Thank you so much Not a Coffee Lover for the Kofi. ❤️⭐
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“So promise me. Promise that you won’t kill anyone. Promise that you won’t use more power than is necessary to protect yourself.”
“…….”
“Clyde.”
Clyde remained silent for a long time, then finally spoke.
“…Okay.”
“Really?”
I asked with a mixture of relief and curiosity.
“Yeah. But only when it’s just me in danger. If the situation involves you being in danger, I won’t think twice about controlling my power.”
“That’s alright. I can take care of myself.”
“It’s still not okay.”
“Clyde.”
“That’s one thing I can’t compromise on. Otherwise, I can’t make that promise either.”
“…….”
I hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded.
“Alright. Let’s do it that way.”
Even if Clyde’s true identity were to be exposed, the likelihood of people considering me an enemy was extremely low.
After all, I was none other than the daughter of Julion Rojasis. At most, they might perceive me as a hostage held by Clyde.
Moreover, if something were to happen to me, there was no stopping Clyde’s rampage.
When his mother died, everyone around him also died in an instant.
To prevent such a tragedy from happening again, I needed to be careful.
Clyde possessed the power to potentially bring about the destruction of humanity. At this point, I was the only one who could keep him in check.
“Alright. Shall we pinky promise?”
“…….”
As soon as I sealed my lips, Clyde smirked.
“So, what was that all about? The magician’s way of making promises, and the lie that breaking it would result in death? It’s just a fabrication, right?”
“…Yeah. Sorry. It’s just… I came up with this way of promising on my own.”
“You alone?”
“Yeah. I didn’t have any friends when I was young, so I was really bored. That’s why I made it up while imagining things on my own.”
It was a hastily fabricated story, but saying it out loud made me feel somewhat embarrassed.
However, discussing our past lives or the original novel’s plot seemed to be out of the question.
‘Honestly, let’s not treat this as a lie… It’s something that couldn’t be helped.’
“Alright, let’s do it.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. It’s a method only you and I know about.”
Clyde extended his pinky finger towards me. After hesitating for a moment, I reached out and hooked my pinky finger to his.
“We have a deal, Ruby. You will never marry any man in your life and if anyone finds out who I am, we’ll run away together.”
“Okay. In exchange, you promise not to kill anyone ever again.”
“These conditions seem too favorable for me. Are you sure about this?”
“Really? I actually feel the opposite.”
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the existence of the entire human race is at stake.
Of course, Clyde doesn’t know any of that, but….
As if to prove my point, Clyde let out a bitter laugh.
“I think you have no idea about your own values, Ruby.”
“Well…. What….”
I awkwardly chuckled and shrugged my shoulders. Truth be told, if my safety alone could ensure the safety of humanity, it was quite a small price to pay.
“While we’re at it, do you want to try the promise method I came up with?”
“What? Is there such a thing?”
Instead of answering, Clyde pulled me into an embrace.
“Eek! W-why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“This is the promise method I came up with. We hug and kiss.”
Soon, Clyde’s lips pressed a warm seal onto my cheek.
“T-This is something you do all the time whenever you get a chance. What kind of promise method is this?”
“From now on, we’re going to do it every time we make a promise.”
“So, you’re not going to do it when we don’t make promises?”
“No. That’s a different story.”
“What? You’re so random?”
Clyde chuckled softly. Perhaps because we were so close, that laughter seemed to resonate deeply within me.
“Ruby, you should do it too.”
“What, do what?”
“Give me a kiss on the cheek.”
“What? No way?”
“You… don’t want to?”
Clyde’s expression seemed to crumble as if the world had collapsed for a moment. I hurriedly spoke up.
“N-No, it’s not that. It’s just embarrassing.”
“What’s embarrassing? I do it all the time?”
“It might not bother you, but it embarrasses me.”
“Then just do this once.”
“Ow, it’s embarrassing.”
“If you don’t want to, I’ll do it more by myself. Not just on your cheek, but in other places too.”
Even though he didn’t specify where, his words alone made my face turn hot in an instant.
Recalling scenes from the original work, where kisses were exchanged in places that were too taboo to mention, a sharp pang of pain struck my chest.
It was both uncomfortable and sweet in a way that I couldn’t put into words.
