9

“Heek…”

A near-death shriek erupted from Rosenia’s mouth. She had no choice but to fall on top of Llewellyn’s body.

It was almost instinct that the first thing that came to her mind was to run away. However, Llewellyn’s strong arms hugged her tightly and wouldn’t let go.

What’s worse, Llewellyn even rolled over and placed himself on top of her. Then, while embracing her tightly, he kissed her here and there on the face.

Stiff as a sheet, Rosenia was astonished by his half awake state and couldn’t move.

‘What kind of sleeping habit is this…’

While struggling in his arms, Rosenia struck him hard in the chest.

Only then did the focus slowly return to Llewellyn’s eyes, as if he had barely come to his senses. Blinking his eyes a couple of times, he looked down at her with a genuinely surprised look.

“Ah, R-Rose.”

“…”

Blushing and at a loss for what to do, Llewellyn quickly stepped back from her body. She slowly rose up and looked at him with tepid eyes. He blinked dismally, covering his mouth with one hand. His face, as well as his neck and ears, were bright red.

Llewellyn lowered his gaze and timidly tried to explain himself.

“I’m sorry…while sleeping…I thought it was a dream.”

It didn’t seem to be a lie and he also seemed genuinely embarrassed. In addition, Rosenia thought he even looked cute when she noticed him timidly looking at her.

‘I can’t believe you’re this cute…’

Feeling a sense of shame, Rosenia buried her face in her hands. She wished she was less impulsive, but God had made her a helpless fool.

‘To be cute and handsome. He’s such a wicked man.’

With a sigh, Rosenia got out of bed. Then, she spoke to Llewellyn, who was still as ripe as a tomato.

“Wash up and let’s have breakfast. I’ll be in the living room. I left a change of clothes over there.”

Pointing to a bag with the clothes she had bought yesterday, Llewellyn quietly nodded. She quickly ran out of the bedroom before she could be charmed by him.

As soon as Rosenia came out to the living room and sprawled on the sofa, the simpleton familiar came up unnoticed and fluttered its tail. She grumbled, pushing her barefoot at the familiar’s tummy.

“Go away, you puppy…”

Feeling irritable, Rosenia buried her face in a cushion and wailed like a ghost.

Unlike the downpour of rain yesterday, it was very sunny today. On a day like this, one can count their luck to be able to walk side by side with a beautiful man.

The problem was that the beautiful man was someone who kept putting her heart in disarray.

“Thank you for the clothes. It fits me well.”

Said Llewellyn, smiling sweetly with the corner of his emerald eyes looking at her. Whenever he discretely looked at her, he would smile like this.

‘At first, I thought it was just a habit…’

Wait, come to think of it, Rosenia had never heard of Duke Rasiane smiling much when he spoke to others.

Although Rosenia had been stuck in the Mage Tower for most of her life, she could boast that she was not dark to the world outside.

‘Was I wrong about the Duke?’

Her understanding and vague image of Duke Rasiane shook violently. Unless she was mistaken, and he was smiling like that because he was out of his mind.

‘What if he’s still crazy…? That’s a big problem. Isn’t he going to tell me to take responsibility later?’

Regardless, it was true that the clothes Rosenia chose looked very good on him. With a heavy heart, she spoke.

“That’s a relief, the size fits perfectly…The design looks good on you.”

“Is that so? Do you like how I look now?”

“Yes, it looks good.”

As Rosenia nodded with a smile, Llewellyn smiled broadly. At that moment, she thought hundreds of flowers were in full bloom around him. He was so beautiful that he caused an illusion. To the point that it was frightening.

‘I should have picked out some weird clothes.’

‘Then the gloomy energy flowing out of the weird clothes would have tarnished that beauty…!’

…However, Rosenia had a hunch, that with a face like that, anything he wore would be fashionable…

“I hope I look pretty in your eyes, Rose.”

“What? Of course, the Duke is always-”

Unconsciously, Rosenia almost blurted out ‘always beautiful and handsome.’ Having almost let her thoughts slip…she hesitated, trying to find the right answer. Clearing her throat as if she had a bad cough, she continued.

