Chapter 55: How a Mercenary Brings Her Husband Home (4)

The room wasn’t decorated much, but it had a fireplace, a sofa, and a large bed—simple and cozy, just like Regina’s personality.
Compared to the guest room, it was about twice as big, yet there wasn’t much furniture inside.

“There’s not much in the room.”

“But it’s really clean—not even a speck of dust.”

“That’s probably thanks to Gyle. He’s super tidy. He probably cleans it every day.”

Gyle. Even before coming to Persona, the name had already annoyed Valentin, and hearing it directly from Regina’s mouth made it worse.
Valentin fiddled with the handle of his cane and asked,

“You seem close with him.”

“Well, we grew up together. His father is the one who helped move our luggage—he’s like an uncle to me.
If I had a brother, I imagine it’d be kind of like that.”

“Hm.”

“He’s actually really skilled too. And he gets along well with people because of his friendly personality.”

Valentin didn’t want to admit it, but hearing Regina talk about another man with such a kind expression made him uncomfortable.
He didn’t want to see her thinking about a past he wasn’t a part of.
He tapped the floor lightly with his cane.

“What’s this?”

He had spotted a small picture frame on top of the fireplace and picked it up.
Inside was a piece of paper with messy, scribbled lines all over it.

“Oh, that…”

Regina quickly stepped closer, reaching out her hand.
Her reaction was more urgent than usual, which made Valentin more curious.
Instead of handing it over, he raised it high above his head.

Valentin was tall. Even as Regina stood on tiptoes and jumped, she couldn’t even brush the frame.

“Valentin…!”

Normally, she’d just punch a guy in the gut and make him bend over—but she couldn’t bring herself to do that here.

“What is it that’s got you so flustered?”

Valentin looked down at her slightly blushing eyes.
They reminded him of ripe strawberries—he even had the urge to kiss them.

“…It’s a drawing I did as a kid.”

Regina answered in a small, embarrassed voice.
Valentin slowly lowered the frame and looked at the drawing again.

“…What is it supposed to be?”

Was this what people called abstract art?
Valentin didn’t know much about art, so he tilted the frame, trying to make sense of the tangled lines.

He remembered hearing that interpretation mattered with abstract art.

Then Regina, now fully red in the face, snatched the frame from his hands.

“It’s my art teacher. I drew him when he ran away from me. To never forget the shame…”

“Why’d your art teacher run away?”

Maybe she swung a paintbrush like a sword?
Valentin’s face filled with interest.
Regina lowered her head and muttered in the smallest voice, like a bug crawling:

“He said I was impossible to teach and ran off. Stupid jerk.”

“Pfft—hahahaha! Haha!”

Valentin, who had bent forward to listen, suddenly burst into laughter and collapsed onto the sofa, clutching his stomach.
A teacher who ran away because of a student’s bad drawing—it was too much.

He felt a little bad for laughing, but honestly, he could understand the teacher’s feelings.
The drawing didn’t look even close to a person.

“Kh, haha…”

Valentin was sure of it.
He had never laughed this hard in his life.
He hadn’t even known that laughing could make his stomach muscles ache like this.

He couldn’t stop.
The longer he laughed, the redder Regina’s face grew.
Finally, unable to bear it, she stormed over to him.

“Stop laughing.”

She grabbed his face—firmly—so he couldn’t laugh anymore.

“Stop it.”

But then she regretted it.
Though he stopped laughing, his eyes still sparkled with amusement.
Those purple eyes gleaming with mischief were even more embarrassing than the sound of his laugh.

She held his face for a while.
Eventually, the laughter truly stopped.

To Valentin, she was just a bold woman who had suddenly grabbed his face while pinning his knees with hers.
So, he lifted a hand and gently ran his fingers along her jawline.

That light touch sent a tingling shiver down Regina’s spine.

“I didn’t know you liked drawing so much.”

“…They say it’s good to have a hobby.”

“Who says that?”

“…A mercenary I beat up. He said drawing might calm me down.”

