I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

 

✿

 

Reukis calmed down while Merria’s thoughts were being sorted.

 

It was embarrassing to talk with each other when they returned to their senses. Merria blinked her eyes and tried to think of a way to fall off naturally.

 

“Well…”

 

Reukis’ arms were wrapped around her body, and when he felt his strength again, he loosened his arms.

His determination not to let go of her was evident in his tight arms entangled in her waist and back.

 

The heat was felt on the back and front of her body because Reukis was holding her closer than ever before.

 

Merria quickly gave up and at the same time waited for him to find a comfortable position.

 

“I have something to check first.”, Merria, who snuck her nose in his chest in a nearly hanging position, said.

 

Her words, covered in emotion and buried in his clothes, were like murmurs.

Nevertheless, Reukis was able to understand immediately because he was focusing all of his attention on Merria.

 

“Yes.”

 

His answer was still imbued with dejection. Hearing Reukis’ voice like that, her hand wrapped around his waist and clenched into a tight fist.

 

Merria said in a grim tone.

 

“Have you ever wanted or killed someone just because they’re annoying, or for no reason?”

 

“…what?”

 

“Answer me.”

 

No matter how hard I tried to get him out of the original story, it was a pretty important process for me as well.

 

Merria feared the aftermath that she never knew where it might come from whenever she twisted the original, so even in Reukis’ case, she needed a lot of determination for this decision to be made.

 

I didn’t want to be harmed by his broken personality while standing by his side to save him from the original.

So I wanted to at least make sure he was someone who could be helped.

 

Despite Merria’s question out of nowhere, Reukis took it seriously.

Then he slightly shook his head. Merria shrugged her shoulders a little as his hair brushed against her neck.

 

Without even realizing it, Reukis leaned his cheeks against Merria’s neck and felt her warmth.

 

Her beating pulse was felt, and his swirling emotions subsided.

 

“As a knight, it was inevitable to block or cut someone, but I have never pointed the sword at anyone for no reason.”, Reukis then answered.

 

“Good.”

 

After confirming so, Merria pulled herself away from him.

 

It was a pity that his arms were empty in an instant, then he saw the rose that had already been ruined a long time ago in his hand.

 

Without a moment to hide his hand behind his back, Merria took the rose as if she were snatching it from his hand.

 

Reukis was embarrassed and didn’t know what to do. Merria kissed the petals and loosened the ribbon tied to the stem and handed it to him.

 

It was the answer to the partner request that has been traditionally passed down in the Empire.

 

When requesting a partner, a rose and a ribbon resembling the color of the person’s eyes were presented, and the recipient would kiss the flower and allow the other person to tie the ribbon around their wrist as a gesture of consent.

 

Reukis, who understood the intention of her gesture, quickly accepted the ribbon and gently held her wrist.

 

I felt relieved watching Reukis’ head while tying the ribbon with poor skills.

 

Merria spoke softly, stroking his fluttering hair. “I don’t know if it’s a good decision, but still.”

 

It sounded like regretful self-talk, but Reukis somehow felt that she was comforting him. He long stopped thinking and was drenched in Merria’s kindness reflected in those words.

 

✿

 

Lynette was diligently preparing to serve Reukis while the two in the parlor calmed down and drank the cooled tea at once.

 

Finally, she was able to finish preparing dinner by ordering the kitchen maid to prepare a good wine.

 

“Miss, the meal is ready.”

 

Merria got up from the sofa and held out her hand to him. He was in turmoil almost to the point of crying and was embarrassed about himself a little while ago when he was acting like a child towards Merria.

 

Lowering his eyes in the rush of shame, Reukis bit his lips and gently held her hand. Merria lifted one eyebrow slowly and smiled.

 

She then twisted Reukis’ hand and changed it into a tightly clasped form. The two walked out the door looking more like lovers than before.

 

The maid standing outside widened her eyes at how friendly they were to each other, but Merria didn’t care.

 

Rather, Reukis, who had no idea what Merria was thinking, was more embarrassed and tried to look elsewhere.

 

“Well… Merria. Our hands…”

 

“Oh, are you embarrassed? It’s just that I’m too lazy to explain it to people.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean

‘something’

between you and me.”

 

Reukis’ ears heated up in an instant. Merria liked the way he looked, so she held his hand even tighter.

 

He acted like he was about to cry because he felt that it was unfair to keep it a secret earlier, and then Merria’s ridiculous laugh burst out in response to his unexpected reaction.

 

“I don’t want you to keep your head down and hide it to the point of crying, did you think I couldn’t do this?”

 

She played pranks in a small voice that only Reukis could hear.

 

‘I’ve never cried before.’

 

Reukis, who was trying to bring up an excuse, shut his mouth when he saw Merria delightful and enjoying herself.

 

It wasn’t bad that Merria, who had always approached him in moderation, acted without hesitation.

 

‘It was rather good.’

 

“But I still don’t want you to disclose to people about our relationship. If you told them now, people would bite you like a fish on the cutting board at next week’s party.”

 

“I don’t want that either and you don’t like it.”

 

“Thanks for understanding.”

 

As they reached the dining area, all passersby witnessed the two of them walking side by side.

 

Perhaps by tomorrow, this situation would circulate throughout the whole capital, and the rumors about our relationship, which we have tried to shut down, would be lit again.

 

‘I heard the servants of Rackester saw the Grand Duke escorting the princess intimately. Maybe there’s something between the two of them like the rumor says…?’

 

These words would go up and down in people’s mouths.