“Naturally, Duke Rasiane is always fashionable.”

“Really? Has Rose always been interested in me?”

Somehow, the question came out of the blue, but it seemed planned. Rosenia thought he was a man who was good at drawing out the answers he wanted.

‘As crazy as he is, his speaking ability seems to be intact.’

With a light nod, Rosenia answered.

“It wasn’t that I was interested.’

Because he was the male lead.

“It’s essential to know about the culture of the nobles in the Empire.”

Finding out about the different nobles, that was her degree of interest. That was all. Personally, she didn’t have much interest in them. She didn’t care about people who she didn’t have anything to do with.

‘But I can’t believe I kissed him. Twice at that…!’

‘I’ve lost my mind!’

Rosenia was certain that Adrian will strike the Duke if he finds out.

‘No, I absolutely can’t let him find out. I can’t even begin to imagine what that crazy bastard would do…!’

As Rosenia was stricken with terror thinking about Adrian, she heard a soft voice from Llewellyn.

“So you were interested in me.”

“Pardon? Well, yes…”

Llewellyn looked very happy today, but now that he heard her answer, he seemed even more happy. A satisfied smile that rose around his mouth made his image gentler.

And the way Llewellyn looked at her, for some reason…it made her on edge. She slipped away from his gaze, resenting her heart that began to flutter with the wind.

As Rosenia walked a little stiff, clasping her hot hands together, Llewellyn spoke up as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh, Rose. And-.”

“…?”

Rosenia looked back at him questioningly. Llewellyn grinned and continued.

“The underwear fits perfectly too.”

Rosenia froze in astonishment, standing stiff as a tree and unable to move. Llewellyn, who was still smiling, reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

‘…He looks so happy, or am I mistaken?’

‘Did he bring up the underwear on purpose? Trying to tease me on purpose? No way. It’s totally out of character.’

‘There’s no way the male lead would say such a shameless thing! That, that’s too much out of character! This was not just anyone but the always upright and honest Duke Rasiane!’

‘He’s supposed to be a pure and innocent man who doesn’t even know a thing about obscenity! The embodiment of abstinence! The fruit of purity! I’m sure he’s never even done anything to satisfy his own desires…!”

…Rosenia snapped out of her thoughts before it got out of hands. She decided to leave it at that, afraid of what she might think the further her thoughts wandered.

However, her turmoiled mind had other ideas.

‘But for a pure guy, I think his kissing was pretty good.’

‘However, he belongs to someone else…’

‘Ah! Stop! Please stop it!’

Feeling deeply ashamed of herself for thinking about the time they kissed, she quickly stopped such thoughts.

For some reason, Rosenia found her head hurting, only to notice that she had been wracking her hair. As she was trying to pull herself together, a low laugh came from her side.

Llewellyn looked like he was having a lot of fun peeking at her.

‘This guy…?’

Rosenia wasn’t a very violent person, but she felt like hitting him for no reason.

But hitting Llewellyn’s solid body will only hurt her hand. On the other hand, using her strength magic, she thought he would be seriously hurt.

‘Hu, I’ll spare you because you’re handsome.’

Llewellyn didn’t know. That his incredible beauty had saved his life many times already…

Rosenia deliberately jerked past him to take the lead and spoke.

“Let’s get some breakfast. I’m hungry.”

“Rose…Wait for me.”

Llewellyn, who followed behind her, stealthily held her hand. His hand was so big that it covered her hand. And it was very hot.

Rosenia tried to pull out her hand, feeling her face burning hot. But Llewellyn held on tight and didn’t let go.

When Rosenia looked at him with a face telling him to let go, Llewellyn looked pitifully at her while his eyes glistened.

“I’m afraid to get lost.”

“…Me? or you, Duke?”

“Not Rose, me.”

Rosenia was amazed that a man much bigger than her was pretending to be weak. But his face made it sound probable. When she looked at his handsome face that had a tint of sadness to them, it made her give in to whatever he wanted.

