YSLM 09

Chapter 9

“What?”

At those words, Lea suddenly sat up straight. Kevin looked at her as if he could not believe she did not know that.

“And that too, in front of everyone watching.”

“……”

“And in front of my parents and Raymond.”

“Th-that’s enough.”

“No, that’s not all. Those stupid mages will all come too. Ursula, Ronald, Connie, Steven.”

“Ah!”

“Of course, your four coworkers from the Magic Tower will come as well.”

With a pale face, Lea completely closed her mouth. Kevin shook his head and said,

“Just as I thought, you didn’t even think about it.”

After staring blankly for a moment, words slipped out of her mouth.

“Ah, seriously. Should I practice at least?”

“……Should we?”

“Huh?”

Lea quickly turned her head.

There, she saw Kevin’s face with a faint smile.

Seeing that expression, the memory of their sharp first kiss suddenly came to mind.

“W-wait. I was just talking to myself. Don’t worry about it.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to try once?”

“Uh, uh, uh?”

“We are sitting this close already……”

Then Kevin slowly moved his face closer.

At that moment, it felt as if a single second had stretched dozens of times.

The feeling of cool lips touching hers—perhaps because of the cold air inside the room.

Her second kiss with Kevin.

‘Hmph.’

The moment Lea’s thoughts stopped and she tightly closed her eyes,

Kevin’s lips quickly moved away.

Unlike last time, it was barely a touch before he immediately pulled back.

“Huh?”

Lea opened her eyes wide and looked at him.

Kevin looked completely calm, as if he had never kissed her.

“Why?”

“Didn’t we just…… kiss?”

Without realizing it, Lea touched her own lips.

Even though there was no warmth left.

“Rather than a kiss, it was practice for one of the necessary steps of a wedding.”

“Ah, right.”

The heart that had been about to beat wildly suddenly calmed down.

Lea still could not take her hand away from her lips as she thought deeply.

‘It wasn’t like this last time.’

Back then, even though it was faint, she had felt something she could not explain with words.

But now……

It felt like she had accidentally bumped her lips against a tree she planted in the garden.

There was no feeling at all.

‘So that feeling back then was just my imagination.’

Above all, Kevin was not interested in women.

There was no way she could feel something more from kissing someone like him.

After reaching that conclusion, peace and stability suddenly returned to Lea’s heart.

“Why do you look like that?”

At Kevin’s question, Lea put her arm around his shoulder and answered.

“I solved one question I had. When we do this, putting our arms around each other’s shoulders, we really look like best friends, don’t we?”

“……”

“Kevin?”

Kevin suddenly became silent.

He avoided Lea’s gaze when she tried to meet his eyes and looked somewhere else while muttering.

“If you stay in that position, everything is visible.”

“Visible? What is?”

Kevin did not look at her and pointed toward her chest.

“Hm?”

Because she suddenly raised her arm, two of her hooks had come undone.

Despite her cute and youthful appearance, her mature body shape was slightly revealed.

“Ah!”

Lea immediately stood up.

She quickly turned around and tried to fasten the hooks again, but because she was flustered, her fingers would not cooperate.

‘What kind of embarrassment is this?’

Even if Kevin had no interest in such things, he was still not a female friend.

Her face became red from embarrassment.

Then Kevin’s calm voice came.

“Looks like the hooks became loose.”

“Uh, y-yeah. I guess so. It’s an old dress.”

“Should I call a maid to fix it?”

As expected of the thoughtful Kevin.

When Lea only nodded without answering, Kevin stood up with a small grunt.

“Then wait here. When you are with me, you don’t have to worry about it, but it would be troublesome if it happened somewhere else.”

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

Kevin answered with a smile in his voice, then closed the door and left.

Only then did Lea let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s a good thing it was Kevin.”

Even after seeing her body, he did not blush or act strangely.

Instead, he calmly said he would call a maid to fix it.

Seeing a reaction no different from a female friend, Lea became certain once again.

No matter how many times she looked at him, Kevin was the safest and most harmless man to her.

‘Yes. If I’m going to have a contract marriage anyway, choosing Kevin was definitely the right choice.’

At that very moment, while Lea was looking out the window and calming her heart, she had no idea Kevin’s ears were bright red.

On the day of the wedding.

According to McLean tradition, the bride Lea and groom Kevin entered while holding hands.

At that moment, all the lights around them went dark.

“What is this?”

While the guests whispered in confusion in the darkness, the circular ceiling slowly opened.

Revealed above them was a black canvas covered with sparkling stars, with entire constellations hanging from it.

The sight of a night sky filled with countless stars made the guests gasp.

Looking at Kevin’s masterpiece, Lea also whispered excitedly like a child.

“Kevin, this is really amazing.”

Kevin was extremely satisfied with her reaction.

However, Lea was actually thinking something completely different.

‘This is incredible. I should calculate the efficiency compared to the investment cost. If it is not bad, maybe it could be commercialized for other customers.’

Thankfully, her terrifyingly practical thoughts did not appear on her face.

Anyway, the wedding that combined the peak of magical engineering technology was absolutely perfect.

A short speech from the officiant, a quick exchange of rings, and unbelievably delicious food—

(In fact, isn’t this the most important part of a wedding? Lea thought.)

After finishing the wedding as quickly as boiling beans with lightning speed, a new challenge waited for them.

‘The first night……’

A wooden door decorated with a bright red flower wreath.

If they opened this door, a bedroom filled with a dangerous and romantic atmosphere would appear.

Feeling strangely pressured, Lea let out a deep sigh.

Then a voice came from behind her.

“Why aren’t you going in?”

Lea flinched and turned around.

Kevin was there, already changed into a night robe.

Unlike her, who felt a hundred times more pressure, he looked strangely relaxed.

“I was waiting for you. It feels a little awkward too.”

“You must be tired. You should have gone in first.”

His usual gentle and considerate tone.

Lea looked at Kevin, who was shining after taking a shower, and muttered.

“You look even brighter after removing your makeup.”

Then she opened the door with her tired body.

Without knowing at all what Kevin would do inside.

A short while later.

The two people lying on a spacious two-person bed were having a conversation filled with misunderstandings and mistaken assumptions.

For reference, Lea was completely trapped between Kevin’s two arms.

“You…… didn’t you like Pedro?”

“What are you talking about? Who is Pedro?”

Lea licked her lips, which had become dry from nervousness.

“You don’t remember Pedro?”

“Who is that?”

“My former fiancé! You said you liked my man! That was why my marriage arrangement was ruined!”

Kevin frowned and thought hard about who this “Pedro” was before finally speaking.

“What are you talking about? I really hated that guy.”

‘That can’t be true. I clearly remember back then……’

While Lea’s mind was confused between past and present,

Kevin’s lips, red like newly bloomed flower petals, filled her vision.

“I want to kiss you.”

His voice sounded incredibly sweet.

His warm breath brushed against her.

Under the moonlight coming through the window, his upper body, partially revealed through his loose robe, shone especially white.

The smooth lines of his body and the combination of lean muscles without even a bit of unnecessary fat looked unbearably sexy.

But more than anything—

That expression.

‘Was Kevin always like this?’

It was the expression of a predator that had waited a long time for its prey to fall into its grasp.

It was completely different from the Kevin Tillman she knew.

Her familiar friend had disappeared somewhere.

Instead, a dangerous man with a strange scent was now on top of her.

Unable to take her eyes away from this unfamiliar feeling, Lea unconsciously swallowed.

Her heart sank as she was about to fall into complete confusion.

‘Even if a lion attacks you, you can survive if you keep your mind clear.’

An old McLean saying awakened her reason.

“Wait, Kevin. You…… are.”

“Hm?”

“You actually.”

Without realizing it, Lea pushed Kevin’s shoulders away with all her strength.

“You like men!”

At those words, Kevin removed his hands from her shoulders and moved back.

‘Even so, I didn’t want to say something this directly.’

Kevin was a man with a dangerous charm who could capture anyone’s attention with just his eyes, regardless of gender.

One suitor who sent bouquets of flowers to Lea’s workplace every day fell completely for Kevin’s smile and started following him instead.

Another suitor who waited for Kevin on Lea’s way home became fascinated by his eyes and changed the target of his confession.

Her former fiancé Pedro was no exception.

But the strange thing was—

Kevin rejected those men coldly every time and always came back to her.

‘No, seriously. Why?’

Was it because of that friendship?

Remembering the past, Lea continued hesitantly.

“Kevin, can I be honest? I’m not a man. I’m a woman, and I’m not your type. Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we have to…… you know…… spend the night together.”

I translated it in the same simple, faithful novel style, keeping the original structure, humor, and character dynamics consistent.