Chapter 23 - That's a Promise

Gray Mansion...

An alluring scent of a delicious hotpot dancing in the wind caused all the hidden beings around the house to raise their heads as they quietly craved for it. But of course, as expected, the only one who didn't drool was the cold, wooden man sitting nonchalantly at the long table without any visible expression on his face.

A girl dressed in a plain white dress, served a bowl in front of him as she stared at him expectantly, watching for his reaction.

But as expected, Sei, who was wearing his usual dark clothes, just started eating quietly, giving no visible reactions at all.

Thankfully, he soon realized the meaning behind the gazes being thrown at him. He raised his head and looked at the girl who was watching him intently.

"Mm, good," he said with his same blank tone then he continued eating.

Resting her face in one hand, Davi could only smile. The result was exactly as she expected but she strangely didn't feel any disappointment. Instead, she was glad that he was at least eating the food she cooked for him.

"Is it okay for you if… I am the one cooking for you from now on?" she asked.

Sei raised his head and looked at her, replying her with one word. "Why?"

Eh? Why? Do I need to have a reason for cooking for him? Davi's calm self felt a bit puzzled, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

"B-because I'm your wife. And I don't have much work to do here anyway."

Her statement was followed by another long silence. Sei just looked at her sudden indifferent expression. Of course, it was an expression that almost no one would have noticed but to Sei, it was quite obvious. He also noticed that her voice slightly wavered when she said, she didn't have 'much work to do'.

"Are you getting bored here?"

"Ah? Um… that," Davi was instantly tongue tied. She didn't expect the man to ask her such a question. She didn't expect him to easily see through the emotion she was suppressing so badly within her. Leaving her without a choice, she was forced to admit it.

"Mm… it's not really like that. Maybe I'm just not used to staying inside the house all day long, especially when you're not around. But I'm sure I'll get used to it soon."

"What do you want to do?"

"Huh?" Davi wasn't sure what he meant. She didn't want to jump to conclusions especially when it came to this unfathomable man. She stared at him, curious.

"You can still pursue your dreams if you wish."

The moment those words came out of Sei's mouth, Davi abruptly stood up as if she couldn't believe what he just said. Her mouth hung open as she stared at Sei, eyes filled with disbelief. The moment she signed that contract, she did not just give up her body but also her future and her dreams. She was aware that she no longer owned herself, thus, she buried all her desires, wis.h.i.+ng that they would disappear with the flow of time. And yet, what was this?

Sei on the other hand, could only continue watching the girl's stupefied face. Seeing her speechless face filled with disbelief, her widened eyes and her mouth hanging open, was somewhat amusing to his eyes. He thought that it wouldn't be too bad to surprise this girl once in a while.

"As long as you don't break my rules and as long as you prioritize your responsibility to me, you can do what you want," he continued. After another long silence, the girl in front of him suddenly paced back and forth like a broken robot with her hands pinching her own cheeks.

After making sure that she wasn't dreaming, she turned to him with a beautiful wide smile filled with nothing but happiness. Sei thought that this was the most real and pure smile he had ever seen.

Her usual bright eyes shone even brighter as if thousands of diamonds were being reflected in it. Sei couldn't take his eyes away from her at that moment. He didn't expect the girl to be that happy that he could only say to himself; 'So this is her when she's truly happy, huh.'

"Thank you," she said as she reached out to take his long and elegant hand in hers, caressing it as if it was a truly precious treasure. "I swear my dream will only be second to you. You will always be my priority, that's a promise."

Sei was stunned. His mind almost shattered for a moment. He didn't at all expect to hear the words she just said.

As if those words weren't enough, without any warning, the girl quietly lifted Sei's hand and with eyes closed, she kissed his hand as if she was a gentle fairytale prince and Sei was her adored princess.

Sei was speechless, the moment her warm lips landed on his hand, he felt as though he was electrocuted.

Strangely, his mind almost voluntarily shut itself down.