CHAPTER 90…………………………………
“Weren’t you just sneaking glances at the opera singer’s legs instead of listening to her sing?”
Was he so stunned that he lost his words? He remained silent. Since he had no intention of giving me the floor, I kept pressing him.
“I saw everything. You couldn’t pull yourself together and couldn’t take your eyes off her legs!”
I had been trying too gently, trying to take the easy route. Right now, Peredil was completely infatuated with me, letting me get away with anything. I realized I had to raise my voice to make him lose interest.
No one welcomes a lover who throws tantrums, obsesses, doubts, and pressures them.
“Why aren’t you answering? Just answer me already! You did see her legs, didn’t you?”
Ugh. Even while pushing him for an answer, I felt my focus slipping. Forced acting always triggers a resistance when it’s not genuine. Still, it was an act I had to perform, so I endured it.
I continued to press him, reminding him that if he didn’t stay sharp, his character would collapse.
“Were her legs really that beautiful? You couldn’t help looking, could you?”
“I did see her legs.”
“Huh?”
The moment I heard such an easy admission, a ridiculous sound escaped my mouth. The reason no proper sentence or line came out was simple: I was completely flustered.
R-Really? He actually saw her legs? I can’t let him say it happened here…
Wait, we’re not supposed to fight and break up while arguing that he didn’t see them, right? He admitted it? Then what am I supposed to do?
He used to be so predictable. A little provocation would make him flare up; a little kindness would make him gentle. A man who built high walls but secretly hoped someone would cross them. The man who, exactly as I wished, came to hold me in his heart.
Predicting his reactions was easier than eating rice cakes lying down. Or so I thought—but it felt like a rice cake stuck in my throat. Why did my predictions keep missing?
I decided to push my anger further for now.
“And yet, how can you stand there so shamelessly? That’s quite a confident attitude!”
No matter how angry I got, he didn’t even blink. Then, suddenly, he began to kneel. It was I who was thrown into confusion, unable to follow the scene as I had imagined it.
Even so, kneeling wasn’t necessary… and I couldn’t just storm off to make him stand either. A stalemate. The master of improvisation suddenly had no clear next move. Since when did he become such a difficult co-star?
His next move, difficult to counter, was also unexpected.
He knelt on one knee, not both. From under his long cape, orange shoes popped out at his waist. He took off the shoes I was wearing and suddenly began putting the newly appeared shoes on my feet.
“What is this?”
“They were the shoes the female lead singer wore earlier. The color matched your hair. I heard the store across from the theater had only one pair left as a limited edition, so I grabbed them right away.”
His sharp eye had picked shoes that fit me perfectly. Moving around, they were completely comfortable. He looked on from his spot with satisfaction.
“Th…thank you…”
He must have bought them while I went to the bathroom. No wonder I was curious earlier when he walked off alone.
“I wanted to give this before we parted, but it turned into an early surprise gift.”
“Su…surprise gift…”
No! And here I am, blushing and pleased at a surprise gift!
I quickly shifted my gleeful face into a sharp glare. With wide eyes, I began to rant nonsense.
“Anyway, you looked at another woman’s legs just now, right? How can you be interested in anyone besides me? Come to think of it, I heard you’ve received a lot of invitations to royal balls before. Duke, are you… a man with many women?”
“No…”
He hesitated, clearly flustered by my exaggeration.
Okay. Finally, it’s working. Maybe I should’ve attacked him with irrational behavior from the start. I knew he disliked illogical statements but had overlooked that fact. Come to think of it, our initial quarrel was also possible because I misunderstood him on my own.
“Haah…”
As soon as I heard his sigh, I pounced, sensing the perfect opening.
“A sigh? You just sighed? Ha! Who wants to sigh! Why? Is being with me suffocating?”
“Yes. It’s a bit suffocating.”
My heart plummeted to the floor as soon as I heard his honest reply.
It was the crash I intended, but even falling on my own feet didn’t make it painless. Facing his startled face, I realized I felt suffocated too.
But I couldn’t stop. I had to sever all affection. Any lingering spark could reignite his feelings. I poured water on the fire that was leaking out through my act.
“Really? Being with me makes you feel so constrained?”
Yes. This method might work. Take some time. It wasn’t about breaking up immediately. Once wet, the wood wouldn’t catch fire easily again.
Just then, he grabbed my tie with one hand and pulled me roughly. His eyes were frightening, his face deeply frowning.
He exhaled sharply again.
“Because you’ve been teasing me, my body heated up…”
“Huh?”
It was the second time words failed me. He came close, a face full of urgency. As his warm breath brushed my ear, my stopped heart began beating again, and heat spread through my cold body.
“Can I choose the last course of our date?”
In the pitch-dark mansion, our eyes found each other easily. Pupils adjusted to the darkness, perceiving each other better than in light.
Moonlight from the window illuminated him, and when our faces met directly, he stopped my hand from stretching under his knee and panted:
“Don’t take off the shoes.”
When I opened my eyes, I realized last night had been a dream, and I was lying in my cozy bed in the Woodville mansion… How nice that would have been. But the vivid pain and marks reminded me it was reality. And this man sleeping beside me.
Sleeping?? This man??
“Duke! Aren’t you going to work?”
It was long past work time. Why hadn’t the staff woken him? No matter how much I shook him, he didn’t wake. Was he sleeping deeply or had he fainted? Fortunately, I felt his breath on my finger.
Even if his body were broken, he’d never skip work. Could he have been unconscious since yesterday? Given the effort from night till dawn, it wouldn’t be surprising…
“Sleep more. You’re on vacation today.”
Pulled irresistibly, my body sank into his arms. I couldn’t move. Buried in his warm chest, it wasn’t bad, but there was something to clarify.
“You’re on vacation? Since when?”
“Since last night.”
“But yesterday was a holiday. How did you get vacation approved?”
“I told the palace I was sick last night and couldn’t work today.”
“Was that a lie?”
“Yes. A lie.”
“Did you get a reply?”
“No, but what can they do? They can’t fire me. Who else would fill my place?”
The shameless man hugging me as if I were a doll had effectively taken an unauthorized leave. A behavior I would never have imagined before. Was he bolder, or am I just easy to manipulate?
Flabbergasted, I stared at his handsome face.
“If you keep staring like that, I’ll eat you.”
“Eat me? What do you mean eat me!”
I turned my back on him, half embarrassed, half terrified. I felt him hug me tighter from behind.
I slightly leaned forward and asked:
“So… shall we go on a date today too?”
Since we hadn’t had a proper fight as a couple, I thought that if I could spend time with him, I’d try to finish my plan to detach all affection.
Planning a date to break up—what a ridiculous thought.
“Sure. Let’s eat first, then.”
Following his agreement, I tried to get up. Normally, one eats in the dining room. But he didn’t let me rise.
“You said we’d go eat breakfast?”
“I’m fine eating here.”
His body, which I had been avoiding, was now pressed tightly against me again.
