I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 2 Part 5
With a clear conscience, I pointed at the dishes I wanted to eat one by one. Despite the long list, Keene accurately placed the order without asking again, as if he already knew.
Wow, so magicians really are geniuses.
I quietly shook my foot under the table, excited. Keene, who was exploring a smaller menu, suddenly asked a question.
“Would you like wine pairing?”
“Wine pairing?”
“Yes. There are wines that go well with the appetizer and wines that go well with the main dish, they are different. Shall we order multiple bottles?”
The state religion doesn’t forbid drinking alcohol. It only prohibits excessive drinking.
Therefore, without any guilt, I replied readily.
“Sure.”
I shouldn’t have said that.
* * *
“Eat slowly.”
“Mmm, it’s so delicious.”
The meat, which I hadn’t eaten for a long time, was heavenly delicious.
Watching me hastily put the meat in my mouth as if I would shed tears, Keene smirked.
Sometimes he would cut the meat and wipe my mouth with a napkin. It was an endearing behavior that made me uncomfortable.
“I, I’ll do it.”
“Du, focus on eating. I’ll do the serving.”
I guess ‘serving’1the word used here is ??, which literally translates to “wife’s help” or the idea of a wife helping her husband for his success isn’t a word used in this context.
However, the food in front of me was too delicious to stop his actions one by one. The limited capacity of a human stomach was so frustrating.
I did my best to cram as much as I could into my stomach, but when I was done eating, Keene spoke up.
“Do you know that?”
“What?”
“You didn’t pray before eating, Du.”
“……”
The fork that was moving quickly came to a halt.
If I were in the temple, I would surely get punished. Even if it happened at home, I would be scolded by my mom.
“I prayed in my mind.”
“Lie. I didn’t even see you make the sign of the cross?”
“……Just pretend you didn’t see.”
“Since I haven’t actually seen it, it’s not difficult.”
He laughed cheerfully and handed me a wine glass.
It’s as if Keene had a formula ingrained in his mind, he mysteriously handed me the wine that perfectly complemented the food I was eating.
After enjoying the feast thoroughly and greasing my stomach multiple times, at some point, my vision became hazy.
Only then did I realize that while eating, I had been unconsciously drinking a considerable amount of wine.
“Oh, this is bad. I think I’m drunk.”
“Yeah, but you’re cute when you’re drunk too. Don’t worry.”
“No, I have to go home.”
“I’ll take you to the temple after this, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, right. You’re a magician.”
I smiled and forced myself to chew and swallow the pre-cut lamb ribs in my mouth.
Although I was already full, I didn’t want to leave any leftovers since I didn’t know when I would have the opportunity to eat something so delicious again.
“If Du wants it, I’ll keep bringing more.”
“……You’re even a mind reader now?”
“I’m just saying exactly what Du is thinking.”
“Oh.”
Come to think of it, there were times when I noticed such suspicious injections. Because of that, there were times when my mischievous friends deliberately made me drink alcohol to confirm the truth.
“They’re bad friends.”
“That’s true.”
Maybe it was the alcohol, but I suddenly missed Liche. It wasn’t as bustling as the capital city, but it had its own charm.
I also missed my family. I wonder if Con is staying out of trouble.
“Con is your little brother?”
“Yes. He wants to become a holy knight.”
“That’s a shame. If he wanted to be a magician, I could have helped him.”
“He’s too foolish to become a magician.”
I chuckled objectively at my little brother. Maybe he wouldn’t qualify as a holy knight, but still. Magical power is quite rare and hereditary.
Speaking of holy knights, a cool knight came to mind. My handsome knight, whom I would die for.
“Who’s that bastard?”
For some reason, the tone of his voice had changed slightly. Did I let it slip? No way. It’s been a long time since I’ve given up.
“Do you have a thing for knights? Do you like wielding a sword?”
“That person would look cool no matter what they do.”
Just thinking about it made me burst into laughter. He was handsome, kind, and had a serious attitude toward everything, which was impressive. He gave me the anticipation of being warm, even if he appeared cold to other women.
“I wonder what kind of man is trying to steal my Du. Hmm?”
He pinched my cheek gently with his large hand. I tried my best to tense the muscles around my eyes, which had been drooping for a while, and stared at him fiercely.
“Keene! You shouldn’t do that, seriously.”
“What’s wrong?”
“You keep flirting with everyone. It’s like you’re a faucet.”
Even if I tried, my tongue seemed to be twisted. Ah, it seems like I should stop talking if I want to maintain my composure.
But there’s so much built up inside me.
“You’re causing misunderstandings! Especially if you say it with that face, it’s a major crime, a major crime.”
“Why do you think it’s a misunderstanding? Maybe it’s not.”
