Chapter 2. I Got into Trouble with a Dangerous Man
~ Chapter : 8 ~
And now.
From the moment she opened her eyes in Ritia to recalling everything that led to spending the night with Caliph, her eyes trembled.
She was paying the full price for following her instincts.
“Seems like you remember,”
Caliph murmured, his lips brushing against her hand, his eyes twisted mischievously. Her whole body, including her face, had flushed deeply.
“Ugh.”
Caliph removed her hand from his mouth, biting the thick flesh of his palm. Then, leaning against her hand, he tilted his head and rested his cheek on it.
His attitude was completely different from yesterday. In fact, it was more like a lover just beginning to fall in love. At the same time, there was a glint of greed, as if he could devour her at any moment.
What exactly happened last night?
Her throat still felt raw, and her body didn’t feel like her own. On top of that, memories flooded back all at once, needing to be sorted. But the man who had trapped her in his arms didn’t seem likely to let her go easily.
“So.”
“…….”
When Ritia raised her slightly lowered eyes, their gaze met again. Every time their eyes locked, a strange tingling ran through her body. Every nerve seemed to respond to just his look.
“Are you really going to leave as you are?”
“…….”
“Not even keeping your promise? You’re not going to leave me behind, right? That’s different from what you said yesterday. And…”
Her clothes must be completely torn.
Muttering to himself, Caliph caused Ritia’s face to flush even more. She quickly turned her head to look for her clothes. There was no dress, only scraps of the fabric that had been her outfit last night, scattered across the floor. Pieces so torn they couldn’t even be worn. Truly irreversibly ruined.
“…Ah.”
Rather than wearing these shredded remnants, it seemed better to wrap herself in a sheet. And even if she tried to get up, his large frame made it impossible to push him away.
Even if last night they had touched while she was drunk, now they were in a painfully raw state. Completely unclothed. Absolutely bare.
Eventually, unable to bear the embarrassment, Ritia closed her eyes tightly and said,
“…I’m not going anywhere right now. So please, step aside for a moment? You’re… too close. Oh, let’s put on some clothes first and talk properly. Like normal.”
After rolling around together, it felt like she was the only one who was decent, which made her flush with a mixture of frustration and disbelief. Still, she was trapped in his arms, so appearances were ruined anyway.
“Alright, I will. As you command.”
The weight pressing down on her disappeared, and Ritia hurriedly tried to rise. But as soon as she stood on the floor wrapped in the fabric, she collapsed again.
“Ah.”
Her face turned bright red. Her legs had no strength; she simply couldn’t stand. Ritia, who had wanted to act proud, froze, utterly unable to move, her ears burning crimson.
“Sorry. I should’ve helped.”
Seeing her small shoulders stiffen, Caliph chuckled softly. Even as he lifted her back onto the bed, Ritia could do nothing but cover her face with both hands.
“Move your hands.”
“No.”
“Let me see your face.”
How could someone change so much overnight?
The man she met yesterday had been dangerously alluring. Even in conversation, he seemed to have some kind of upper hand, and Ritia instinctively acknowledged it. She didn’t know why, but even before getting drunk, she felt it. But now, with a plea-like request, he acted exceedingly kind and intimate.
Nothing felt natural.
Was this how it always was? After spending one night together? You’d need to experience it to know!
Ritia’s mind was in turmoil at her own inner cries.
Carefully, almost politely, he placed her back on the bed and said,
“So… where were you planning to go?”
“…Home.”
He raised one eyebrow.
“You still haven’t told me your name. You want to go back?”
“…….”
“If you tell me, I’ll take you home safely.”
Like tempting a child with candy, his words left Ritia’s mouth dry. Come to think of it, she vaguely remembered him asking her name yesterday too.
Even while getting into trouble while drunk, he had kept to that small courtesy. Maybe she should just tell him. Since he was so famous, hiding her name wouldn’t matter anyway.
“…Ritia.”
Caliph tilted his head.
“No, not that one.”
“Then?”
Still wrapped in fabric, Ritia played dumb and asked him,
“Your real name.”
She sealed her lips shut. How did he know?
‘I’m the only one who knows that the original owner of this body isn’t me.’
