The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind - Chapter 96

Chapter 96

Citrina and Desian sat down facing each other.
“I looked around your office for a bit. It was fascinating.”
“Fascinating?”
Desian looked at her. Facing him, Citrina tucked her hair behind her ear. Desian’s eyes followed her fingertips.
Love, after all, cannot be hidden. Looking into his eyes, Citrina whispered softly.
“I missed you so much.”
Citrina was not the type to conceal her affection. If she liked something, she’d say she liked it. Always.
But there was another reason she was so bold about confessing her feelings.
Whenever she spoke so boldly-
Desian’s expression changed slightly.
“… Me too, Rina.”
She enjoyed hearing him speak in that deep voice that seemed to come from the back of his throat.
Citrina looked into his eyes and spoke slowly.
“Del, so tell me.”
Saying his name felt like having a piece of sweet candy in her mouth.
“How was the palace?”
“Ah.”
They still had unfinished business. Genfiros was gone, but Elaina was alive.
“The fact-finding team will return soon. There’s nothing to worry about.”
His voice was mellow. It was his normally soothing tone.
Citrina couldn’t find a single hint of worry in his words.

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“What about Elaina?”
The Elaina that Citrina knew would not give up in this type of situation.
Citrina fell silent.
At this moment, Elaina’s name felt unfamiliar. She felt a subtle tingling on the back of her neck.
“She’s in custody.”
Desian didn’t seem to like her knowing the circumstances. But she had a right to know everything.
Citrina asked.
“Custody?”
“Yeah, in custody, so you don’t have to worry.”
Desian might want to shelter her.
But this was enough.
After all, she’d nearly died before.
But Citrina needed to make one thing clear- she had no intention of being a burden on him.
“I’m not going to be taken lightly. Plus, I have you. And there’s also Gemma and Aaron-“
“You have me.”
Desian interrupted her, a rare occurrence. He stroked Citrina’s cheek with an obsessive touch.
“You have me, so you don’t have to worry.”
His eyes bore into her as if he wanted to devour her, but his touch on her cheek was soothing.
Citrina slowly squeezed his hand.
His fingertips were as cold as ever.
“You have me too, so don’t worry.”
…Saying that Citrina smiled beautifully.

‘Desian, I failed to make you into a normal person rather than a villain So I’m going to admit that.
However, I’m confident this project will be a success.
Because you like me, and I like you as well.’
“I’m not worried.”
Whether he knew how she felt or not, Desian’s answer followed her thoughts.
“Then let’s do it together, the two of us.”
At Citrina’s answer, he smiled radiantly. It was as if he loved the word “us”. [T.L. Note: The word Citrina used, ??, implies they are connected.]
“Ah, by the way…”
Citrina spoke again.
“I’m curious about something.”
Desian looked cautiously at her.
“There’s something you’re curious about?”
“Yeah.”
Citrina answered curtly. There was a slight pause in the conversation.
She could feel Desian’s lips thin.
He was a man of many secrets. But it takes a lot of energy to keep them hidden.
And there was something unexpectedly cute about a man trying so hard to hide the fact that he was a villain.
She pretended to yawn, bringing her hand to her mouth. The corners of her mouth were slightly turned up. Looking at her, Desian asked lazily.

“What is it, Rina?”
“That sword you showed me before, can you show it to me again?”
When she mentioned that sword, would he know what she was talking about?
Desian answered as she expected.
“Arte Pianan’s sword?”
“Yeah, but not that one.”
Citrina frowned. Desian’s expression hardened at her ambiguous gesture.
“Do you remember the sword that I was interested in?”
Desian remembered almost everything related to Citrina.
So he knew Citrina was talking about the magic sword.
“I think Gemma would like to talk to the sword.”
Actually, she was talking about herself rather than Gemma.
-Oh? Me?
Citrina pressed her hand firmly against the pendant. Gemma went quiet.
“Then we’ll do that. Assuming it’s not dangerous.”
Desian looked at her.
“It’s not dangerous.”
Citrina smiled, the corners of her mouth stretching. Her biggest goal was to extend her life.
Citrina was the type of person who found the idea of endangering her own life the most terrifying.

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“Then I’ll show you.”
“Now?”
“Soon.”
“When will I see it?”
“In about ten minutes. I need to organize something.”
Citrina narrowed her eyes.
This…it reeked of manipulation.
But ten minutes was too short of a time. It was just enough to sheathe the sword.
Though it shouldn’t be too difficult to get the level of information she wanted.
“Yeah, sounds good. I also need to organize my thoughts.”
Desian’s face returned to its normal blank state.
“That’s a good idea, Rina.”
Anyway, it served its purpose.
‘Shall I ask him about the peridot necklace now?’
But he would probably be too embarrassed if she asked him directly. Though she wondered what Desian would look like if he was embarrassed.