Helplessly resenting her weak-willed heart, she turned her head and began to walk forward.

Rosenia just walked with her mouth closed, trying to put the thought of his touch, his body temperature, and his gaze that kept penetrating her out of her mind.

The fact that this beautiful man was walking beside her with his long beautiful legs did nothing to help her chaotic feelings.

The more Rosenia became suspicious of Llewellyn, the more she wanted to dig into his innermost thoughts. She wanted to know what he was hiding under that carefree smile.

Rosenia was only half sure Llewellyn was in a state of madness, because sometimes it seemed like he was pretending to be out of his mind.

It was clear that Llewellyn was a very difficult man to know the inner thoughts of anyway. So dealing with this guy made her drained and restless.

Rosenia wanted to part ways with him as soon as possible and go her own way, but had an ominous feeling that it would be a long time before that happened.

‘It’s driving me crazy. I’m not sure I won’t fall for him…’

As Rosenia held back her heart while thinking about this and that, they had arrived at their destination, a restaurant.

There weren’t many people in the restaurant because it was morning. However, not only the guests but also the waiter kept glancing over their way.

It was obvious why. It was because of this man, who naturally sat next to her, catching everyone’s attention at a glance.

His platinum blond hair shined in the morning sun and when Rosenia met his emerald eyes, his lips bent like the crescent moon.

‘T-those eyes again. Is it okay to smile like that when he’s the duke?’

‘By the way, why is he sitting next to me?’

There was a seat across from her.

‘Don’t people usually come to a restaurant and sit in front of one another? Why the hell is he sitting next to me?’

Only

Rosenia asked impatiently.

“Hey, why are you sitting next to me…”

“Ah.”

Llewellyn gave a short exclamation and smiled.

‘That smile again!’

A smile that seemed to conceal something. Rosenia wanted to pinch his cheeks and violently ask him why the hell he was smiling like that.

Such a man who didn’t know her inner thoughts, calmly drank water and spoke.

“Those bastards keep glancing at Rose.”

“Heek…”

A near-death shriek erupted from Rosenia’s mouth. She had no choice but to fall on top of Llewellyn’s body.

It was almost instinct that the first thing that came to her mind was to run away. However, Llewellyn’s strong arms hugged her tightly and wouldn’t let go.

What’s worse, Llewellyn even rolled over and placed himself on top of her. Then, while embracing her tightly, he kissed her here and there on the face.

Stiff as a sheet, Rosenia was astonished by his half awake state and couldn’t move.

‘What kind of sleeping habit is this…’

While struggling in his arms, Rosenia struck him hard in the chest.

Only then did the focus slowly return to Llewellyn’s eyes, as if he had barely come to his senses. Blinking his eyes a couple of times, he looked down at her with a genuinely surprised look.

“Ah, R-Rose.”

“…”

Blushing and at a loss for what to do, Llewellyn quickly stepped back from her body. She slowly rose up and looked at him with tepid eyes. He blinked dismally, covering his mouth with one hand. His face, as well as his neck and ears, were bright red.

Llewellyn lowered his gaze and timidly tried to explain himself.

“I’m sorry…while sleeping…I thought it was a dream.”

It didn’t seem to be a lie and he also seemed genuinely embarrassed. In addition, Rosenia thought he even looked cute when she noticed him timidly looking at her.

‘I can’t believe you’re this cute…’

Feeling a sense of shame, Rosenia buried her face in her hands. She wished she was less impulsive, but God had made her a helpless fool.

‘To be cute and handsome. He’s such a wicked man.’

With a sigh, Rosenia got out of bed. Then, she spoke to Llewellyn, who was still as ripe as a tomato.

“Wash up and let’s have breakfast. I’ll be in the living room. I left a change of clothes over there.”

Pointing to a bag with the clothes she had bought yesterday, Llewellyn quietly nodded. She quickly ran out of the bedroom before she could be charmed by him.

As soon as Rosenia came out to the living room and sprawled on the sofa, the simpleton familiar came up unnoticed and fluttered its tail. She grumbled, pushing her barefoot at the familiar’s tummy.