“You’re playing with me. I must be an idiot. Pretending to be kind to the blackmailer.”
I heard a low laugh while I grumbledly poked the potatoes with a fork.
Soon, a white napkin approached my mouth. Seeing his attempt to wipe it again, I quickly pushed away his hand.
“Don’t do this! Don’t do things like this.”
“What am I supposed to do when I want to do it.”
“You’re only supposed to be nice to your woman, okay?”
“That’s why I’m being overly kind to you, Du.”
Oh man, we just can’t communicate. Even if I’m telling him the truth, he won’t listen.
The table was filled with meat to the point where there was no room for any mildly sweet desserts. Since I wanted to eat something sweet, I reluctantly reached for the dessert wine instead of dessert.
But Keene stopped my hand.
“You should stop drinking.”
“Let go. This has a low alcohol content.”
Ignoring his advice, I sipped the sweet wine, and he clicked his tongue.
“You should feel some sense of crisis, Du. What if something happens when you’re alone with a man? It happened last time too. What would you do if I caught you and ate you2”?????” (to catch and eat) may imply harassment or torture?”
I answered with a snort.
If that happens, it’s solely the fault of that person.
It’s the bad guy’s problem, not the victim’s, okay?
Besides, we had already reached an agreement at that time, and it was the other person who withdrew first. Not me. It’s a dark history that I don’t want to think about now.
“You’re the one who needs to fix your carefree attitude. You say things you don’t mean, and you don’t answer when asked!”
“You had a lot of complaints about me, Du.”
“I do have complaints! Of course, I have complaints about my blackmailer!”
As the alcohol rushed through my veins, along with heat, courage also rose. With a loud thud, I put my cup down and confronted him.
“It’s you, you! Stop confusing me! If you’re going to blackmail me, just blackmail me!”
“Well, I seem to have confused you.”
As he mumbled thoughtlessly, the lid opened even further.
“Me! I don’t like being confused! I don’t like it!”
“But isn’t it similar for the knight?”
“My knight! Of course, he wouldn’t do such a thing. He’s so cool.”
“…So, am I not good enough?”
Keene stared at me, resting his chin in his hand. As his amethyst-like eyes, hidden beneath long eyelashes, repeatedly appeared and disappeared, I felt like I was being enchanted by the demon itself.
Ah, seriously, that face is a cheat key.
“God made a mistake. He shouldn’t have given that face to a human like you.”
“Then who should he have given it to?”
After a moment of contemplation, I suddenly remembered someone. The judge’s son, whom I briefly met during my time at Liche.
Although he didn’t inherit any titles, he had a considerable fortune, and his mother’s reputation was not bad either.
He had a gentle personality. He read a lot of books, was well-spoken, and played musical instruments well. In a way, he was the perfect groom…
With tears in my eyes, I grabbed Keene’s face with both hands.
“This face, this precious face! It should have gone to Josh. Then I would have even been engaged!”
“….”
Josh liked me a lot. I tried to like him too, although I failed to develop any romantic feelings towards him.
I’m sorry to say this, but he wasn’t exactly handsome. One day, when he had the courage to kiss me, I got scared and ran away.
“I’m not an outstanding beauty, but… still! He, on the other hand, we can’t possibly do it sober… “
“Well then.”
Keene wrapped his arms around me, holding onto my hands that were holding his face. His foreign warmth filled the air, stealing away the breath that was about to burst out.
The hands that held me were fiery hot. His eyes, filled with refined desire, were even more provocative. As the tension thickened in the surrounding silence, he half-closed his eyes and seductively asked.
“Do you think we can do it sober?”
“….”
The voice that whispered in my ear was sweeter than the dessert wine I had just tasted. I couldn’t even think of saying no.
The gods can be so unfair. Not only did he lack good looks, but he even gave him a persuasive voice!
Perhaps because he hinted at a kiss, my gaze kept wandering towards his lips. His red lips, as if they were coated with something, had an irresistible appeal.
And I already knew that sensation. The day I showed unparalleled courage and staged a passionate scene with him was still vivid in my mind.
“Um….”
As I stumbled, opening my mouth in surprise, for some reason, the handsome face came closer and closer.
Whether it was because I was intoxicated and couldn’t perceive the distance or because he was actually leaning in toward me, I had no way of knowing.
“N-no, this can’t happen…”
I don’t remember much after that.
I only remember a soft laughter resonating deeply and a warm embrace.
“This is really… a scam.”
Despite the high probability of him being a pagan, this man, who had received the overwhelming love of God, even smelled good.
- 1the word used here is ??, which literally translates to “wife’s help” or the idea of a wife helping her husband for his success
- 2”?????” (to catch and eat) may imply harassment or torture