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Chapter 57
“Then don’t ask me for reasons either.”
“….”
“And this is a bribe.”
I slid a slice of whipped cream cake across the table to Tan.
“This is so you won’t tell Calix what I asked you today. Eat a lot. It’s not like I’m paying for it anyway.”
I didn’t add, It’s your lord who’s paying.
Tan didn’t respond. He didn’t say he would grant my request, nor did he refuse.
But somehow, I felt certain he would do it.
Asking him to suddenly investigate the Prince—a man he had no connection with—was not an ordinary request.
He’d be curious about why I asked, and that curiosity alone would make him investigate the Prince.
‘But will he tell Calix?’
I even bribed him not to.
‘Maybe he will.’
In some ways, I’d almost be disappointed if he didn’t tell Calix. A loyal subordinate reports everything to his lord, no matter the threat. That’s how it should be.
So maybe I’m indirectly giving Calix a hint by doing this.
Whether Calix would interpret it as a hint or not was another matter.
“Eat more. Go on,” I said, smiling as Tan awkwardly ate the cake.
A few hours later…
“Rena, what is all this…?”
“Stuffed animals.”
I answered Calix as I dumped an armful of bags onto the bed. I pulled out a huge rabbit plushie that reached my waist and handed it to him.
“This one’s yours.”
Tan stood behind us, awkwardly holding even more shopping bags in both hands. I saw Calix give him a silent look, but I pretended not to notice. Surely he wouldn’t yell at him.
“Sir Tan, come here,” I said.
Tan walked over slowly and set the rest of the bags down beside me.
“There’s more here,” I said, pulling out an absurdly ugly-yet-cute monkey plushie and handing it to him. Its arms and legs were ridiculously long and furry.
“You can hug it when you sleep,” I said, then handed him a dog plushie too.
Calix chuckled helplessly, his arms full of plushies.
“You said you were going shopping, but you raided a toy store. My lover…”
“So you hate it?”
“Of course not.”
He placed all the plushies on the sofa and asked,
“You didn’t buy anything else? Clothes? Jewelry? Pretty accessories?”
“I did, but I had everything sent to the mansion. These were the only things I needed immediately.”
“Ah, so the plushies were the priority?”
“Exactly,” I said, pulling out my elephant, whale, dog, bear, and rabbit plushies.
“I bought some for you too, but they’re already at the mansion,” I added.
“Ah, I see.”
“…Why do you sound so unenthusiastic?”
I could tell. He was smiling, but it was just slightly crooked. Other people might not notice, but I could. Something was bothering him.
“Why are you acting like that?”
I was sure it would be for a ridiculous reason. And sure enough…
“Why do you need plushies when you have me?”
“…Wow.”
I couldn’t help but be impressed by his shamelessness.
“Tan’s here, you know,” I said.
“Tan, leave,” Calix ordered.
Poor Tan, who looked like he was dying of awkwardness, quickly opened the door and left.
‘Poor Tan. Watching his boss be embarrassing in real-time must be torture.’
As soon as he left, I asked,
“Are you seriously jealous of the plushies right now?”
“Jealous?” Calix asked, as if he’d never heard the word. He thought about it, then nodded.
“I guess I am.”
“…Wow.”
“Don’t look at me like that. I’ve never been jealous before,” he added awkwardly.
“It’s even weirder when you say it like that,” I muttered.
“Really? But it’s true,” he said boldly.
“Now that’s even weirder.”
“That’s not the point. The point is…”
He pointed at the plushies, then at himself.
“Plushies or me, Rena?”
“….”
I didn’t want to answer. He moved closer.
“Plushies or me?” he repeated.
“The plushies are just for emotional comfort, and you’re…”
“Oh, so I don’t give you emotional comfort?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what?”
I stayed silent. Why was I being interrogated over a couple of stuffed animals?
“You didn’t just buy one,” Calix pressed.
“Well, no, but…”
“You bought more than ten.”
“…You’re making me speechless now.”
He came closer.
“Plushies or me?”
“Of course…”
“Me, right?”
“Well…”
He leaned so close our noses were almost touching. Our breaths mingled.
“Me, right?”
“Of course…”
The rest of my answer disappeared into his mouth.
He knew exactly how to kiss me so my thoughts completely scattered. I didn’t resist. Instead, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer.
He suddenly lifted me up. One moment I was on the floor, the next I was on top of him as he carried me.
I didn’t break the kiss even as he walked us to the bed.
Soon, we were lying down, the room filled with the sound of our mingled breaths.
Only when I was gasping for air did Calix finally let me go. He covered my face with soft kisses—on my cheeks, eyelids, nose, lips, and chin—as he whispered,
“Plushies can’t do this for you.”
“Th-That’s…”
Every time I tried to speak, he stole my words with another kiss.
“Only I can give you this,” he whispered sweetly, demanding my answer.
I panted, finally giving in,
“You’re right. Only you… only you.”
He was satisfied only after extracting my surrender. But he still didn’t stop kissing me.
‘All this just because I bought a few plushies…’
By the time we ate dinner, I tried to explain that the plushies were simply cute and I wanted them for comfort when I had to sleep alone.
Of course, Calix didn’t believe me. He gathered all his things and moved into my room that very night.
We ended up sleeping buried in a mountain of soft plushies, holding hands like children.
Calix claimed it was his turn to ask me to hold hands.
We lay facing each other, and he idly played with the rabbit plushie’s ear.
“It feels nice,” he said.
“Right?”
“Not as nice as you, though.”
“There you go again.”
He chuckled softly, continuing to fidget with the plushie’s ear.
I watched him curiously, wondering why he was stalling. But he didn’t speak, just kept playing with the plushie.
‘Does he not have anything to say?’
Finally, when I was drowsy and my eyes were fluttering shut, he asked—obviously timing it on purpose.
“Rena.”
“…Hm?” I answered, half-asleep.
“What did you and Tan talk about when you were out?”
“Ah.”
I knew he’d ask that.
“Nothing important…”
“If it’s nothing, you can tell me, right?”
“Well… let’s just say it was very important.”
“Renaaa…” he whined pitifully.
That wouldn’t work on me.
“You’ll find out later.”
“When later?”
“Soon.”
I closed my eyes, still holding his hand tightly. I wanted him to stay with me tonight, to be there when I fell asleep and to wake up with me in the morning.
I leaned closer with my eyes closed. He knew what I wanted.
The kiss he gave me was soft, like a goodnight kiss, not like the earlier ones that had left me breathless.
I whispered his name,
“Calix.”
“Yeah.”
Maybe it was because I was half-asleep, but the line between dreams and reality felt blurry.
I suddenly thought of the so-called original story.
‘Was that really the original story?’
Maybe it was just one possible future I had glimpsed through the dragon’s dream. If I hadn’t escaped that day and died, maybe that future would have happened.
‘What if this moment is just a dream?’
I asked impulsively, even though it sounded stupid.
Calix was quiet for a moment, then said seriously,
“If this is a dream, then I must be dreaming it too, right?”
“Does that… make sense?”
“I don’t know. But I like it,” he said softly.
“Because that would mean we’re dreaming the same dream.”
Ah.
“Even if it’s just a fleeting dream, I’m happy because I’m with you. I hope we never wake up.”
“….”
Just hearing that was enough for me.
‘I might never forget this moment. I’ll treasure it forever, replaying it whenever things get hard.’
I squeezed his hand tightly.
“I want to answer you,” I whispered.