“Go away, you puppy…”

Feeling irritable, Rosenia buried her face in a cushion and wailed like a ghost.

Unlike the downpour of rain yesterday, it was very sunny today. On a day like this, one can count their luck to be able to walk side by side with a beautiful man.

The problem was that the beautiful man was someone who kept putting her heart in disarray.

“Thank you for the clothes. It fits me well.”

Said Llewellyn, smiling sweetly with the corner of his emerald eyes looking at her. Whenever he discretely looked at her, he would smile like this.

‘At first, I thought it was just a habit…’

Wait, come to think of it, Rosenia had never heard of Duke Rasiane smiling much when he spoke to others.

Although Rosenia had been stuck in the Mage Tower for most of her life, she could boast that she was not dark to the world outside.

‘Was I wrong about the Duke?’

Her understanding and vague image of Duke Rasiane shook violently. Unless she was mistaken, and he was smiling like that because he was out of his mind.

‘What if he’s still crazy…? That’s a big problem. Isn’t he going to tell me to take responsibility later?’

Regardless, it was true that the clothes Rosenia chose looked very good on him. With a heavy heart, she spoke.

“That’s a relief, the size fits perfectly…The design looks good on you.”

“Is that so? Do you like how I look now?”

“Yes, it looks good.”

As Rosenia nodded with a smile, Llewellyn smiled broadly. At that moment, she thought hundreds of flowers were in full bloom around him. He was so beautiful that he caused an illusion. To the point that it was frightening.

‘I should have picked out some weird clothes.’

‘Then the gloomy energy flowing out of the weird clothes would have tarnished that beauty…!’

…However, Rosenia had a hunch, that with a face like that, anything he wore would be fashionable…

“I hope I look pretty in your eyes, Rose.”

“What? Of course, the Duke is always-”

Unconsciously, Rosenia almost blurted out ‘always beautiful and handsome.’ Having almost let her thoughts slip…she hesitated, trying to find the right answer. Clearing her throat as if she had a bad cough, she continued.

“Naturally, Duke Rasiane is always fashionable.”

“Really? Has Rose always been interested in me?”

Somehow, the question came out of the blue, but it seemed planned. Rosenia thought he was a man who was good at drawing out the answers he wanted.

‘As crazy as he is, his speaking ability seems to be intact.’

With a light nod, Rosenia answered.

“It wasn’t that I was interested.’

Because he was the male lead.

“It’s essential to know about the culture of the nobles in the Empire.”

Finding out about the different nobles, that was her degree of interest. That was all. Personally, she didn’t have much interest in them. She didn’t care about people who she didn’t have anything to do with.

‘But I can’t believe I kissed him. Twice at that…!’

‘I’ve lost my mind!’

Rosenia was certain that Adrian will strike the Duke if he finds out.

‘No, I absolutely can’t let him find out. I can’t even begin to imagine what that crazy bastard would do…!’

As Rosenia was stricken with terror thinking about Adrian, she heard a soft voice from Llewellyn.

“So you were interested in me.”

“Pardon? Well, yes…”

Llewellyn looked very happy today, but now that he heard her answer, he seemed even more happy. A satisfied smile that rose around his mouth made his image gentler.

And the way Llewellyn looked at her, for some reason…it made her on edge. She slipped away from his gaze, resenting her heart that began to flutter with the wind.

As Rosenia walked a little stiff, clasping her hot hands together, Llewellyn spoke up as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh, Rose. And-.”

“…?”

Rosenia looked back at him questioningly. Llewellyn grinned and continued.

“The underwear fits perfectly too.”

Rosenia froze in astonishment, standing stiff as a tree and unable to move. Llewellyn, who was still smiling, reached out and gently stroked her cheek.

‘…He looks so happy, or am I mistaken?’

‘Did he bring up the underwear on purpose? Trying to tease me on purpose? No way. It’s totally out of character.’

‘There’s no way the male lead would say such a shameless thing! That, that’s too much out of character! This was not just anyone but the always upright and honest Duke Rasiane!’

