VPSML | CH 08

Chapter 08

Jay’s golden hair lay softly spread out on the bed.

He wanted to get up right away, but it wasn’t easy.

Once again, he had failed to control his strength—when he pulled Pdea toward him, they both ended up falling onto the bed.

“……”

A short silence fell between them, as if time had stopped.

Jay tightly shut his eyes and held his breath for no real reason.

When his eyes were open, he could see Pdea looking at him; when they were closed, he could smell her soft, faint fragrance more strongly.

Pdea, who had been surprised at first, blinked a few times and then smiled.

Seeing Jay lying there with his eyes closed made her chuckle.

He was usually so restless and fidgety, always making her notice him—yet now, he was perfectly still.

“I thought you couldn’t lie still because the bed was uncomfortable, but I guess not. You seem perfectly fine, lying here with your eyes closed.”

“…This is…!”

Hearing her words in the dark, Jay’s eyes flew open.

It wasn’t because he was comfortable—so the misunderstanding frustrated him.

He had only ended up like this because he was trying to save Pdea from getting hurt.

But he couldn’t bring himself to explain it.

“This is…?”

Pdea had no trace of malice, just a playful expression.

At this moment, she didn’t look like someone who ever did anything cruel.

Unlike Jay, who was hyper-aware of her, she seemed to feel nothing deeper—she simply looked like she was enjoying the moment.

Realizing that he was the only one who had been flustered, Jay felt both defeated and embarrassed.

“…It’s nothing.”

He kept his words short, not wanting to say anything that might make him seem weird.

At the same time, he thought maybe Pdea enjoyed teasing him.

‘…Is this part of her revenge too?’

Turning his head away, Jay grabbed the blanket tightly.

The rumpled blanket was a trace of this awkward moment.

* * *

Finally getting out of the bedroom, Jay sat in the grand duke’s reception room.

He made sure to keep his distance and avoided looking at Pdea.

A moment ago, in the bedroom, she had also teased him by saying, “Are you sure you didn’t just want to lie down with me?”—which only made him more guarded.

Since he was in front of someone who seemed to have a grudge against him, he thought it was best to be careful.

But now, sitting across from him, Pdea was completely silent.

‘…Why?’

Without realizing it, Jay kept glancing at her.

She had been so eager to tease him in the bedroom, but now she was oddly quiet.

‘It’s bothering me.’

Even though he told himself this was just her usual personality, he still felt strangely sulky.

When Jay was pouting slightly, there was a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“The house tour ends here.”

The moment the door opened, Pdea finally spoke.

Jay flinched at the sudden chill in her tone.

So this was why she’d been quiet—she’d been waiting for this moment.

Nervously, Jay glanced toward the door.

This time, he was sure a group of knights would come marching in.

“We brought the dessert you asked for.”

“…Dessert?”

Already on edge, Jay looked confused.

Instead of an army of knights, only one maid came in, carrying a tray full of madeleines.

Not just any madeleines—chocolate ones.

Clink.

Jay couldn’t take his eyes off the mountain of sweet chocolate madeleines in front of him.

The maid, having finished her task, left without a backward glance.

Thinking this couldn’t possibly be all, Jay stared at the closed door.

But nothing happened—no knights entered the room.

It reminded him of lunchtime, when the table had also been full of food.

“…What is all this?”

“Chocolate madeleines.”

Jay pressed his lips together in frustration.

Pdea obviously knew he wasn’t asking because he didn’t know—so why pretend?

“You seemed to like them, so I had them prepared especially.”

Her calm words made Jay freeze.

His face heated up as he remembered the day at the café when he had focused entirely on eating a chocolate madeleine until it was gone.

‘I didn’t know the grand duke’s daughter had been watching me then.’

Trying to act normal, Jay wiped the heat from his face with the back of his hand.

Pdea continued, “We didn’t have enough time to visit the garden. Since I also had something to discuss, we’ll have tea here instead.”

“…”

“So the house tour ends here. Even if you’re disappointed, there’s nothing I can do.”

Hearing that, Jay paused.

So “ends here” really just meant it was over.

But—

“…Was I disappointed?”

Tilting his head, Jay asked curiously.

He genuinely wondered what kind of impression she had of him—because he had never once felt disappointed about it.

“You’ve been pouting and turning your head away since we got to the reception room.”

Pdea casually imitated the way he had just pouted.

Jay’s eyes widened—so she had noticed that, but not his wary looks?

He didn’t know what to say.

Somehow, he had become the person upset about not seeing more of the grand duke’s estate.

Still, compared to other things she had said today, this wasn’t so bad.

“What is it you wanted to talk about?”

Giving up on explaining himself, Jay sighed and changed the subject.

He wanted to know why she had really brought him here.

Pdea lazily moved her fingers and spoke, “From today on, you’ll be living here in the grand duke’s estate with me.”

“…What? What did you just say?”

Jay, who had been feeling tired, jumped in shock.

He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

His eyes shook as he tried to replay her words in his mind, sure there had to be some hidden meaning—

Like maybe she meant, “Since you once hurt my wrist, you’ll be living in the dungeon from now on.”

“I thought about it, and I decided that if you’re going to prepare to be a grand duke, it’s best to start living with me right away.”

Jay felt as if lightning had struck right next to him.

She had cut off any chance of him thinking of an excuse.

Still, his thoughts didn’t change—

If she had told him to stay in the dungeon instead, it wouldn’t have been nearly as shocking as this.

He just couldn’t understand why she suddenly wanted him to become a grand duke.

‘We’ve never even talked about marriage.’

He knew that marrying the grand duke’s daughter would mean inheriting the title, since only men could hold it in the empire.

But the problem was, he had never discussed anything like that with her.

“…Why, do you not like this estate?”

Seeing Jay looking stunned, Pdea frowned.

She had thought she had prepared a lot, but maybe it didn’t suit him.

This made Jay quickly cover his mouth.

He thought of the blooming garden, the dining room, the office, and the bedroom she had shown him after lunch.

When he remembered the bedroom, heat rushed to his face again.

The mix of coolness and warmth was making his head spin.

But unlike his flustered state, Pdea looked completely calm.

Even now, thinking about what had happened in that bedroom made Jay feel wrongly accused and embarrassed.

Feeling a bit resentful, he said, “I think the grand duke’s estate is wonderful. But…! That’s not the point—”

“Then there’s no problem.”

Jay, who had been about to argue, froze.

What he thought was a big problem was apparently no problem at all to her, which left him dumbfounded.

Frustrated at how easily she could throw him off, Jay took a deep breath to calm himself.

“…I don’t really understand. Are you trying to say, in a roundabout way, that you’re locking me up here?”

His voice was calm, but his eyes seemed to plead, Please just say yes.

Seeing his intense gaze, Pdea touched the corner of her mouth.

“I didn’t know you wanted to be locked up that badly.”

Through her fingers, the corners of her lips curved dangerously upward—she looked genuinely intrigued.

“…Do you want that?”

Jay narrowed one eye.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a loud alarm was going off—

Telling him to run away immediately.