Chapter 22

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Thank you so much for the Ko-Fi support Rose(4/ 5)????

***

Vivian’s fingertips flinched because his eyes were so close that they reminded her of her dream.

“Yes? What?”

“You said you enjoy spending your time with us.”

Vivian, who was blinking, nodded.

“It’s hard, enough to sweat and hurt my hand, but it’s true that it’s fun.”

“…….”

“By the way, Lord Dinus, he was very rude. An educated man who came to see me like this out of the blue.….”

Vivian looked up and paused, swearing at Glen, who had left without a word of apology.

Her blue eyes were smeared with an astonished expression.

“Sir Knight, are you smiling now?”

Roger was smiling.

She didn’t understand the timing of his smile, so a question mark was drawn on Vivian’s face. Roger swept his lips to see if he was smiling. Before long, he returned to his original stoic expression.

“To be honest, I never thought Lady would take our side.”

“Why? It’s Lord Dinus’ fault by all accounts.”

“Of course, that is often not the case in the face of status.”

“…….”

“It wasn’t once or twice that our Knights were ignored due to where they came from.”

Roger calmly looked around the training ground.

Some of the knights sat down and chatted amongst themselves, and there were some who focused on training again. Roger’s eyes were clear while looking at them.

Vivian realized that Roger cared for the Knights of Eckhart.

A group of bloodless and tearless murderers. Ironically, there was comradeship in the notorious group.

For a moment, Vivian thought that the rumor spread in the capital that floated like a cloud might be a false story.

“By the way, how long are you going to hold it?”

Looking at Glen’s disappearance, Vivian became conscious of what he said. Roger glanced down as he looked with his lost focus. Vivian, who bowed her head along with his gaze, found her hand still holding Roger’s arm.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Surprised, Vivian threw his arm away and took a couple of steps back. Above all, she had never touched his solid body except in her dreams, so she had no intention to act like it was a habit.

Roger looked at Vivian’s empty hand with a gentle look.

“I thought I’d stop you first.….”

“Come to think of it, I didn’t hear from you earlier.”

Cutting her off with some lame excuse, he asked.

“Your hand, is it all right?”

“Yes, it’s much better now.”

“Let’s see.”

He reached out to Vivian, throwing the sword he had been holding to the floor. It has been a while since Glen’s departure, who had faded like a fog.

Vivian didn’t like it, but she had no choice but to extend her hand out to him. Roger looked at Vivian’s hand with a calm gaze.

“It’s a good thing you rested.”

He did not let Vivian go even after his own examination. Rather, he looked at it persistently as if he had possessed a rare jewel.

“What a hand…….”

Vivian flinched slightly on his fingers that touched every corner of her hand. The inside of her chest tickled strangely, recalling memories from the past.

“It’s small.”

He looked at the ridiculously small hand compared to his. He looked really amazed without any sign of playing tricks.

Vivian tilted her head slightly. As the two of them mixed bodies in their dreams, they knew each other’s bodies well.

But what’s that attitude that seemed he had never seen her hand before?

‘Is this man not dreaming of me?’

The man didn’t seem to dream of having a passionate affair with Vivian. At the thought, Vivian felt fortunate not to have asked him about the dream.

Vivian’s hands fell away while she swept her chest secretly.

“Can you train today?”

“Yes, that’s what I came here to do. Lord Dinus delayed the time a little, though.”

Roger nodded and called Enka.

“And be careful not to get hurt.”

Roger whispered past her as Enka approached. Anyone could tell that it was a worried voice. In this training ground, all he’s worried about is Vivian.

Vivian looked down at her palm quietly at the special treatment.

On top of the blisters where the traces were left, the hot energy that passed by his touch dissipated.

***

Time went by without a hitch after Glen’s uproar, and they will soon travel Westbound  the day after.

“The place where you will be staying is the Marquisate of Ozent.”

“Does Marquis Ozent know this?”

Vivian asked what the Emperor said while pointing to a map. The Emperor shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter, this land has been owned by the Imperial Family since the Masu appeared anyway.”

[TN/N: Masu is the demonic beast.]

Vivian nodded as if she had understood. Then she put her question in her mouth.

“Do you mind if I show myself in the estate?”

The Emperor added the cumbersome engagement to the mission to hide Vivian’s presence from others. So Vivian couldn’t judge whether she was allowed to be exposed recklessly in the territory.

“Those people don’t know Lady’s face, so it’ll be okay.”

Rubbing his chin, the Emperor replied quietly. Vivian breathed a sigh of relief at his response. It would be a lot of trouble if she had to hide her identity once the mission is over.

