Chapter 3 : Suspicious Person (6)

*****

"My name is Lou."

"Lou?"

"Yes."

For some reason, his answer seemed to be a bit slow. It didn't seem like his real name.

The fact that his eyes, which had been facing her, rolled to the side, made her even more convinced.

"Can I draw just one picture?"

He brought up another story, as if trying to change the subject, and Regina didn't want to talk more about the name, so she graciously followed.

"Drawing? ...Are you going to draw me?"

"Yes. Leah."

He called out her name, deliberately. The voice seemed to harbor some kind of longing, and it seemed like it was nothing but a repeated call.

"Well... do whatever you want." 

It was like he was hiding something, but she didn't think it would harm her.

The feeling was so subtle that it made him not know how to react. When her permission was granted, he pulled out something. 

At the end of his self-directed gaze was a small sketchbook and a pencil. Then with a crackling sound he began to draw.

Lou turquoise eyes lifted his gaze from time to time to look straight at her. The detailed look gave her a different feeling from before.

Regina turned her gaze away. She felt embarrassed for some reason as she was watching him drawing.

Far away, she could see Isota complaining to Kai. She reached out of the boat and slapped the river. 

He was also seen wiping his cheeks, as if the water had reached Kai. 

'Ah, there's going to be another fight.'

What she thought was people who were elegantly fanning fans and stabbing each other with sharp words. 

But the fact that Isota was not a well-educated nobleman also contributed to her free-spiritedness. 

If you think about it, even the person in front of her isn't easy either. Regina's gaze shifted to Lou's face.

Not many nobles in the Yuridenian Empire were fond of painting. This is because there is a strong view that painting belongs to ordinary people.

There were some nobles who continued their creative activities because their parents respected individual freedom.

Of course, that was not related to the succession. 

The wind blew between them in the silence. The surface of the water swayed in the direction of the wind. 

"Leah." 

Regina, who looked at the flowing water, turned her head a moment when she heard a voice calling her name.

Lou made eye contact with Regina and took a short breath. A feeling of pleasure swept over his body. 

She wouldn't know. The pink eyes through her dark hair, how long he had been waiting for this moment to look at her.

Nearly lost in his own thoughts, he came to his senses and made a sketchbook.

Regina took the paper he was handed. He drew it in a short time, like a sketch, but his drawings were excellent.

When she saw the painting for the first time, she couldn't take her eyes off.

"Even though I'm not that talented, I want to give it to Leah."

"It looks pretty to me." 

The appearance of her own, born through the hands of others, was interesting enough to make her forget to build a wall. 

Regina responded with pure admiration and a friendly tone.

The sense of distance she had created by being deliberately rude to him was destroyed by the words she spit out unintentionally.

"...... Thank you. "

The voice that answered her seemed a bit shy. Only then did she realize that she had lifted her boundaries, and Regina was bewildered.

"Let's go back now"

Having folded the painting finely, she grabbed a paddle to return to the land.

She felt a little rushed, but Lou smiled as if nothing had happened, taking the paddle from her hand.

The softly curved eyes seemed much warmer than when she first saw them.

"I'll do it."

Regina just turned the paddle to him and avoided his gaze. 

It was not easy to be wary of people who were friendly to her and keep a distance. Especially if he seemed genuine.

Her eyes met with Isota, who was looking at them , and her eyes, blue like the sky, opened in an instant. 

Because there was a distance, she couldn't see accurately, but she was somehow surprised. 

Regina looked at Isota, and quickly grabbed his hand and got off the boat.

The moment she set her foot on the ground, he held her hand tightly.

The next moment, her hand brushed his fingertips as if she had pushed the sand, and straightened her skirt and looked up at him.

Lou, who grabbed her hands in disappointment, pretended to be calm and smiled.

"Can I see you again next time?"

"I'm not sure about that." 

Regina shrugged her shoulders and said the same thing as last time. 

The thought that he wouldn't do her any harm didn't change that he was a suspicious person.

'There is no need to make an effort to be friendly.'

Lou smiled at her consistent. He knew he was hitting the wall, but he didn't mind. 

"Have a nice day."

"Goodbye." 

He bowed lightly, smiling until the end, and left.

Regina looked at his back. As if something urgent had happened, he walked away in an instant.

"Regina!" 

Soon after, she turned her head to the voice calling her to see Isota trying to stand up even though her boat had not yet reached. 

She glanced anxiously at the narrowly moving boat, but there was no overturning.

As the boat got closer to some extent, she jumped out. 

"Who was it?" 

Approaching her as soon as she got off, isota asked, pointing in the direction Lou disappeared.

Her eyes were full of vigilance. As Isota and Regina's boat followed the current of the water, they moved a little further away, so she couldn't see the man's face closely.

"I don't know either."

"You don't know, you two are on a boat together?"

Regina rolled her eyes once as if something like that was happening, as if to tell the truth. 

"It's just someone I stumbled upon once or twice. His name is Lou."

She didn't know much about it either, so she had nothing to say. 

"Lou. It's probably a pseudonym, but his brown-haired is too much to pinpoint."

Kai, who came down afterward, listened to her and tried to guess, but it went beyond his ten fingers when he picked only the candidates.

He was someone who deliberately gave out a pseudonym, so he was very suspicious.

“Next time you meet that person, you must find me unconditionally. You must never be alone.” Said Isota.

"Okay." 

Regina admitted that he was suspicious, so she nodded obediently. 

Isota sighed as she saw Regina like that. 

Her Regina was so popular. Just look at Arsene. 

When the hell did you approach Regina and build that feeling? Obviously, she should have stayed by Regina side.

