Acard was not the type to be humble, even in jest. He had too much going for him. He knew he was one of the best men, with rare superior looks and excellent qualities.
It was impossible not to know. Wherever he went, the expectant gazes and sweet blushes of women following him in droves reminded him of his worth every minute, every second. He was tired of the excited emotions that didn’t know what to do with themselves, the sticky hands trying to get even a little entangled with him.
But all of these things meant nothing in front of this woman. Acard couldn’t understand this unfamiliar situation at all. He impulsively opened his mouth and asked.
“Why on earth?”
“Pardon? What do you mean? More importantly, this hand…”
Her hand was still touching Acard’s sculpture-like face. The faint heartbeat felt under her palm, the man’s unique hot body temperature felt awkward. Damie awkwardly pulled her hand away, but Acard grabbed it more tightly and persistently inquired.
“Why are you rejecting me?”
At this aggressive question, Damie half-opened her lips. Anyone watching might think she had given her heart away. However, the person asking this ridiculous question was very serious.
“You don’t have a fiancé or a lover, do you?”
It was confidence as solid as a mountain. At his tone suggesting that it was natural for an unattached woman to like him, Damie couldn’t help but laugh. It was a situation where she could have been angry, but he was so brazen that she ended up laughing first.
The man before her was indeed the owner of a sensual appearance. But it was a strange thing. How such a large man suddenly looked like a little boy throwing a tantrum.
“Lord Acard.”
Damie called him with a smile on her lips. Sharp eyes turned towards her. The violet eyes reminiscent of a feline predator were narrowed, not understanding why she was smiling.
Damie moved her captured hand to gently stroke his cheek as if to soothe him. And she stated her position as gently as possible.
“You are the most attractive man I’ve ever seen. I won’t deny that fact. But you’re not the person I want.”
“What kind of person do you want then?”
“Someone completely opposite to you.”
Damie’s voice answering this was somehow sorrowful.
She was now recalling Kael’s face in her mind. He was an easy person to understand and kind. He was far from someone who tried to tame people to his will or deliberately plant manipulated anxiety.
That’s why she liked Kael Reusten. She hoped to spend as much time with him in the future as she had so far. But as lovers, not just friends.
However, Kael had chosen a different future. He left Damie’s side and entered into the embrace of the Great Temple and the Holy Maiden. And in Damie’s heart, only the scar of an unfulfilled long-time crush remained. That still raw, red scar prevented her from falling into a new love. This was the only reason she didn’t fall for Acard.
“I’m sorry.”
The words delivered in a kind voice were plain, and therefore more cruel. Acard was momentarily at a loss for words.
“Just, what kind of woman are you…”
Acard opened his mouth, not even knowing what he wanted to ask. But before that, someone intervened. The person who boldly interrupted Acard, who intimidated even men, was Reshid.
“Lady Damie.”
Reshid, who approached with a smooth, flexible movement, nodded towards the mansion. And in a nonchalant tone, he reported the situation.
“Lady Cecile is resting inside. It’s just a heat stroke, she’ll be fine soon.”
“…Thank you.”
Damie, who knew better than anyone that Cecile was a malingerer, smiled awkwardly. Now that Reshid had returned, there was no need to talk more with Acard. She decided to quickly escape from this place, hiding her subtly released hand behind her back.
“Then I’ll go see Cecile. It was nice meeting you today. Lord Acard, and Priest Reshid.”
Acard, with his lips tightly closed, said nothing. Instead, Reshid greeted her.
“May the goddess’s blessing always be with you.”
Damie, who had given a light bow, walked away. Perhaps because she was beautiful, even her back view was unnecessarily perfect. Even her hair fluttering in the wind like flower petals, and the extremely feminine body line and swaying skirt.
“You’ll burn a hole in the back of her head at this rate.”
Reshid pointed out coldly. To this, Acard frowned his dark eyebrows and snapped back fiercely.
“Why don’t you take your own eyes off her?”
Reshid didn’t respond. Instead, he clicked his tongue and whispered in a low voice.
“Even if you can’t help but be distracted, don’t forget what you have to do.”
