Holding Lakis hand like this made the world seem a little different. It was as if the things Yuri had been missing slowly revealed themselves from behind the curtain and beckoned to her. For example, the feeling being conveyed from Lakis right now.

It was something she usually didnt care about

But at this moment, she felt like she knew why Lakis touched her right now, and why he was looking at her with those eyes even now.

Its strange.

It was the first time she was seeing someones feelings look so colorful. Of course, although she assimilated his feelings, her heart was yet to flutter or throb

Still, she didnt hate the feeling she was getting from Lakis right now.

Mr. Lakis.

Yuri slowly blinked and looked up at him. Then she placed her head on his shoulder. Instantly, small waves were transmitted to her from where their bodies touched.

When Yuri drew closer, Lakis looked shaken up with just that, even though he was the one acting as if he was determined to seduce Yuri earlier. The difference was so big that it strangely made him look cute.

However, the words that came from Yuris mouth next were somewhat merciless.

Mr. Lakis is the strangest person out of everyone I know.

Lakis brows furrowed slightly at that.

But I dont hate it.

And at her following words, Lakis ears began to grow hot.

Say, Mr. Lakis.

But a bigger bomb was thrown the next moment.

Would you like to go to my room with me?

The air flowing around them seemed to stop for an instant. Yuri slowly lifted her head and looked up at Lakis. He was frozen stiff with wide eyes as he looked down at her.

She could tell why Lakis was so surprised. They were both healthy persons of the opposite gender. Naturally, when Yuri said that, she did have a slight ulterior motive. Of course, this ulterior motive wasnt the type with a red 19+ stamp on it but about body temperature itself.

In case he misunderstood, Yuri added more.

Well only hold hands.

You can trust me.

Lakis expression turned odd. He almost misunderstood but judging from Yuris face, she seemed to mean what she said. Meanwhile, the bug was busy making a racket in his head.

Lakis stared at Yuris face for a moment, then he lifted the hand he was holding to his lips. Whatever the reasonthere was no need to push away the hand that reach out to him first.

Sure.

Lakis blue eyes took on a shine, like a hunter before its prey. He covered it with a smile and whispered:

Well only hold hands.

For today.

And so, the two of them went into the room together.

~

A while later, Lakis was somewhat regretting his actions.

Are you an idiot?

Zip it.

The bug grumbled in his head.

Lakis frowned and looked at the person in front of him. Yuri was sleeping peacefully on the bed while one of her hands held Lakis hand tight. Lakis was initially lying next to her but he sat up a little. His expression turned odd again.

She was sleeping so defenselessly

Was it that she wasnt guarded at all, or that she trusted him, or maybe she was overconfident in her power to protect herself in an emergency

Apart from the second reason, all of them sucked.

After a while, Lakis moved his other hand which Yuri wasnt holding. He touched her long hair which was scattered over the bed then he slowly traced her round forehead. There was slight satisfaction in Lakis lowered eyes.

Although, it was quite ridiculous to feel satisfaction with just this

Lakis decided to just admit it, regardless of whether the bug ridiculed him or not.

This was his way of doing things.

He didnt want to use coercive methods on the woman in front of him nor did he want to make her cry. So it was nice to see her just sleeping peacefully in front of him.

Of course, he did feel a littledisturbed.

Good night.

Lakis whispered sweetly in Yuris ear, something he had never done before to anyone.

Maybe she was having a good dream, because there was a very faint smile on Yuris lips as she slept. Her hand which was holding his, gripped him even tighter. Lakis stayed by Yuris side holding her hand till the day broke outside.

It was a very long night for Lakis.

* * *

The next day, I woke up in bed feeling refreshed. When I opened my eyes, Lakis wasnt next to me. He must have gotten up halfway and left the room first. I met Lakis in the living room before I left for work but our behavior with each other wasnt any different than before.

I felt like I had a good dream last night, but I couldnt remember what it was. Still, I felt the most refreshed Id ever felt in the morning so I hoped I could fall asleep while holding Lakis hand more in the future.

But like I thoughtthe sub-villain is interested in me.

As I worked in the coffeehouse, I replayed what happened yesterday in my head. The things I had just let pass without seeing any meaning behind them came back to me again. So far, I didnt care much about others, my care about other peoples existence was almost the same as my care for a pebble on the street.

So there were many times when Lakis words and actions just flew past me. But as I thought over them againI became more certain that the idea I got last night was correct.

Hello, Ms. Yuri.

Right then, a familiar customer entered the coffeehouse. I turned to look and unconsciously made a sour face.

This guy too

We meet again.

The reason for my sour face was because the people who came into the coffeehouse one after the other, were Anne-Marie and Kalian Crawford. It was my first time seeing Kalian Crawford since our unexpected meeting at the black market.

I felt uncomfortable looking at the man gave me a light nod and greeted me politely. He didnt seem to know I was the heretic he met at the slave market.

Well, that was only natural. He probably lost his memory because of Lakis and even if he didnt, Kalian didnt see my face that day. It was a good thing for me since I wanted to keep my current peace

But maybe because I saw another side to Kalian not long ago, I couldnt muster any good feelings towards him even when he appeared so polite.

And that might also be why, the moment I saw the two of them side by side, my mouth widened, and my mood fell. I really wasnt sure why, but I suddenly felt like a mother whose admirable daughter was being robbed and I had the urge to yell, I am against this marriage!.

Of course, doing that would be overboard. So for now, I spoke calmly.

I see you two came together.

Do you have somewhere quiet?

Quiet?

Yes, I need somewhere we can talk without disruption.

Why do you need to talk with Anne-Marie?

A question naturally floated up in my mind.

Perhaps my question was revealed by my gaze because Anne-Marie explained with an awkward expression.

We have something work-related to discuss but Im on a short break now so we cant really go anywhere else. Is there someplace inside that we can use?

Work-related? Is she talking about Kalian Crawfords investigation?

I thought disappearances at the Red Ferret orphanage was completely resolved at the black market but maybe theres still some stuff left to deal with?

Only

Or maybe its something else entirely.

Follow me, please.

I had unanswered questions but there was no need to pry right now so I just guided them to a seat.

After a while, Anne-Marie and Kalian got a seat, ordered coffee and began to discuss something. After serving them their drinks, I watched from afar. I no longer wanted to match these two together but seeing them like this, I had to admit they made a good pair. Still, if it was a business issue, it meant they wont have time to meet and flirt so that was fortunate.

Well, this Kalian Crawford that I was meeting on a normal day felt very different from the Kalian I saw that night. Then again, although my impression of him that day was quite bad, Kalian was originally the most normal guy in the novel. Of course, he was very annoying when I met him at the black market but that was because I was an experiment.

Afterwards, I continued to watch them in a non-obvious manner. After some time, Anne-Marie looked a little awkward for some reason. Kalian, on the other hand, still had an expression that said nothing about what he was thinking.

Although it wasnt polite, I tried to find out what the two of them where talking about but strangely enough, I could only get muted sounds for a while now. From the looks of it, Kalian had a soundproofing tool that was refined by an alchemist.