That thought filled my head.
“Lulu.”
Was it because he appeared so unexpectedly?
Or was it because it had been so long?
Seeing Sid after so long…
He was too…
‘Handsome…….’
Always new. Thrilling. Being handsome is the best!
“My Lord?”
Sid’s face was in the newspaper every day, but seeing him in those scraps of paper was nothing compared to seeing him in person.
This place uses magic to take photos, and that’s the best they can do?
It doesn’t even capture an ounce of Sid’s beauty properly.
The magic to put moving images in newspapers should be coming out soon.
That would be a huge advancement for the peace and welfare of human eyes.
Then, Sid’s face came even closer.
The movement painted his face differently with light.
‘Wow, look at the three-dimensionality of his face.’
Was his nose always that high?
“What’s wrong?”
How can his lips move so elegantly, gracefully, and beautifully?
Sid would never have an unflattering moment, even if you captured him in 0.1-second intervals.
Is this what they mean when they say everyday life is a photoshoot?
“Luatisha.”
With a firm resonance, Sid’s hand tightly grasped mine.
“Oh, uh? Yes.”
I startled and came to my senses.
Before I knew it, Sid was right in front of me.
When our eyes met, Sid smiled.
‘Wow…….’
I was admiring him again when a slight crease formed on his handsome brow.
Sexily.
Sid’s head tilted.
Sunset-soaked blonde hair slid across his cheek.
They say memories are beautified, but that’s a lie.
‘Sid is even more handsome than I remember.’
* * *
“How is it?”
“Shh!”
Jasmine hurriedly put her index finger to her lips.
Tiriel leaned over Jasmine’s head, keeping his mouth shut.
A magical time when the sunset dyed everything.
Inside the fantastical hall, a man and a woman were looking at each other.
“Oh my…….”
Tiriel’s cheeks flushed red.
It wasn’t just Tiriel.
Jasmine was holding her breath, her face flushed, and even Claudia was clutching her fan tightly, swallowing hard.
And Camellia, who was watching the two without blinking an eye—.
“Just kiss.”
She murmured quietly.
‘Just kiss?’
Jasmine, Tiriel, and Claudia’s gazes turned to Camellia at the same time.
It was a phrase the noble young ladies were hearing for the first time.
But the more they savored it, the more it stuck with them…….
The three clenched their fists.
‘Just kiss!’
Before they knew it, they were all shouting intensely in their hearts.
“……But Lulu keeps looking at His Highness the Crown Prince’s face?”
It’s natural to look at the other person’s face when talking.
But.
When Sidrian said something, Luatisha blankly stared at his face.
Again, when Sidrian said something, Luatisha blankly stared at his face again.
Even when Sidrian swept her hair back, Luatisha only looked blankly at his face.
Only his face.
“……Doesn’t it seem like she’s much more moved by his face than the surprise event?”
Claudia said in a somewhat disgruntled voice.
As people who helped Sidrian prepare the event, they felt a bit strange.
In fact, this building wasn’t Pochet’s family villa, but a building Sidrian had newly built from scratch, selecting the site for today.
He had cooperated with the event, hoping Luatisha would be very happy, and in reality, Luatisha was so engrossed that she was out of her mind…….
“Hmm.”
What is this ambiguous feeling?
‘Well, it’s much better than the event failing.’
It is, but—.
‘Isn’t it like all she needed was Sidrian’s face?’
‘I feel like she would have been out of her mind even if this was a marketplace?’
‘Not just a marketplace, but even if a baby was nagging its mom next to her, wiping the floor with its clothes, her reaction would have been the same.’
‘Even if someone grabbed her arm and tried to get her to try something, it would have been the same?’
The four looked at each other.
‘What were we working so hard for?’
Even just today, their hearts were pounding, wondering if the quick-witted Luatisha would notice.
They exchanged glances secretly when Luatisha looked elsewhere.
They even sweated and managed to cover up the unexpected question of whether this was their villa.
It was truly a strategy comparable to a spy operation.
Not only that.
They also mustered a lot of courage when Sidrian asked them to help with the event.
“We also want Lulu to be happy. But Lulu hasn’t consistently agreed to marry you, has she?”
“We know that Lulu likes Your Highness, but marriage is another matter.”
“If Lulu doesn’t want to get married, we can’t cooperate.”
“The moment Lulu shows even the slightest sign of disliking the marriage with Your Highness that day, we will grab Lulu’s hand and leave this villa.”
Saying that to Crown Prince Sidrian required quite a bit of resolve for them as well.
Sidrian acted like the sweetest person in the world in front of Luatisha, but he was not at all like that to others.
He was at least a little softer with them than with other people.
Only because they were Luatisha’s friends.
They spoke firmly on the outside, but they knew Sidrian’s true colors and the immense power he possessed, so they were trembling a lot on the inside.
But then.
‘……Why did we do that?’
There’s no way a girl who’s so obsessed with Sidrian’s face wouldn’t get married.
That’s when it happened.
“Wait.”
Camellia put her index finger to her lips and perked up her ears.
“Why?”
“I think I just heard the word ‘kiss’.”
The other three looked at Camellia with strange eyes.
