
After the meal, while Elion went for a short ride, Rubiana indulged in some more laziness.
After a while, Sophie arrived with a tea set and two letters.
“These are letters for the young lady.”
“Letters?”
Who would send letters all the way to the villa?
Rubiana’s eyes widened as she checked the name on the envelope.
“Stephanie! From my sister!”
Excited, she quickly opened it to read.
It said that the royal knight squad’s elemental division, to which Stephanie belonged, was nearby for field training.
[“…Our main goal is to improve the combat ability of our elemental squad, but honestly, I was also thinking of our dear Rubiana. Just a little idea I had. Did I do well? Shh, it’s a secret. I hope I can see you even briefly, little sister…”]
Rubiana smiled the entire time she read it.
She wanted to dash to where her sister was immediately.
She had missed her terribly for several days.
Just as Elion entered the room, Rubiana said:
“Stephanie is nearby for field training. Can we meet her briefly?”
“Really? Of course. That’s good.”
Wait.
Elion had nodded readily, but suddenly his expression stiffened awkwardly.
Rubiana, surprised by the change, asked:
“Why?”
“Ah, nothing. It’s nothing.”
He quickly composed himself.
“Let me know when the date is set. I’ll come along.”
“Okay, I will.”
Elion maintained a poker face, but inside, his feelings were somewhat complicated.
A certain person suddenly came to mind.
“If Stephanie’s elemental squad is here, Chad Preston must be here too.”
He remembered vividly the scene at the last Duke Burnett’s party where Rubiana had joked affectionately with Chad.
Even the emotions he had felt at that moment.
He liked that Rubiana could meet Stephanie, but he didn’t want her to meet Chad.
He wanted to prevent their meeting as much as possible.
And suddenly, a thought struck him:
“Wait… what am I thinking?”
He was nothing to Rubiana.
Though currently her lover and fiancé-to-be, it was all a façade.
Meanwhile, Chad Preston was Rubiana’s true childhood friend.
They shared real memories and genuinely got along.
His mood sank for a moment.
“No,” he corrected himself.
Elion buried his bitter thoughts deep inside.
“For now, I need to play the role of Rubiana’s lover. Immersing myself fully for a perfect act won’t hurt.”
With Stephanie nearby, he couldn’t hold back.
He was Rubiana’s devoted lover, having known her for less than a month yet already promised engagement.
So showing jealousy toward a childhood friend was perfectly acceptable.
“Right. I have to get into character.”
As Elion adjusted his internal behavior, Rubiana finished reading the second letter and looked up at him again.
“The Baroness of Noment sent an invitation. It’s a picnic, and it’s today.”
“Ah… I forgot to tell the young lady beforehand.”
Elion said it lightly, as if it were trivial.
Since the purpose of this trip was recuperation, he saw no need for extra activities.
“The Baroness also invited the royal knight squad.”
“Ah, really?”
“Then we don’t need to schedule separately with your sister; we can meet her at the picnic today.”
“Do as you wish.”
Elion nodded lightly.
But imagining Rubiana and Chad Preston meeting at the picnic and chatting warmly made his blood boil.
“Then we must hurry.”
Rubiana jumped up and began bustling about.
She had to get dressed, fix her hair, and do her makeup, so she moved quickly.
