“Uh, your face…?”

Liriope answered, trying her best to ignore Theo’s sly smile, and a soft chuckle slipped from his lips. That languid yet calm laughter sounded oddly pleasant, and before she knew it, Liriope found herself adding more.

“Your laugh is really nice too.”

“Mmm—” 

Theo let out a low hum, as if surprised, then gave another quiet laugh.

Maybe it was his relaxed attitude, but all the tension that had built up seemed to melt away. Liriope turned toward him, eyes twinkling, and continued speaking.

“Actually, your body’s great too.”

“…My body?”

“Yes! You’re way more muscular than the Crown Prince, right? I don’t really go for that tall, skinny model look. I’m into guys like you—with insanely ripped abs.”

Once she started talking, her mouth completely bypassed her brain’s filter. She began visualizing Theo’s abs in her head, and that, combined with his perfect physique right in front of her, sent her imagination spinning out of control. And so, her mouth kept going without any caution whatsoever.

“And I found out after coming here, but your hands are totally my type, too. I don’t like men’s hands to be too pale and dainty, you know? But I also don’t like them to be all rugged and covered in bulging veins either. Yours is the perfect balance—just really nice-looking.”

Theo’s face was growing more and more rigid by the second, but Liriope’s mouth still hadn’t stopped.

“And I’ve always been a sucker for black hair, so… ah.”

Luckily—or perhaps unluckily—that’s where the brakes kicked in. Just as she pointed a finger at Theo’s black hair and locked eyes with him, she froze and clamped her lips shut in alarm.

She’d been so caught up in her excitement that she’d blurted out everything on her mind—and just now, she hadn’t even added an honorific when addressing him.

And black hair f*tish? Seriously, what kind of lunatic says something like that out loud?

Liriope had no idea how to recover from this mortifying situation. Her eyes blinked rapidly, and she bit her lips in panic. Theo, who had been staring at her in disbelief, blinked a few times himself, then cleared his throat.

Then, as if trying to shield himself, he crossed his arms.

His ears, sticking out adorably from his head, had turned a bright shade of red—clearly, he was embarrassed. Most likely because of her comment about ripped abs. Or, perhaps worse, he might’ve misunderstood and thought she’d actually seen his body somewhere without his knowledge—like some sort of pervert.

Liriope quickly tried to clarify before he could get the wrong idea.

“Oh, I didn’t actually see your body, Theo. I just… imagined it. Just imagined.”

But saying she imagined it somehow made her sound even more like a pervert, and she bit her lip again. Theo, clearly thrown off by the word imagined, leaned back deep into the seat, putting as much distance as possible between them. His arms remained firmly crossed in a defensive posture.

Her mouth—always running off when she got excited—was the real problem.

“I—I’m not a pervert, I swear. Please don’t misunderstand. I’ve never seen you n*ked or anything. And the imagining part wasn’t even that detailed, not like… super graphic or anything…”

She did her best to explain herself in the smallest, most apologetic voice possible.

But the more she spoke, the more it felt like she was spiraling into utter ruin, and Liriope found herself furrowing her brows without realizing it. Still, there was no other way to explain herself, so she continued desperately.

“What I meant by imagining wasn’t that I was picturing you slowly taking your clothes off in my head like some kind of pervert…”

“That’s enough.”

Thankfully, Theo cut her off before her ridiculous excuse could go any further.

“You don’t have to say any more.”

“Ah, yes.”

Liriope quickly nodded. Her face felt like it was about to explode from the heat. Even without a mirror, she knew her face had turned as red as a tomato.

Theo, who had seemed just a little flustered by Liriope’s unfiltered remarks, rubbed his eyebrow with his index finger and stared out the window. A brief, awkward silence settled over the carriage.

“Uh… ahem.”

It was Theo who finally broke it, clearing his throat as if preparing to say something. When Liriope looked over at him, his black eyes were calmly fixed on hers.

“If you want to see it, you can just ask anytime.”

‘…Huh?’

As Liriope’s eyes widened a little, Theo scratched the end of his eyebrow with his index finger and gave her a somewhat sheepish look. There was a faint smile behind that expression.

“No need to make pervy little fantasies. I can always show you in person.”

At those words, Liriope’s eyebrows shot straight up.