 

I was already worried about Lilith, who was already itching to talk about this, but I believed Karina would keep her mouth shut.

 

The two entered the dining area with a sweet smell, holding each other’s hands.

 

Raven was already there and waiting. She sat noble, but she couldn’t stop her eyes from staring at the two figures.

 

Her second daughter, who came in holding the Grand Duke’s hand with an indifferent expression, and Reukis, who was blushing shyly, came as shockingly as that.

 

Merria sat down in front of Raven, who sat on the head of the table.

 

Reukis, of course, sat next to Merria.

 

His Majesty the Grand Duke came and left the chief seat empty, but Raven turned her attention towards Merria for the sudden arrangement of the meeting.

 

[N: The host sits at the head of the table with the guest of honor (or most important guest) to his or her right as the chief seat. ]

 

As she stared at her with full intent to ask her for an explanation why he was doing this, her eyes met Merria and beckoned to the maid.

 

“First, let’s eat. His Majesty was so busy that he couldn’t even eat a meal all day.”

 

To be precise, when Reukis heard the news of Merria attending the party, he was worried and forgot to eat.

 

Reukis didn’t add a separate explanation. Raven had no choice but to put aside her curiosity and started eating the soup.

 

Towards the end of the main dish, Raven spoke out of courtesy. “Was the food okay, your highness?”

 

“Yes, thank you for your concern.”

 

“Come to think of it… I heard you’re here to see Merria. May I ask why?”

 

Raven had also heard of the rumors about Reukis’ courtship circulating in the society.

 

There was a time when Raven directly asked Merria in response to the blasphemy of the ladies, and she resolutely drew a line saying that it was nothing to do with her.

 

Raven thought it was just a one-sided crush because the wagons of gifts to the mansion were cut off after some time.

 

‘Looking at the two of them today, it doesn’t seem like that at all.’

 

Raven’s eyes lit up as she remembered the two people entering the room intimately a while ago.

 

Merria her daughter, who she knew, wouldn’t hold an outsider’s hand for no reason.

 

By this point, Merria, thinking that Reukis must have filled his stomach to some extent, answered instead, wiping her lips with a napkin.

 

“He’s here to ask me to be his partner.”

 

When Raven heard those words, her mood soared, as if she had found a new fun toy.

 

However, she quickly changed her expression and returned to the cold Duchess of Rackester.

 

“Oh, what do you mean a partner?”

 

“Literally. I’ve decided to go to Countess Fabro’s party with him.”

 

Merria, who answers casually, has become boring for Raven, and she decided to change her target.

 

“I asked His Highness, but only Merria answered. Hmm.”

 

Reukis stiffened at Raven’s cold voice, rolled his eyes, and glanced at Merria.

 

“I had no choice but to come when I heard Lady Merria was going to attend the party. I’m sorry I came without a word, Madam.”

 

“It’s okay. I have someone to inform me of such news. Was it safe to say that today’s incident was an extension of the rumor?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Despite Reukis’ polite response, no one in the dining room spoke anymore.

 

In the dining room, which had turned into a cold atmosphere in an instant, only the clatter of forks and knives reverberated.

 

I couldn’t find any answer even if I looked back on whether Reukis had failed to answer.

 

Knowing his limitations, he chose to shut his lips quietly rather than talk nonsense to lighten the mood.

 

Merria was not at all embarrassed by the suffocating silence. After all, she had already been through this once before. Even then, she wasn’t particularly concerned because Merria was also in Raven’s role.

 

I just felt a little sorry for Reukis, who would become the second Miles.

 

‘As I said before, my family had one nasty hobby.’

 

It was to scare the man that the daughter brought by playing the ice-cold Duke and Duchess. It was half worrying and half ridiculous, but Raven was already excited to harass Reukis.

 

After dinner, which showed only the prelude, Reukis came out of the dining room with his shoulders drooping, feeling the solid wall Raven had set up.

 

For Merria, Reukis, who was barely embarrassed by such things, was funny and even a little cute.

 

She took the macaron Hans had made to soothe him, who had exhausted his energy and headed to the greenhouse.

 

“Our house’s macarons are delicious. Because it’s a recipe I specifically ordered, the filling was thicker than other places.”

 

Merria handed over a chocolate macaron with a casual face. Reukis took it and rolled it in his hand, but did not eat it.

 

“I… I don’t think she liked me, does Merria think like that too?”

 

Reukis asked for Merria’s opinion, hoping he’d been wrong, but she answered nonchalantly.

 

“Yes, I think so.”

 

It was quite funny how Reukis broke down as soon as he heard her words.

 

In the end, Merria, who couldn’t stand it, burst into laughter. Reukis couldn’t keep up with Merria’s sudden reaction and stared at her with his eyes wide open.

 

“Don’t be so heartbroken. Even if my family objected, I have no intention of breaking up with you.”

 

Merria, who knew that her family didn’t mean to object to their relationship, said, putting macarons to his lips.

 

There are a lot of things that need to be taken care of to get him to overcome his fixed role, so the position of a lover was the most convenient.

 

He didn’t seem to want to break up with her yet either.

 

‘If Reukis wants to, I’ll hold his hand

.’

 

Reukis nodded, eating the macarons like a well-behaved child.

 

“I understand the heart of the Duchess.”

 

“No, I don’t understand it.”

 

“I’ll do better for you. So…”

 

‘Don’t leave me. His greedy words never came out of his mouth.’

 

Merria smiled softly and took a bite of the macaron.

The already dark sky and the lights in the greenhouse harmonized creating a decent landscape

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