Chapter 6
I knew how the original story went.
If I rejected Llewellyn here…
He would die.
The enormous amount of mana raging inside him would tear him apart…
‘That’s too horrifying.’
A chill ran down my spine, and I shivered.
Someone as unbelievably handsome as Llewellyn dying such a gruesome death…
Absolutely not.
That could never be allowed to happen.
‘But calming his mana rampage is supposed to be the heroine’s job.’
I’m the younger sister of the villain who rules the Magic Tower.
The less I get involved with the male lead, the better…
“Rose…”
“…!”
As I struggled to decide what to do…
Llewellyn’s weak, pained voice reached my ears.
“Kiss me, Rose…”
“If not you…”
“I’ll die.”
The moment I looked into those dazzling emerald eyes…
I nearly gave in without thinking.
But I had to be careful.
If I wasn’t…
I might end up deeply entangled with the male lead.
Looking him straight in the eyes, I asked seriously,
“How bad is your condition?”
“Is it really unbearable?”
“…It feels like I’m dying.”
Llewellyn weakly lowered his head onto my shoulder.
His cheek was burning hot against my skin.
“Rose…”
“Please…”
“I need you.”
“Save me…”
Apparently…
His condition was much worse than I’d thought.
The thought that the male lead might actually die made my heart pound anxiously.
‘It’s far too early for the male lead to die.’
You’re supposed to meet the heroine!
Fall in love at first sight!
And have the romance of the century!
Maybe it was because I had loved the original novel…
Or because Llewellyn had been my favorite character…
But I simply couldn’t leave him to die.
So…
I made an impulsive decision.
‘Forget it!’
We’ll just kiss.
He didn’t seem to be at the point of no return yet.
A kiss alone should be enough to help him.
If only the heroine could suddenly appear out of nowhere…
But that was incredibly unlikely.
‘And even if I tried to find her now…’
‘There isn’t enough time.’
I’ll help him for now…
Then once I find the heroine…
I’ll step aside.
Saving someone who’s about to die comes first.
It’s absolutely not because I have selfish motives.
W-We’re only kissing!
I grabbed both of Llewellyn’s cheeks with my hands.
Surprised by my sudden action…
His eyes widened.
Putting on the most serious expression I could manage, I declared,
“F-First…”
“Let’s just kiss.”
“We’ll start with a kiss.”
“…A kiss only?”
“Yes.”
“Just a kiss.”
“Very well.”
“We’ll start with a kiss.”
“…?”
Something about that conversation felt strangely off.
But considering he was delirious with a high fever…
I decided not to think too deeply about it.
Slowly…
I leaned closer.
Our lips met.
…
There was just one enormous problem.
‘…I don’t actually know how to kiss.’
That was right.
In my previous life…
I’d spent all my time studying and never dated anyone.
And in this life…
Adrian’s overprotectiveness had made dating impossible.
There was no way I’d know how to kiss.
How exactly were you supposed to do this?
Should I just imitate what happened in romance novels?
As I awkwardly kept our lips pressed together…
Not knowing what to do…
His large hand gently cradled the back of my neck.
At the same time…
A soft sensation brushed against my lips.
My mouth opened instinctively.
Llewellyn had lightly held my chin…
Tilting it downward.
Warm breath slipped through the opening.
My entire body stiffened.
Seeing how tense I was…
He slowly stroked my waist as though comforting me.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
The hand resting on his shoulder trembled uncontrollably.
The unfamiliar sensation of something warm and soft exploring my mouth made every nerve in my body stand on end.
Heat spread throughout me.
Trapped securely within his strong embrace…
I squirmed like a tiny frightened animal.
A faint smile appeared on Llewellyn’s lips.
Then…
He slowly laid me down on the bed.
Now beneath him…
I stared up with wide eyes.
He was smiling so brightly…
You’d never guess he was supposed to be seriously ill.
Panting softly, I asked,
“Um…”
“Do we really have to… do it like this…?”
“Yes.”
“Of course.”
Still smiling…
Llewellyn caged me within both arms…
And kissed me again.
Before I could even protest his casual “Of course…”
His lips had already claimed mine.
Just like before…
He explored my mouth…
But now…
He also slowly tasted my lips…
Occasionally nibbling them with surprising gentleness.
