3. You Must Protect Me

After having that conversation in the corridor, we had to walk almost completely stuck together all the way to the courtyard of the separate palace.

Ah, to be precise, Felix was almost stuck to her. After six months, they’ll part amicably, and he had to express that he was passionately infatuated with her.

‘Is it fortunate that I just need to play along appropriately…… though I still don’t know where and how I should play along.’

No matter what, being stuck together like this is annoying! With the intention of appropriately pushing him away, she gritted her teeth tightly while forcing the corners of her mouth up and whispered.

“Please stop sticking to me. If you cling like this, I might cancel the contract.”

“Cancel the contract? There’s no such clause in the contract.”

“!!”

What did you say? There’s no contract cancellation clause?

As she looked at Felix with her pupils shaking, he was smiling triumphantly. Cold sweat trickled down her spine.

Not only did he slip past the skinship issue like a snake earlier, but even contract cancellation!?

‘This is why they say you should look at contracts carefully!’

She gritted her teeth and quickly put down her heel to step on Felix’s foot, pretending it was a mistake. However, Felix annoyingly avoided her attack and hugged her waist more strongly.

“Oh my. You should be careful.”

“Th, this……!!”

“If it’s hard to walk, there’s also the method of carrying you.”

Looking at Felix with clear eyes, her rebellious spirit completely deflated. Moreover, he was showing a sparkling smile, and he was so handsome that it was confusing.

“I can walk just fine……!!”

“Heh. Right.”

She shut her mouth tightly and began walking while half-embraced by Felix. This, no matter what she did, she couldn’t win.

Having reached almost the state of enlightenment, she glanced at Felix’s aide who was following beside her.

Whether it was acting or real, Kale had a clearly flustered expression on his face seeing Felix’s changed behavior.

Perhaps feeling her gaze, their eyes met. She sent a pitying look to her workplace colleague.

‘You must have a hard time too……’

“Ahem, hmm.”

However, whether Kale was ignoring her greeting or not, he frowned slightly, cleared his throat, and turned his head away completely.

Tch. His personality isn’t much different from Felix’s. Even though I’m a person who made a contract with your master, wouldn’t it hurt to be a bit nicer?

She grumbled inwardly while finishing preparations to board the carriage.

“Since it’s cold, bring a shawl to put over the lady.”

At Felix’s command, the servants moved in unison. It seemed they had prepared in advance, as one maid brought a shawl. She approached to help with her clothing, but when she saw the bruising on her slightly exposed shoulder, the sound of her sharp intake of breath could be heard.

‘Ah, this is embarrassing……’

Though the maid quickly hid her surprised expression, her face had already heated up. Here, Felix began to add fuel to the fire.

“Marina…… How regrettable. It was too short a time to express my feelings toward you. Will we be able to meet again soon?”

“That’s…….”

The maid who heard Felix’s conversation up close took another sharp breath. Not only that. The shoulders of other servants who were waiting also shook greatly.

Since she had to show the process of their romantic relationship to these people, she needed to give a positive answer. However, unlike him who was acting shamelessly, finding it difficult to express affection in front of people, she hesitated for a moment.

In the end, she answered ambiguously in a whisper.

“It’s difficult to give a definite answer……”

“Don’t feel burdened. I’m happy just meeting like this briefly.”

Felix, faithful to his acting until the end, spoke pitifully. Ugh, I really can’t get used to this. With her embarrassment doubled, she was about to raise her eyebrows toward him as if to say ‘this is enough’ and turn around, when—

Felix suddenly roughly grabbed her and bent his waist slightly to bring his cheek against hers!

— Touch

With a small sound, a warm sensation briefly touched her cheek and fell away.

“—Kyah!”

She was so surprised she couldn’t even scream. Instead, one of the maids watching them screamed for her. Rather than reacting to that, Felix whispered low in her ear.

“Why are you being so spiteful? Wasn’t staying together as much as I want part of the contract?”

“Uh, oh, no, th, that……”

Huh, so that clause meant this?

Staying together as much as he wanted, wasn’t that just occasionally holding hands by his side and such? She thought it would be similar to playing the role of a battery……

‘Is this how 19+ rated dark romance novel male protagonists are different……?’

This won’t do. She needed to properly inform Felix that their relationship was only all-ages business.

“Staying together doesn’t mean this kind of thing. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

“We agreed to pretend to be lovers. And you’re currently being courted by me.”

“Th, that’s true, but you don’t necessarily have to……”

“Don’t necessarily have to, what?”

……You don’t really need to go as far as cheek kisses!

