Elizabeth found herself thinking just that.
It truly was a day straight out of a fairy tale.
The sky was clear, the birds sang cheerfully, and the weather was pleasantly warm. It was a day so beautiful it looked like a painting.
Beneath the bright, carefree sky, Elizabeth sat quietly on a picnic mat, absentmindedly gazing up at the heavens.
With her bare feet stretched out before her, she felt the gentle breeze tickling her ankles and the soles of her feet. The meadow before her was dotted with tiny wildflowers, like little snowflakes scattered across a green carpet, resembling pearls strewn over velvet.
On the surface, it was a perfectly peaceful early autumn afternoon. Whenever the cool breeze stirred and the birds chirped, the fresh scent of grass mingled with the delicate fragrance of wildflowers, filling the air.
It wasn’t just the weather that was wonderful. To her right sat a basket filled with delicious food: sweet honey, soft bread, spiced apple cider, ham, and cheese. It wasn’t a lavish feast, but anyone would have called it a plentiful and satisfying meal.
And to her left…
“……”
A man lay stretched out beside her, apparently fast asleep. Or perhaps he wasn’t asleep at all. Elizabeth narrowed her eyes suspiciously. There had been far too many times when she thought he was sleeping, only to discover he had been awake the whole time.
In the bright sunlight, the man’s pale face looked nothing short of perfect. To be honest, there were moments when Elizabeth thought he was even more beautiful than she was. His golden hair shimmered like spun silk, his jewel-like blue eyes lay hidden behind long eyelashes, and his rose-colored lips stood out against his fair skin. He was the very image of the handsome prince one might find in a fairy tale.
Maybe it’s that face that’s responsible for all the inner turmoil I’ve been going through.
As Elizabeth glared at the face she suspected was the source of all her emotional conflict, the man’s eyelids fluttered before slowly opening. Eyes bluer than the autumn sky looked directly into hers.
Then, he smiledâa smile as beautiful as a flower.
âWhat’s wrong?â
That one simple question left Elizabeth feeling strangely unsettled.
Seriously… what am I even doing here?
Suddenly confronted with a question far deeper than she had expected, Elizabeth folded her arms and let out a sigh.
Seeing her reaction, the young man opened his eyes wide, sat up, and asked, âWhat’s wrong? Did something happen?â
But Elizabeth had no desire to answer him.
She puffed out her cheeks and deliberately ignored him. Most people would have been offended by such treatment, yet the young man merely blinked once or twice, showing no sign of irritation.
The sight of him made Elizabeth’s heart stir.
It’s just annoyance, she muttered to herself.
Then she startled as his face suddenly drew close.
âW-What are you doing?â
His blue eyes curved into smiling crescents. A moment later, those beautiful, flower-like lips parted.
âI wanted to kiss you.â
The words that slipped from his lips were the very sort of thing Elizabeth would never have utteredâeven with a knife at her throat.
Heat rushed to her face in an instant. So startled that her shoulders jerked involuntarily, she hurriedly glanced around in every direction.
Only after confirming that no one had overheard those embarrassingly bold words did Elizabeth glare at the shamelessly smiling man standing before her.
For someone who had just announced, in broad daylight, that he wanted to kiss her, he looked remarkably calm. The young man gazed at Elizabeth as if he had merely asked whether she wanted a snack instead of a kiss.
âCan’t I?â
Elizabeth hesitated.
She knew that if she said no, he would back away without protest. Any excuse would do. She could give a perfectly reasonable oneâthat it was the middle of the day, or that someone might see them. But from long experience, she also knew that even if she said the sunlight was too bright or complained that his eyelashes were too long, he would simply accept it without getting angry.
He’d probably just look a little disappointed.
Or he might put on that familiar expression of a puppy that had been abandoned and ask, âWhy?â
Elizabeth could picture that face with perfect clarity. It wasn’t the first time she had given in because her resolve had crumbled at the sight of it. It had happened with kisses, and with things even more intimate…
No! That’s not right!
Elizabeth quickly shook herself out of the thought.
She hadn’t given in.
Everything that had happened between them so far had been carried out according to her own decisions.
That’s right. I’m the one in control hereânot this ridiculously handsome man standing in front of me.
Elizabeth steeled her gaze and repeated the thought to herself. Others might have found her insistence on maintaining the upper hand childish, but to her, it mattered more than anything in that moment.
âElizabeth?â
Meanwhile, when she simply stared at him without answering, the young man looked puzzled. He blinked his long eyelashes several times and parted his lips slightly. By all rights, the expression should have made him look foolish, yet his natural beauty gave his face a brilliance that almost resembled intelligence.
Staring at a face so infuriatingly perfect that it matched her exact taste, Elizabeth bit her lip.
The reason she had allowed this man to kiss herâand even more than thatâwasn’t simply because she found him handsome. Elizabeth had a grand plan she could never afford to forget.
She intended to win over this idiotic demon… or perhaps it would be more accurate to call him a demonic idiot.
Either way, Elizabeth had to persuade this blond fool to take her side so that she could return home in triumph, bringing both her homeland’s victory and the enemy nation’s submission with her. She was enduring all of this for the sake of that carefully laid plan. So, even if the man before her hadn’t been attractive at all, she insisted to herself that she would have acted exactly the same way.
Still…
She couldn’t deny that, considering she had to do all this anyway, his handsome face had made carrying out her plan just a little easier.
Because of that, neither his kisses nor the nights they had spent together had been entirely unpleasant.
Of course, she still hadn’t forgotten the shock of their first night together. That had been the day she realized this madman wasn’t merely a pretty blond with flowers in his head. But just look at him now. Instead of stealing a kiss, he had learned the patience to ask for her permission first. And perhaps thanks to her relentless “education,” even at night he had recently been making a genuine effort to respect her wishes.
…Granted, if he ever lost control, it would still be a serious problem. Even so, he was unquestionably better than before, and Elizabeth decided she was satisfied simply seeing that he had made progress.
Come to think of it… last night…
As she looked at the lips before her, memories of the previous evening drifted into her mind.
During the night, while teasing her with his fingers, the young man had made the absurd claim that using his tongue would feel better. Horrified, Elizabeth had grabbed him by the hair, trying to push him away, but in the end…
Her imagination began to wander before she abruptly snapped back to reality.
What am I thinking?!
As ridiculous as it was, she found herself worrying that he might somehow have guessed what had crossed her mind.
She stole a glance at him. He was still watching her intently, his head tilted ever so slightly, like a giant dog. Thankfully, he showed no sign of trying anything further.
Taking a deep breath to calm the heat rising in her face, Elizabeth fussed with her clothes for no real reason.
Don’t forget. I’m the one using him.
Repeating that thought to steady her strangely unsettled heart, Elizabeth lifted her chin proudly. Wearing an arrogant expression once more, she looked at the man known as the “Golden Demon” and called his name.
âFool. Wait until tonight, Einar.â