“Oh, but just in case, cover Lady’s hair well. It stands out quite a bit in the Empire.”

The Emperor, who advised lightly, raised the corners of his mouth as if there was something so exciting. Playfulness glistened through the glowing wrinkled eyes.

“As you may know, you are engaged from the moment you arrive in the West.”

It was not until the Emperor’s words that Vivian realized why he was so excited. Vivian, who sighed lightly, looked back at Roger. He was busy looking at the Emperor’s map with his arms folded. Perhaps it is over the Emperor’s futile remarks.

“It’s just acting, though.”

“I think people will believe it when you act properly enough to fool yourself. So act like you’re really engaged.”

“…I’ll try.”

Vivian answered blandly looking at Roger, who was still silent while memorizing the terrain.

After greeting the Emperor, the two came out. No words were exchanged on the way to the entrance of the palace. They spent two weeks together. However, they were not close enough to have a friendly conversation.

“Well… I’ll see you tomorrow, Sir.”

Vivian approached the carriage and said goodbye. Roger nodded faintly, fiddling with his collar.

Before the atmosphere became more awkward, Vivian tried to get to the carriage quickly. But then, she didn’t see the stone right in front of her and tripped. Her body leaned forward helplessly. Vivian unknowingly closed her eyes to her accelerating body unable to take action.

But no pain came.

Vivian was able to avoid the falling mishap thanks to the power that pulled her back.

The moment Vivian opened her eyes, his face was right in front of her, just like in her dream when he came close to her countless times. Surprised, Vivian became frozen.

“Are you all right?”

“…….”

His face was so close that even his shallow breath was felt in detail. It was a breath as hot as the man in the dream, who was always up on her.

“…Lady.”

It was late at night when the Emperor summoned the two. The moon radiated in the sky, shining behind Roger’s head. His dark red hair was as bright as her silver hair. He looked dazzling for a moment because of that. She felt as if she was in front of the sun, not the moon.

Roger grimaced as Vivian stopped looking silently. He reached out in an instant and hugged Vivian.

“…Oh my! Sir! What, what are you doing? Put me down!”

Roger held her firmly and brought Vivian to the carriage despite her dissuasion. Standing in front of the wagon, the servant was surprised and hurried to open the door.

“Miss, are you hurt?”

The servant was surprised when the fine lady came to the driver. Vivian shook her head firmly, saying no.

In the meantime, Roger casually lowered her onto the soft chair.

“I asked you to put me down. Why…….”

“I thought you were hurt.”

“I said I was okay.”

“I couldn’t hear you.”

That’s a lie.

His ears were right in front of her when she shouted.

At the ridiculous excuse, Vivian looked up at him with an absurd look on her face. Roger, who smiled with his thick eyebrows bent, tilted his upper body toward Vivian.

“We are finally leaving tomorrow.”

His low voice matched this moonlit night very well. The face that came closer. It was a beauty that played a huge role in boosting the atmosphere.

“Yes…. I know.”

“Please have a sweet dream tonight.”

He grabbed Vivian’s brilliant silver hair and whispered, kissing it. He had quite a gentlemanly attitude, unlike his blunt appearance at any time.

Vivian stopped breathing at a moment in a different way than usual. If she breathes out, he’ll find out her heart rate is increasing without knowing the cause. He was too sensual to deal with soberly tonight.

“…Same to you.”

With his upper body standing satisfactorily despite Vivian’s humble reply, he closed the carriage door. In the slowly departing carriage, Vivian could barely breathe out her knotted breath.

The man couldn’t have predicted it at all.

Where to meet.

Let’s see what he’s going to do.

Everything else.

Vivian tried to calm her palpitating heart, hoping that the Westbound journey with the man in her dream would not be a difficult one.

***

Warm heat poured from behind her back.

Vivian woke up half-asleep, feeling a snakey movement touching her skin persistently. These days, she has been tired all over, maybe because she’d been focusing on sword training. It was similar to when she first learned spirit art, and she was exhausted by it.

Gently caressing her side, it climbed up on the skin and grabbed her chest slightly. Something swept lazily across the neck. It’s damp and moist.

Is this a snake’s tongue?

Then is it really a snake that tightly wrapped her right now?

A vague consciousness continued without being able to come to her senses.

It was in an instant that the hand that gently touched the chest as if caressing something strange changed its momentum. He grabbed them tightly, enough to leave marks, and rubbed the red papules with his fingertips compared to her flesh.