Chapter 16: Greed (2)

Chloe quietly faced Tehis. Her reflection in the deep blue sea felt unfamiliar.

She was unsure how to react each time the man’s sincerity resonated clearly with her.

Dismissing it as a contract was impossible since they were alone here. Treating it as a joke felt like doing him an injustice. She had already brushed it off several times, which made it even more so.

What on earth was he thinking, what feelings made him keep saying such things? 

Chloe wanted to ask Tehis but didn’t. Instead of opening a box whose contents she vaguely sensed, she chose to close her eyes again.

Later. Right now, she was busy. She maintained the comfortable present with a flimsy excuse.

Chloe didn’t want to lose Tehis.

“I told you, I think you’re handsome. If not, would I have listed appearance as one of my ideal types?”

In the end, her choice was to smile nonchalantly and subtly change the direction. Instead of reacting emotionally, she answered calmly and slid her hand. She gently massaged the back of his neck to spread the remaining potion.

There was no rough spot at her fingertips, indicating that the wound from the Foundation Day festival had not scarred.

“That’s a relief then. I was worried it might look unsightly.”

“You’re teasingme, aren’t you?”

No matter how many scars he had, that sculpted face wasn’t going anywhere.

As Chloe spoke with an incredulous expression, a hesitant reply came back.

“It’s not a particularly pleasant face…”

“Yes, it is.”

She ended his denial with an affirmative sentence. Whether he had scars on his cheeks or not, he was objectively a handsome man.

‘It’s just that his aura is fierce.’

Chloe recalled the first time she saw Tehis.

Last spring, on the day she went to receive maintenance for the warp gate of the Grand Duchy.

Unlike before, when she had dealt with his aide, seeing Grand Duke Escalante in person, he seemed on edge. The faint smell of blood and a subtle aura of killing intent combined with his hardened expression gave a chilling impression.

Whether it was because the war had recently ended, or an assassin had come, her first impression of him wasn’t very good.

‘That’s why it was more surprising.’

The Grand Duke she met again after exactly one year had less of that venom. When alone, he sometimes seemed lonely and empty.

If she hadn’t been surprised by the weary look she unintentionally witnessed, it would have been a lie.

‘And now…’

Her orange eyes slowly scanned Tehis. His expression was always the same, but the details were different.

Different from the first time, different from half a year ago. Different from last month, different from the last meeting.

When did his body, once tense just by being close, start to relax? When did he begin to reach out first without hesitation? When did warmth seep into the indifferent blue? When did he stop being bound by the word “contract”?

“I’m glad I’m your type.”

Chloe let out a hollow laugh at the man’s pleasant low voice. She was about to comment on his self-perception but stopped.

Joke or truth aside, she suddenly thought that maybe that statement was real.

She couldn’t deny that Tehis was her type.

From the beginning…

“Where could I find a man as perfect as you?”

She was confident that anyone who experienced Tehis Escalante as a lover would agree with this statement. He treated her in a way that couldn’t be better.

The consideration born from someone who hadn’t been loved, cultivated through effort and longing, was so endearing.

“I’m sure you’re the only one who would call me that, Chloe.”

“I’m probably the only one who knows your true self, Tess.”

She responded while taking more potion into her hand. Her fingers traced down the muscles between the wide-open dress shirt. There was no need to apply it to covered areas, but it felt wasteful to leave the visible scars.

Disturbance. Chloe defined Tehis with that word.

He kept catching her eye, and, like these scars, she couldn’t just pass by. He made her care, made her reach out, and that was all.

As her slender fingers moved, the dense scars disappeared. They still existed there but were no longer visible. Leaving a ticklish sensation, they paved the way for healing.

The chest and abdomen, now covered as if with new skin, revealed a firm appearance.

Down, down.

Chloe’s hand, which had gradually moved down to the lower abdomen, stopped when her wrist was caught.

“……”

“……”

Their eyes met. Chloe couldn’t quite discern the exact emotion in the ripple in Tehis’s eyes. But she withdrew her hand, sensing his discomfort.

She pretended not to notice the peculiar thickening of one thigh and dipped her fingers into the potion again. A scar hidden by his bangs appeared momentarily.

“You have a scar on your forehead too, right?”

“…Yes, Chloe.”

For various reasons, his response was slow. Ignoring it, Chloe carefully brushed back Tehis’s bangs. As the hair covering the right side was pushed back, a scar, as if it had been hit against something, was revealed.

A silent time of applying the potion continued.

