Chapter 2 (Part 15)

Upon entering the mansion’s grand hall, the servants lined up on either side, bowing in unison to greet the master. With a slight nod in acknowledgment of their greetings, Rune handed his coat to the butler and immediately looked for Ria.

“Where’s Ria?”

“She’ll be down in a moment.”

Spotting Ria descending the stairs, Rune softened his expression with a gentle smile and took a step toward her. But Eden was quicker.

Approaching her with swift strides, he embraced her as if she belonged in his arms. Ria was overwhelmed by the scent of his body. Eden was usually back at his mansion in the evenings, and she was baffled that he was here at this hour.

“Why did you come here instead of going home? You must be tired.”

“I wanted to see you. Didn’t you miss me, Ria? Hm?”

He whined childishly, rubbing his cheek against her hair. The servants, accustomed to the commotion caused by him in the mansion, bowed their heads deeply, amused by his playful antics. They knew his true nature well, so such behavior felt intimidating to them.

“You stayed with me until I fell asleep.”

“But that was yesterday. I miss you every day.”

Ria chuckled softly, oblivious to everything. She found his actions cute, like that of an oversized puppy compared to herself.

Empowered by Ria’s laughter, Eden pressed his cheek against hers even more and continued to act playful.

“We dueled today, and I was scared to death, he came at me like he wanted to kill me. It was terrifying.”

You swung your sword fiercely, and your eyes were filled with intensity, though.

It made no sense for someone who wouldn’t bat an eye if someone died right in front of them to be scared of such trivial things. 

However, for Ria, who had only lived in ordinary places where a sword was nothing more than a knife used for cooking, Eden’s exaggerated words and fears truly hit home. In her mind, the only ones with a killer look in their eyes while wielding a sword were murderers she had only encountered in movies.

So it was natural for her to be taken aback and raise his head buried in her chest to assess the situation with wide eyes. Just as Eden had intended.

“Are you hurt?”

“No. I’m not. But isn’t the problem the opponent in the spar? Right?”

“Yeah. You shouldn’t get hurt.”

Confirming that his intentions were understood, Eden lowered his head and kissed Ria’s cheek as he spoke. The purpose of his intentions.

“I think it would be okay if Ria slept with me tonight.”

“Huh?”

“Just for sleep. You always sleep with Rune. Just sleep with me for one night. Okay? Otherwise, I might be too scared to fall asleep.”

I might not be able to sleep tonight if I don’t kill you, you brat.

Rune bit his tongue to stop the words that had almost slipped out. 

What should I really do with him? I’m so mad I want to kill him.

I should have known from the carriage that he was going to play the fool and monopolize her time, now that his plan to use injuries to monopolize Ria’s care all by himself had been foiled. 

The way he’d managed to get her to agree to it, with a few insults from his dueling opponent thrown in for good measure, was nothing short of condescending.

That devious brat.

He cursed silently in his mind as he gritted his teeth. It was not something he, who had spent all last night constantly harassing Ria with lies about the medicine not working properly, should say.

Rune shifted on his halted feet, moved to separate them, and pulled Ria towards him, holding her in his arms.

“Ria, Eden is one of the best swordsmen in the Empire, so don’t believe what you just heard.”

Then he revealed the truth. Eden, realizing the questioning look in Ria’s eyes about whether it was the truth, coughed awkwardly and redirected his gaze towards Rune.

“Rune is skilled too. That’s why he can spar with me like that.”

“I didn’t come at you like I wanted to kill you though.”

“You did swing your sword aggressively, didn’t you?”

“If that’s the case, you’re no different.”

As the two snarled and fought again, Kahin, the Empire’s greatest swordsman, stood tall behind Ria and pulled her away with a familiar touch.

“My lady, they say dinner is ready.”

“Oh, already?”

“Yes. The chef has prepared a feast full of your favorite foods, so you can look forward to it.”

Blocking the view of the two quarreling men with his large frame, Kahin led Ria to the dining hall, engaging her in lively conversation.

Watching everything unfold, the butler concluded that Kahin was the winner of the day.

＊ ＊ ＊ ＊

Fortunately, their bickering quieted down once dinner started. Kahin realized that he was benefiting from their argument, so he put up with it. Of course, it was uncertain how long it would last, but at least it seemed it would continue until Ria finished her meal.

She was too busy munching on her food eagerly and casting bright glances each time she put something delicious in her mouth. The three men’s faces were filled with contentment, and their gazes toward her were full of affection.

When Ria noticed their gazes, she would tell them to eat quickly, and they would take a bite, and then look at her again. Eventually, she had to put food in their mouths.