Regina tried to pull away to shake off the strange tension, but Valentin didn’t let her go.
He wrapped his arm around her waist as if to keep her from escaping.

“Then draw me. I’ll be your model.”

His voice was confident, even flirtatious.

Ah, dangerous.
Regina felt trapped—both by his arm and by his gaze.

She had to get away.
It felt like she had just stepped into a dangerous river she was never supposed to cross.
If she went any further, she might not be able to come back.

“I like drawing landscapes.”

With that, Regina pushed him away hard.
Valentin let her go, falling back onto the sofa.

Regina hoped her racing heart wasn’t loud enough to echo through the room.

“Landscapes?”

“Yes. Peaceful ones. So peaceful that they don’t even remind you of war.”

“Regina! I’m here!”

Just then, Shanro’s loud voice rang from outside.
Right after came heavy pounding on the door—it wasn’t really knocking, more like someone punching the door.

Regina knew what was coming next: Shanro would barge in without waiting for an answer.

“We’re thinking of starting the drinking party early instead of waiting for dinner…”

As expected, Shanro flung the door open—
and his face immediately twisted when he saw someone who shouldn’t be in Regina’s room.

Regina’s face was flushed, and Valentin was sprawled on the sofa.

The room wasn’t even heated, yet the air felt strangely warm.
Shanro noticed it right away and frowned.

“Why are you two in the same room?”

Gyle pushed past Shanro and stepped inside.

“She was just going to light the fireplace.”

They both looked at the fireplace—it hadn’t been touched.

Feeling awkward, Regina scratched her cheek and then shoved the two men back toward the door.
Judging by their dusty appearance, they hadn’t even washed up before rushing over, too excited for drinks.

“That’s enough. Let’s go. Let’s go.”

At her urging, Valentin stood with his cane.
Then, he locked eyes with Gyle, who was glaring at him with open hostility.

Valentin didn’t avoid his stare—instead, he matched it with a calm but sharp gaze.

Their eyes clashed like swords.

Gyle scowled.
Valentin’s indifferent eyes held quiet, cold fury.

The dining hall in Persona was huge.
Meals with mercenaries were wild, so the space had been built with chaos in mind.

Even now, a few were already standing on tables, raising their glasses and shouting.

“You guys…”

Regina didn’t want to show this side in front of their guest.
At her sharp glance, the mercenaries hesitated and slowly stepped down from the tables.

“I don’t mind. You can act normally.”

“Ha! You heard him! Regina gave us the green light!”

As soon as Valentin gave his okay, they immediately climbed back up, cheering.

The room filled with laughter again.

Regina, who missed this energy, hoped Valentin wouldn’t mind the rowdiness too much.

“Would you like a drink?”

She turned to ask him—
but before Valentin could answer, Gyle jumped in.

“What, can’t handle your liquor, Duke?”

That one word—weak—rubbed Valentin the wrong way.
Actually, it was very intentional.

“Of course I’ll drink.”

“Hey, Regina, Gyle! Take this one! It’s the good stuff!”

Mercenaries were rough—even when handing things over.
They didn’t gently pass items; they threw them.
Even if it was glass.

If it broke, they’d just laugh.

One of them, full of excitement, tossed a bottle toward Regina.

No one in Persona ever missed a catch.
Still, Regina frowned—what if it hit Valentin?

Gyle reached out quickly.

“You idiot! Why are you throwing bottles?”

“Oh, like we’ve never done that before?!”

“You monkeys. Regina, are you—”

He turned around, bottle in hand, but stopped mid-sentence.

Valentin had pulled Regina into his arms, shielding her with his body.

“…What are you doing?”

“They’re all very rough, aren’t they?”

Valentin had clearly heard Gyle’s mumbling, but ignored it, smiling at Regina.

She let out a long sigh.

“Sorry. I’ll talk to them later.”

“It’s okay.”

As she gently lowered the arm he’d raised in front of her, she finally noticed Gyle’s face.

He looked like he had a lot to say.

“What is it?”

“…Nothing.”