Chapter 139
My determined resolve was good, but I had no idea how to remove the obstacles in Luwen’s heart and win him over.
Clink, clink.
Mindlessly stirring my cold tea with a teaspoon, I pondered deeply, but my mind remained blank. I tried to think about people who liked me in my previous life, but those were all unpleasant experiences, so after erasing them one by one, nothing remained.
“Norman? Are you listening?”
Adrian asked.
“Yes.”
I couldn’t focus on others’ conversations right now, so I hadn’t heard anything.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
Adrian, resting his elbows on the table, looked at me with subtly greasy eyes. Just as his gaze was becoming uncomfortable enough to make me want to get up, Adrian spoke.
“You have something on your mind, don’t you?”
I became unnecessarily conscious of Luwen sitting beside me. Deliberately staring at Adrian to avoid turning my head, I replied.
“No.”
“Yes, you do. You look troubled. What is it? Tell me. I’d gladly give my time for my beloved Norman.”
“I told you that kind of joke isn’t funny.”
Even Nadian doesn’t do that anymore, so I don’t understand why this guy still teases me about that incident. If it weren’t for our ledger, I would have cut ties with him long ago.
“No! Why won’t you believe my sincerity~”
“Because your sincerity is frivolous.”
“To not notice such a heavy heart. Norman, are you quite dense?”
I shook my head with a sigh. I don’t understand why Adrian is mistaken, but he doesn’t actually like me. His eyes resemble those of a collector cherishing possessions or an artist loving their work.
‘Well, there’s no need to make him realize it.’
He’ll naturally understand later anyway. For now, it’s convenient to go along with his misunderstanding.
“Do you really like me?”
“I do! Come to me. I’m confident I can love you more than anyone else.”
“And you’ll give me all the time I need?”
“Of course!”
Adrian slapped his chest with his palm and lifted his chin.
“Then can you help organize my graduation thesis?”
“What? You’re exploiting a man’s pure heart like this? You’re mean, Norman.”
Adrian grabbed his head with both hands and writhed. Regardless, I shrugged, took a sip of my cold tea, and set it down. This should be enough. He won’t talk nonsense about liking me anymore today.
“If I help with your thesis, will you go on a date with me, just the two of us?”
But Adrian made an unexpected offer. Judging by his mischievous tone, it seemed less like sincerity and more like an attempt to provoke Luwen.
“No.”
I was about to refuse, thinking it would cause another fight, but Luwen was quicker. His voice, resembling the season, was ice-cold in his response.
“Why are you answering? I asked Norman.”
Adrian glared at Luwen and spoke curtly. When Luwen remained silent, apparently unwilling to engage further, Adrian fired back.
“To be blunt, you two aren’t even dating. You’re just roommates, right? Why do you interfere in everything?”
After this outburst, he turned his gaze to me.
“Don’t tell me you two are dating and I’m the only one who didn’t know?”
“We’re not dating.”
At my answer, Adrian became triumphant and snorted at Luwen, as if reminding him that he had no right to interfere in matters concerning me.
‘I wonder if this kind of thing would stimulate him?’
Glancing sideways, I could see that Luwen’s fists, neatly placed on his thighs, had tightened. It seemed effective, but… strangely, I felt troubled rather than pleased.
“Norman, do you want to meet Adrian alone?”
While I was contemplating why I felt troubled, Luwen asked me. Despite his clenched fists, his expression looked relaxed, as if he anticipated my answer.
“There’s no real need for that.”
“I will help you with your graduation thesis.”
“No, it was a joke. I’m almost done.”
“I see.”
Luwen smiled with satisfaction and reached out. As if tidying my hair, he brushed my cheek and tucked it behind my ear before lowering his hand. My touched cheek felt ticklish, so I rubbed it with my palm as I turned my head.
“……”
Adrian was watching us with narrowed eyes. When our eyes met under his penetrating observation, I had a feeling he had somehow discerned my feelings.
