Chapter 7.3

Who’s the one walking the path of priesthood and telling me to fend for myself in the meantime?

…Of course, Dania had never actually said that. But wounded hearts have a way of twisting even recent memories.

While Luel was hesitating, Dania pressed on with a sharp look.

“Do you want me to become a priestess?”

“Huh?”

“You said you’d have to hold off for a while. Doesn’t that mean you want me to become a priestess?”

“Well, since you’ve been preparing for the exam… And it’s your dream, isn’t it?”

“Why do you only beg for what you want in bed but never ask for anything else?”

“Begging…?”

Had my pleading really come across as begging?

Dania’s sharp words kept pouring out, not caring that the Academy’s most adored, strikingly handsome young man was standing there, visibly shocked.

“So that’s it? Because I melt so easily whenever you get hard and coax me a little, you thought I’d make the perfect casual plaything?”

“Dani, that’s not—”

“You noble types might not care, but I’m… yeah, I’m just a stupid commoner. For me, sleeping with someone means marriage, you know?!”

Her words tumbled out in a frantic rush.

Luel finally snapped to attention and took a closer look at Dania’s face—there were faint tears clinging to her lashes.

He had forgotten how often tears would well up there whenever he pushed her to the brink. Whether it was happiness, sadness, frustration—or perhaps… heartache.

“Da… Dani, are you crying?”

“I don’t know! Why haven’t you asked me to date you? Why haven’t you asked me to marry you?”

“I… I mean…”

“Are you seriously telling me to join the priesthood after you’ve already f*cked me?!”

She practically screamed it.

The truth was, Dania had been struggling with her own turmoil for quite some time.

Preparing for the retake exam had been a way to escape from those relentless doubts. It was her attempt to put a meaningful end to her five years at the Academy—not because she truly wanted to pass.

Because she couldn’t figure out what Luel really wanted.

Inside and outside of bed, Luel would hold her hand, hug her, kiss her, and press himself inside her. He’d keep murmuring about how pretty and lovely she was.

But when it came to deeper matters, he never once said the things Dania wanted to hear.

I love you.

I care about you.

Marry me.

Sure, he’d said things like, “You were my first wet dream,” and, “You were the first person I touched myself thinking about.”

But that was about lust.

What Dania wanted to hear was about love.

That he had wanted her for so long because he loved her—and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

Dania’s realization had come late.

The morning after their first night together, Dania had woken up in her narrow bed to find Luel still holding her in his sleep. For the first time, her heart had fluttered in a strange, unfamiliar way.

Now that she thought about it—had there ever been another man in her life besides Luel Marchento?

It might have been an accident that things had happened that way, but if she were going to sleep with someone, it made perfect sense that it had been Luel.

And once that made sense, other things started falling into place too.

Dating, marriage—she couldn’t imagine doing any of those things with anyone other than Luel.

So, after all this time, it seemed Dania had been in love with Luel.

She wasn’t sure when it had started—but since her feelings had never changed, it must have been from the very moment she had first become aware of his presence.

If that weren’t the case, she wouldn’t have let herself get swept away by his beautiful smile all these years.

Even to the point of giving in to their playful s*x.

Most people would sleep with someone because they couldn’t contain their feelings of love. But Dania had done the opposite—she’d realized her feelings after they had slept together.

It didn’t matter either way.

But Luel was a noble. Unlike her, he had the responsibility of carrying on the wealthy Marchento family name.

Didn’t that mean he might have different values from his promiscuous noble friends?

That’s why Dania had been watching him closely these past few days.

It had seemed like a good sign when Luel had gladly escorted her home under the pretense of retrieving a letter from Michella.

And it did seem like he might be jealous of Mikhail, considering how insistent and intense their lovemaking became on the days she attended study group.

But that was only her interpretation.

Luel had never once confirmed it with words.

From the beginning, their relationship had been unbalanced. Dania was a commoner—the daughter of a bishop who served the Marchento territory. If things between them soured, Dania would be the one forced to walk away.

If word got out about their relationship, Luel could still marry anyone he pleased—but Dania’s options would shrink to nearly nothing.

That’s why Dania had never dared to ask him outright.

Instead, she had quietly waited for Luel to say something first.

She had hoped, as always, that he would push forward and make the decision for them.

〈 Well, I guess I’ll have to hold off again for a while...〉

But what had come out of Luel’s mouth had sounded suspiciously like an end.

So that’s it?

Was I just a one-night stand? A trophy to put on the shelf?

But Dania had known Luel for almost twenty years. He might have acted like a scoundrel at the Academy, but the Luel she knew wasn’t that kind of person.

And more than that—she believed in the way his blue eyes shone whenever he looked at her, like she was some precious treasure.

That’s why she had asked him, just to be sure.

〈 Then, until then… you?〉

〈 Me?〉

〈 You’re not going to get married?〉

〈 Do I have to?〉

It was like a slap to the face.

Nobles—especially heirs to noble families—were supposed to marry and secure the family line.

For Luel to brush off the topic of marriage so casually—was that because he only saw her as a friend? A plaything who was good enough for s*x, but not good enough for marriage?

Shocked, Dania had lost the will to press him any further.

From that point on, she had decided not to bring up the subject of their relationship ever again.

