I Will Not Fall For the Villain’s Flirtations - Chapter 79

The moment I heard the voice, chills ran down my spine. It was a voice I never expected to hear, especially not here, at this moment.

With a head that felt like a rusty machine, I barely managed to turn around. A man with black hair was sitting in the opposite seat with his arms crossed. I slowly sat down as I looked at the habitual smile on his lips.

“…Keene.”

“You’re quick. Already meeting both families.”

“……”

The schedule to greet the Duke and Duchess of Carmel had not yet been set, but it was a future that would come eventually. The thought of trembling nervously in front of them made me feel even more complicated.

But right now, the important thing was not the visit to the Duke’s house that wasn’t even scheduled yet.

“Why are you here…?”

“Is this the ring?”

I wanted to question why he suddenly came after turning away like that day, but I couldn’t get the words out. He, who was holding my wrist and examining the ring on my ring finger, soon let out a chuckle and released his hand.

“I’ve been curious about what kind of ring it would be.”

“……”

I looked at him, who was smiling pleasantly as if he was recalling memories. His behavior was similar to usual, but he looked noticeably more haggard compared to a few days ago. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his skin looked rough.

And most importantly.

“Did you drink?”

“……”

From the moment I heard his voice, the smell of alcohol had been overpowering. When he leaned in to look at my ring a moment ago, it was as if I was seeing my old drunken self reflected back at me. It reminded me of the days when I skipped practice because of a hangover shortly after joining, and everyone around me kept sniffing.

Looking like he was caught off guard, he blinked slowly and then answered nonchalantly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“I had a light drink yesterday. The treaty was finally signed, after all.”

“…It doesn’t seem like it was light.”

A light drink? More like a whole bottle.

But it didn’t matter how much he drank or whether it was a low-alcohol cocktail or vodka strong enough to be used as disinfectant. If the treaty had been signed, there would surely have been a celebration.

Could he have drunk because of me?

“What brings you here? Leave before anyone notices.”

“You’re so cold. Peidos Carmel proposed, and you won’t even look at me.”

I frowned at his words, pretending to be hurt. Unlike the complicated expression he showed when I accepted Peidos’s proposal, his face now was relaxed and not much different from usual. The feeling that he was still toying with me made me even more upset.

“Yes, the great man proposed. Why would I look at you? So don’t think about disrupting things and just leave.”

“…Du.”

But he called me in a low voice with a suddenly serious expression. Facing his suddenly intense gaze made me feel both exasperated and subtly tense. What was he planning to say now?

“If I interfere, will you give up on this marriage?”

“What?”

“If I interfere, will you not marry Carmel?”

“……”

He was spouting nonsense so seriously that I couldn’t find any words to respond. I let out a quiet, exasperated laugh before barely opening my mouth.

“How do you plan to interfere?”

“Well.”

He smiled and slowly leaned towards me.

“For starters, I’ll try my best to woo you.”

“……”

His ridiculous words made my lips lose their strength. I stared into his eyes, giving them a hard look as if we were in a staring contest. Despite spouting such a low-grade joke, he was pretending to be innocent.

“You think I’ll…”

I was about to retort that I wouldn’t fall for his charms. That was until he curled his lips into a smile.

As his smile spread, the tension in his eyes melted away. Faced with his sweet gaze, which seemed like honey could drip from it, I found myself breathless.

Smiling like that should be illegal. He’s such a fox. This man knew the power of his looks all too well.

“Duna, take a rest…”

At that moment, with a clatter, the carriage door opened, and Peidos appeared. I hadn’t even realized the carriage had stopped in the midst of my confrontation with Keene.

Startled, I quickly looked at Peidos. As expected, he was staring at Keene with eyes wide as saucers.

“Why are you here…?”

I had no idea where to start explaining this situation. As I stood there, my mouth opening and closing like a fish, Keene slowly got up and stood in front of the door, hunched over. Then he took the hand that Peidos had extended to escort me out of the carriage and got out himself.