‘She’s really unique.’
‘I don’t know if I should call this being honest about even these things.’
Even as they thought that, the three perked up their ears and tried to maximize their hearing.
They were just as eager to hear the word ‘kiss’.
Sidrian slightly lifted Luatisha’s chin.
“I want to kiss you. Can I?”
“…….”
“If we kiss, you’ll marry me.”
The four covered their mouths at the sound of that clear voice.
‘Wow, his voice and eyes are no joke.’
‘Why am I getting excited when he says those words?’
Luatisha, on the other hand, didn’t react much.
She was still staring at Sidrian’s face with a dazed look.
The moment Sidrian leaned slightly towards her.
Luatisha pulled Sidrian towards her.
Her long, flowing hair rippled—.
“……!”
The two’s lips met.
“Oh my!”
“Kyaa!”
Tiriel and Jasmine let out muffled screams.
They covered their eyes with both hands, but the gaps between their fingers were wide open.
“Ahem!”
Claudia cleared her throat and unfolded her fan to cover her face. But her eyes were peeking out over the fan.
Camellia clenched her fists, saying, ‘That’s right!’
The four exchanged glances with raised cheekbones.
‘Oh my, oh my.’
How embarrassing!
But.
“…….”
“…….”
The raised cheekbones began to descend little by little.
‘It’s not ending?!’
Luatisha’s snow-white fingers dug into Sid’s hair.
Bodies pressed tightly together without a gap.
Sidrian’s arms wrapped around her slender waist.
Even during that time, their lips never parted.
“…….”
How long had it been?
Luatisha broke the kiss.
‘I, is it over?’
But that thought was fleeting, as Luatisha slammed Sidrian against the wall.
And their lips met again.
Sidrian’s veined hand gripped the console next to him.
Luatisha’s hand covered his, digging between his fingers.
Thud.
In that flurry, the crystal decorations on the console fell to the floor.
Tiriel, who was blankly watching the scene, muttered.
“It’s an event we helped with, but……. Moderation, please…….”
Should I go home and get a boyfriend?
Is it because I’m feeling the autumn blues?
I’m a little lonely.
Sniff.
* * *
Huh.
My cheeks were flushed.
When I cupped my cheeks with both hands, they were really hot.
‘I ended up ambushing Sid again without realizing it.’
I always do this, like when I grabbed his collar and kissed him before.
I should learn to control my impulses.
I glanced at Sid.
He was blushing shyly.
‘……Cute.’
I might just kiss him again!
I stopped myself from grabbing this cutie’s wrist right away.
‘I shouldn’t do this. Let’s restrain ourselves.’
And for some reason, I felt a nagging feeling that I had forgotten something.
What could it be?
After pondering for a while, it came to me.
‘Come to think of it, I was playing hide-and-seek with my friends!’
From the beginning, I didn’t come here with Sid. I came here to hang out with my friends.
Without realizing it, I couldn’t overcome my desires…….
‘Ahem, ahem!’
I needlessly tightened the shawl that Sid had put on me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I was playing hide-and-seek with my friends. Check the time. They must be worried.”
They wouldn’t have been hiding for this long, but.
“I should go see the kids—.”
As I turned towards the entrance of the hall, Sid grabbed my hand.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to go.”
“Huh?”
“The hide-and-seek was to get us to meet anyway.”
At those words, I realized what was going on.
I was so mesmerized by Sid’s beauty and kiss that I wasn’t thinking—.
“Did you plan today’s gathering?”
“Yes.”
“Then my friends are—.”
No way.
A stirring unease swept through my heart.
They didn’t see me kissing Sid, did they?!
“They would have moved out of the way on their own. Why would they have been watching?”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Whew.
A sigh of relief escaped at Sid’s words.
If the kids had seen me ambushing Sid and kissing him…….
‘How could I show my face!’
I was embarrassed just imagining it.
Sid chuckled and patted the seat next to him.
I sat down next to him, shoulder to shoulder.
Starlight was pouring down through the glass roof.
“Pretty…….”
As I was staring blankly, I felt a poking gaze.
When I turned my head, Sid was looking at me.
Violet eyes more beautiful than the starlight filling the night sky.
He whispered to me in a subtle tone.
“So, when should we set the date for our wedding?”
“Date?”
“I guess it would be best to hold it at Divinitas Hall? Or do you like another place?”
I gaped at the sudden question.
I, of course, am thinking of marrying Sid, but.
Is this something you can say after skipping everything else?
“I never said I’d marry you.”
It was a firm voice.
As if he would never back down.
“I did? When?”
“Just now.”
I frowned.
I didn’t say anything just now?
Sid looked at me, then smiled and leaned his upper body towards me.
Peck.
Soft lips touched mine lightly and fell away.
“I said if we kiss, you’ll marry me.”
When did you say that?!
Sid grinned at my surprised expression.
“Do you remember now?”
“……No.”
“Luatisha.”
Sid’s face became serious.
He even looked a little hurt.
I said, changing the subject.
“Um, I don’t remember very well, but if we kiss one more time like we did earlier, I think I might remember properly.”
Sid smiled at my words.
Soon, our lips met.