How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

“I don’t want to put too much strain on Miss Hazel’s body, so let’s stop and rest. The Vatican has not only great things to see, but also great things to eat.”

 

The Pope suggested having tea time. Luna was fascinated by the library, which had a huge collection of books, and decided to spend some time there. In the end only she, the Grand Duke, and Sir Daniel followed the Pope.

 

“The weather is nice today, so let’s have refreshments in the greenhouse.”

 

The greenhouse here was also magnificent. Rather than a greenhouse, it felt like an entire garden had been moved indoors. There was a large fountain in the middle and a maze made of tall shrubs beyond it. Tea and dessert were already set up on the tea table in front of the fountain. Although the colors were not flashy, all the decorations were elaborate. It was a time when I sat in my seat and looked at the desserts in fascination and tasted them one by one.

 

“Miss Hazel, it’s okay to be honest with me.”

 

The Pope, who was sitting across from the round table, leaned forward and lowered his voice to talk to me.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

In the Vatican, the Pope was a sacred being and witches are profane. Witch hunts, heresy inquisitions. She was nervous thinking about this and was taken aback by the strange questioning that followed.

 

“What threats did you receive from Elliot?”

 

“Yes? Threat?”

 

“Why on earth do you like that guy so much that you’re dating him?”

 

“Your Holiness, this is a baseless slander.”

 

The Grand Duke protested sternly.

 

“No, this can’t be anything other than a threat! Nonsense!”

 

The moment the Pope turned around, she was so startled that she almost dropped the fork she was holding. The Pope, who was the embodiment of severity, solemnity, and seriousness, suddenly became an ordinary ferocious woman in her 20s. She was blinking, not knowing what to do at her sudden change in attitude, and the Grand Duke, who was glaring coldly at the Pope who was shouting ‘This is a crime!’, told her.

 

“Giselle, Daniel, and me. The three of us were childhood friends.”

 

“Ah…”

 

Now she understood this carefree attitude.

 

“Your Holiness, please stop. Miss Hazel is not used to seeing His Holiness like this.”

 

But why did Sir Daniel still keep his distance? Was he not very friendly?

 

“Okay, do it in moderation. It would be a crime if you could understand why Hazel dates me because she likes something about me.”

 

“Well, isn’t it?”

 

These two definitely looked close. Seeing as how natural it was for both the Grand Duke and the Pope to keep teasing each other with sarcasm, it seemed like it’s part of the family history.

 

“For some reason, I was suspicious ever since I bought the nanny expensive clothes.”

 

“I said that’s not it.”

 

“As expected, my intuition was right.”

 

“I said no.”

 

“Anyway, you live in the same house as your lover. It must be like a dream.”

 

The moment the Pope muttered to herself, the atmosphere seemed to calm down for some reason.

 

“Dr. Morris said that the clean air in the mountains is good for healing.”

 

Suddenly the Grand Duke spoke of the attending physician, got up from his seat and held out his hand to me. A little while ago, you were nagging me, saying that breathing in cold air was bad for your bronchial tubes. She was skeptical, but she grabbed his hand right away. It’s a good opportunity to see the scenery outside. She didn’t want the Grand Duke to change his mind after a while, so she quickly followed him out of the greenhouse.

 

“But the others…”

 

She got excited and came out, only to belatedly remember that he didn’t ask the others to come with them.

 

“Giselle must have been fascinated by this view, and Daniel looks tired.”

 

“Ah…”

 

They looked around the garden near the greenhouse. The garden was surrounded by a high wall, probably located on the outskirts of the Holy See.

 

“Let’s go up there.”

 

“That way?”

 

The Grand Duke looked like he wanted to repeat his nagging. She looked up at him and blinked her eyes desperately a few times. It was a newly developed skill to fight against the three obsessed men and women of the Grand Duchy.

 

“Ha…”

 

It worked this time too. The Grand Duke sighed as if he had no choice, and he climbed the stairs next to the castle wall with her. When she looked down the castle wall, she became dizzy. Directly below was a sheer cliff. Seeing the clouds hanging below my feet made her realize how high up this place was.

 

“And…”

 

Far below the mountain, a vast land spread out. It was spectacular.

 

“Oh!”

 

The wind blew from under the castle walls and lifted the hem of her skirt. Show underwear. As she quickly pressed the hem, something covered her shoulder. It was a white wolf fur cloak that the Grand Duke was wearing. He spoke as he meticulously opened the hem of his cloak.