Each time he lightly bit my lip…
My body trembled involuntarily.
Somehow…
It felt like he was carefully observing every reaction I made.
‘Wait…’
‘Is he really suffering from a mana rampage?’
‘Or is he actually perfectly fine?’
‘No… that can’t be.’
The honorable Duke Lasiane…
Would never deceive someone like that.
Besides…
Looking at his pure, beautiful face…
There was simply no way he could be a liar.
Surely…
I was just imagining things.
The kiss continued for quite a long time.
Gradually…
I felt his mana flowing into me.
Mages naturally possessed bodies capable of absorbing mana from nature—or from other people—and releasing it again.
I calmly let Llewellyn’s mana flow into me…
Then released it harmlessly back into the surroundings.
As long as he wanted to kiss me…
I quietly endured it.
After all…
This wasn’t a romantic kiss.
It was simply to calm his mana.
Once things settled down…
He would naturally stop.
…
Then why wasn’t he stopping?
My lips had become swollen and incredibly sensitive.
I was reaching my limit.
Even though Llewellyn kissed me with remarkable gentleness…
He showed absolutely no sign of pulling away.
Just how long did he intend to keep kissing me?
His mana had calmed down quite a while ago.
“Um…”
“Your Grace?”
“Yes, Rose.”
“I think it’s time to sto—”
“Mmph…”
Before I could finish…
He lightly nibbled my lower lip again.
It didn’t hurt.
But the sensation made me shiver.
To be honest…
The heat spreading through my body had already begun reaching its limit.
We really had to stop now.
If this continued…
‘Your chastity is going to be in danger…!’
‘You foolish Duke!’
The truth was…
I wasn’t actually a particularly cautious person.
I tended to act on impulse.
At this rate…
I might really lose control…
And devour the male lead myself.
That absolutely couldn’t happen.
What about our beautiful heroine?
You shameless Duke!
Why are you doing this to me instead of going to her?
I pressed firmly against his shoulder with one hand…
While repeatedly smacking his chest with the other.
Faced with such a clear rejection…
He slowly withdrew.
But…
He looked genuinely hurt.
N-No…
Why are you the one looking hurt?!
“Rose…”
“…”
He looked down at me as though he were about to cry.
Seeing that expression…
I couldn’t help weakening.
Part of me wanted to comfort him.
Even though…
His mana had already stabilized.
There was no reason for us to continue this anymore.
“Your Grace…”
“We should stop now…”
“More.”
“Please…”
At such close range that our breaths mingled…
He pleaded softly.
His flushed eyes…
His swollen red lips…
His tear-filled gaze…
Were devastatingly beautiful.
Beautiful enough to make my racing heart stop.
Seriously…
He was a man capable of driving people insane in every possible way.
Silently engraving a brand-new life motto into my heart—
Don’t ever touch another woman’s man.
—I firmly pushed him away.
The aftereffects of the mana rampage must still be clouding his mind.
His fever had obviously made him act impulsively.
Once he eventually met the heroine…
The woman he was truly destined to fall in love with…
We would both regret this.
It hurt to reject someone who looked so pitiful…
But I deliberately spoke in a cold voice.
“This kind of relationship…”
“…isn’t right.”
“Why isn’t it right?”
“Well…”
I searched desperately for an answer.
Oddly enough…
He looked at me with eyes that seemed much clearer than before.
“…Because…”
“It’s far too impulsive.”
“Impulsive…”
He gently gathered a lock of my rose-colored hair in his hand…
Then slowly let it slip through his fingers.
His actions.
His expression.
Even his quiet voice.
Everything about him had suddenly become strangely cold.
An uneasy feeling crept over me.
‘Wait…’
‘Is he really out of his mind?’
“Did I…”
“Awaken your impulsiveness, Rose?”
“…?”
I blinked blankly.
That question seemed…
Completely unrelated to what we’d been talking about.
After frowning slightly…
I answered honestly.
“I…”
“I suppose you did…”
“Did I?”
“…Yes.”
The instant I answered…
He smiled brilliantly.
That same dazzling smile again.
The smile of someone who seemed unbelievably happy.
