Chapter 84
“How do you gracefully accept someone doing something out of the ordinary and immediately embrace it?”
With a mischievous look, he brought the fork closer to my lips again.
As a result, the soft cream touched my lips and started melting, almost sliding beneath them.
Quickly, I stuck out my tongue and licked what was on my lips.
The man, who had been casually shaking the fork in front of me, seemed oddly intrigued by my action.
Clatter.
The fork slipped from his hand and fell onto the plate.
As a result of that, the piece of cake on the fork tumbled onto the table.
“Why did you do that?”
“My hand shook.”
Upon hearing his words, I quickly straightened up.
Your hand shook?
“What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Your hand is shaking now? You used to have such a strong grip!”
“What did you say?”
Oh, this isn’t good.
Looking into his narrowed eyes, I quickly regained my composure.
“Anyway, can you not hold anything properly? Should we just go back home now? You don’t have to push yourself anymore.”
Clang.
As I hurriedly stood up, he held me back by grabbing my hand.
“I’m fine. Stop fussing.”
“But still…”
I can’t help but worry.
Even though he’s been healthier lately, you never know when he might collapse.
Isn’t Amoide like a ticking time bomb?
“Everyone’s hands can shake.”
Huh?
“So… it’s not a big deal.”
His cheekbones near his ears seemed to turn red awkwardly.
Even with his pale complexion, the redness around his cheekbones was evident.
No way…
“Amoide, are you feeling hot?”
Without waiting for his response, I leaned over the table and touched Amoide’s forehead with my hand.
“Hmm… you don’t have a fever.”
I also put my hand on my forehead, but the temperature was similar.
No, was it higher?
Since we didn’t have a thermometer, I couldn’t be sure.
There are limitations to measuring with hands, after all.
“Do you know if you touch it?”
“That’s true.”
I really don’t know.
Is he hot or just alright?
But his face definitely turned red…
Seeing me hesitate, he waved his hand impatiently.
“No fever.”
I observed Amoide cautiously.
Amoide was the type of person who hated showing signs of pain until he collapsed in agony.
You could say he even cultivated imaginary illnesses.
I wondered if he was intentionally hiding any pain, so I watched him closely.
Swiftly, he rose and brought his forehead to mine.
The warmth, slightly lukewarm, touched my skin.
“Um…”
His eyelashes brushed against mine, causing a tickling sensation. I blinked several times, but the sight remained the same each time.
“Look.”
He dropped his forehead again and slumped back into his seat.
“No fever, right?”
“Um… yeah.”
I mumbled absentmindedly.
In reality, I wanted to say I didn’t know more, but I was afraid of what might come next.
“It seems like you have a fever.”
“No, I don’t!”
I shouted and covered my face with my hands.
Even though I turned away, I could feel his persistent gaze on the edge of my vision.
‘Crazy, why is he like this?’
His face was as flushed as a roasted sweet potato in response to my words.
“Just finish this.”
He scooped another piece of cake and offered it to me.
After hesitating for a moment, I met his gaze.
Why is he looking at me like that while feeding me cake?
His tone was as if he would scold me if I didn’t eat it immediately.
I opened my mouth as if possessed.
The new layer of soft cream, moist sponge, and strawberries entered in succession.
Without needing to chew, the cake melted smoothly in my mouth, and my eyes involuntarily closed.
With each bite, the taste of tangy-sweet fruit and smooth, sweet cream mingled in my mouth.
I closed my eyes and savored the taste melting on my tongue.
When I opened my eyes again, I momentarily forgot the taste of the cake in my mouth.
His gaze had been fixed on my moist lips the whole time.
…So I felt extremely uncomfortable.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Was I eating too eagerly, or was there something else?
I quickly wiped around my mouth with my hand, but there was nothing there.
He must have been watching because I licked it clean with my tongue to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
But why is he looking at me like that?
“Is it that delicious?”
His question snapped me back to reality.
“Ah.”
I realized I must have been enjoying it too much.
As a lady of refinement, it was inappropriate to eat so voraciously.
I couldn’t see anyone at nearby tables enjoying dessert with such a heavenly expression as mine.
…It must have looked unpleasant.
I glanced subtly at him.
‘Am I embarrassed?’
His expression remained unchanged.
After staring at me intently for a while, he asked while putting down the fork.
“Why are you like this?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Have more.”
He offered me another piece of cake with the fork placed on top.
“…?”
Instead of accepting it, I stared at it for a while.
“Why?”
I wanted to ask that question.
‘Why are you like this, anyway?’
The more I pondered over his actions and words, the more peculiar they seemed.
Starting from when he willingly accompanied me outside, to now, sitting in this pink-filled dessert shop feeding me cake.
“Amoide.”
With a serious tone, Amoide looked at me.
“Why?”
“Is there something wrong?”
At my sudden question, Amoide’s expression shifted slightly.
“No, I mean…”
It’s hard to adapt to this sudden change.
The saying about how people react when someone suddenly changes kept echoing in my ears.
“I mean, you know…”
I searched for excuses under his piercing gaze.
‘You’re staring too intently.’
The area around my ears felt hot under his gaze.
“I just… feel like saying something different than usual. I just wanted to say it.”
Even with my explanation, he didn’t react much.
I felt increasingly anxious at his inscrutable expression.
“Wanting to do something like this. Like a game for a couple in love.”
“Yeah…”
“Wanting to, like, go on a date.”
“Yeah, that too…”
“You agreed to my request, so why this reaction?”
Yeah.
Why am I like this?
Saying you feel uncomfortable when someone is being too nice to you must refer to situations like this.
“Um, it’s just… because it seems like I’m asking too much. If it’s because of my wish, I… it’s okay.”
What if I force myself to do something I don’t want and it has a negative impact on my health?
No, more importantly…
“You just realized that?”
“…”
He chuckled, a mix of laughter in his voice, leaving me at a loss for words.
Was it really something he didn’t like?
For a moment, a chill ran through my heart.
Seeing my reaction, Amoide stifled a laugh.
“It means I’m happy for the first time in a while.”
“Really?”
“I’m not saying this for no reason.”
“Really, truly?”
I asked several times for confirmation.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been outside. It feels like being released from prison.”
“…”
That’s right.
For him, it was indeed a long-awaited outing.
Being confined mostly to the mansion, and even then, to his own quarters, such outings were a rarity for him.
“I mean it.”
The faintly smeared laughter on his lips indicated the truth of his words.
At his laughter, I finally felt relieved.
Ah, so it really is enjoyable.
He’s not one to fake his expressions or hide his feelings.
When he laughs, he laughs, and when he frowns, he frowns.
If he dislikes something, he dislikes it, and if he likes something, he likes it.
On one hand, there was no one as transparent as him.
However, there were many times when I couldn’t understand what was going on inside him.
Like now.
Why is he so generous?
Why so affectionate?
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Translator Note:
Hello there! It’s Sid here. I hope you liked it<3
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