*****

As soon as Regina returned to the mansion, she ate in her room.

After having a meal with Arsene separately for several days, everyone seemed curious, but they didn't say anything.

She said that she had set her heart on him more than enough, and that she was adapting to him better than she expected. 

After her meal, she immersed herself in warm water. 

Take a bath with the help of the maid, it feels good because she can relax.

In the past, when she first entered the body, everything was just awkward. 

To leave yourself in someone else's hands, but now it has become familiar.

She couldn't be more comfortable being accommodating and following along. 

It seems to be true that humans are animals that can adapt to anything. 

Regina entered her room and wrapped a towel around her head.

She refused to let the maids dry her hair, and she sat on the sofa and opened a book.

She read before go to bed, but she had finished reading the book  and thought about sleeping. 

Reading a book with her hair still wet, she was a little far from the dignified duchess.

She was sure there would be someone who would fit in this place rather she does.

Because in the first place, she wasn't the one born noble from the birth. 

She thinks, Why the hell did Arsene suddenly propose?

His sudden action was still an unresolved question for her.

While fiddling with the ends of her black hair, she heard a knock. Reflexively raising her head, she responded without thinking.

"Come in."

There were not many people to find her at this hour.

Maybe it was Sally, her maid. Without a second thought, she asked her to come in and the door slowly opened.

And it was Arsene who came in. Embarrassed for a moment by the unexpected visit, she looked straight into his face without realizing it.

The image that was constantly wandering through her head came into view clearly. 

Regina, who met his purple eyes, reflexively stiffened her body.

She said that he had the power to make people nervous.

The tension was a strange feeling, as if it was devoured from the inside of her body. 

Arsene entered her room and walked slowly to the sofa where she was sitting.

It was a leisurely walk, but her heart was beating rapidly.

She haven't seen him in a few days, but it feels like it's been a long time. 

As if meeting a new person, his beauty came anew. 

He came closer and grabbed her dark hair, which was still wet. Her wet hair curled into his hands.

Regina took her breath. It was only her hair that grabbed, and she couldn't squeal.

"It's only been three days." 

He sounded like he was asking, "Did you enjoy avoiding me for three days?" 

Regina licked her lips as if she was trying to make an excuse, but she avoided his gaze.

His sluggish eyes passed through her hair he was holding, and he looked into her face.

Her trembling eyelids, her pink eyes, her clenched lips... Arsene didn't take his eyes off her.

Her gaze slowly rolled down his eyes, nose and mouth, and she even had the illusion that his hand was stroking her. 

But she didn't find it offensive, so Regina bit her lip, realizing what she was thinking.

"How are you doing so far?" 

It was only after she exhaled that she felt like a bad person. 

It might sound a little cheeky to spit out in this kind of employe relationship. 

But Arsene looked at her without changing his expression.

Looking up at his face, she turned her head away as if avoiding his gaze. It seemed that she still lacked audacity. 

Gently fiddling with her hair, he let it go and sat down naturally next to her.

She felt the sofa leaning slightly to one side. Regina realized that her nerves were so focused on him that she could feel the movement of his fingers or the blink of his eyes even if she didn't look at him. 

She knew he was still looking at her.

"My lovely fiancée keeps avoiding me. I'm so anxious to see you, I have no choice but to come and see you in personally." 

His cold fingers brushed against her ear. 

The gentle movement was so stimulating that her body trembled as if she had been poison when his fingertips touched a spot behind her earlobe.

*****

“Regina, if you avoid it for three days, won’t the people notice something strange?”

"......"

Well, of course she felt their curious gaze. They must have thought she and arsene were fighting.

Regina didn't answer, just bit her lip. The book in her hand had already lost its presence.

The eyes that had suddenly dropped were staring at the black letters. Her bowed head looked as if she had done something wrong.

Arsene, who was playing with her hair, looked at her. As if observing something, he opened his mouth slowly. 

"I'm going to the party soon." 

Is he finally using her for his purpose? Then she lifted her head and looked at him, and their eyes met immediately. It was a gaze that never fell. 

"I'm attending a party at the Duke of Haynes this weekend."

She got the illusion of a twinkling purple eye looking straight at her. She can't remember if he had any hypnotic powers or not.

"You can be friends with the Duchess of Haynes."

His eyes seemed to have the ability to captivate people.  

Regina, who was looking at those eyes, felt her heart pounding.

As soon as he finished speaking, he was still looking at her. He could feel her eyelashes fluttering. Her fingers trembled.

As if a snake was crawling, his hand slowly wrapped around her wrist.

Clearly his hand was cold, but the part he touched was burning like a fire.

Surely they had decided to pretend they were lovers. Even though it was made of intimidation, it was they promise. 

Promise to go out into the social world under his name, which means there is no need to act where their eyes are not on them. 

But the way he treated her now was that of a lustful man.

Regina couldn't understand the man who kept coming to her, and she couldn't deny that she was shaking at such a sight. 

'I had to come to my senses. I had decided to get out of his hand. I will never be able to get away from him by being swayed like this'.

Regina only realized then. He's tempting her to hold onto him now. He doesn't want to lose her, who possesses uncommon healing powers. 

She thinks so. His behavior made sense. Love was a shackle in this relationship, at least a fatal weakness for her.

The goal is to try to escape and survive safely.

"It's late."

As he gently pulled the wrist that was holding her hand, the hand that was gently wrapped around her fell gently.

The cool, warm place was empty. With his other hand on her wrist, Regina pretended to be as calm as possible.

She didn't want to show that she was shaking.

"I have to sleep, so could you leave?" she said boldly to Arsene. 

She was the scoundrel who drove him away, the landlord.