 

“It’s chilly.”

 

It was true that it was a hot summer down there, but it was cool spring here.

 

“Now go back to your dorm.”

 

“Why do you keep asking me to go inside when you say we should go get some fresh air?”

 

At that moment, under the shining sunlight, the Grand Duke smiled humbly. Seeing that smile left her speechless. This seemed to be the Grand Duke’s skill against her. In the end, they went to the lodgings assigned to the Grand Duke. She asked while sitting on the sofa and drinking the hot tea that the maid had brought.

 

“But don’t you have to tell His Holiness and Sir Daniel that we came to the lodgings first?”

 

“Stop thinking about those two.”

 

The Grand Duke came out of the bedroom into the living room where I was and frowned slightly. He was dressed lightly, wearing only a thin shirt and pants, probably because he didn’t intend to go out anymore.

 

“Hazel, why don’t you change into comfortable clothes too? Shall I call the maid?”

 

“No.”

 

She waved her index finger at the Grand Duke sitting next to her. This meant that changing clothes or removing jewelry could be done with a flick of a finger.

 

‘By the way…’

 

It was then that she was dazed by a question that suddenly occurred to her. Who washed and dressed her during the three months she was unconscious?

 

‘Could it be that guy?’

 

She stared blankly at the man who picked up a cookie from the tea table set up in front of them and handed it to her. The moment she woke up, that man was holding her very naturally. Certainly, after those three months, the distance between the Grand Duke and herself became closer. Even now, they were just sitting there, as if it was so natural. Even she took it for granted.

 

‘No way really…’

 

Her bad brain started imagining the scene of the Grand Duke changing her clothes. His head turns red. It was an emergency.

 

‘Oh, no. The maids must have done it…’

 

She guessed she was shaking her head left and right without realizing it. The Grand Duke cupped her cheek and asked:

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Why did it suddenly turn into a strawberry?”

 

His fingertips tapped her fevered cheek.

 

“Ah, strawberries! Since you’re talking about strawberries, I want to eat strawberries, haha.”

 

Her poor word-turning skills. As if he was satisfied, the Grand Duke grinned, shook his head, scooped up a strawberry cake with a fork, and handed it to her.

 

‘I can do it.’

 

In this way, the Grand Duke has reached the end of his overprotectiveness these days. In fact, the reason there was no end to that overprotection may be because she shamelessly took it in stride. From her previous life until now, she had lived a life accustomed to taking care of others. It was unfamiliar to her to be cared for, but she had now come to know the wonderful taste. As soon as she took the cake, the Grand Duke handed her something else. The savory taste of the thin dough baked and rolled like a stick spread in her mouth.

 

“What does that taste like?”

 

Uh… Wasn’t it quicker to eat once than to explain a hundred times? She was going to give one to the Grand Duke, but there was nothing that looked the same on the plate. She guessed that was the last thing she put in her mouth. This one had her saliva on the end, so she was about to break it in the middle and give it away.

 

‘Omg!’

 

The Grand Duke lowered his head and he bit off the other end of the cookie. His eyelids lifted and his purple eyes turned to her. The look in his eyes showed a firm will to do something, but it did not mean he was going to eat this snack.

 

Kiss. He was trying to kiss her.

 

From that moment on, a real emergency was declared in her head.

 

‘What should I do? Sun? Roll it up?’

 

First of all, there was no clause in the fake dating contract prohibiting kissing. So it’s not a breach of contract.

 

‘No, honestly, let’s put our hand on his chest and reason.’

 

Now she didn’t even know if this was a fake relationship. It was clear that the Grand Duke did not know either. While pretending to be a fake lover, he was gradually swept away and ended up standing on the border between fake and real. So the moment they kiss, would they become real lovers?

 

Real… lovers?

 

While she was dazed by the realization, the Grand Duke’s lips came closer and closer. She could clearly see the tip of her red tongue flexibly swirling the cookie between her smooth lips. The cookie was already as short as his little finger, so she could feel how hot his breath was. This was her first kiss.

 

To do or not to do. She soon forgot about that hesitation because she was full. Her heart started pounding wildly. Her breathing was becoming more and more difficult, and she held her breath for fear that the Grand Duke, who was close to touching the tip of his nose, would feel it. Now the snack was as short as two little finger joints. The Grand Duke, who had been staring at her the entire time she was approaching, tilted his head to the side and closed his eyes.

 

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Translator Note: