Chapter 9 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I finished the meal without knowing whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose.

Walking on the street after leaving the restaurant, I couldnundefinedt concentrate at all. Because a suspicion had sprouted in a corner of my mind that Ruwellin kept trying to seduce me.

undefinedAh, no, this person isnundefinedt in his right mind...undefined

Right, thatundefineds probably why heundefineds acting that way, right? But if he stays crazy and keeps acting like that, I canundefinedt handle it at all. Should I just contact the Rashiane Duchy? But what if that leads to some kind of misunderstanding?

undefinedUgh, this is driving me crazy.undefined

Was this how a soldier trapped between a rock and a hard place felt? I kept thinking of ways to break through this hopeless situation, but no matter how much I thought, there was no answer. Truly hopeless.

And according to what I learned in my past life, there was one most rational attitude a human could take in such a hopeless situation: give up and find peace!

undefinedHaha, I donundefinedt know. Letundefineds just have fun for now!undefined

I held Ruwellinundefineds hand tightly and headed toward the beach.

Walking in step with him, I giggled (I had crossed the threshold of weirdness), and Ruwellin smiled back at me prettily.

Right, since itundefineds come to this(?), I should just feast my eyes on the male leadundefineds pretty face. As I smiled goofily at Ruwellin, he asked in a voice that sounded pleased.

"Do you like my face?"

I nodded eagerly and answered.

"Yes, of course I do."

Where in the world was there someone who wouldnundefinedt like the face of Duke Rashiane? Even the picky Adrian would acknowledge Ruwellinundefineds beauty. Absolutely.

Upon hearing my answer, Ruwellin seemed somewhat shy and wiped his own mouth. His eyes were slightly red, and he looked somehow proud.

Suddenly curious, I asked him outright. It was pure curiosity.

"What about me? Do you like my face, Duke?"

"......"

It was my first time asking someone else such a question, so I was a little nervous.

Thanks to my mother and fatherundefineds genes, my face was pretty, but I wondered what Ruwellin Rashiane thought.

Because, in the original story, he was described as having an excellent aesthetic sense.

The one person who caught Ruwellinundefineds eye and made him fall head over heels, the heroine Sierra, was the owner of a truly nation-toppling beauty.

But rather than a flashy beauty, she was a fresh, elegant, and refined beauty, like a lily of the valley.

Perhaps thatundefineds why Ruwellin fell for her at first sight. A single lily of the valley blooming among countless roses is bound to catch oneundefineds eye.

undefinedIundefinedm more of a rose, if I had to choose.undefined

Even my name means rose... Actually, more precisely, it means undefinedrose garden.undefined Rosnia. When my mother was pregnant with me, she dreamed of a rose garden full of pinkish-red summer roses, so she named me that.

undefinedHmm, how romantic.undefined

For your information, the meaning of Rosniaundefineds name doesnundefinedt appear in the original story. In the original, Rosnia was merely the villain Adrianundefineds younger sister.

undefinedAn accomplice to Adrianundefineds evil deeds... a minion of evil, so to speak?undefined

But remembering my past life, I acted differently from the original. I didnundefinedt help Adrian with his bad deeds, and whenever he tried to go astray, I coaxed and soothed him.

I knew well that methods like instilling a sense of conscience in Adrian were completely useless. So instead of stimulating his conscience,

I would say things like, "Brother, canundefinedt you stop for my sake?" or "Brother, this side of you scares me..." to persuade him.

And those methods worked very well on Adrian. Being a sis-con, he had a pathological fear of his younger sister disliking him.

undefinedI never imagined Adrian would grow up to have such a severe sister complex...undefined

Well, it made taming him easier, so itundefineds fine by me.

I stared at Ruwellin, waiting for his answer. Even though I had asked a while ago, he just quietly gazed at me.

...Perhaps he disliked my face so much that he was contemplating how to answer without hurting my feelings?

That would be like the considerate Duke Rashiane. He, he could just be honest. I wouldnundefinedt be hurt. Really...

undefined...Or would I? Would I be a little hurt?undefined

If Adrian called me ugly, Iundefinedd tell him to shut up and kick him, but thinking about hearing something similar from Ruwellin made me feel strange.

The excitement that had bubbled up from my undefinedgive up and find peaceundefined weirdness just moments ago slowly subsided, and this place suddenly felt uncomfortable.

More precisely, the person beside me who still held my hand tightly...

I subtly applied pressure to pull my hand out of his large grasp.

But then his large hand suddenly tightened, firmly gripping mine.

I flinched slightly, then cautiously raised my gaze to look at him.

He was smiling, but it was a smile that somehow made me uneasy. So, as always, I felt the urge to run away from him.

Ruwellin Rashiane was like an incomprehensible, immense force of nature. He seemed like a tidal wave crashing down to swallow me.

I hesitated, clearly showing my desire to run away. Then Ruwellin turned to face me and held my other hand as well.

My eyes wide, I looked up at him. A large, dark shadow fell over me. Somehow, I felt trapped inside that shadow, inside this manundefineds grip.

As the thought that it was frightening crossed my mind, Ruwellin, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

"Roz, you are..."

"......"

"To me, always, a dazzling presence."

He enunciated clearly, as if emphasizing each word.

I blinked in confusion, unable to understand what he meant.

What on earth did undefineddazzlingundefined mean...?

I had only asked him a simple question: did he like my face?

As I pondered, a thought flashed through my mind. Ah, could it be...?

undefinedDoes he mean that kissing me was that good?undefined

It was a shameless thought, but it had already occurred to me. My face flushed bright red, and I lowered my head. The back of my neck was burning hot.

undefinedCome to think of it, it was his first kiss too, wasnundefinedt it? Thereundefineds no way the abstinent Duke Rashiane had ever kissed anyone before.undefined

The fact that he kissed me was only because of the Mana Rampage... but still, it was his first kiss. For him, and for me.

At that thought, my heart pounded for no reason, and I couldnundefinedt lift my head. I had been ignoring my fluttering feelings, but when they kept fluttering like this, I eventually had to acknowledge them.

undefinedHa, this is bad. This is really bad...undefined

Thereundefineds no way this man will ever like me...

Burying my face in my hands and holding my breath, I waited for my heart to calm down.

But, quite naturally, Ruwellin Rashiane was not helpful at all in calming my heart.

Instead of grabbing my hands again after I had barely freed them, he reached out and gently pulled me into his arms.

My body trembled at the contact of his body heat. Only then did I realize that the sea breeze was a little cool.

His hot body heat seeped into my skin, cooled by the chilly wind. His body was burning hot, like he might have a fever again, which made me tense for some reason.

As I unconsciously held my breath, Ruwellin slowly stroked my back with his large hand and spoke softly.

"You wouldnundefinedt know, Roz."

"......"

"Once you taste ecstasy, you can never let it go. Rather..."

Tilting his head slightly to look at me, his emerald eyes again held that strange madness.

Those very eyes that made me think, undefinedThis person is also crazy.undefined

"Rather, you should have left me in the rain."

"......?"

"But, well. You would have helped me anyway. I know."

A faint smile touched his lips.

Holding me tightly, burying his face in my shoulder again, he felt somewhat unfamiliar.

He seemed like a completely different person from the one who had shown his cute side, eaten sitting next to me, and taken a walk on the beach with me.

An indescribable premonition came over me. It aligned with my desire to run away. But before I could think deeply, his laughter tickled my ear.

Then, lifting his head, he softly kissed me, and my mind went completely blank, unable to think of anything.