“If you kiss me here, I’ll give you a hint,” Lionel said, tapping his cheek with his finger, and somehow his lips looked really pretty. Moist and luscious like a ripe peach…
“What?”
“You say you want a hint.”
Arya didn’t know he was such a brazen person. Besides, he wasn’t even interested in the original Princess Arya.
‘Why the hell are you doing this? Oh, I see. You’re trying to enlighten me by putting me to shame. No. I’m not Arya Deloraine who will put up with such humiliation.’
When she did nothing and just stood still, he urged her
“Come one.”
He stood in front of Arya, and how tall he was, his nose was right in front of her, and above, those bright ruby-red eyes. Those eyes made her feel ashamed to look at him as if he knew that she was lost in his lips.
“Would you like me to let you do it on the lips?”
“No!”
“Why?”
Whether he was offended by Arya’s strong denial, the man’s handsome forehead narrowed fiercely.
Attempted kidnapping. That would never be a light sin. However, in the original story, Arya Deloraine kidnapped not just one or two people. And the only reason why she was not punished was because of the great influence of Duke Deloraine. Because the Emperor respected the Duke of Deloraine who took care of messes. On the other hand, the Crown Prince could not ignore the Duke, who first stepped out whenever he needed a support base. Perhaps if Arya Deloraine hadn’t acted like a madwoman, their relationship wouldn’t have twisted this much.
“Huh.” As if it was absurd, Lionel grabbed her by the chin and then tilted it to one side. “Then.”
It was dangerous. His face was much more beautiful seeing it up close.
“Do-don’t do this…”
Perhaps that’s why Arya’s resistance faded. Their lips were close enough to touch, but it was more embarrassing as the tip of her nose brushed under the classic arch of his nostrils.
“This won’t do.”
“Yes?”
As if angry, Lionel stepped back from Arya, grabbed Velosia’s arm once again, and said,
“It’s enough, reflect on yourself. I’ll at least accept your letter.”
“No! Why Bell? Take other maids!”
“Do you think I don’t know you only care about this maid?”
“That, that…!”
“It’ll hurt more than taking ten other maids.”
Lionel seemed to know on whom Arya relied, perhaps because they had known each other since childhood.
“Let go!”
“Your Highness, let go!”
“Can’t you see that your maid is suffering?”
“Uuhkk! Milady!”
Arya was pulling her arm, doing her best not to lose Bell. However, it wasn’t easy to pull her since Lionel was on the other side. Then she met the maid’s eyes. The expression on Bell’s face showed pain, so Arya loosened her grip without realizing it. Of course, the side of the person who said she was going to get hurt pulled even more.
“Beeeeell!”
“Milady!”
As Arya watched helplessly as Velosia was dragged out, she made eye contact with the Crown Prince who looked back one last time as he headed out the Duke’s residence. Her eyes were teary from worry, and his were folded like a half-moon, smiling as if it was fun.
‘Sorry, Bell, but the one who loves more should let go!’
Arya recalled Solomon’s judgment. She cared more thus she let her go, but she couldn’t understand why she felt so lost.
With Velosia taken away, Arya’s situation was not very good. What to do with Kylian, and her life here, which she still did not fully understand, was also a problem. Even if she asked who she was to anyone, those aides were not as close as Velosia.
“Milady.”
“Will you come in if I shout?”
“Yes, Milady.”
She had earnestly requested the brown-haired knight, who had given her the key before, to go down to the basement with this and that. When she went down, Kylian’s arms were restrained, a blindfold covered his eyes, and his mouth was muzzled.
“Who are you?”
Arya didn’t know what to say, so she closed the door for starters. Then she opened the bars and moved what she had brought. Just in case he would want to escape she locked the cage door behind her. Once allowed outside as he was, she would be in trouble.
“Do you really have no memory, Kylian?”
“Is my name Kylian?”
“…Yes.”
“This voice is Arya’s.”
“…”
She shut her mouth. It was hard for him to remember a name he had never heard before.
Arya had kidnapped him by mistake. She even had him caged. It wasn’t something I did, but it was done by Arya Deloraine, the owner of this body. The problem is that I am now Arya Deloraine. No matter how I claim to be a different person, or how different Arya and I are, no one will believe me. The most fatal reason is that this is not the first time Arya Deloraine kidnapped someone. However, the people she kidnapped were mostly insignificant. She never imagined catching such a giant black leopard.
“Um… Kylian.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…If you’re sorry please remove the blindfold.”
Feeling somewhat guilty, Arya loosened it. Then, as if pained by even the faint light, Kylian frowned. The purple eyes were so beautiful it was like looking at the stars. As she continued staring without blinking, he returned her stare with his eyes round.
Wondering if he was angry, she lowered her gaze and stepped back. A creaking sound came from the chains on his wrists tied behind him.
“Arya.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you kidnap me?”
“That actually… mi… mis…”
“…”
She tried to say it was a mistake, but as he continued to stare at her, the words didn’t come out properly. She realized, since last time, it was really difficult to tell him the truth. In the end, she uttered some nonsense without realizing it.