‘…I already told you it wasn’t a pervy fantasy, you jerk.’

***

Despite repeating over and over again that she hadn’t imagined Theo n*ked like a pervert, they eventually arrived in the bustling downtown area.

Theo, who had annoyed Liriope to no end during the carriage ride, got off first and courteously extended a hand to help her down.

Even though he had just finished teasing her by saying it was perfectly normal to have dirty thoughts—because everyone does—it turned out he could still be a perfect gentleman when escorting a lady.

Taking Theo’s hand, Liriope stepped down from the carriage and immediately widened her eyes at the unfamiliar sight.

The bustling downtown of this romance-fantasy world felt strikingly similar to the ones she’d seen in webtoons. Rows of shops lining the streets, people bustling back and forth, and children darting between them, playing and laughing.

It was her first time seeing such a scene, yet a strange sense of déjà vu came over her.

“Do you know the location?”

Standing beside her and scanning their surroundings, Theo asked.

She shook her head.

“I don’t know the exact location… but I know it’s next to some general store?”

“Do you know how many general stores there are around here?”

“There was a potion shop across from it.”

“Ah, so the combat gear district?”

“Yeah, I think that’s it.”

“You’re buying tea leaves in the combat gear district?”

Theo looked at her in confusion as he asked, and Liriope looked up at him. Since he was a full two heads taller than her, she had to tilt her head up quite a bit.

“Well, it’s not something they normally sell, you know. It’s like… if a bakery owner also sold fish on the side.”

At her explanation, Theo nodded once and began walking.

She, too, began walking after Theo.

“Do you actually know where you’re going?”

“If it’s the combat gear district, I’m quite familiar with it.”

“Ahh.”

Liriope nodded, thinking that made sense — when suddenly, Theo called out to her.

“Riri.”

And at the same time, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace. Before she knew it, Liriope found herself practically in Theo’s arms.

A carriage sped past them, close enough to make her eyes go wide in shock.

“Are you alright?”

Theo looked down at her as he asked.

For some reason, Liriope’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of her chest, and all she could do was nod silently.

All she had done was lean into his chest for a moment, so why was her heart beating so painfully loud, as if trying to burst out of her?

Was it because his chest was firmer than she expected, or because of that subtle scent he carried? Or maybe the warmth of his body where they touched? Whatever the reason, her heart was hammering so hard it felt like it might actually explode.

“Riri, are you okay?”

‘Stop calling me by that weird nickname, you jerk. My heart’s already about to give out as it is.’

Feeling like she might go into cardiac arrest at this rate, Liriope quickly pulled away from Theo’s arms and began inhaling the air she desperately lacked.

“Riri?”

As if totally oblivious, Theo kept calling her by that nickname. Liriope, flustered beyond belief, simply looked straight ahead and picked up her pace.

Without catching on, Theo followed after her, continuing to call out.

“Are you sure you’re alright? Were you startled?”

Liriope shook her head furiously and quickened her steps.

How far had they walked?

As he trailed behind, still fussing over her, Theo suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. Because of that, Liriope naturally turned to face him.

“That’s not the right way.”

“…Ah.”

Liriope glanced over in the direction she had been heading and let out a barely audible sound. Theo looked down at her with a curious expression.

His sharp gaze felt almost oppressive, but Liriope couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. Instead, she kept her gaze locked on the path she’d meant to take, even as he held her arm.

Apparently sensing something strange in her demeanor, Theo tilted his head slightly to the side.

And as soon as Liriope instinctively turned her head, her eyes met his — still tilted, still staring at her.

“Riri.” 

“…Yes?”

“Your face is red.”

At that, Liriope immediately slapped both hands to her cheeks and blurted out,

“I-It’s because I was startled! That’s all!”

Theo chuckled softly at her flustered reply.

“You didn’t… imagine something strange just because I held you for a moment, did you?”

‘I told you I didn’t imagine anything weird!’

She bit her tongue to keep from shouting it out, glaring up at him instead. Theo, straightening his previously tilted head, muttered something under his breath.

“At this rate, I might actually start believing what you said was true.”

“…W-What do you mean by that?”

Curious, Liriope lowered her hands from her cheeks and asked.

Theo smiled as he replied,

“That you really do like me.”