She wanted to say it out loud, but as Kale said, daytime words are heard by birds, and Felix’s servants were hearing all her grumbling. Though they were whispering while standing a bit apart from the servants, Kale was still stamping his feet, worried that their conversation might reach other people’s ears.

He was especially constantly clearing his throat, worried that words like ‘contract’ or ‘pretending to be lovers’ might be heard.

“Ahem, hmm. Cough cough cough! Ah, my throat hurts.”

“……Sigh. Let’s meet again later and discuss that matter in detail.”

“If that’s what you want, let’s do that. Then when shall we meet later?”

There really was no way out. She meant to talk about the contract, but he was making plans for their next meeting.

His acting was so thorough she couldn’t get her bearings.

“Please call me when I come to mind. How could I refuse the glory of the sun?”

“The moment you board the carriage…… no, even now as we part, I miss you.”

“Haha. But I really must return home today. I’m sorry.”

“Ahem, hmm!! Cough cough. Ah, has dust accumulated in the separate palace?”

With Kale’s excellent sound effects, our disguised conversation finally ended.

Though the conversation ended, Felix still acted as a lover in love. Seeing his regretful handsome face, one corner of her heart grew hot for no reason. Though her reason was still shouting ‘Get away from that contract scammer right now!’

“See you again.”

A faint smile. An affectionate voice.

It must have been acting, but her cheeks burned so much she couldn’t look ahead properly and hurriedly left the separate palace.

“The carriage is waiting this way.”

One attendant approached her and offered to guide her.

When Felix and Kale, as well as the servants who had been seeing her off from the separate palace, were completely out of sight, following behind the attendant, she grabbed her hair with both hands and messed it up.

‘Dangerous…… That face is too dangerous!’

No, thinking about it, not just his face but his voice was dangerous too. A clean contractual relationship…… must be maintained! Korean police, you can do it!

She was shouting inwardly like that for a while.

“Huh?”

Realizing she had entered an unfamiliar corridor, she stopped walking and raised her head. She had only been following the attendant to board the carriage, but she noticed she had somehow come to an unfamiliar place.

“I was definitely going to the carriage. When did I enter a different palace?”

Realizing she was instantly walking through an unfamiliar and dim corridor, she couldn’t help but become tense. This, my premonition isn’t very good……

“It’s been a while, Marina Enchester.”

At the voice heard close by, she was startled and turned her head. And there was……

“Uh……!!”

A man with long black hair and black eyes with a faint red tint.

Though she had never met him before, seeing the neat uniform he wore and his handsome appearance, she could immediately recognize who he was.

He was another prince of the Solium Empire, Kervic Nix Solium……! That man who led Marina down the path of villainy in the original work. The final boss had suddenly appeared.

“Why are you making such a surprised expression, Marina?”

At his words spoken in an affectionate tone, she felt her heart shrink tightly.

“I, I followed an attendant to board a carriage……”

“Ah, that attendant is probably sleeping somewhere else. He was just bait I used because I wanted to talk with you……”

Saying that, Kervic moved his steps and slowly approached her. He who slowly approached from the end of the corridor wasn’t as tall or large as his younger brother Felix. Even so, it was truly a tremendous intimidation. Truly befitting the final boss of the original work.

However, the problem lay elsewhere.

‘How does Kervic know me? No, wait. He greeted me saying it’s been a while?’

She barely moved her body stiffened with tension and greeted him politely. Though it was an instinctive movement, her mind was a complete mess.

Strange. Marina and Kervic were already acquainted? No…… thinking about it, the original work never dealt with Marina and Kervic’s first meeting. Perhaps there were circumstances between the two that she didn’t know about.

Thinking that, her body naturally stiffened.

“Didn’t I tell you before that you don’t need to give excessive greetings? Be comfortable. Raise your head.”

At the blunt voice, she quickly raised her head. Kervic was already standing in front of her. Thanks to that, she could take him in at a glance.

Yes, the premonition really isn’t good. Since she couldn’t know the connection between the two people, she had no idea how to treat him. Nevertheless, Kervic acted familiar with her.

‘A connection between the two that wasn’t in the original work…… What on earth could that be?’

Cold sweat naturally flowed down her spine. She had been careless thinking Marina wan’t yet acquainted with Kervic. Content not covered in the original work was like being properly hit from behind.

“How about it, Marina Enchester. Have you thought about my proposal during this time?”

“Yes? Pr, proposal……?”

The ominous premonition was right on target.

Kervic had already presented some kind of proposal. What kind of proposal it was, even if she racked her brain, it was obvious.

‘Like in the original work, he tried to manipulate me with money as bait to make Felix submit? Already?’