TPOTLPIM Chapter 16

Even as his deep blue eyes took on a chilly cast, he seemed to be anxiously awaiting her response.

"No, I don't have one!"

"What's your ideal type then?"

"I don't have that either!"

'Even if I did, I could never tell you.'

It would be better not to say anything at all to Teros that could become a hint about Dmitri.

"Really? Miss Odik seemed to know about it. Your ideal type."

'You talked about that kind of thing with Asen?'

While she was intensely curious about what he had heard from Asen, Cecilia pretended to get angry to avoid having her embarrassing past exposed.

"Why would you hear about that from someone else? What I'm telling you is the truth, don't believe what you hear from others!"

"I won't."

Cecilia found it strange how he had been persistently digging like he was drilling into her one moment, then instantly surrendered like raising a white flag.

Teros reached out toward Cecilia's clenched fist as she pretended to be angry, gently uncurling her tense fingers one by one.

His large, thick knuckles created an odd contrast with her small hands. When his battle-hardened, rough skin brushed against hers, the unfamiliar sensation made the fine hairs on her body stand on end.

"From now on, I'll only listen to what my fiancée says."

As he lowered his gaze, his long eyelashes cast lengthy shadows. He looked just like a dejected large dog. It's unfair when he suddenly acts like this. It just makes me feel sorry for him.

"When you were chatting so affectionately with Marcel earlier, I felt jealous."

"I was being affectionate? There must be some other meaning to the word 'affectionate' that I don't know about."

"You treated Marcel the same way you usually treat me. A couple about to marry should be more special."

"Sir Marcel and Lord Teros are certainly different."

She had no obligations whatsoever toward Marcel, but she was connected to Teros through a sense of duty. If someone else had tried to force marriage on her, she wouldn't have been dragged along like this.

Her current relationship with Teros was only possible because it was Teros. The wrong she had committed against him, his special position that allowed him to mention military court, and Teros's uniquely cool image that made him hard to refuse had all combined to create this situation.

But was what she felt for him really just a sense of duty?

Then, Teros spoke as if demanding his fiancé's rights.

"Then allow me special actions that you don't do with others."

"What kind of actions?"

Cecilia's throat went dry with rising tension. Teros had already kissed her round forehead and palm, places no other person's lips had ever touched. What other special actions could there be beyond that?

Time seemed to stop momentarily as she waited for his answer.

Instead of answering, Teros picked up an unused fork that was placed in front of him.

"That cake, is it delicious?"

The fork gradually approached the slice of cake in front of Cecilia.

'Ah, the special action was to share food from my plate!'

Eating food from another person's plate was something only couples intimate enough did. It was aristocratic etiquette that even family members didn't do.

Since this was something she could easily do, she barely held back a sigh of relief that was about to escape.

But Teros's fork picked up the strawberry on top of the cake and came toward an unexpected direction.

"Say ah."

The luscious strawberry came to rest in front of her mouth. The sweet and sour strawberry fragrance spread instantly, making her mouth water involuntarily. Caught off guard by the unexpected situation, she blinked rapidly while her lips trembled.

"You want to eat it. Hurry, my arm's getting tired."

There were many other nobles in the bakery. Moreover, earlier Prince Crolyn had caused a commotion with Asen, drawing attention to this table.

If she ate this strawberry here, it would add fuel to the scandals that had surrounded her for the past few weeks.

"You want to put on a romantic display in such a crowded place?"

"What's wrong with that? No one's looking at us."

When Teros turned his head toward where the people were, surprisingly, the countless gazes that had been watching them all simultaneously looked away.

Teros tilted his head slightly toward Cecilia and whispered secretly.

"Though I also dislike crowded places. If it bothers you, let's go to a place where it's just the two of us."

"Wh-where are you talking about?"

"For example, Hasblue, or perhaps Hasblue..."

He was asking her to come to his estate with him.

As soon as those words ended, Cecilia opened her mouth and bit the strawberry in one go. It was better to eat a strawberry once than to go to his estate.

"That's right, you're eating it deliciously."

The corners of his mouth curved up as if he had achieved what he wanted. His suggestion to go to the estate together seemed to be more of a means to get her to eat the strawberry rather than a serious request.

'This feels somehow humiliating!'

As Cecilia chewed the strawberry, she glared at Teros, feeling like she had been played with.

"So that's it for this specialness or whatever Lord Teros was talking about, right?"

"What are you saying? We haven't even started yet."

At his slightly dangerous-looking smile, the tense Cecilia audibly gulped down the strawberry in her mouth.

"What, what other specialness is there!"

Flustered, Cecilia raised her voice.

"Would you do it if I told you?"

"And you'd give up if I said no?"

"No. You're going to do it anyway. I'm just hoping you'll do it with a happy heart."

"You're so greedy!"