“It tastes better when you give it to me, Ria.”

“The food itself is delicious.”

“No, it’s because Ria feeds me. Everything she feeds me is delicious. This meat, this dessert, even the kisses. And the sweet things that come out from below…”

“Stop!”

As Rune, who had been coquettishly playing with his food, escalated his teasing, Ria, startled, hastily rose from her seat and forcefully stuffed a steak into his mouth. Her face was now flushed with embarrassment.

“You can’t talk like that at the table. You did this before too!”

As Ria scolded him with narrowed eyes and sat back down, Rune, with an unapologetic expression, cut the meat that had come as his portion and skillfully transferred it to her plate.

Realizing his intention to seek forgiveness through food, Ria hesitated a little longer before finally picking up her fork and stabbing the meat. It was hard to ignore how delicious the meat was, despite the issue at hand. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, causing her to set down her fork and speak to Rune.

“Rune, I want to go outside.”

Immediately, the dinner hall fell silent. The three men staring at Ria, the servants carrying the food, all stopped moving. Just as Ria was about to question the oddity of the situation, Rune smoothly interjected into the eerie silence. Behind a forced smile, a jumble of emotions swirled in a dark, messy mess.

“Outside?”

“Yeah. Before, I couldn’t move my legs, so I had no choice but to stay inside, but now it’s not like that anymore. I’ve been cooped up inside for so long, and I’m curious about the outside world.”

“It’s dangerous out there.”

Ria’s curious gaze turned into a pout of disappointment at Eden’s firm words, and her eyes dropped downwards.

“So I’m stuck inside for the rest of my life?”

The momentarily deflated tone of her voice pierced their hearts. While it might have been purely because of her mood, the appearance of rabbit ears hanging down above her head was enough to make them feel helpless.

“No, I mean…….”

Eden, who was trying to stutter out an excuse, eventually let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair. There was no logical excuse to be made. Their possessiveness towards her was the only reason. Moreover, if she were to come out like that, they had no way to win against her.

“…… Let’s go, outside.”

“Really?”

“If you promise not to leave our side under any circumstances.”

“Okay. I promise!”

Seeing their expressions brighten up in an instant as if the sun had suddenly emerged from behind the clouds, Ria truly believed they couldn’t resist her.

“Since it’s come to this, should we go tomorrow?”

“Don’t you have to go to the palace tomorrow?”

“It’s okay.”

It’s just for a day, after all.

There are plenty of people to work with. If the secretaries who were still working overtime in their respective offices heard the casual remarks being made, they would have howled in frustration.

“Is there anything you’d like to do?”

“Well…, I want to visit a delicious dessert shop and browse through some shops. It would be nice to walk around the streets!”

“Let’s do all that tomorrow.”

“I should also look at dresses and jewelry while we’re out.”

“Huh?”

“If you want, I can buy you an entire wardrobe.”

Although she spoke of a small street date, their nodding heads indicated a different scale altogether. Ria, who was once a commoner, couldn’t keep up with the financial sense of the two noblemen who enjoyed power comparable to that of the imperial family.

“That’s not necessary, I have plenty of dresses…….”

“The more dresses, the better. Everything suits you well, Ria. And besides… we can tear them all apart.”

“…….”

Ria’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato as she remembered the light blue dress that had been torn to shreds and lay crumpled on the floor from the night before. For a moment, she wondered if she had misheard.

“No, I don’t buy clothes just to tear them apart…”

“My Lady, then what if you don’t wear anything and just stay in bed to prevent tearing…”

“Kahin!”

Her voice, which had shrunk in embarrassment, suddenly rose like a scream.

No, did they all eat something wrong today? Why were they acting like this all of a sudden? 

Flustered, Ria quickly covered Kahin’s mouth with both hands and rolled her eyes in bewilderment.

“I can’t believe even you would say something like that, Kahin……, heh.”

Kahin, who licked her palm in response to Ria’s questioning words, raised his eyebrows as if teasing her. Ria flinched at the cool touch and quickly withdrew her hand as he bit it lightly. Even as she clenched her fist, the strange sensation lingered and heated up her body.

“Ugh, I’ll sleep alone tonight!”

Due to this, Ria’s face and even her fair neck turned red as she hastily pushed back her chair and left the dining room. The three men, who had been teasingly smiling at her cute reaction, quickly regained their senses and followed after her.

“Ria, wait a moment. Please?”

“I apologize, My Lady.”

“I’ll try not to tear your clothes.”

The pleading voices of the three men echoed through the corridor.