Kalcion, who was trapped in between, didnât even know what he should do.
ââŠ..â
Kalcionâs eyes averted the two womenâs.
âWhat do you want me to do?â
A glint of indifference on his face. Fionelâs face shining with impudence.
âOh, Fionel is so tired that she feels like she could faint at any moment nowâŠ.â
âThen you should take a rest and take care of your health.â
The warrior on the other side wasnât one who could lose a battle too.
âWhat if she canât get up on her ownâŠ.â
âThen you may have dinner later. Iâll instruct someone to deliver it to you.â
But Kalcion didnât want this battle to be prolonged.
âWell, then make yourself comfortable while Iâm away. Iâll see you in the evening. Please take her to the guest room.â
Thatâs it. No more counterattacks were allowed.
Leaving behind a unilateral notice, Kalcion strode away with a quick pace so that Fionel couldnât keep up. He even ordered the servants to guide her, so she couldnât follow him anymore.
âButâŠ..My Lord!â
Instead, a mournful voice was heard. It sounded as if the Duke had abandoned a child and fled away.
However, what Selena saw was Fionelâs eyes glaring fiercely at Kalcionâs back.
âHaâŠ.â
âSigh.â
As soon as Fionel disappeared from their view, Selena and Kalcion sighed simultaneously.
ââŠ..Sheâs stubborn.â
Even in the entertainment industry, this was not a weakness.
âNot all women in the social circle are like her, are they?â
âI donât think so.â
Actually, he didnât know because he wasnât that involved with them.
âI didnât expect to meet such a fancy player from the start of this game.â
Kacion replied with a sigh. He also didnât expect the sudden intrusion of Fionel.
âNo way, this is not the personality of all the women here, is it?â
âFrom my point of view, the daughter of Count Fionel is the most annoying of them.â
âIâm sure the type of people who always have a tendency of involving themselves in someone elseâs business is the most tiring.â
âSo, is she the most annoying one in the society?â
âI donât think so.â
âIn terms of rankâŠ..?â
If Kalcion knew about it, he would have investigated it himself.
If Fionel wasnât, then there must be a lot of different types of people in the social circle of the capital. Just thinking about it made her feel tired.
âIf this continues in the future, weâll have to negotiate again.â
âSure, as much as you like.â
The amount wasnât much of a concern to Kalcion in the first place. For Selena, she was worried if she could not make it back to her world in one piece.
âAnyway, why did you tell her to see you in the evening when she was so tired?â
In the aftermath of the battle, her appetite also fell. So, she took a bite from her bowl of fruits.
âIt is polite for a person to serve the first supper to his guest who has come to visit his estate. It is one of the basic etiquettes that one must know, even by a five-year-old child.â
What an amazing discovery.
âYouâre surprisingly keeping up with what you are asked to do.â
âWhatâs so surprising in maintaining the courtesy?â
âWell, I donât know. Youâre the law here. I thought youâd ignore all of the ones that bother you.â
Judging from his personality, she thought heâd ignore all the rights that were applied to the commoners. For example, heâd cut the throat of a person who spoke informally to their Duke.
âItâd be more bothersome to live by breaking every little rule.â
âThatâs true.â
It was a convincing reason. Even if he was the Duke, he was on the periphery. A territory that belonged to the Ziman Kingdom. There must be a minimum number of rules that must be followed.
âHowever, I think Iâll be facing a lot of trouble from now on.â
The capital was likely to be stifling as there were rules so that even the Dukes on the periphery were not free.
He might not have felt it because he lived in a moderate disregard for it. However, Selena was in a different position. She had to strengthen her position by taking steps in the midst of all signs of being the weakest.
âHaâŠ..Letâs repeat what I did starting from when I was a rookie.â
When she was a rookie, she had the hope of improving her skills, but this time, the goal was to catch a criminal. She would just have to keep up the fight without letting anyone know anything.
After a while, she also lost her appetite for fruits. Putting the bowl aside, she wiped her mouth.
âWas it not sweet?â
Kalcion asked as he put a thick piece of meat into his mouth.
âIâve lost my appetite.â
The nicely sliced meat by the chef, caught in the fork, approached the mouth of Kalcion once again. The outer part was slightly dark, but it seemed to be juicy from its inner part.
âWell, you can just have one bite.â
Kalcion pointed towards the meat in front of her, but she couldnât get her hands on it.
âNo, that looks more delicious.â
âBut itâs different.â
Kalcion smiled dumbfoundedly.
âI heard one bite will be enough. One bite, please.â
As he saw Selena shifting her chair and requesting him, Kalcion smiled dumbfoundedly once again.
âOkay.â
She held out her plate.
âWait. Cut them for me. Itâd take a long time to get a fork.â
He cut them into bite-sized pieces, thinking that it would be more convenient to cut it for her.
âHere.â
âDo you want me to eat it with my own hands? Feed me.â
ââŠ.Really.â
It was all over the place.
Kalcionâs patience was about to run out.
âAh, just use a fork.â
Selena, who was grinning, opened her mouth like a baby bird.
While she was smiling and acting cute, Kalcion felt a pressure building up in his chest. However, inside the castle, there was a servantâs eye who was silently watching them. Kalcion unconsciously persuaded himself.
It was not just the two of them.
It was not hard.
Yeah, this wasnât a difficult job. It was just something he didnât usually do. Kalcion dipped the meat with his fork and held in front of Selenaâs mouth.
âHmm!â
She snapped at the fork.
The tip of the fork disappeared behind her pink lips. Suddenly, he felt a warm sensation spreading to his earlobes.
âOh, itâs delicious!â
Selena exclaimed without any hesitation, her face full of satiety as if she was satisfied with just one bite.
While gazing at Selena, who was busy ordering desserts as if her appetite had returned, Kalcion put down the tableware he was holding. He didnât have the courage to continue eating using the same fork.
***
As soon as their meal was over, Kalcion fled to the Oval office. She was going to follow him, but upon noticing that he seemed very eager to be alone, Selena returned to her room.
She laid herself flat on the bed, unable to stay seated anymore. She had a hard time eating after having a fierce battle in the morning.
âSighâŠ.â
She thought there would be a preparatory period until she went to the capital. She thought there would be a time to adjust to this world and know the basis of events, but it was a mistake. People were the same in every world.
Kalcion knew nothing more about the incident than she did. He was ignorant of the incident as much as he did not know the woman.
âWhether I donât know, or I donât want to know.â
She would have to drag the smoke out of love from now on, but she couldnât be on the backseat. It was the fastest way to beat him, but she couldnât do that to him, who was holding her life at stake.
âLetâs get into it.â
Sheâd get used to it if she kept repeating it. If she got used to it, she could naturally lower the resistance. Jumping off from the bed, she headed towards Kalcionâs office.
***
âUhâŠ..â
âYouâŠ.â
Two knights, who were guarding in front of the Oval Office, looked flustered on noticing Selena.
âPlease tell him Iâm here.â
Selena asked them in a polite manner.
If she was wicked, she would have started screaming and made a fuss.
âHow dare you stop me from receiving His Excellencyâs favor?!â
However, the wicked woman that Kalcion wanted her to be was not someone who would make a fuss everywhere.
âHis Excellency told us not to let anyone inâŠâŠâ
Still, in the minds of the knights, a woman who came from outside = a complex of a wicked person. They seemed wary of the reason for refusing.
Selena smiled broadly and nodded before she turned away.
âOh, really? All right then, good luck.â
She didnât have to work hard on a very standard technique. The Oval Office was on the first floor. So, there must be a window to the office that overlooked the garden outside.
Kalcion was pacing around the office, lost in thought. Selena knocked on the window with a regular tap.
Knock Knock
After staring blankly at the wall, he looked back in surprise.
ââŠ..What are you doing here?â
âI thought you ordered them not to let anyone in through the door, so I was wondering if a window would be fine.â
âSighâŠ.â
Instead of replying, Kalcion rubbed the region between his eyebrows.
âFine, come in for now.â
It was a relief that he didnât deny. Putting her sleek foot on the window frame, she pulled herself up.
ââŠ..?â
As she was about to jump into the room, her eyes met a blank-faced Kalcion. His arms were wide open as if he was trying to lift her up.
âUhâŠ..great.â
She said. He was good at everything with his body.
It would have been too much of a shock to him, who only met a few soft-spoken women. Selena, with a coy look on her face, took Kalcionâs arm and jumped in. He couldnât take his eyes off her through the whole process.
âIt was a bit embarrassing, but it felt good.â
When Selena smiled, Kalcionâs look stiffened, as if it had destroyed the world around him.âŠ..and his heart was stabbed.
âAnyway, whatâs your business here?â
âAh, itâs nothing. I was bored in the room.â
ââŠâŠâ
âDonât worry, I wouldnât interrupt you. Iâll just be breathing.â
âFine, just breathe.â
âCan I blink too?â
Instead of answering, he gritted his teeth.
âA joke wouldnât work on me, woman.â
Only
She shrugged and laid herself on the sofa.
Sighing briefly, he went back to his desk. Subsequently, a rustling of documents was heard followed by the sound of scribbling.
âHmmâŠ.I feel drowsy.â
She slept well last night too. Falling asleep anywhere was a prerequisite of a top actor. He or she had to rest whenever they got time in between the shoots.
The afternoon sun was warm and the sofa was comfortable. The sound of paper grazing, the tip of the pen scratching on the paper, and the slow breathing of Kalcion soothed her nerves.
âHmmâŠ..?â
Selena mumbled in her sleep, feeling a shadow silently covering the sunâs light.
She thought the sun was setting down, but the shadow disappeared again. She didnât know what it was, but she didnât have the strength to check. Thereafter, she fell asleep.