And yet, it wasn’t like anyone else would find out anytime soon. No wonder his questions had seemed odd since yesterday.
Even with her silence, he simply regarded her with a curious gaze. Had she accidentally touched something that shouldn’t be?
“…I don’t know what you mean.”
Ritia responded with pretense ignorance.
He studied her carefully and chuckled lightly.
“Fine. We’ll figure it out gradually.”
Gradually, he said. Ritia’s conscience pricked a bit, but she had no intention of extending this overnight entanglement. Of course, she remembered clearly that she was the one who initiated it, but she didn’t want to escalate such a huge accident.
Ritia muttered, trying to block him out.
“…Um, can we just forget about yesterday? Of course, I’m grateful for your help, showing me a nice view, and being my drinking buddy. But yesterday, I had a lot built-up frustration… Probably we won’t meet again, but I wanted to thank you.”
Without waiting for a response, she tried again to sit upright. She felt it was best to get home quickly. Her legs were still wobbly.
Seeing her struggle, Caliph immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and helped her back onto the bed.
“You’ll get hurt. Was I really that bad yesterday? That can’t be.”
His tone implied he could never have been.
“It’s not that!”
“Then?”
“…We just met yesterday. So…”
“Then keep meeting.”
“…What if I don’t want to?”
“Why? You said you’d handle everything yesterday. I want to, though.”
“Th-That… that was because I was drunk yesterday. It was the alcohol. I don’t really want to do that.”
“Ah, because of the alcohol.”
“Yes… But why do you keep using casual speech toward me?”
Since earlier, he had been speaking casually. Actually, since the first time they met yesterday. Ritia felt frustrated because it seemed like his tone made him constantly take the upper hand.
“Pfft! If it bothers you, just do it too. You did fine yesterday.”
He laughed heartily, giving her a deadpan answer.
Ritia glared at him, more frustrated, and her left shoulder began to ache again.
“…It hurts.”
Why did her shoulder hurt so much?
She frowned, wincing from the pain.
“I was curious if you could handle it.”
He bent down, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder. His hand gently brushed it, warmth spreading.
“What? Handle what?”
“Then how about this?”
“……?”
Ritia tensed, wary.
“You’ll come looking for me anyway.”
Because you’ll need me.
The pain subsided as his trap-like gaze returned to her.
“…What do you mean?”
“You said it yesterday. You couldn’t take it back. You said you’d handle it.”
“….”
She knew. She even replied that it was fine.
“Then if you don’t come looking for me, I’ll pretend it never happened.”
“Really?”
Unlike his previous reluctance to let her go, the condition he offered was ridiculously simple. Ritia hadn’t intended to look for him anyway, and he even brought it up first.
“However…”
“However?”
“If you come looking for me.”
Ritia swallowed hard.
“Then you’ll have to take responsibility for what you said.”
Take responsibility. He meant she had to handle herself.
Ritia thought for a moment. It seemed like she was winning this game…
“Until when?”
“Until when? If you say one day, I’ll decide. ”
One day would undo this offer. Too long, and Ritia would lose out.
“…A-Alright. One week.”
“One week?”
“Yes, one week.”
“Fine, one week. If you come looking for me, I win.”
“And if I don’t, then I win. Now, take me home.”
Even so, his calm smile irritated her.
“Before that.”
“What now?”
“My name.”
“….”
Ritia shut her lips tightly.
“Call me again. You’ll need to remember my name if you’re going to look for me, right?”
Then I’ll take you home. Caliph gently coaxed her.
Ritia slowly opened her mouth.
“…Caliph.”
His smile spread, dizzying.
That’s how it went.
As he said, she safely returned home. Strangely, her father, Duke Mont, didn’t even notice she had disappeared. How powerful must this magician be?
Ah, come to think of it, there are magicians here too, right? With powers of light and darkness, and saints, so of course there would be magicians. If not, that would be unsettling. She decided it was best to understand the area’s magical ecosystem first.
Fortunately, yesterday passed without incident, so she just needed to be careful going forward.
Leaving yesterday in the past, Ritia lost herself in thought—but then, click, the door opened.
