Now You’re Obsessed - Chapter 29

Lionel was terrified that Ariel might avoid him, and at the same time, he was angry at Rayon, who supported Ariel from behind.

Recently, Rayon had been looking at Ariel, who often visited Lionel, with a peculiar gaze. Usually, there were quite a few young ladies who initially approached Lionel but then turned their attention to the more realistically approachable and kind Rayon. But Ariel stubbornly did not do so, which seemed to bother him.

Sometimes, this led to a subtle tension between Lionel and Rayon. When Lionel pushed Ariel away, Rayon sharply questioned him as if he had caught him in the act.

“What are you doing, Lionel?”

Rayon’s lips curled slightly as he spoke, but Lionel was more worried that Ariel might get hurt or distance herself from him. Her response once again made Lionel’s ears turn red.

“It’s okay, Rayon. Lionel is just shy.”

“…….”

“Alright. I’ll come back later. Call me when you’ve calmed down.”

‘How.’

How does Ariel manage to say things that pierce through me as if she knows me inside out?

Others thought she was deluded about him and caused him trouble with her misconceptions, but Lionel thought differently.

No one knew Lionel as well as Ariel did, and no one else gave him such an odd sense of stability.

The time he spent with her was more comfortable than any other. Lionel now knew what she liked and disliked.

When she unleashed her holy power for him, he felt jealous of the priests who touched her hand. When she failed the holy knight training, he made cookies for her, almond cookies, her favorite.

Ignoring the subtle glances from the servants, he began making cookies, and his skill had now become comparable to that of any artisan. Seeing Ariel chatter and eat the cookies he made gave him more satisfaction than any other achievement.

Whenever it was hard to meet her, Lionel would send small gifts to her window sill or door. Ariel never mentioned them, but her usual affection and gratitude towards him showed they meant something to her.

‘To Ariel, I must have become just as natural.’

Just as Ariel had become a natural presence to Lionel.

Thus, the idea of her leaving him for someone else, meeting another man, was unimaginable to Lionel.

Even so, that year Lionel did not attend the November Ball. He had commitments as the youngest holy knight in the subjugation team, but….

‘If I go to the ball, I’ll have to dance with Ariel.’

He was afraid of touching Ariel then. He couldn’t predict what he might do. They were still not of age. He couldn’t do anything rough to the innocent Ariel at such a young age.

After careful consideration, Lionel decided to build immunity before touching Ariel.

“You want to dance with your fiancée?”

“…Yes.”

“And you want to use me for practice?”

“Yes.”

“You’re quite a troublesome newbie.”

Sophia was always a straightforward and easy-going colleague. Most importantly, she already had a beloved fiancé, so asking her to dance didn’t seem like a bad idea. Sophia asked with a mischievous expression.

“Is this fiancée of yours, by any chance, Miss Ariel Tenia?”

She might have said it to tease him. Ariel had chased Lionel for so long that everyone in the Holy Kingdom’s social circles knew about it. Sometimes, people brought it up to tease or discomfort Lionel.

However, when asked if Ariel was his fiancée, Lionel unknowingly smiled. It was the same smile Ariel had once seen him make in secret.

Now that he was of an age where marriage talks were becoming serious, the word ‘fiancée’ felt more real than before. Just imagining Ariel standing beside him in a white dress made his heart flutter.

‘…First, I need to get used to touching her naturally.’

As soon as his rational mind warned him, the smile vanished. Seeing this, Sophia looked at Lionel with a subtle expression. The mischievous holy knights who had been teasing him also observed quietly.

“Did you see his expression just now?”

“So the diamond of the Holy Kingdom smiles like that.”

“Do you have feelings for Miss Tenia?”

“So it’s not one-sided?”

Lionel did not refute their words. Some holy knights thought his silence was his usual way of not entertaining jokes, but Sophia, who also had a lover, seemed to take it seriously.

“Alright, let’s train.”

“…Are you serious?”

“So he really likes her, huh?”

“Well… they do look good together.”

Finally, the people around him also voiced their support, albeit in bewildered tones.

Soon, the members of the subjugation team Lionel belonged to took turns helping him with his special training. Among the few holy knights, it became no secret that Lionel liked Ariel.

But the training was of little use. He felt nothing when accidentally touching Sophia or other women, but his body reacted wildly whenever he saw Ariel.

It was the first time his body disobeyed his will, even when he used holy power to control it.

“…Damn it.”

For the first time, Lionel cursed and began to distance himself from Ariel. He felt he might really lose control if this continued.

Seeing her made him feel hot and shivery, wanting to do something he couldn’t even name. When she walked in front of him, he constantly felt dizzying urges. He feared he might be overwhelmed by a desire to violate her. That was unacceptable.

‘Right now, I’m the danger to Ariel.’

It seemed safer to protect Ariel from himself.

Fortunately, Lionel became busy with the subjugation team’s schedule. It was much better than making clumsy excuses to avoid or push Ariel away. He didn’t want to hurt her like that.

Moreover, Ariel stayed by his side even with the distance between them. This made Lionel happy.

Spending time like this, Lionel gradually regained his rationality. Whenever his body aroused uncontrollably, he focused more on practical training, remembering how he couldn’t protect Ariel from the dogs. He trained hard, cutting down monsters and strengthening his body.

As a result, he became a truly unmatched gem in terms of skill.

The Holy Knight Order’s commander and high priests began to take serious interest in him, but he had no interest in such things. What mattered to him was what Ariel would say the next time he returned to the Holy City, and how calmly and rationally he could listen to her.

Sometimes, his true feelings slipped into the letters that didn’t reach Ariel. Words that got stuck in his throat when he tried to say them face-to-face.

Honest, kind words.

[To my Ariel]

Writing her name on the envelope, Lionel believed Ariel would always wait for him until he could touch her naturally and rationally.

He believed it without doubt.

* * *

“Have you seen it?”

Sophia clicked her tongue at Lionel as if she found him pathetic, not long after he came of age. Lionel calmly replied.

“I’m well aware of the pests buzzing around Ariel.”

“Oh, really?”

There were oddly many men around Ariel, including Caelo from the Republic of Veloto. Ariel herself didn’t know, but Lionel, who had been watching her all along, knew very well.

‘I’ve dealt with most of them for now.’

Half of the men approaching Ariel did so out of a perverse sense of conquest, knowing she only had eyes for Lionel. The other half genuinely approached her out of romantic interest, attracted by her ever-bright demeanor.

Most of them backed off due to his interference behind-the-scenes, but Caelo clung to her like a leech. Rayon’s recent interest in her also bothered him.

There was another problem.

‘Though she wants to stay with me, I understand.’

Ariel’s constant attempts to join the subjugation team were both delightful and troublesome.

First, he worried she might get hurt fighting without proper holy power. The memory of her getting hurt while stopping the hunting dogs was still vivid in his mind. He didn’t want to see a sight like that again. She was someone who deserved to be protected.

Second… he worried he might touch her during the subjugation.

He still got aroused just by seeing Ariel. Lionel had already seen many holy knight trainees and saints pairing up, even priests, during the subjugation. The subtle rumors surrounding young men and women who disappeared together under the pretext of replenishing holy power at night.

‘Holy Kingdom, my as$. What a joke.’

The scriptures were full of warnings about losing holy power if priests had intercourse, but it was well-known among the clergy that this wasn’t true. Even cardinals had illegitimate children.

Ultimately, those passages served only as warnings to maintain dignity. Even married holy knights were not as pious and pure as foreigners believed. Lionel knew this well. He maintained his rationality only because he couldn’t touch Ariel directly.