They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 63

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Merely a kiss.
I was aware that I couldn’t ruin the plan by avoiding such trivial contact.
Yet a terrible sense of revulsion moved my hand of its own accord.
‘I can’t.’
I stopped just before touching his chest.
It was a position where I could either push him away or accept him.
Standing at that threshold, I looked up at him.
“Mikhail, I don’t think you’ll be able to teach me that.”
Our noses were nearly touching.
He paused, his eyes searching the depths of mine.
“Why not?”
“Because…”
I managed to curve my lips into a gentle smile.
“You already like me far too much.”
He blinked slowly.
“The moment you touch me, you won’t teach me anything—you’ll just lose yourself and rush at me. You’re already this excited right now.”
“…Mm.”
His eyebrows rose in a slight frown.
It seemed he was carefully considering how he would behave based on my words.
“I haven’t adapted to this changed version of you yet, Mikhail. As I said before, sometimes you still feel unfamiliar to me.”
I stroked his eyebrow with my fingertip, speaking with a touch of petulance.
“So take it slowly. When you can control yourself.”
His hand still rested on my waist, and our faces were close enough that our breath mingled.
“Then, invite me to your chambers.”
But my hand against Kailyb’s chest had already prepared to push him away.
More precisely, my resolve had already been made.
Yes.
Not even a kiss.
I couldn’t allow even the slightest brush of lips.
Beyond the door at my back stood Elhart.
With his superhuman physical abilities, he would know exactly what was happening in the corridor as if he were witnessing it directly.
The fact that he hadn’t broken through this door was surely to avoid ruining my plan.
He was the kind of man who prioritized and respected my judgment over his own.
A suffocating silence stretched on.
Whether it lasted mere minutes or only seconds, I couldn’t say.
After that moment, which felt interminably long, Kailyb straightened his leaning form.
“Ser’s judgment is correct.”
He spoke with his eyes slightly narrowed.
“If we kissed now, I’m not confident I could stop. Not for a day or two—perhaps not even for a week.”
The hand that had been caressing my waist slowly withdrew from my body.
I exhaled a sigh heavy with regret, and he took a step back.
“Creating a space that belongs only to us, where no one can interfere, should be the priority.”
Don’t bother making something so pointless.
“But before that, I’ll need to make sure Ser doesn’t find me unfamiliar.”
Yes, don’t you dare betray my expectations.
Even as he put distance between us, his gaze lingered on me.
“Should I walk you back?”
As I tilted my head and asked, he let out a soft laugh.
“Next time. Ser visits me every day anyway, and it would feel too shameless of me.”
Here he was, spouting nonsense about conscience when he’d never had any to begin with.
“Alright. See you tomorrow, then.”
I waved my hand, concealing my true desire for him to leave.
“Yes.”
Only then did Kailyb turn and head toward the stairs.
I kept my gaze on his retreating figure, my hand still raised.
Kei’s presence, which had been waiting in the shadows to intervene at my slightest signal, dissolved away like a shadow itself.
Shortly after Kailyb disappeared completely from view, I too turned around.
And the moment I reached for the door handle.
The door burst open, and Manarang’s warm, sweet fragrance engulfed me in an instant.
Only after my body was pulled inside and wrapped in her firm embrace did I realize the truth.
Kailyb wasn’t the problem.
The real problem was… Elhart.
***
When Iserna explained the plans ahead, Elhart felt as though his heart was burning away.
How many times had he witnessed the Crown Prince touching her without permission, doing as he pleased?
At the banquet, in the rest room, he’d looked ready to kiss her at any moment.
If he hadn’t burst in when he did, there was no small chance it would have happened.
Perhaps something even worse.
And now she would spend time close to him going forward.
There was no way to predict what might unfold.
She was the one who, despite having no feelings for him, had agreed to a relationship to practice the appearance of a married couple.
Then wouldn’t she do the same with the Crown Prince?
Apart from his cruelty, his feelings for Iserna seemed genuine. If the Crown Prince reached out to her, would she truly refuse? His affection for her seemed sincere, and if he extended his hand, would she really push him away?
It seemed more likely she would accept it as necessary for the plan.
The mere thought of it was unbearable.
He wanted to say they should find another way.
But he couldn’t find a better alternative.
Even that felt like nothing but his own selfish desire, so he couldn’t say anything.
This was the first time he’d ever felt so utterly helpless.
All he could do was compose his expression so his anguish wouldn’t show on his face.
So that Iserna wouldn’t think him a burden.
“You look troubled.”
While Iserna had gone to see Carterus off after their conversation ended, Kei approached him and spoke.
“….”
Elhart couldn’t answer.
Any claim that he was fine would be nothing but a lie.
“Have you no thought of giving up now? A prince like you could easily meet many fine women without the captain.”
“…Why do you say such things?”
At his wary gaze, Kei shook his head.
“There’s no other meaning. It’s just….”
A bitter smile crossed Kei’s lips.
“Someone comes to mind—someone who pined away in unrequited love and was ruined by it.”
“…You mean the Founding King?”
“Yes, well.”
Kei glanced briefly toward the corridor and lowered his voice.
“When the captain said she would lead the Expedition Team into the Black Rift, Mikhail opposed it.”
Yes, he would have.
It would be natural. Who would willingly send the woman they love to her death?
“He made tremendous efforts behind the scenes trying to change the captain’s mind. But nothing worked.”
The Founding King had even come to Kei drunk and wept, it’s said.
“The captain wouldn’t even allow Mikhail to go with her. She found it absurd—asking how a king could abandon his kingdom.”
Elhart could easily imagine what expression and gaze Iserna had worn when she rejected Mikhail’s proposal.
“The captain possesses exceptional ability in leading wars to victory. She was certain she had to lead the Expedition Team, and that decision proved correct.”
Kei said that if anyone else had been in Iserna’s position, the expedition would have failed.
The other expedition members likely shared the same sentiment.
“No matter how formidable the military forces the Cradion Empire possesses, no matter what heights Kailyb has reached over three hundred years, I do not doubt the Commander’s victory.”
It was the unwavering assertion of one who had followed Iserna for years, achieving nothing but triumph.
“However, if there is a variable, I suspect it would be the Crown Prince.”
Elhart faltered at Kei’s blunt words.
He could sense there was no intention to attack or criticize him.
“The Commander, who wouldn’t hesitate to throw Mikhail into the very heart of a demon’s lair for victory, kept glancing at the Crown Prince’s expression.”
“Ser…?”
Elhart was utterly bewildered.
He hadn’t noticed any such thing.
“Sigh…”
Kei exhaled deeply, his lips moving silently in what appeared to be a curse.
Elhart couldn’t draw his sword—he didn’t have one—but he could certainly throw a punch.
“Iserna won’t make poor decisions because of me. You’re worrying for nothing.”
“Yes, I hope that’s the case.”
As Kei, his brow furrowed, turned to leave with a click of his tongue, something stopped him.
“Wait.”
Elhart grabbed him urgently.
“Can you tell me what kind of person Kailyb was?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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