I truly couldn’t understand what exactly pleased him so much.
“Very well.”
“We’ll stop with a kiss today.”
He murmured those words almost to himself…
Then finally climbed off me.
‘Today?’
‘We’ll stop with a kiss today?’
Why did that wording sound so unsettling?
As I awkwardly tried to sit up…
Llewellyn gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders and helped me.
“Th-Thank…”
The words of thanks slipped out instinctively.
When I looked at him…
He smiled with his eyes.
It looked exactly like a smile meant to seduce someone.
‘This is insane…’
Pressing a hand against my pounding chest…
I tried desperately to calm my heartbeat.
Llewellyn Lasiane…
Your face is a crime.
There were probably already countless noble ladies hopelessly enchanted by him.
Poor women…
‘At this rate…’
‘Even I’ll fall for him.’
‘I’d better run!’
“Th-Then…”
“You should get some sleep!”
“I’ll be leaving now!”
I hurried off the bed.
Llewellyn simply sat there…
His hands hanging limply at his sides…
Watching me silently.
For some reason…
He looked strangely lonely.
Unable to ignore it completely…
I awkwardly added,
“Y-You should lie down.”
“Cover yourself with the blanket.”
“You got soaked in the rain, so you need proper rest.”
I was too afraid to touch him again.
So I used magic instead…
Forcibly laying him back down before covering him with the blanket.
It was admittedly rather rude.
But I didn’t have much choice.
Llewellyn blinked up at me.
His expression looked unbelievably innocent.
‘After kissing me like that…’
‘How can you still look so pure?’
It was a little irritating.
Yet somehow…
That much larger man looked almost adorable.
Maybe I’d gone crazy.
“Good night!”
Afraid he might hear the frantic pounding of my heart…
I turned around.
Then fled the bedroom as though escaping for my life.
* * *
Click.
After closing the bedroom door…
I leaned against it…
Taking several deep breaths.
My racing heartbeat felt even louder than before.
I could even feel the pulse pounding in my neck.
‘This is insane…’
I actually kissed the male lead.
And…
It had been my first kiss.
My first kiss across both my previous life…
And this one.
‘My first kiss disappeared just like that…’
‘That shameless male lead…’
Still…
We only kissed.
Let’s avoid getting any more deeply involved.
I’ll nurse him back to health…
Then send him on his way.
‘If Adrian ever finds out…’
‘There’ll be absolute chaos.’
I hurried into the living room and searched for the contracted beast.
The black wolf was lying on its back beside the fireplace…
Its belly exposed.
Walking over…
I created another mana sphere and handed it over.
Then I asked,
“You didn’t report anything to Adrian, did you?”
“Woof!”
The wolf barked once…
Then happily swallowed the mana sphere.
Apparently that meant no.
Breathing a sigh of relief…
I collapsed into an armchair.
‘I’ll rest for a while…’
‘Then once the rain stops…’
‘I’ll go buy some clothes for Llewellyn.’
I couldn’t exactly leave him wearing nothing but Adrian’s oversized tunic forever.
‘It would be nice if I could just send a servant…’
‘…No.’
Actually…
It was fortunate none of the servants had remained at the villa.
I’d bribed the contracted beast.
Bribing the servants would’ve been much harder.
If they’d still been here…
By now…
Not only Adrian…
Even Father would’ve heard about Llewellyn.
‘No one can find out.’
Adrian’s words from my dream echoed in my ears.
“Cause trouble, and I’ll lock you up for ten years.”
Ten years trapped inside the Magic Tower…
How horrifying.
‘I absolutely have to hide Llewellyn until he leaves safely.’
Who would’ve thought…
All this trouble had started simply because I’d accidentally discovered the male lead?
It was unbelievable.
‘Why was he collapsed in our villa’s garden anyway?’
‘The more I think about it…’
‘The less sense it makes.’
Once Llewellyn woke up…
And returned to his senses…
I’d definitely ask him.
Just what had happened?
Sighing…
I absentmindedly touched my lips.
Then suddenly froze.
“…”
Perhaps because they’d been teased so relentlessly…
My lips were still swollen.
Still warmer than the rest of my face.
And no matter how hard I tried…
The memory kept replaying.
The feeling of kissing him…