“……”

Peidos looked at his palm and then at Keene in bewilderment. The person who had done something so absurd remained nonchalant. Standing on the ground, he even smiled calmly and extended his hand to me.

“Du, we’re here. Come down.”

“……”

“……”

Both Peidos and I stared at him in disbelief at his nonchalant attitude. But Keene just smiled shamelessly without batting an eye.

The problem was, this ridiculous situation didn’t end there.

Just as I was about to chase him away, wondering what he intended to do by getting off at our house, Con came out of the gate.

“Ah, brother, where have you been? I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

“…Brother?”

To my surprise, the person he called ‘brother’ was Keene. As I stood there, dumbfounded by the situation, Con noticed me and greeted me with a bright smile.

“Sister! You’re here!”

“You… Who did you just call brother…?”

“Wait a minute, then this person is…”

Glancing at Peidos standing next to me, Con blushed and ran back into the house, saying he was embarrassed to meet the esteemed guest in such an unprepared state.

“What on earth is going on…”

“Let’s go in, Du.”

“……”

I looked at the man who was casually holding the door open for me and then turned to Peidos. He looked as bewildered as I was.

Not knowing how to resolve this situation, I was at a loss, but Peidos, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

“Go in first. I’ll talk with this man and then come in.”

“…Yes.”

I hesitated, glancing at Keene. He smiled silently when our eyes met. Seeing no objection from him, it seemed he agreed with Peidos’s suggestion.

“Then.”

Unable to oppose Peidos, I entered the house first. Praying that there wouldn’t be a second round in Liche.

* * *

“What the hell is going on! How does Con know that man?”

As soon as I entered the house, I roared at my family. There was no time for warm greetings or catching up. I needed to know what was happening.

“What do you mean? He’s your colleague, isn’t he? By the way, did Sir Peidos Carmel come with him?”

I was dumbfounded by Mom’s nonchalant reply. A colleague? One that I sent?

“What are you talking about? Tell me everything from start to finish without leaving anything out!”

“What’s gotten into you?”

Here’s what I learned from Mom’s explanation:

The so-called colleague visited our house the afternoon before yesterday. He introduced himself as someone from the Grand Temple, just like me, and said he came to deliver my letter. He claimed he had business in Liche and that using the teleportation circle was faster than sending it by mail, so he volunteered to deliver it.

Of course, I never asked anyone to do such a thing. The claim of having business in Liche was also suspicious. However, it was true that I had sent a letter home before introducing Peidos. How he knew about it and intercepted it, I didn’t know, but judging by Mom’s reaction, he had indeed delivered the letter I sent.

Anyway, after completing his errand, he had dinner with my family. Being friendly and sociable, he quickly got along with my parents, especially with Con.

When it was time for him to leave, Con, feeling regretful, held him back, and he ended up staying in the guest room for two days. Although, given that he had to sign the treaty, he probably didn’t actually sleep there.

“What in the world….”

In any case, my family firmly believed he was my colleague. The headache was so intense it felt like my brain was being torn apart, but thinking about what happened at Lindsey’s, I could somewhat understand it.

This was the same man who had befriended Count Moulton even after revealing his identity as the Master of the Magic Tower. It would have been nothing for him to charm my family under the guise of being my colleague.

“How could you let him in without verifying anything!”

“Well, didn’t you get disciplined for drinking while you were a novitiate? Are you worried that we might have heard about that? Huh?”

“Ah!”

Mom pinched my cheek hard and clicked her tongue.

“Always behaving so shamelessly.”

“Ow!”

Just as I was tearing up from feeling Mom’s touch for the first time in a while, a man’s heavy boot steps echoed as someone entered the living room.

“Sandra, I’ve fixed the drain you mentioned.”

Sandra was my mom’s name. And the person who called her so sweetly was none other than…

“Is there anything else you need?”

“……”

I stared open-mouthed at the black-haired man who asked so politely.

Was he trying to win over my family instead of me?