CH 279

He had not planned this from the beginning, and so he had tried to stop his assault-like behavior. However, as the flower-like bruise grew more prominent on her pale skin, he couldn’t stop. Her tearful eyes and soft sighs did not help. Max became more anxious as he dug his teeth into her. What if she ended up changing her mind and said goodbye to him? He was afraid that someone other than himself would see her like this.

‘If I became one with you now, will this intense longing for you go away?’ His whole body was on fire from his desire for her. But seeing her naive eyes, Max had no choice but to calm himself down. ‘You’re not ready yet.’ He was on the verge of going mad from impatience and frustration but made a promise to himself. “I love you, Jubelian,” he confessed. Even if he would be in pain for now, he would wait until the woman he loved was ready. Until then, he would hide his debased desires and feign innocence.

Pulling Max by his hair, Jubelian complained, “If you do that again without notice, I will kick you out. Do you understand?” Even her whining was cute. Max laughed for a moment, then his crimson eyes lit up.

‘Well, that wouldn’t matter. I will propose to you after your coming-of-age ceremony.’ Max pledged to remain patient about the bothersome flies surrounding his lover until then. He lightly caressed her cheek.

* * *

After Max left, I examined my neck in the mirror. It was ridiculous; I had a big bruise on one side. I scowled without realizing it. He had acted like a vampire, and the traces he had made were too clear. It was ill-mannered on his part since now I had to think of covering my neck even at home. I sighed as I looked for a piece of cloth to cover my neck.

‘Would this do?’

I had just finished covering my neck with a small scarf when I heard a voice. “Jubelian, it’s me.” It was Geraldine. I opened my door, and he greeted me with a displeased look.

“Is something the matter?” I asked. Although I deemed him a good-for-nothing, Geraldine was a skilled knight and, frankly, a bit of a show-off. It was only natural for him to be dissatisfied with the situation he was in. After all, he did not know of Max’s identity and other important factors contributing to my father’s order to keep a low profile at the hunting competition. “Actually, I have a favor to ask you, Dean.”

He sighed in response to my words. “What is it?”

“About the hunting contest,” I began, and he let out a sigh again.

“I already know. I will stay out of the public’s eye, so don’t worry too much.”

“No, it’s not that. Are you aware that Lord Elios visited earlier?”

“Yes.”

“The thing is, he was arguing that he would win first place in the competition.” I made it sound like he had made a declaration against my family, but that was not what had happened. All he had given was a simple proposal, but I distorted the truth for my purpose. Given Geraldine’s personality, I knew just how he would react.

As expected, Geraldine’s face crumpled once I finished speaking. “Did he really say that?”

“Yes. He told me he was going to take first place and that I should cheer for him.”

“Are you telling me the truth?” Geraldine asked, his eyes full of doubt. I deliberately put on a disappointed expression.

“Yes, I am.”

Twisting his face, Geraldine snarled, “What the hell does he know? All he’s held throughout his whole life would be some books! How dare he look down on the Floyen household? Our knights are renowned as the most skilled swordsmen in this empire!”