“Shall we get going?”
Anticipating an awkward question, I preemptively stood up. Luwen rose after me, and Adrian, who had been sitting quietly watching me, soon stood up with a smirk.
When we left the tea house, the clear day had become cloudy. Despite the snowfall overnight, the gathering dark clouds looked ominous.
“Are you two heading back to the dormitory?”
Adrian asked while wrapping his scarf.
“Aren’t you?”
“I’m hurt~ I told you I had an outing until tomorrow, and you’ve already forgotten?”
I thought he had other plans in the morning since he suggested meeting outside in the afternoon, but I don’t recall hearing about any outing. As it wasn’t important, I was about to apologize and move on when Adrian’s expression bloomed as if to dispel the clouds, then immediately darkened.
‘What on earth did he see?’
Following his gaze, I saw a pair—a man and a woman. Judging by their armor and swords at their waists, they both seemed to be swordsmen. Given their identical armor design, they likely belonged to the same organization.
“…Jayden.”
I caught the quietly muttered name. It sounded familiar.
Perhaps sensing our gaze, the man turned around. With sun-tanned healthy bronze skin, he had quite a handsome face.
“Young master.”
The man approached with large strides and respectfully bowed to Adrian. The woman following him did the same. Judging by their demeanor, both appeared to be knights in the Count’s service.
As if having switched masks in an instant, Adrian’s face became animated as he welcomed the man.
“Well, look who we run into here. Are you two on a date?”
“It’s not like that. But this person…”
The affectionate gaze directed at Adrian turned fierce the moment it fell on me.
Thanks to that hostile stare, I remembered who he was—Adrian’s bodyguard who had abruptly held a sword to my neck. Since he had half his face covered and it was dark at the time, it wasn’t unreasonable that I didn’t recognize him immediately.
“What are you looking at?”
Sensing the hostility directed at me, Luwen stepped forward to block me. The other party, also a keen swordsman, immediately went on guard, pulling Adrian sharply toward himself and hiding him behind his back.
I gazed at Adrian over Luwen’s shoulder. He stared at the man, then shifted his gaze to the woman beside him, biting his lip and lowering his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, flashed me a familiar smile, and grabbed the man’s arm.
“I told you not to be so fierce with just anyone, didn’t I?”
Stepping past the man, he approached with a smiling face and stood beside me.
“Let me introduce you. That’s Jayden. We’ve been together since childhood… Hmm. Come to think of it, you’ve met before.”
Adrian’s gaze touched my nape and then fell away as he smiled awkwardly.
“The beauty with him is Jayden’s fiancée, Tisarin. She’s a knight in our family’s service.”
“We are not yet engaged.”
Jayden denied it with a rigid face.
“Come on, it’s just a matter of time.”
Adrian maintained a bubbly expression as he pulled me closer.
“More importantly, let me introduce my friend. This beauty is Norman. Still a friend, but might soon become my lover. I fell for him at first sight and I’m passionately pursuing him! Oh, and that dark fellow over there is Luwen. Someone you don’t need to know about.”
Jayden’s gaze lingered on me. He should know I’m not a suspicious person, but his hostility toward me remained undiminished. No, it had become even more fierce. Why?
“That’s enough. How dare you direct such killing intent at him?”
As I was puzzled, Luwen warned Jayden and once again blocked my view completely. All I could see was Luwen’s back. Still, I could imagine how fiercely the two were glaring at each other.
People passing by on the main street avoided us by giving a wide berth. Even I felt the need to intervene as the tension made my skin prickle.
But I doubted Jayden would withdraw his hostility even if I intervened. Since Jayden needed to stop first, I gave Adrian a signal.
“Enough!”
Finally, Adrian stepped between Jayden and Luwen with his arms outstretched. I only needed to take care of my own person, so I held Luwen’s hand firmly and smiled at him. Luwen pushed me further back and squeezed my hand in return.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