Cecilia glared at Teros, who was grinning mischievously while rolling her eyes sideways.

Teros wiped the smile from his lips and became quite serious.

"I'm going to participate in the equestrian competition hosted by the imperial family next week."

"An equestrian competition? You've never participated before."

"That's right. If I participate, I have to attend not only the pre-event ball but also the celebration banquet if I win. That kind of thing is bothersome. I'm only participating to show you. Will you come cheer for me on the day of the competition?"

The Braeden Empire's equestrian competition was one of the annual events hosted by the imperial family every year. Renowned noble men from across the nation participated, and the emperor bestowed a fairly substantial monetary prize to the winner.

It was a large-scale event that included a pre-event ball, a two-day equestrian competition, and finally a celebration banquet. Most nobles in the capital made sure to attend the equestrian competition, and unmarried noble ladies visited the ball to find reliable husband candidates.

"Well, I can go cheer. I watch the equestrian competition every year anyway. Would Lord Teros's wish be fulfilled if I go to cheer?"

"Please give me a victory kiss on that day."

Cecilia's eyes widened in surprise. Teros had just made a proposal that she could never refuse, even though he called it a request.

Equestrian competition participants could receive a victory kiss from a woman of their choice just before the competition began.

Though it was called a kiss, it was actually the act of a woman kissing her own hand and then placing that hand on the participant's cheek.

Usually wives or lovers gave victory kisses, but if there was no suitable person, they would ask relatives or acquaintances to find someone appropriate. Because of this, some participants used the victory kiss as an excuse to confess to women they had feelings for.

Since the equestrian competition was one where participants could get injured, there were hardly any women who refused victory kisses. If they refused and the other person got hurt, they could get caught up in unnecessary gossip.

This point applied to Cecilia as well, making it difficult for her to refuse this proposal.

"Uh, um... okay. I'll do it."

Though it was burdensome to have to give a victory kiss in front of the audience, it wasn't something only lovers did, so she decided to think of it comfortably.

"Cecilia really is kind. This is a small token of appreciation."

This time his fork picked up a piece of cake topped with fluffy whipped cream. The sweet fragrance of whipped cream naturally approached Cecilia's mouth. Enchanted by the suddenly approaching appetizing aroma, she reflexively opened her mouth and bit the piece of cake in front of her.

'Wait, what am I doing right now!'

She had let her guard down for a moment. While savoring the sweetness spreading in her mouth, she felt doubtful about her actions. At this rate, it seemed like she would accept whatever Teros offered, even if it wasn't cake.

"Is it delicious?"

In Teros's subtly questioning eyes was a sense of pride, like watching a child's first steps. In that gaze, Cecilia couldn't shake the feeling that he was teasing her.

'What kind of token of appreciation is this? I can't be the only one getting flustered!'

Now it was do or die. Teros needed to feel this embarrassing and awkward feeling too. Since he had fanned the flames of her scandal in front of people, she would damage Teros's dignified image too.

She reached out and picked up a new fork that was left where Marcel had been sitting.

"Lord Teros should try some too."

The piece of cake she cut approached Teros's mouth.

"I dislike sweet things."

"Oh, my arm's getting tired. Hurry."

At the same urging he had used earlier, Teros quickly opened his mouth and accepted the cake she offered.

'Huh?'

Though she had intended to tease Teros, she was the one who was more surprised.

She had expected him to resist a bit more, but his attitude of docilely bowing his head and accepting the cake she offered was unexpected. Moreover...

When he bowed his head, his straight nose looked even more refined, and his long, thick eyelashes were so pretty that she was at a loss for words.

Cecilia cleared her throat unnecessarily and looked away, afraid her thoughts might be discovered.

"It's unexpectedly delicious. It's worth eating occasionally."

Teros calmly evaluated the taste while chewing the cake in his mouth.

"Tch, how boring."

Feeling mischievous, Cecilia put down the fork she was holding, and Teros looked at her with puzzled eyes.

Hadel, the young head of the Odik family, sat buried in a large chair carved from premium oak.

This was his study. Like ordinary studies, it had a tea table, bookshelves surrounding the entire wall, and a work desk and chair, but the difference was that the desk was intimidatingly large and was even positioned one step higher from the floor.

Thanks to this, his study was reminiscent of a king's audience chamber. People entering the study would face Hadel looking down at them from above.

Though it wasn't as spacious or splendid as the imperial palace's audience chamber, this place seemed like an audience chamber for some king with modest and eccentric tastes, and Odik Castle was his small kingdom.

Hadel, who had been sitting at his desk earnestly reading and writing something, suddenly cast his gaze to the back of his hand.

The trace where Teros's dagger had passed had faded considerably but left a bumpy scar.

He smiled slightly while looking at the scar on the back of his hand.

