I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 75

“Then if I leave the Tower, will you accept me?”

“What?”

Laughing at the absurd question, I asked again, but he stared at me with a serious face and repeated his nonsense.

“If Du doesn’t want to come, there’s no other choice.”

“……”

Hearing such nonsense drained my enthusiasm. Sighing lightly, I picked up some finger food.

Fine, let’s just eat. Since it seems like today’s another wasted day, at least eating something delicious would make it worthwhile.

I was attending a party at the mansion of Viscountess Ohanes, who was close to the Lindsay couple. Despite my efforts to attend more than one social event every day, I had no significant results because of someone next to me.

But it seemed that someone didn’t even like me soothing myself with food.

“Does everything I say sound like a joke to you?”

“Would those ridiculous words be serious?”

I glanced at him as if it was absurd, but he met my gaze with a look of genuine incomprehension.

“I’m serious about everything.”

“You really want to recruit me to the Magic Tower? Really?”

He straightened his posture and replied.

“Du, you have a significant amount of innate holy power, and you’re good at both purification and healing despite your experience. You were even ordained summa cum laude. You’re a talent anyone would covet.”

“……Okay. Let’s say that’s true. But would you really leave the Magic Tower because of me? You, the Master of the Tower?”

He avoided my gaze and rolled his eyes. As I scoffed, thinking ‘of course not,’ he gave an answer that made me doubt my ears.

“It’s definitely not the best choice. It’s a bit difficult right now. But if it’s the only way, there’s no other choice.”

“……”

Hearing such nonsense made me lose my appetite. Brushing off the crumbs from my hands, I straightened my back and looked directly at him.

“So, if you leave the Magic Tower, will you marry me or something?”

“Why not?”

“……”

As I stared at the young man who was asking so innocently, a thought suddenly came to mind.

Ah, this guy, surely…

“Ah!”

At that moment, the thought was interrupted by a child’s scream. Looking down at the unexpected sound, I saw the second son of Viscount Ohanes sprawled in front of Keene.

The center of the hall was cleared for dancing, with tables and chairs around the edges, so the surroundings were a bit chaotic. The boy, who had been running around excitedly with a bouquet of flowers, seemed to have tripped over a chair leg.

“Sniffle…”

His large blue eyes, resembling those of Viscountess Ohanes, were filled with tears. Just as I was about to tell him not to cry, Keene picked up the child. Supporting the boy with one arm, he brushed the petals off his body with the other hand and said.

“You’re brave, my friend. It must have hurt, but you held back your tears.”

“……Sniff.”

The boy had already shed a tear or two, but at those words, he pretended he hadn’t cried and clenched his jaw.

Unlike the child trying to act mature, the guests who saw the boy in the arms of the Master of the Magic Tower were not so composed. They looked on in shock and worry, wondering what to do.

They were concerned about the child but scared to approach the Master of the Magic Tower. They had been glancing at him like a monkey in a zoo earlier, but now they were terrified?

“Oh my, To-Tommy!”

At least the father was brave. Viscount Ohanes, who spotted his son, almost ran over and immediately took the boy from Keene.

“What, what is going on?”

I tried to sound calm, but I couldn’t hide the tremor in my voice. The Viscount, who glanced at me, slowly exhaled and seemed somewhat relieved as he patted his son’s head. He seemed to think that if something had happened to his son, I, as a priest and Lindsay’s cousin, wouldn’t be standing here watching so nonchalantly.

“Nothing happened. Your son fell, and I just helped him up.”

“Oh… I see. Thank you. Please enjoy your time.”

The Viscount barely made eye contact with him, left a quick greeting, and swiftly disappeared.

Watching Keene, who was chuckling and sitting back down in his chair, I voiced a thought I had been having for a while.

“You’re good with children.”

I felt this since the day we reunited at the mass in the Grand Temple. Despite looking like someone who wouldn’t get along with kids at all, he surprisingly handled them well.

“My younger sibling is probably around that age… Ah.”

I spoke without thinking and then stopped abruptly. I suddenly remembered what had happened to his younger sibling.

I was crazy. Why did I bring up his younger sibling without thinking?

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

As I apologized dejectedly, Keene turned to me with a smile. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind at all.

“Did Peidos Carmel tell you about me?”

“……”

When I remained silent, he raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair as if it didn’t matter.

“Yes. My sibling was around that age the year of the accident. Four or five years old.”

“……”

“It was a truly meaningless death.”

His voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

I gasped, startled by his cynically blunt statement. No matter what, to speak so harshly about his younger sibling’s death…

“You look surprised.”

“Well, of course.”

Who wouldn’t be? Even if a passing dog died, no one would speak like that.

“A writer from Parcel once said, ‘There is nothing more infuriating than the death of a child, and nothing more absurd than dying in a carriage accident.’”

(*Footnote: Quote from Albert Camus) (*Footnote: “There is no more infuriating event than the death of a child, and nothing more absurd than dying in a car accident.” Referencing Albert Camus.)

“……”

“I think it’s quite accurate.”

A cynical smile appeared on his lips.

“What meaning can you assign to an end that has no nobility or anything else?”

He took the whiskey glass I had taken from him and finished the remaining drink. A low-burning anger, not yet fully refined, flickered in his purple eyes.

But it disappeared as quickly as snow melting upon touching the ground. It was hard to believe even while witnessing it directly. As I looked at the man’s eyes, which quickly returned to their usual bored look, I found myself speaking without realizing it.

“Is there anything that has meaning to you?”

The answer came quickly, as if it wasn’t worth considering.

“No.”

“I see.”

Strangely, that made me feel quite disappointed.

My arm, which had been resting on the table, weakened and fell onto my dress. It was funny to feel this way. Why was I so shocked by the answer of a man who should mean nothing to me?

Was it because even his proposal-like words held no weight? Why did it matter when I hadn’t taken them seriously in the first place?

When both of us fell silent, the bustling sounds around us flooded in like a torrent. The silence that weighed heavily between him and me was as uncomfortable as the noise that pricked my ears.

From the moment we met until now, I had never truly understood this man. Each time I gave up and resigned myself, he would stir me up again, sometimes making me angry, like now.

So, why are you here?

If you don’t place any meaning on anything…

“I think it might be worth creating some.”

At that moment, I lifted my head. His eyes, mixed with a passion that had been burning for who knows how long, were staring at me. His eyes, filled with quiet desire, shone meaningfully.

“It’s cute. The way you struggle.”

“……”

In the gaze that I couldn’t escape, I could only blink helplessly from time to time.

Blink. Blink. As seconds felt like an eternity, my eyes began to feel dry. My hand, with nowhere to go, fumbled on the table for the whiskey glass. With my mind blank, I felt like I needed something cool to drink to regain my composure.

The man, who had been staring at me piercingly, lowered his gaze to follow my hand. The moment I grabbed the empty glass, he let out a soft laugh and spoke in a gentle voice.

“I’ll get you a new one. Just wait a moment.”

“……”

Leaving those words, he went to fetch a drink.

A soft exhale escaped me. With the overwhelming presence gone, I finally felt like I could breathe again.

“I’m really going crazy.”

Feeling inexplicably stifled, I raised my hands to cover my eyes. Unsorted thoughts tangled and intertwined in my mind.

Ignoring the elaborate makeup, I rubbed my face broadly, when suddenly I sensed three or four people surrounding me. I could roughly guess their presence from the floral perfumes commonly used by women.

Ah, here we go again.