That’s Not What Kissing Means! - Chapter 13
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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That’s not what kissing means!
Episode 13
Sick of him…?
Her usually sharp mind came to a complete stop.
As if struck by lightning, her entire body was engulfed in shock.
“So you mean… far from having any interest in men…”
“Interest, my foot! How disgusted must she have been to run away without even saying goodbye?”
“Run away…”
Theo had one reason for calling Vanessa.
Because she was the most skilled in romance among those around him.
He learned everything quickly and handled people easily, but when it came to romance, he was ignorant.
He simply couldn’t connect yesterday with Evelyn to the current situation.
That’s why he had called Vanessa…
“I don’t understand.”
Theo furrowed his brow.
Why is he acting like that? Vanessa, who had been quietly observing him, let out an “Ah!” of realization.
She recalled how he had been looking for Evelyn since morning, and how unusually flustered he had been upon hearing she had left.
Now I get it!
Vanessa’s lips spread into a wide grin.
“Did Evelyn, no, did Lady Evelyn reject you?”
She tactfully added the honorific just in case.
At her direct words, Theo looked at her.
His endlessly wavering violet eyes told her she was right.
“So, my lord, you’ve been rejected!”
How wonderful!
Hahaha! Vanessa couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
To think her lord, who had never lacked for anything in the world, was in such a daze!
In fact, she had always thought the Duke was a peculiar person.
She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, yet he showed a relaxed demeanor to everyone.
At the same time, he seemed to maintain some distance and keep his guard up.
His perpetual smile and solid shield strangely suited each other well.
As if it were natural, he didn’t even seem lonely, so she had simply considered him an unusual character.
But her lord had been wanting a woman. He was calling his subordinate for advice in his longing.
Indeed, everyone becomes weak in the face of love.
Vanessa’s eyes sparkled with interest.
She extended her index finger and spoke clearly.
“There are two cases when a woman suddenly abandons a man and leaves!”
“Two cases?”
“One is, as I mentioned earlier, when the woman gets sick of the man. The other is when she was only after his body from the beginning!”
“…”
“But you’re not the type to give yourself away so readily, my lord…”
Huh?
Vanessa’s words stopped.
Because the Duke was touching his lips with a flustered expression.
It was the latter!
Her lord had indeed given everything and then been rejected.
Vanessa laughed out loud once again.
She hadn’t seen it that way, but Evelyn seemed to be more skilled than expected.
The Duke she knew wasn’t the type to get angry easily.
Even when simple subordinates threw thoughtless words at him, he would let it pass calmly.
‘Then will he quietly give up?’
Will he return to being indifferent to his surroundings?
It was when Vanessa was observing his reaction.
Theo’s lips curved into an arc.
“Then does that mean she liked my body?”
“…Pardon?”
“At least one thing was acceptable, so that’s fortunate.”
Theo had no intention of letting her go.
He decided to use whatever it took to catch Evelyn’s eye.
Seeing his eyes darken intensely, Vanessa made a serious expression.
She had forgotten.
That two sides coexisted within Theo.
Intense memories from the past unfolded before her eyes.
The image of him smiling eerily in the flames came to mind once again.
Vanessa trembled without realizing it.
She had to correct her assessment of her lord.
He was indifferent to everything and had no interest, but…
‘Once he sets a goal, he never lets go.’
She shuddered at the Duke’s persistence.
She almost felt sorry for Evelyn, who had left for the capital.
* * *
Throughout the journey back to the capital, Catherine observed her junior Evelyn.
The two were quiet inside the moving carriage.
She had a dazed expression, lost in other thoughts.
‘It’s certain, something happened with the Duke.’
However, prying into personal life wasn’t the right behavior for a superior.
But wouldn’t it be good to give a little warning?
Evelyn, who had come up from a rural estate, was gentle and got along well with everyone. She also handled her assigned tasks accurately.
That didn’t mean she was perfect, though.
She was clumsy with things she hadn’t experienced, such as capital etiquette or how to deal with high-ranking nobles.
Even if everyone overlooked it now because she was new, their workplace was the Imperial Palace.
There was no telling whom they might meet or what kind of situations might arise.
Eventually, Catherine spoke up.
“About Duke Ashford.”
“Y-yes?”
As expected, Evelyn seemed greatly surprised.
“I said he likes to play pranks, right?”
“Ah, you mean at the luncheon in the foreign country?”
“Yes, but there are also rumors that it was killing intent.”
When Theo kept repeating that it was just a prank, strange rumors began to circulate.
That the continent’s greatest magic swordsman had directed killing intent toward the king.
So subtly that no one would notice.
The story was that only the king noticed him and softened his attitude.
“That’s impossible. How could such a thing…”
“It’s just a rumor. But the important thing is, it’s not an impossible occurrence.”
“…”
“Oh, and one more thing! Don’t touch him when he’s sleeping.”
Like telling a scary story to a child, Catherine lowered her voice.
“There was once chaos caused by mutant monsters. Someone had been experimenting with combining animals and monsters, and they escaped in large numbers.”
The Ashford Knight Order received imperial orders and headed into the deep mountains to begin capturing the escaped monsters.
The subjugation continued for days, and when the work was finished, the Duke was said to have rested against a tree.
However, not all had been caught, as a monkey-like monster appeared.
The swift mutant monster touched the sleeping Theo and ran away with glee.
It seemed to want to play a prank in its own way.
The Duke, uncharacteristically, chased the monster like mad. While breathing out deadly cold air.
The monster, frightened by that murderous intent, entered an abandoned house and breathed fire from its mouth.
The small house soon began blazing fiercely.
However, there was no hesitation in the Duke’s steps.
Though everyone tried to stop him, he entered the flames without hesitation. And he searched thoroughly through the fire.
A moment later, what the Duke held in his hand as he emerged from the ashes was the monster.
The monster, hanging by its tail, was crying in terror.
‘Ukiki…’
The Duke seemed more frightening than the fire.
After catching it so persistently, he left the monster’s disposal to the knight order.
When asked why, the Duke smiled quietly and said.
‘Hide and seek.’
Evelyn gaped in bewilderment at the increasingly incomprehensible anecdote.
“After that, rumors spread that once he sets a target, he’ll follow it to Hell.”
Catherine cleared her throat with a cough.
“Anyway, high nobles are so far above us that we can’t reach them. Even if they’re usually gentle, you never know when or how they might snap. And it’s our job to deal with the consequences.”
She patted Evelyn’s head.
“It’s not just Duke Ashford. You need to be more cautious at the Imperial Palace.”
“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”
The Duke’s story was just an example.
But it lingered intensely in Evelyn’s mind.
The Theo she knew was sweet and gentle.
What was his true nature?
“Chief.”
“What?”
Evelyn asked without realizing it.
She couldn’t understand why she was curious about this, why the Duke came to mind.
“…What is Duke Ashford’s name?”
“Theo, Duke Theo Ashford.”
It means God’s gift.
The homework he had given her was solved ridiculously easily.
Theo…
Evelyn quietly savored his name.
After repeating it several times, she organized her thoughts.
Now there would be no more reason to think of the Duke…
No, wait!
What did the chief just say?
Her face turned deathly pale.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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