Instead of asking directly, Citrina decided to take a roundabout path.
“Del, I’m not very good at craftsmanship, you know?”
Desian tried to instinctively deny it, so Citrina put a hand over his mouth while smiling.
“Anyway, there is one of my works that is very clumsy.”
“Is that so?”
While he said that, she could tell there was a question mark hovering above his head.
That’s because the change in topic was so abrupt.
Knowing his confusion, Citrina spoke in a low voice.
“Yeah. Well, there’s someone who bought it.”
Desian stiffened. Citrina knew what he was thinking. So she slowly put her hand over her face. [T.L. Note: It actually says she slowly facepalmed, lol. ] The feeling of her cool fingertips on her dry skin wasn’t bad.

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“Life in the atelier is sometimes hard and demanding. When you’ve been there long enough, you sometimes lose your self-esteem. But-“
“Yeah. But?”
“There was someone who bought even my crappy work.”
“…Alright.”
“Yeah, I think that person gave me the courage to realize that I’m not on the wrong path.” Citrina looked up at him and smiled.
“I want to thank them if I meet them later.”
Desian had probably put two and two together. He was a quick thinker. Therefore it wasn’t unexpected that his eyes darted to Citrina’s pendant.
He must know Gemma found it.
His reasoning was sound.
“Rina, anything you touch is perfect, and I like your courage too.”
But it didn’t seem that Desian had any intention of giving himself up as the person who bought the necklace.
Citrina lifted her hand and gently touched his hair.
“Then since I’ve touched you, does that mean you’re perfect?”
Desian froze a bit, not expecting those words to come out of her mouth. It was the first time she’d ever seen him embarrassed to this degree.
Ah, it was cute.
His cheeks and ears which were naturally pale, were tinted slightly.
The cuteness was getting to her, so Citrina spoke in a stern voice.
“I’d say you’re perfect.”
As she spoke, Citrina felt out of place.
‘Who am I to say something like this?’
Being around Desian, she kept finding herself acting stranger and stranger.
Citrina liked that.
“Umm…”
When he didn’t answer, Citrina made a noise to get his attention.
“Del, close your eyes.”
Desian gently shut his eyes. Long dark eyelashes fluttered in an arc.
Desian looked like a blade, which must be hiding something, but even that blade was lovely.
Then was she becoming more abnormal?
“My eyes are closed.”
Desian said.
Citrina leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.
-smooch- It was a sweet kiss that made a little sound.
“You can open your eyes now.”
It was a tantalizing kiss.
Desian opened his eyes. Ferociously sharp, sensitive eyes stared back at her. And he held her chin.
So it wouldn’t hurt.
His lips opened once more.
Citrina instinctively squeezed her eyes shut tight. Through the flickering cracks in her vision, their lips met.
His lips conquered hers, and the tip of his tongue flicked across the roof of her mouth. It was quite an intense kiss like he was licking up every part of her mouth.
Desian’s lips slowly parted.
“Now…you can open your eyes.”
Hearing Desian’s husky voice, Citrina slowly opened her eyes. Her red lipstick seemed to be smudged. No, her lips felt completely swollen.
Desian spoke slowly.
“Your peridot necklace was pretty. It was love at first sight.”
“Okay, I know. So you must like me, just like then.”
“Yeah.”
“I want you to do everything I tell you to do.”
“I will.”
That look in his eyes was unrecognizable from the deep kiss a minute ago. Besides, his voice sounded so innocent.
Desian looked exceedingly satisfied with her request. It was as if this was the conclusion he wished for the most.
And before Citrina could come up with a satisfying answer, Desian spoke first.
“But, Rina.”
“Yeah?”
“You have to only love me.”
“Yeah, I know.”

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Desian was her one and only lover. Citrina was not the type to date multiple people.
Looking at her, Desian stood up and spoke.
“I look forward to it.”
“Yeah. You can look forward to it.”
Citrina giggled. It was cute that he was looking forward to something like that.
Ah, and there was something she needed to be certain about before she took it further with Desian. Citrina closed her eyes and let the words spill out of her mouth.
“Then shall we have dinner first? I have something to say.”
“In the meantime…I’ll bring the sword and a psychic.”
“Yeah. Because we need a perfect plan. Right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Desian agreed obediently at her words.
And with that, he offered her his hand. Accepted his escort, Citrina walked toward the banquet hall.
First, she would have a quick dinner before getting started.
After all, a filling meal was fuel for the mind.