Chapter 54
The mana and body heat she felt from their touching bodies were warm.
Being alone with Elion in that quiet space felt comforting.
In truth, it should have been an awkward situation.
It should have been the kind of moment that made her blush.
But it wasn’t awkward at all, and she didn’t feel embarrassed even a little.
Just like always, Rubiana felt at ease.
They weren’t family, nor were they longtime friends—yet she could feel this comfortable with him.
In her previous life, she had experienced several relationships.
But her romances had always felt uncomfortable.
She was uneasy about the looks her partners cast toward her famous actress sister, and she was also uncomfortable with herself for constantly worrying about such things.
Yet in the moment she woke up in Elion’s arms, she didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
She didn’t even question whether it was right for her to be like this with Elion—the hidden villain—instead of Chad, the male lead.
I think I’ve always wished for a relationship as comfortable as this…
Suddenly, thump, thump—her heart began to make its presence known.
“Puh—!”
Rubiana immediately lifted her face out of the water.
As she took a deep breath she’d been holding in, heat flooded her cheeks, making them flush.
Meanwhile, Elion, who had finished his meal late, was washing up in another bathroom.
As the true purpose of this trip crossed his mind, he could feel his blood growing hot as well.
He examined his naked body reflected in the mirror.
His brows furrowed at the many scars of various sizes scattered across his upper body.
Perhaps thanks to the grace of the gods, he had never once suffered a fatal wound that truly put his life in danger.
But he had participated in countless battles.
And no matter how strong Elion was, once every two or three fights, he would get injured somewhere.
This is pathetic.
He worried that Rubiana might be startled when she saw the scars covering his body.
Their first night together had happened in a daze, intoxicated by mana.
Because of that, they hadn’t had the chance to slowly and carefully take in each other’s bodies—and for once, he thought that might have been a good thing.
He had lived his life treating those scars like medals of honor.
But when he imagined standing naked before Rubiana, the scars became nothing more than scars.
Ugly. Unsightly.
Instead of honorable memories, painful ones came to mind first.
I’ll have to keep the lighting dim.
Since he couldn’t erase the scars, the only solution was to darken his surroundings.
When Elion entered the bedroom, Rubiana was sitting alone at the table, sipping wine.
Just as he’d hoped, the room wasn’t very bright.
Relieved, he walked toward her.
“Welcome back, Your Highness. I’m sorry—I started drinking first. I was thirsty.”
“For the entire week we’re staying here, there’s no need to apologize for anything. We came for the young lady’s recuperation, after all. You’re the protagonist here. You can do whatever you want.”
“I’m… the protagonist?”
As Rubiana repeated his words, her eyes grew moist.
Seeing her face, which looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment, Elion flinched in surprise.
Had he said something wrong?
Just as tension crept over him, Rubiana broke into a shy smile and spoke again.
“You’re the first person who’s ever called me the protagonist! It’s something I’ve wanted to hear my whole life… thank you.”
“Something you’ve wanted to hear your whole life… In that case, I’ll say it again. You’re the protagonist, Miss Payson.”
“Ah—wait a moment.”
Rubiana raised her index finger toward Elion and wagged it from side to side.
“That’s wrong, Your Highness. We agreed to call each other by our names affectionately, remember?”
“Oh dear. My mistake. Rubiana. There—better now?”
“No, no. You have to say it again, from the beginning.”
“Hah.”
An incredulous laugh escaped Elion’s lips.
It seemed Rubiana was a little drunk.
Now that he thought about it, her heated cheeks were flushed, and her pronunciation was slightly slurred.
Judging by how little wine was missing from the bottle, she was probably the type who couldn’t handle alcohol well.
“Come on, Elion.”
She had been calling him “Your Highness” so carefully just moments ago, and now she was calling him by name.
Another laugh slipped out of Elion.
“Rubiana, you’re the protagonist.”
“Heehee… I like that! Again. Say it again.”
“You’re the protagonist, Rubiana.”
At some point, the corners of Rubiana’s lips had stretched all the way up toward her ears.
“Well then, I’ll be generous. Elion, you can be the protagonist today too. I’ll be the female lead, and you’ll be the male lead. How does that sound?”