Even with her hand moving back and forth right in front of him, Tehis quietly watched Chloe without closing his eyes.

Orange eyes examining the wound. The delicate touch applying the potion. The faintly touching breath.

He suddenly felt the urge to press Chloe’s hand against his lips and kiss her wrist but didn’t act on it.

His gaze lingered on her red lips and ample chest. He suppressed the desire to grab her slender waist and pull her close.

Tehis Escalante was as calculated and cool-headed as he was, and his self-control was excellent.

…All of which were unraveled by Chloe.

“……”

“……”

It wasn’t until he met Chloe’s bewildered gaze that Tehis realized what he had done. He had ended up pressing the hand applying the potion against his lips.

The delicate skin of her wrist brushed against his lips as she tried to speak. With her warm breath added, Chloe flinched and withdrew the hand he was holding.

A suffocating silence flowed again. Chloe didn’t ask, and Tehis didn’t offer an excuse.

The first to turn her gaze away from the quietly confronting eyes was Chloe.

“I’m done applying it. You can sweep your hair back today. I assure you, everyone will be surprised by how handsome you are. Want to check in the mirror?”

As she deliberately stretched her words and tried to move off his lap, her waist was held in place.

Tehis, who had been leaning lazily against the sofa back, straightened his upper body.

“As I said earlier, Chloe.”

The face that had drawn close spoke in a low voice.

The clear words followed, echoing in her ears as she held her breath for no reason.

“The only person I care about is you.”

So.

So, such words were troubling. Chloe thought a thought she had already mulled over several times.

If only he would say it as a joke. If only he would pretend to be faithful to the contract. If only he would give off a hint of flattery.

If only, if only…

“…Don’t.”

In the end, she bowed her head. She hugged him and buried her face in his shoulder.

After all, it’s a relationship with a set end. Senior Mage Chloe would never leave the Mage Tower, and Grand Duke Escalante would be tied to the Empire for life. Thus, the contractual relationship should end as a contract.

Both she and he knew that.

Don’t come any closer. Don’t care only about me. Don’t show your feelings. Let’s maintain the current relationship.

Tehis understood that all these meanings were included in her words.

So he didn’t answer. Instead, he embraced Chloe.

Holding the slender body that fit snugly in his arms, he remained silent.

Though they were close, there was an invisible gap. In that near and yet distant space, Chloe, half-pleading, whispered once more.

“Don’t do this, Tess.”

Thump, thump. The heartbeat from their touching bodies was felt. Thump, thump. It was a resonance transmitted throughout the body.

Thump, thump. Thump, thump.

In the end, Tehis didn’t open his mouth.

* * *

After finishing a simple meal, Chloe entrusted herself to the hands of the maids for full-fledged grooming. Contrary to the plan, she spent a leisurely time, deciding to meet Tehis again only after all the dressing up was completed.

She bathed, applied fragrant oil, put on a dress, and did her makeup… Spending a few hours away from the man who troubled her mind, her rationally calmed head was left with one thought circling around.

‘What should I do now?’

If she had known she wouldn’t get any answer, she wouldn’t have spoken. All she received in response to her barely voiced concern was a suffocating embrace.

She nodded in agreement to his gentle suggestion to change the schedule after holding each other for a long time. Relief and futility rushed in at the same time, leaving her with no other choice.

Chloe was genuinely confused about how to treat Tehis. It was only natural since she didn’t know exactly what he was thinking.

It was clear he had feelings for her, but it was frustrating that he didn’t demand anything.

‘Perhaps…’

He might not want anything. Or perhaps he knew he couldn’t get what he wanted, so he dared not speak it.

Chloe stared at the maid’s hands busily moving beyond the mirror and sighed. She waved her hand dismissively, signaling the maid to continue with the makeup, ignoring her own mood.

She felt stifled inside. Everything about Tehis, this situation, her feelings, was full of uncertainties. In truth, her own desires weren’t clear, which only doubled her irritation.

‘No, there’s only one thing I want.’

To maintain the present. Nothing more, nothing less, just as it is now.

Learning new knowledge daily at the Mage Tower, focusing on research with abundant support, and occasionally meeting Tehis for a date. She didn’t want to break the perfectly satisfying routine.

Chloe had not yet realized how precious the time spent with Tehis had become.

How much unnecessary attention she was giving. How she couldn’t draw a firm line.

She didn’t even realize that the sound of a heartbeat resonating when they touched was not just one, but two.