I thought I had tamed the villain

Chapter 21   ” I thought I had tamed the villain”

I looked back and forth between Theo and Frey.

Maybe this was a good opportunity.

We’d have to study together for the rest of the year until the test, and I wouldn’t be able to growl at them every time.

“No, I’m using mine,” I said, slipping Theo’s hand away from the hem of my dress.

“No, I’m comfortable in mine, I just need to talk to you for a second.”

“What? You don’t usually do that.”

“I‘ll be right back!”

Theo and I didn’t use different ink anyway.

But the opportunity to spend time together would never come unless I artificially created it.

I hurried out of the break room, wondering if Theo would follow me.

* * *

A breathless silence fell between Theo and Frey once Iris was gone.

Frey’s face was dry, as if he’d been smiling softly the whole time.

‘Drop the pretense….’

Theo hadn’t liked Frey from the moment he’d laid eyes on him.

And the moment that feeling was amplified was when he spoke to Iris in the flower garden.

It was a moment that shattered Theo’s peaceful routine, as he always sat by the window in the break room and watched her when she tended to the flower beds.

‘He used to smile so much in front of her…

What he was up to was still unknown, but Theo was convinced that Frey had approached Iris with a purpose.

As proof, he was now turning into a different person in front of me.

Feeling Theo’s intense gaze, Frey turned his head to face him.

His blue eyes were steadfastly cold.

“.…...”

The tension between the two men was palpable, as neither avoided each other’s gaze as if they had made a promise.

It was Frey who spoke first, bored with the time.

“You two. What an odd pairing.”

“.…...”

He knows what he was talking about. Theo thought.

Theo had been expecting a more in-depth attack, but the fact that the only thing they were arguing about was his appearance had left him speechless.

“I guess being a priest doesn’t make you any different. From the way you spout the obvious.”

Theo leaned back in his chair and smirked.

The time spent waiting for Iris was becoming tedious as he didn’t feel worthy of dealing with Frey.

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?”

Frey grinned at Theo. It was an obvious sneer.

“But you know why it’s so obvious? Because you can see it so clearly.”

“But you know why it’s so obvious? Because it’s so clearly visible.”

“.…...”

This time, Frey’s words hit Theo right in the gut.

“Iris would have said you were fine no matter what you looked like, and she’d have gone out of her way to convince the others. …just to get the likes of you out of the gutter.”

The corners of Frey’s mouth lifted in amusement. A smile that was almost benevolent in its way spread across his face.

“But does that change your essence?”

“Is that it?”

Theo said, fighting back the heat in his stomach.

He wanted to put on a nonchalant face when Iris returned.

But Frey didn’t stop, and he blurted out what could have been devastating to Theo with a straight face.

“I can see how filthy you are, your origins, what your destiny looks like.”

“What?”

Theo’s fists tightened.

“What the fuck do you think you know?”

Theo sneered with a wry smile.

All priests do is waste time worshipping a god that doesn’t exist. That’s what Theo thought.

That was why the presence of Frey in front of him was something to be despised.

“Stupid things.

Theo was already tired of the goddess-demon thing, and he never wanted to believe it.

“You want to know why I approached Iris?”

Until he got confirmation of the goddess’s existence from Frey’s mouth.

* * *

“What the hell, why are you so quiet?”

I opened the door to the common room, new inkwell in hand, and was greeted by an eerie silence.

I sat down in my chair cautiously, keeping an eye out for Frey and Theo.

“You two aren’t arguing or something, are you?”

“.…...”

Theo didn’t respond to my question.

Instead, Frey spoke up.

“Well, we don’t have that much to talk about in private.”

I looked at Frey, who was smiling smugly, and wondered if I’d made a mistake.

“I was just stepping aside so we could talk, but somehow I feel like the mood has gotten cheesier.

I was hoping Theo would say something, but for some reason, he remained silent.

I wondered if something had happened, but I couldn’t read any emotion in his face.

His expression was blank. That was Theo’s answer.

Frey’s first lesson had gone flawlessly.

Theo and Frey’s ki battle, which had been tense before the lesson began, had somehow subsided.

“I‘ll go first.”

“What? Why don’t you stay and review today?”

“I‘m tired.”

Leaving me with round eyes, Theo turned and walked away.

It was so different from the way he’d always waited for me to get up first.

“That’s so weird.

One minute he’s gazing at me with fire in his eyes, the next, he’s gone. ….

Theo’s moods had been fluctuating wildly several times today.

“Puberty.

I shook my head and turned my attention back to my book.

“You sure you don’t mind studying by yourself?”

Frey asked, still in the seat in front of me.

Why isn’t he going?

I nodded nervously.

“Uh, yeah. I’m doing the review by myself anyway.”

“But I’ll stay with you, just in case you need it. If you don’t understand something, just ask.”

“.…...”

I stood still and blinked.

Frey smirked at me as I stared blankly at him, then really kept his seat in front of me, his back turned to me in case I felt pressured.

An hour passed, then two, and Frey was still there.

He didn’t say a word, reading a book or staring out the window, bored as hell.

Throughout Theo’s turbulent time, Frey’s demeanor remained the same.

He’d sneak up on me when I was tending the flower beds and talk to me, and sometimes he’d bring me treats that he’d gotten from someone. ….

Frey would pop in from time to time to check on me as if he were my big brother.

He’s also been sitting in front of me in the study hall for over a month now.

And today, the moment he sat down in front of me, my conscience was pricked, and I raised both my hands and feet.

“Oh…. Really.”

I gingerly poked my finger into Frey’s back.

“Is there a blockage?”

Frey looked back at me and said.

His usual smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

I looked at that harmless grin and apologized in a gruff voice.

“I‘m sorry.”