At the mention of work, Acard’s face turned cold. That’s right. The reason Acard Valerian suddenly came on a business trip to this far north was because he had a secret ‘mission’ to accomplish here.
Reshid’s words were pointing out this fact precisely. Towards the silent Acard, he annoyingly emphasized again.
“Please excuse me if my words sound presumptuous. I chose this side even at the cost of betraying the Great Temple. So it would be troublesome if things go wrong due to personal feelings.”
“…I know very well.”
Acard answered slowly. His voice was as hard and cold as molten iron. Reshid’s expression softened slightly upon hearing the clear answer.
“Very well. Let’s focus together and make sure we accomplish this mission well. For the sake of saving the poor south suffering from ‘pollution’ if nothing else.”
“Right.”
Acard nodded. A momentary bond of solidarity flowed between the two men with the same goal. At least until Reshid opened his mouth again.
“Oh! and don’t get too close to Lady Damie.”
“Why? Don’t tell me you think I’ll be blinded by a woman and ruin the mission?”
Acard asked irritably. No matter how much they were on the same side, there was an insurmountable wall between him and Reshid. This was Reshid crossing the line, and then some.
Acard was undoubtedly a top predator. He had never left those trying to climb up to his feet alone. As he gritted his teeth waiting for Reshid’s answer, an unexpected response came out.
“No. It’s because I like Lady Damie.”
“…What?”
“Why are you so surprised? She’s so pretty and virtuous. It would be strange not to like her.”
Reshid answered nonchalantly, rather looking at him with eyes that suggested Acard was the strange one. He seemed completely unaware that Acard had already slept with her.
Dumbfounded by this, Acard was silent for a moment. Taking advantage of this pause, Reshid added quickly.
“I’m telling you this out of concern, but don’t think about touching Lady Damie. As soon as this job is over, I plan to take off my priest’s robe and confess to her right away.”
Reshid, who had just recited a typical death flag line straight out of a pulp novel, turned his body abruptly and left. Watching his blonde hair swaying elegantly, Acard was at a loss for words.
“…So, it was the other side that made the first move.”
Acard felt his insides boiling. No matter how bad his reputation in the capital’s social circles might be, this time he felt extremely wronged.
If anything, he was the victim in his relationship with Damie. From their first meeting, Damie had deliberately pretended to be an experienced woman to seduce him. And after thoroughly using him as her first experience, she completely withdrew as if she had never seduced him.
This situation alone was enough to drive him crazy, but now even Reshid was acting cocky like a puppy not knowing to fear a tiger. Acard, furious to the tips of his hair, muttered a small curse between his teeth.
“Damn it.”
It was clear that he and the north were terribly mismatched.
“Cecile?”
Meanwhile, Damie, who had entered the mansion, looked for her friend. She thought Cecile would surely be in her room, but unexpectedly, Cecile was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where did she go?’
Damie tilted her head. She decided to look around Cecile’s mansion, which had become familiar to her by now, to find her. After all, going outside would only mean running into Acard again.
‘He’s… uncomfortable.’
Acard and herself were too different in nature. It was a very difficult task to explain this fact coherently and convince the other party. Especially if the other party was also determined to persuade her, their conversation was bound to go even more awry.
Acard was a splendid man who could make one’s eyes ecstatic and blood hot just by looking at him. It wasn’t unpleasant that such a man showed interest in her. But…
‘If I actually became his, he’d quickly lose interest and discard me.’
Damie smiled self-deprecatingly. She was a stubborn and foolish woman who could pine for someone for ten years. And men never liked women like her.
What they liked was the opposite kind of woman. Women who were coquettish like foxes, cunning, seemingly catchable yet not, making men’s hearts burn with desire.
Men willingly offered their hearts to such women. Even though they knew full well that these women would carelessly play with their hearts in their small hands and toss them aside when bored.
Of course, judging by appearances alone, Damie was a world-class vixen. But what good was that when she was a foolish bear when it came to love?
She didn’t think she was particularly unintelligent. Considering how smoothly she managed her family’s internal affairs, she thought she was rather smart. She could push back against any unpleasant words and was confident she could solve any problem that arose.
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