Still, whenever Luel came on to her, Dania would pretend to resist before eventually giving in. She was always flustered by his dirty talk, her face burning red—but the truth was, the s*x was good. And it was even better because it was with Luel.

But no matter how good it was, when the emotional part remained undefined, the emptiness only kept piling up.

In the end, Dania used her exams as an excuse to put some distance between herself and Luel physically. Maybe, if she could step away from this, she’d be able to clear her head and see things more objectively.

But Luel didn’t care whether they were sleeping together or not—he kept trying to stay close to Dania anyway. Sometimes, he even acted like her every little move could make or break his day.

So she asked him.

Did he really want her to become a priestess?

Why hadn’t he asked her to date him or marry him?

She knew it must have sounded pathetic and unsophisticated to a noble like Luel, but there was nothing else she could do.

“I already ruined my priesthood qualification exam because of you—what’s the point of becoming a priestess now?!”

“Being with only one person still counts as purity, right…?”

“Hey!”

Luel knew he was talking nonsense.

Frankly, it baffled him that Dania, after getting so tangled up with him all this time, could still claim she had some kind of moral high ground. She must’ve been kidding herself if she thought that argument made sense.

She’d been a scholarship student at the Holy Academy for five years, but since she’d never really cared about religious doctrine, her ignorance was nothing new.

“I thought… since we’d already done it once, you didn’t need me anymore…!”

“Dani, why would you think that?”

“Because if I become a priestess, I’ll have to stay in the Holy Kingdom—and I thought you just wanted to sleep with me before you graduated and returned to Langsen and then leave me behind…!”

“Don’t cry, Dani… And where the hell did you even learn to talk like that—‘sleep with’? Who taught you that?”

“Who else? YOU, you bastard!”

And with that, the dam broke. The tears Dania had been bottling up for days finally spilled over, and once it started, there was no stopping it.

“I’m sorry, Dani. I’m so sorry… Why would I ever leave you?”

“Then—then why didn’t you confess to me? Why did you keep jumping into bed with me instead?!”

“Confess…? Well, yeah, I guess I’m the bastard here too. I’m sorry, okay?”

There was no stopping it now. Luel could only hold her tight and stroke her trembling back, whispering apologies while she sobbed into his chest.

All the heartache and frustration he’d been carrying these past few days were long gone, washed away by Dania’s childlike tears.

In their place, a profound sense of relief and overwhelming happiness began to rise.

Luel cupped Dania’s cheeks with his broad hands, gently wiping away the tears that slipped down from her pale green eyes. His fingers brushed back her honey-blonde hair, tucking it behind her ears with the utmost tenderness.

“You were working so hard for that exam… I thought you were planning to leave me.”

“I only studied for five years—I don’t know any other guy but you, so I got scared! And it’s embarrassing—what would my dad and the Earl say…?”

“You’ve only ever known me? But… if you hadn’t been studying, would you have dated someone else?”

“Do you think I’m you?”

“I’ve really only ever had you, Dani.”

“Sniff…”

Dania buried her face in the curve of Luel’s neck.

Luel stroked her back for a while, then pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and murmured,

“I could live the rest of my life doing nothing but going down on you.”

“Sniff…”

Normally, that kind of filthy remark would’ve made her blush furiously—but at this point, she’d heard it so many times she was almost used to it. Or maybe it was the word “rest of my life” that made it sound unexpectedly sweet.

“Then… sniff… Then, hurry up.”

“Hurry up and what?”

“Not that!”

Dania weakly pounded her small fists against Luel’s solid shoulder.

God, this girl. How could someone so simple and adorable have been such a challenge for me?

It was so hard to figure her out—so difficult to handle her with care—that he’d spent days agonizing over whether or not he could even ask her such a simple question.

And now, seeing how ridiculously simple she was being, he felt like an idiot for worrying so much.

And yet, that very simplicity—the fact that she was his, completely—made Luel’s heart swell with love.

He let out a low, breathy laugh and called her name.

“Dani.”

He tilted his head and tried to meet her eyes.

Her flushed face was still glistening with tears. Luel reached up and gently pulled off her glasses so that she could wipe her eyes more easily.

Her soft green eyes—so innocent and wide-eyed, just like the first time he’d ever seen them—were staring up at him.

This was Dania.

The girl who let him tease her, who squirmed and cried beneath him—but who always, always stayed with him and waited for him to catch up.

“I love you.”

Her small nose twitched as the weight of her emotions broke free.

“Let’s go home together. Let’s get married.”

He kissed the tears from the corner of her eye.

“Be my Countess of Marchento.”

***

One week after the exam.

Dania Lancaster visited the Theology Department office with Ayla and Greg, who had helped her create her answer review sheet.

The cutoff score was 80, and she had scored 80.1.

A narrow but definite pass.

Immediately after, Dania submitted her official resignation from the priesthood evaluation committee and went straight to Luel’s apartment to spend a passionate night with her newly official boyfriend.

One year later, in the Langsen Kingdom’s Marchento territory, the grand wedding ceremony of the Young Master Marchento and his bride was held.

It was a stately and sacred affair attended by distinguished alumni from the Holy Academy.

< Pure Childhood Friend > END