“I must have kidnapped Kylian because he is so pretty!”
He relaxed his expression.
“I see.”
He even smiled faintly! ‘What do I do? I should say it was a mistake…!’ But somehow, it didn’t seem like he would leave her alone if she said that.
Arya’s lips twitched slightly as she looked at him smiling so sweetly she couldn’t say anything in the end.
“Please remove the muzzle as well.”
“Ah… Yes.”
Her hands were shaking, which made it difficult for her to unplug it. As she trembled, the chain of the muzzle connected to Kylian’s neck creaked.
“Are you nervous?”
“Uhk- Yes.”
He was smiling more tenderly than before, probably because it was funny that she trembled because of him.
[tl/n: not judging anyone’s kinks but dude~]
“What are all those things?”
He pointed with his eyes to what Arya had brought.
“Food, medicine, and clothes.”
“I see.”
“Um… When I’m done removing the muzzle, I will also release your arm…”
But then she remembered that he had rushed towards her, pressing her body the other day, so she didn’t know whether or not she should really let him go.
In fact, I don’t even have the courage to release it because I think he won’t let me go if I do it… If Velosia was here, I would have asked her to do it instead. But she was taken away by Lionel?
“Snif- uuhhg…”
“Arya? Why are you crying?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Arya felt somewhat sad as she recalled Bell’s appearance as she was being dragged last time. She felt like she had lost someone to rely on in such a strange place.
Besides, I don’t even know what the hell I did wrong! No, it’s not that. If I think of Arya Deloraine, it’s clear that she must have done something wrong, even if I can’t recall anything. But not only do I have to apologize for what she did wrong, but I also have to write an apology for it!
“I’m sorry for last time.”
“Last time?”
“Didn’t I treat Arya harshly as soon as I woke up?”
“Ah…”
At that time, he pressed Arya so hard that her lower ribs were bruised. ‘But isn’t this good enough? Who will treat their captors with respect?’ Arya decided to think lightly about the matter.
“Th… Lord Rohenbert.”
“That’s my last name.”
“Yes.”
As he pondered his last name as if it was unfamiliar, Arya looked into his eyes and said,
“May I treat you?”
“Yes.”
When the knot on the back of Kylian’s neck was untied, the muzzle on his mouth loosened. Maybe it was because Arya had both hands wrapped around his neck, suddenly she felt the inside of her wrist warming up. She saw the scar on his cheek looked so severe that she unknowingly brushed his cheeks with her fingertips. Strange. She had no intention of touching him like this, but just touching him made her feel better. Like getting energized. Maybe that’s why, without realizing it, she persistently stroked his cheek with her fingertips.
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, you should touch it more gently.”
“What?”
“I can’t move my hand, but it seems to feel better when Arya touches it.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Somehow, his expression didn’t look like a lie. So she stroked him gently as he instructed, and he leaned slightly and rested his face against the touching hand. Kylian may have had it really hard.
“Is there really nothing that comes to mind?”
“Yes.”
The beautiful purple eyes, as if a violet was blooming gently inside them, were calm.
The restraints on his neck were also released. To do that, she almost had to lean on him and hug him, and Arya’s ears tickled as he breathed slowly on her shoulder.
“Arya seems to have a good scent.”
“Ah… Yes. I sprayed some perfume.”
As she untied the restraints from his neck and looked at him, he frowned.
“It smells like roses. Do you have one for Lord Rohenbert too?”
“…No.”
It seemed he was staring again, but she couldn’t tell what mistake she had made. All that was left was the restraint on the wrists. But that one was solved fast.
“Lord Rohenbert.”
“Yes.”
“If– if I release your hands…”
“I will not be as violent as last time.”
But she couldn’t believe him. He does not know, but the restraints on the cuffs that were filled this time were not as sloppy as the last time. In addition, although it couldn’t be seen from his position, it was a double restraint system. It wasn’t unlocked with a key, it was unlocked by turning the password.
“Um…”
“If Arya is anxious, just stay like this for a few days.”
He spoke as if reading her heart. Perhaps that’s why she was a little embarrassed because she seemed to have been caught being scared.
“Thank you.”
“Then are you going to treat me now?”
“I’ll feed you first.”
“Yes.”
She knew that he may not have been eating properly. So, the food she brought was well-cooked bacon, bread, potato salad, soup, and a beautifully made dessert.
“Ah~”
Arya made a sound and motioned at Kylian to open his mouth, and he opened his mouth slightly. She scooped up the soup, blew it, and fed it to him. While looking at the soup disappearing between the moist red lips, she stared intently, suddenly thinking they were as red as her hair. Then she pretended it was nothing and continued to feed him soup again. She put bacon on the bread and fed him, he took small bites. Each time, the teeth exposed between the lips were neat and white, so she kept staring.
While feeding him the chopped bread, Arya’s finger brushed his lips. He smiled and ate what she gave with a strange face. Then, after chewing it all and swallowing, he gently bit her hand, which had stopped mid-air.