‘He’s supposed to be a pure and innocent man who doesn’t even know a thing about obscenity! The embodiment of abstinence! The fruit of purity! I’m sure he’s never even done anything to satisfy his own desires…!”

…Rosenia snapped out of her thoughts before it got out of hands. She decided to leave it at that, afraid of what she might think the further her thoughts wandered.

However, her turmoiled mind had other ideas.

‘But for a pure guy, I think his kissing was pretty good.’

‘However, he belongs to someone else…’

‘Ah! Stop! Please stop it!’

Feeling deeply ashamed of herself for thinking about the time they kissed, she quickly stopped such thoughts.

For some reason, Rosenia found her head hurting, only to notice that she had been wracking her hair. As she was trying to pull herself together, a low laugh came from her side.

Llewellyn looked like he was having a lot of fun peeking at her.

‘This guy…?’

Rosenia wasn’t a very violent person, but she felt like hitting him for no reason.

But hitting Llewellyn’s solid body will only hurt her hand. On the other hand, using her strength magic, she thought he would be seriously hurt.

‘Hu, I’ll spare you because you’re handsome.’

Llewellyn didn’t know. That his incredible beauty had saved his life many times already…

Rosenia deliberately jerked past him to take the lead and spoke.

“Let’s get some breakfast. I’m hungry.”

“Rose…Wait for me.”

Llewellyn, who followed behind her, stealthily held her hand. His hand was so big that it covered her hand. And it was very hot.

Rosenia tried to pull out her hand, feeling her face burning hot. But Llewellyn held on tight and didn’t let go.

When Rosenia looked at him with a face telling him to let go, Llewellyn looked pitifully at her while his eyes glistened.

“I’m afraid to get lost.”

“…Me? or you, Duke?”

“Not Rose, me.”

Rosenia was amazed that a man much bigger than her was pretending to be weak. But his face made it sound probable. When she looked at his handsome face that had a tint of sadness to them, it made her give in to whatever he wanted.

Helplessly resenting her weak-willed heart, she turned her head and began to walk forward.

Rosenia just walked with her mouth closed, trying to put the thought of his touch, his body temperature, and his gaze that kept penetrating her out of her mind.

The fact that this beautiful man was walking beside her with his long beautiful legs did nothing to help her chaotic feelings.

The more Rosenia became suspicious of Llewellyn, the more she wanted to dig into his innermost thoughts. She wanted to know what he was hiding under that carefree smile.

Rosenia was only half sure Llewellyn was in a state of madness, because sometimes it seemed like he was pretending to be out of his mind.

It was clear that Llewellyn was a very difficult man to know the inner thoughts of anyway. So dealing with this guy made her drained and restless.

Rosenia wanted to part ways with him as soon as possible and go her own way, but had an ominous feeling that it would be a long time before that happened.

‘It’s driving me crazy. I’m not sure I won’t fall for him…’

As Rosenia held back her heart while thinking about this and that, they had arrived at their destination, a restaurant.

There weren’t many people in the restaurant because it was morning. However, not only the guests but also the waiter kept glancing over their way.

It was obvious why. It was because of this man, who naturally sat next to her, catching everyone’s attention at a glance.

His platinum blond hair shined in the morning sun and when Rosenia met his emerald eyes, his lips bent like the crescent moon.

‘T-those eyes again. Is it okay to smile like that when he’s the duke?’

‘By the way, why is he sitting next to me?’

There was a seat across from her.

‘Don’t people usually come to a restaurant and sit in front of one another? Why the hell is he sitting next to me?’

Only

Rosenia asked impatiently.

“Hey, why are you sitting next to me…”

“Ah.”

Llewellyn gave a short exclamation and smiled.

‘That smile again!’

A smile that seemed to conceal something. Rosenia wanted to pinch his cheeks and violently ask him why the hell he was smiling like that.

Such a man who didn’t know her inner thoughts, calmly drank water and spoke.

“Those bastards keep glancing at Rose.”