“Oh my. May I really dare to take the seat beside you as the male lead?”
At Elion’s joke, Rubiana put on a deliberately serious expression.
“At first, no. Because at first, you were kind of… like a villain. A female lead and a villain? That makes no sense, right?”
“I seemed like a villain?”
“Yes! A really strong villain. A super strong villain who was addicted to mana stabilizers. A villain who was toyed with by bad people. A villain, but also kind of pitiful.”
“……”
“But not anymore. Elion, you’re not addicted to mana stabilizers anymore. Instead, you met me… so I’m appointing you as the male lead.”
“Thank you very much, Rubiana.”
Brimming with excitement, Rubiana giggled and poured wine into Elion’s empty glass.
“Here. Let’s toast to becoming protagonists.”
“Alright.”
Elion readily lifted his glass.
Clink!
The two glasses met with a clear sound.
The fragrant wine went down smoothly.
Seeing Rubiana try to down her wine in one go, Elion looked at her with concern.
“Rubiana, you seem drunk. You shouldn’t drink too much—”
“You said I’m the protagonist, didn’t you? You said I could do whatever I want.”
“……I did.”
Drunk Rubiana showed no restraint.
Cutting Elion off mid-sentence, she drained her glass in one long gulp.
There was nothing Elion could do but watch.
After emptying her glass, she jumped to her feet and walked over to him.
Grabbing his hand without warning, she spoke in a bright, cheerful voice, like a bird chirping.
“Now then… shouldn’t we do today’s task, Elion?”
It seemed shame simply didn’t exist for her in her drunken state.
Dragged along by her grip, Elion was pulled all the way to the bed, where he sat facing her.
Rubiana gently caressed his cheek, chattering away.
“That handsome face—perfect male lead material. Not a villain.”
Still smiling goofily as she held his gaze, she tapped his firm chest.
“And sharing your mana with me, too. Your heart is kind. So kind. Perfect male lead material. Not a villain.”
Her slender hand moved lower, slowly tracing the abs revealed between the loosely tied robe.
“Your body is great too. Totally my type! No—wait, every woman’s type! Seriously, perfect male lead material. Not a villain.”
“……”
“So, now… please share your mana.”
Rubiana’s face drew closer and closer, until their lips finally met.
But the kiss didn’t last long.
Rubiana suddenly slipped down into Elion’s arms.
“Rubiana? Miss?”
Elion called out to her, but there was no response.
All he could hear was her steady, gentle breathing.
“Hah…”
A helpless sigh and a laugh escaped him at the same time.
Elion carefully laid her down properly on the bed and lay down beside her.
As he quietly watched her sleeping face, he reached out and slowly caressed her cheek.
Her skin felt warmer than usual beneath his fingertips.
“My honest and sly contract lover—wine is absolutely forbidden from now on. Even if you’re the protagonist, no exceptions.”
The protagonist…
Rubiana had said that he was originally a villain—a villain addicted to mana stabilizers.
As she rambled on about it, Elion thought of Florencia.
He thought of the mana stabilizers Florencia had promised to prepare.
And also of the doubts Omar had voiced.
‘Perhaps… there was something mixed into that tea. Something that destabilizes mana.’
‘How much do you trust humans, Your Highness?’
‘I believe… that humans are creatures who, in order to fulfill their desires, can easily disregard any moral standards.’
At the time Omar had said this, Rubiana had been unconscious, fast asleep.
If she hadn’t heard it from Omar, then where had she heard it?
Or was it simply imagination?
If it were imagination, it lines up far too perfectly with what Omar said. No, no. There’s no need to assign meaning to drunken words. It was just a coincidence.
Pushing away the stray thoughts, Elion gazed once more at Rubiana’s sleeping face.
“There’s no helping it. Tonight, I’ll just sleep holding your hand. Please remember everything that happened today when morning comes, my female protagonist.”
Smiling faintly, Elion firmly intertwined his fingers with hers.
If he kept holding her hand all night, they’d be able to exchange quite a bit of mana.
Of course, it wouldn’t come close to the excessive amount Omar had suggested—but still.