This wound was a thread connecting him to Teros. Teros might believe that he was manipulating Hadel, but did he know that Hadel was equally moving him as he wished?

Then the sound of urgent running footsteps was heard, and the study door burst open without even a knock.

"Master! Miss Asen!"

Hadel's face, which had been like a delicately crafted artwork, crumpled in an instant.

When he hurried to the reception room, he found Asen together with a man named Marcel, who was the captain of the Red Knights.

Marcel simply reported that Asen had used enhancement magic on Prince Crolyn today, and after leaving a request not to scold his sister too much since he had already sufficiently admonished her, he left Odik Castle.

Only Hadel, who was suppressing his anger, and Asen, who was watching his mood, were left alone in the empty reception room. The already gloomy space was filled with Hadel's cold aura.

"Asen, you weren't caught by that bastard, were you?"

"No, brother. I was careful not to get caught, and the magic worked exactly as I intended."

Hadel found his sister's words unreliable.

Contrary to the world's assessment of her as a talentless mage, Asen was actually born with strong magical power that appeared once in a hundred years among the Odiks. But because it was too strong, she didn't know how to precisely control her magical power. No matter how much Hadel had held onto her and taught her since childhood, it was useless.

The magic she used had a success rate of only six out of ten times, and she often caused accidents while trying to handle the uncontrollable power. While other mages often used magic without others noticing, she was always discovered and caused problems whenever she used magic.

Asen's unprecedented magical power was like a time bomb, so it had to be hidden until she properly mastered control methods. If this fact became known to the world while she was still clumsy, it would threaten both the Odik family's status and Asen's safety.

"Asen, go stay at the villa in Romdelvine for a while."

Asen's face became tearful. Hadel had just essentially sentenced her to confinement.

To Asen, that place was like a prison with only boring antique furniture sitting around. There wasn't a single magic book there, nor was there Asen's favorite dedicated magic research laboratory.

She quickly grabbed Hadel's sleeve.

"Brother, I was wrong. I won't use magic carelessly again!"

Hadel frowned thinly and sighed. He had too many things to worry about. Externally, he was concerned about the Odik family's weakened status, and internally, his own position was unstable. There were many relatives who coveted his position as the young family head, and just thinking about handing over Odik Castle to someone else made his teeth grind.

Hadel's slender hands gripped both of his sister's shoulders firmly.

"Listen carefully, Asen. We can't let anyone find fault with us. Even though we're of the most legitimate bloodline, there are too many people in the family who covet my position. We can't show weaknesses to those half-Odiks."

Asen's eyelashes trembled finely, and moisture began to well up in her eyes.

"I know, brother. I'll be careful not to interfere with your leading the family. I cause fewer accidents than before, don't I?"

One of Hadel's eyebrows shot up. Was she calling that talking? Hadel was about to mention the incident his sister had caused with the big shot Teros but closed his mouth. Soon he changed his mind and decided to comfort his sister.

"Foolish sister. The family isn't led by me alone, but by us together. You're my only blood relative and successor. If you don't want to go to Romdelvine, go to your favorite research lab on the second floor. Just stay out of my sight since I find you disgusting to look at."

He gently stroked his sister's glossy chestnut hair and left the room.

Asen sat in front of the experiment table in her dedicated magic research laboratory with mixed feelings.

She was currently thinking about the meaning of her existence, and her self-esteem was digging into the ground. She couldn't resist that moment when the desire to use magic boiled up every time. Magic wielded in inappropriate situations was problematic whether it worked properly or not.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Why am I really like this? I don't want to be like this either. Her crying grew more intense until her shoulders began to shake.

Crackle- Crackle-

If the magic communication device hadn't rung then, she would have cried until her eyes were puffy.

She took out the magic communication device she had received from Hadel during the day. It was the communication device Hadel had been using to contact Cecilia.

"Asen, did you get home safely? I was worried when you left like that today."

To answer Cecilia, Asen wiped her tears with the back of her hand and calmed her heart.

"Thank you for contacting me, Cecilia. Fortunately, Sir Marcel was with me, so it was resolved well."

"Ah, that's a relief. But Asen, why does your voice sound like that? Are you still feeling bad about what happened during the day?"

"Oh, that's... I got scolded by my brother for using magic. I just got home."

"Lord Hadel scolded you for creating one flame? Tell anyone in the Odik family who doesn't use that level of magic to come forward. Everyone uses a little bit here and there, thinking others don't know, right?"

Hearing the words earnestly comforting her, Asen hung her head even lower. The more Cecilia tried to comfort her, the more her heart ached as if being stabbed.

'I'm sorry, Cecilia. I actually used enhancement magic.'

Cecilia wouldn't shield Asen even if she knew this fact. In a way, Cecilia was also a victim of the potion Asen had made. Asen carved today's events into her heart again and again to avoid repeating the same mistake.