IDWF 118

Chapter 118

“…What?”

I blinked rapidly in surprise.

For a moment, I wondered if I had misheard him, but judging by the way his entire body had turned bright red, that clearly wasn’t the case.

Hmm. That was more direct than I expected.

It wasn’t something difficult to accept, nor was it something that made me uncomfortable.

If he was willing to be this proactive, I certainly wasn’t going to complain.

There was just one thing that worried me…

Could Carsion really endure kissing me?

He had only barely managed to look me in the face without collapsing.

That was why I had planned to slowly increase the level of physical affection until he became accustomed to it.

Of course, I could solve the problem immediately by using control magic.

But since we had been working so hard to gradually become more comfortable with physical contact, I wanted to avoid relying on magic whenever possible.

If we kissed without any assistance now, there was a ninety-percent chance he would faint.

And if that happened, we wouldn’t be able to attend the banquet.

As regrettable as it was, I thought it would be best to postpone the kiss—for Fior’s sake, at least. He had personally sent me an invitation, after all.

I curled my lips into a teasing smile.

“If you can do it without control magic, then as much as you want.”

I expected Carsion to show his weak side and admit that he couldn’t do it.

Instead, he nodded with a solemn expression.

“I’ll try. No… I can do it.”

…Huh?

That wasn’t the answer I had expected.

“You can’t even look properly at my face. Are you sure you can do it?”

“I can.”

The man who could barely meet my gaze before now stared directly into my eyes.

Had all that embarrassment earlier been an act?

Or had he somehow gotten used to my face already?

Either way, I was more than happy about it.

“…All right.”

I slowly closed my eyes.

I could sense him approaching.

Closer…

And closer…

When he came near enough for me to clearly feel his breath, I swallowed.

Now that I was actually about to kiss Carsion, I found myself strangely nervous.

How much time passed like that?

Then I felt something warm and soft against my skin.

Yes.

So far, so good.

The problem was that the sensation wasn’t on my lips.

It was on my cheek.

My eyes flew open.

Hey, this wasn’t right…!

Well, technically, it still counted as a kiss, but still!

The moment I opened my eyes, I found Carsion frantically covering his face with both hands.

“Arghhh! I actually kissed Rien’s cheek without using magic…!”

The bits of skin visible between his fingers—and his ears, which he hadn’t managed to cover—were so red that I doubted anyone could tell the difference between him and a tomato.

Over a kiss on the cheek.

It was adorable, but…

The disappointment and emptiness I felt were impossible to put into words.

More than anything, I simply felt dumbfounded.

Hadn’t we already gone all the way?

When people said kiss, shouldn’t that at least mean our lips touched?

I felt faint.

We still had such a long way to go.

I was weak when it came to desire. And I wasn’t particularly patient, either.

I’d endured for four years.

How much longer was I supposed to endure now?

At this rate, my plan to continue physical contact without using control magic seemed impossible.

“Kaon, I have something to say, so could you lower your hands for a moment?”

“Huh? U-Um… okay…”

I had intended to firmly tell him that from now on, he needed to keep control magic on at all times.

But the moment I saw the face he had been desperately hiding, I forgot everything I had been about to say.

His eyes were so watery that I could immediately tell just how embarrassed he had been.

His eyelashes were damp with tears.

His eyes trembled as though he were waiting helplessly to be devoured.

His brows were drawn together pitifully, and his face was flushed beyond belief.

…

And I was supposed to be satisfied with nothing more than a kiss on the cheek after seeing that?

“I can’t do that.”

A powerful impulse overtook my mind.

My body moved on its own.

Toward Carsion’s completely defenseless face.

And then—

I captured Carsion’s lips.

When I gently bit down on his tightly closed lips, perhaps out of instinct, he reacted almost immediately.

I didn’t miss the opportunity.

I slipped into the opening.

Perhaps because he had been burning up with embarrassment, there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t warm.

It felt as though he might melt away entirely.

How long had we been kissing?

After a while, something began to feel strange.

It didn’t take me long to realize what it was.

Carsion had gone completely still.

He was as motionless as a plaster statue.

Ah.

As expected.

I supposed this was where I had to stop.

Taking advantage of someone who had lost consciousness was something even a beast wouldn’t do.

…

Though it had been nice.

Reluctantly, I brushed my tongue once against the roof of his mouth before pulling away.

The moment our lips separated, Carsion’s body slowly crumpled, as though he had been waiting for it.

It seemed I would have to attend the succession ceremony banquet alone.

The attendant standing guard at the entrance checked my invitation.

“Everything is in order, my lady.”

When he opened his mouth to announce my name to the banquet hall, I quickly raised a hand to stop him.

There was no need to proudly announce to everyone that I was late.

Yes.

I had arrived very late to the succession ceremony banquet.

I had taken my time because I planned to come using Carsion’s magic…

But after he fainted, I had no choice but to hurriedly take a carriage instead.

Which was why I was late.

I should have held myself back.

No.

How was I supposed to restrain myself after seeing him like that?

Who told him to make such a beautiful face?

This wasn’t my fault.

I desperately rationalized my actions as I stepped into the banquet hall.

The first person I noticed was Fior, surrounded by a crowd of people.

I thought I had slipped inside unnoticed.

Apparently not.

His gaze found me with terrifying accuracy.

Oh.

I’d been caught.

After quickly dismissing the people around him, he strode straight toward me.

“Do you have a death wish? Do you know how long ago the banquet started?”

Since things had already come to this, I decided to shamelessly stand my ground.

“Honestly. Instead of thanking the friend who came all this way to celebrate with you…”

Fior let out a disbelieving laugh.

“Since when did you become such a sly little snake? Have we been apart too long since graduation?”

“We used to go an entire month without seeing each other during academy breaks. What’s so different now?”

“True. Maybe time started moving slower because I’ve been training so hard with the Imperial Knights.”

“Then do you regret giving up the title of marquis to join the Imperial Knights?”

“A little?”

Despite his words, Fior looked happy.

I was glad he had found something he genuinely enjoyed doing.

“But why are you alone? Didn’t you come with Carsion?”

“Kaon is unconscious because of me.”

Fior immediately shook his head as though he understood everything.

“So that’s why you’re late?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were going to teleport here, but Carsion fainted, so you had to rush over in a carriage instead. Isn’t that what happened?”

His summary was so accurate that it was almost as if he had watched everything happen himself.

“How did you know?”

“Have I known you two for just a day or two? Anyway, Hans and Jane are here too, so go say hello.”

“I haven’t even greeted your brother yet.”

Fior silently glanced somewhere else and gestured with his chin.

“As you can see, my brother is a little busy right now.”

I followed the direction he indicated and saw Lu engaged in a pleasant conversation with several people who were clearly high-ranking nobles.

“I almost caused Lord Lu some trouble.”

“No. My brother wouldn’t care about that. Besides, he’s been wanting to see you.”

Why would your brother want to see me?

I was just about to ask when Fior spoke first.

“Go talk to the others for now. Since I’ve finally escaped from those people, I’m going to take a quick trip to the restroom.”

With that, Fior left.

Now alone, I looked around the hall for Hans and Jane.

Then, by chance, my eyes met Lu’s.

Apparently, Fior hadn’t been lying when he said Lu wanted to see me.

The moment Lu spotted me, his eyes widened slightly.

He excused himself from the nobles he had been speaking with and immediately approached me.

Once he stopped at an appropriate distance, I gave him a small bow.

“Lord Lu, congratulations on becoming the head of the Ananas family.”

“You’re late, Lady Rien.”

“…Did you really have to point that out so directly?”

A faint smile appeared on Lu’s face.

“I wasn’t trying to blame you. Perhaps I’ve been unconsciously waiting for you.”

Wait.

Why?

Tilting my head in confusion, I saw a meaningful smile appear on his lips.

“You’ve helped me in many ways, haven’t you? You pointed out the flaws in my methods of educating Fior. And you also helped me reconcile with my younger brother.”

“I see…”

I answered awkwardly.

The way he was looking at me felt slightly burdensome.

It was a familiar kind of gaze.

Yes.

It was similar to the way Kuhn’s mother and Carsion’s mother looked at me…

Just as I was about to grasp the reason behind that look—

“By the way, Lady Rien. Is that in your hand a gift for me?”

“Ah. I’m giving it to you even though the gift-giving time has already passed. Congratulations once again, Lord Lu.”

I shoved my thoughts aside and handed him the present.

It was an envelope that looked as though it might contain a letter.

“Thank you. I shall accept it gratefully.”

After receiving the envelope, he stared at it as if trying to guess what was inside.

He looked curious.

“Well? Do you have any idea what it might be?”

“Perhaps because it comes from you, Lady Rien, I find it difficult to predict. Personally, I hope it is a heartfelt letter.”

“Not a chance.”

“I know it may be impolite, but would it be all right if I opened it now?”

I smiled brightly.

“No.”

“…How firm.”

“I only told you not to open it now for your own sake, Lord Lu.”

“What in the world could possibly be inside…?”

“Pictures of Fior.”

Lu’s eyes widened instantly.

“Pictures taken regularly throughout all four years of his senior academy life. They’re group photos from the club, but you can clearly see Fior’s growth over the years.”

“Th-This… Are you certain it’s all right for me to receive something so precious?”

One corner of my mouth lifted.

I knew he’d like it.

Those photographs were practically legendary artifacts among the Pisdong, Risdong, and Kasadong clubs.

Rumors had circulated that such things existed, but aside from the members of Pigodong—including myself—no one had ever actually seen them.

I didn’t mind giving the photographs away.

Once a picture had been taken, it was magically stored inside a crystal orb and could be reproduced whenever necessary.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Just then, an attendant hurried toward Lu and whispered something to him.

“My lord. A noble without an invitation is asking to be admitted to the banquet hall.”

Lu frowned.

“Then naturally, they should not be allowed inside.”

“The problem is… they are not someone we can simply turn away.”

“Which family?”

“The Duke of Begonia’s household.”

Thump.

My heart dropped.

My mind went completely blank.

“That’s strange. An invitation should certainly have been sent to the House of Begonia.”

“They claim to have lost it.”

“…Let them in.”

The attendant bowed and hurried away to inform the Begonia family that they had been granted entry.

Throughout the entire exchange, all I could do was stand there and watch.

The heart that had fallen into my stomach began pounding wildly.

…

Run.

I had to get out of here.