‘What’s this?’
I had read and reread the novel countless times in my past life, and I had recently thought about this scene multiple times. Why did it suddenly evoke such feelings?
I quickly realized the reason.
In the original work, it was Sylphia who received Clyde’s affection, not me.
The tight embrace, the sweet words whispered as I was held close, and the kisses that were planted all over – those were originally meant for Sylphia, not me.
Now, feeling a sense of discontent about it seemed oddly fresh. Even though it was a choice made to save everyone else’s lives, it was me who had taken Sylphia’s place, and…
Feeling dissatisfied about it now felt confusing, to say the least.
“…Ruby?”
When I didn’t respond, Clyde called my name with a hint of concern.
“…Yeah.”
“Is it really that uncomfortable for you? Then…”
“No, it’s not like that, it’s just….”
After hesitating for a moment, I impulsively spoke up.
“I’ll do it too. But promise me… one more thing.”
“Really? Sure. What is it?”
Clyde hurriedly asked, as if hoping my mood would change.
“This method of promise… Promise me that you won’t do it with anyone else except me.”
I whispered in a voice so low it could have crawled.
The truth was, this wasn’t exactly the promise I wanted to make. But I couldn’t quite put my wholehearted sincerity into words.
“…….”
“Why? Do you not want to?”
Since he didn’t respond, I asked in a slightly anxious tone.
“It’s not like that.”
Clyde spoke softly.
“I promise. No, I swear. I won’t embrace or kiss anyone else but you.”
“What? I, I don’t mean that….”
Before I could finish my sentence, Clyde pulled me into a strong hug and kissed me on both cheeks in turn.
“You’re the only one I’ll ever do this to, for the rest of my life, until I die.”
“…….”
The words he whispered made me blush.
But I was happy. To the extent that I felt a momentary dizziness – was this really something to be so happy about?
Clyde kissed my cheek again, slowly moving his lips to my forehead, the tip of my nose. My forehead and the tip of my nose. His hands closed my eyes, over my eyelids. He kissed me endlessly, as if he wouldn’t allow a single spot on my face to remain untouched by his lips.
“…C-Clyde…”
It was as if my throat was on fire. My heart was pounding, and a sensation deep within me, one that was difficult to suppress, surged up.
In a somewhat rebellious manner, while part of me wished Clyde would continue like this forever, I also felt that I shouldn’t let it go on any further.
“Clyde, stop now… I said I’d do it.”
“Yeah, you did say that.”
Clyde’s voice sounded slightly hoarse, as if he was slightly dazed. His pupils were also clouded by excitement and heat, more intense than usual. As his gaze met mine, it felt like an even stronger thirst had welled up inside me.
“It’s no wonder why men and women fall in love like this…”
If days like this continued, I felt like I would be completely consumed by it.
Honestly, at the moment, I couldn’t think of a reason why it shouldn’t continue.
I took a few deep breaths and kissed each of his cheeks in turn.
Even though I had done countless cheek kisses with family members, this felt completely different.
When my lips touched his skin, Clyde let out a contented sigh. The sound of it sent shivers down my spine.
“Now, let go…”
If this kept going, I felt like something would definitely happen.
Clyde released me with a noticeable sense of regret, but he did it willingly. His thoughts were almost visible – “I indulged myself as much as I wanted today, so I shouldn’t be too greedy” – it was written all over his face.
My whole body felt more tired than when I got out of a hot bath. I cooled my hot cheeks with the back of my hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After coming back to the accommodation that day, I started practicing roasted chicken.
As I expected, it’s a fairly simple dish, so I didn’t think it would take me long to get a decent result.
I was right. Unlike when I practiced pumpkin pie and bought enough dough to fill the mansion with the smell of pumpkin, buying enough live chickens to practice would have filled the mansion with the stench of raw chicken.
I decided to take my vacation a bit earlier, on October 9th and 10th. It wasn’t much earlier than Clyde’s actual birthday, and it minimized the gap between the next holiday, which was right before Raphir arrived.
But as someone once said, life doesn’t always go according to plan.
I couldn’t have imagined that things would take another unexpected turn before the day arrived.
𝑺𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒐-𝒇𝒊t
