🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 26
The red eyes blazed as if they were piercing right through me.
I felt like I should say something, but I couldn’t find the right words.
It was hard to grasp the meaning of what I was hearing. I felt overwhelmed by the aura Leonard exuded.
He said it wasn’t because of the blessing of the gods.
Then how was I completely fine four years ago?
“…Why are you telling me this?”
“Just…”
Leonard cut his words short, as if taking a deep breath, then whispered softly again.
“If you knew what I did four years ago…”
“……”
“I thought I’d take care of your body a little.”
Leonard, who had been so close that his nose almost touched mine with just a slight movement, pulled back.
Even that brief moment felt quite slow to me.
“Breathe.”
At those words, I finally exhaled all at once. I didn’t even know how long I had been holding my breath.
‘So it was Leonard who healed my lips back then?’
Did Leonard even have that kind of ability?
While I was thinking that, Leonard stepped forward again.
At the same time, my thoughts froze again, but one thing became very clear.
Ah, this person is angry.
Come to think of it, Leonard always had this kind of aura whenever he couldn’t control his emotions.
“Loreina.”
“…Yes?”
“The wound on your cheek… shall I heal it?”
He said he would heal it? It was sudden, especially coming in the middle of his anger, but I nodded unconsciously.
It was a proposal with no downside. Leonard moved quickly as soon as I agreed.
And in that very moment, what I recalled about Leonard’s ability in the original story came to mind.
Peck.
With a somewhat unfamiliar sound, a soft touch landed on my cheek.
Before I could even shiver in surprise, Leonard came closer again.
After that, a series of small kisses traced over my cheek.
“Le-Leonard…”
I pulled back slightly in the strange sensation and stammered, and Leonard reached out his hand.
Soon, his large hand cupped my face. Once my face was held still, our eyes met, his red eyes locking with mine.
“Stay still. You’re getting in the way of the healing.”
“N-no, I mean…”
“……”
“It tickles.”
I whispered softly in embarrassment, and Leonard, who had been frozen for a moment, burst out laughing and pressed his lips to my cheek again.
It felt like he was being more careful than before, moving more cautiously.
“Tell me if it hurts.”
“…Yes.”
I answered naturally, then suddenly realized something. Wait. Something’s weird.
‘Why did it suddenly turn into this kind of situation?’
It wasn’t that Leonard was lying. In the original story, Leonard had healed Celia’s hand with a kiss.
I remembered thinking how fittingly romantic that scene was for a novel.
If Leonard hadn’t been giving off this unnecessary aura, I would have remembered it sooner.
So I understood that this was part of the healing process, but…
‘Still, this is a bit…’
Even with Celia, it didn’t feel like this. It had been much more neutral.
‘Of course, the original story was unfinished, so they weren’t officially together yet.’
Or maybe it had been like this in the original story, but it wasn’t well expressed in the writing?
As I thought that, another kiss landed, though I had lost count of how many it had been.
Leonard still held my face in his hands. I noticed his eyelids were slightly lowered.
After that, there was a brief silence. Only faint, slightly embarrassing sounds could be heard.
It felt like proof of the healing process as new flesh began forming on my cheek.
‘…It tickles.’
Maybe because of that sensation, my toes curled slightly in a strange way.
As he moved along the wound, tilting my head bit by bit, I somehow felt breathless.
By the time I realized the room felt warm despite the cold weather, Leonard stopped moving.
The end of the long wound—right next to my lips.
“…Is it done?”
After a long silence, I spoke, and Leonard flinched slightly.
His eyes, which had seemed a little dim, finally regained their natural color.
“…Yes.”
His husky voice, as if he had just woken from sleep, reached my ear softly.
…Why does this keep getting weirder?
“C-Can I see a mirror? I want to check.”
I stretched out my arm urgently, and Leonard stepped back and handed me a hand mirror.
Phew. Finally, I could breathe properly.
“Wow, it’s really healed.”
The cheek, which had even had scabs on it, was now spotless.
With his superhuman strength, he even had this ability.
‘It must be due to the influence of the god of life.’
No wonder dragons are treated as the rarest of the races.
“Is this the only way to do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… uh…”
I looked at Leonard’s face, feeling embarrassed, and let my words trail off.
Considering what had just happened, he should understand.
“I mean… the lips. Can’t you touch another part? Like the injured area… with your hands or something?”
“No.”
Leonard cut me off firmly.
“Then the effect becomes too weak.”
…That’s ridiculous!
Seriously, this is such an obvious romance novel trope.
It’s a good thing the wound was on my cheek. What if it had been somewhere else… somewhere embarrassing to kiss…
As soon as I thought that, the memory I had forgotten in all the chaos crept back into my mind.
Then how did I… four years ago?
“…Leonard.”
“Hm?”
Leonard looked at me with a lazy smile.
…No way, right?
“Did you happen to kiss my lips back then?”
At my rather direct question, Leonard, who had been relaxed, visibly flinched and looked flustered.
His face clearly betrayed that he was hiding something.
I knew it. That bastard!
“How could you… when did—”
“Well, you see…”
“Was it that night? The night my lips got hurt, you came to my room, didn’t you?”
Wait. That means it was while I was sleeping!
Feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, I lowered my head and passed Leonard to step outside the room.
Soon, I felt Leonard following me.
“Loreina.”
“……”
“Loreina Amelio.”
As I walked without responding, Leonard slightly bent down and blocked my path.
The simplicity of the gesture made it even more irritating.
“Are you sulking?”
“…I’m not, okay?”
Does this look like sulking? Is he just repeating what I said yesterday?
“I’m sorry. But I had no choice back then. You were too upset to just leave it.”
“…I know.”
I know, but it’s not easy to accept. I had my own romantic ideals too.
“…It was my first time.”
Muttering while touching my lips, Leonard peeked up slightly, observing my face.
“Ah.”
“……”
“…I see.”
…That’s it?
I looked up at his strangely trembling voice, and saw him covering his mouth with his hand.
He didn’t seem to notice that the corners of his lips were still slightly upturned.
…Is now really the time to be enjoying this? Are you serious?
“Let’s eat breakfast before we leave. What should we have—”
“We’ll eat separately today. I’ll eat with Mary. She said she’d come down soon.”
“If you eat alone, you might forget everything…”
“I’ll eat with Duke Hentyson. He’ll take care of me, as always.”
I’m not in the mood to eat with anyone right now. Step aside, please.
Just then, Gerald waved from a long bar-style table right in front of the innkeeper.
Seeing that, I sat at that long table by myself.
“What’s the most popular dish here?”
“Beef steak…”
“Then I’ll have two of those.”
I ordered while staring intently at the innkeeper.
Leonard, who had been lingering by my side, walked off weakly.
Peeking subtly, I saw him slouch and go sit with Gerald.
‘…Was that a bit much?’
He was just trying to help me.
Feeling a little sorry, I looked at Leonard, but the innkeeper called me softly, gesturing.
“Miss.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you get mad at your boyfriend for leaving you like that?”
Huh? Did I just hear something completely absurd?
“…He’s not my boyfriend.”
“Oh, sorry. Then the gentleman next to you? That would make sense. He wanted the room to be properly taken care of.”
“That’s not either…”
“Oh, yes! I’m coming!”
Without a chance to deny, the innkeeper ran off to take another order.
If you leave like that, my position is going to look really weird.
Sure enough, a woman nearby approached, looking like she wanted to speak.
Apparently, she was curious about this sudden love quarrel at the inn.
It seemed others at the tables were also watching with interest.
This is insane.
“Oh my, is that her lover? But why are they sitting separately?”
“He’s not.”
“Eh, I get that you fought, but don’t deny it so strongly.”
“I’m not just saying it. Really.”
“Even so, you’re still giving him glances. Just calm down. There will be a day you regret this. I speak from experience.”
The people around nodded, agreeing.
I get it’s interesting, but can you stop? This is really embarrassing.
“No, really… I’m not—”
“I said I’m not.”
A familiar voice cut through the excited atmosphere from behind.
Even without looking back, I knew at once it was Leonard.
“Then stop it.”
His tone was unusually polite, as if he didn’t want to reveal his identity.
Though I could feel some hidden authority in it.
“Excuse me? Not?”
The woman’s eyes lit up, clearly enjoying the scene. Everyone went silent.
…These people? This isn’t a drama.
“Is there a problem with what I said?”
“No, it’s just that you seem to be misunderstanding something.”
“Oh? What is it?”
As I looked at her expectant face, warmth suddenly rested on my shoulder.
I realized Leonard had wrapped his arm around me.
Then he spoke.
A statement that would instantly capture the interest of the woman next to me—and everyone else present.
“This person belongs to me.”
The moment Leonard said that, gasps erupted around us.
…Of course, it wasn’t true for me at all.
