💕 💕 💕
THE night outside the window was nearly black without the light of the moon, with only the faint illumination of the mansion’s windows to shine on the falling snow. The once-dominating mountains were now invisible. Raphael was poring over a map while Yulisse carefully brushed his hair to avoid disturbing him.
Seriously, what’s up with this situation?!
His hair frankly didn’t need any tending to. It was already perfectly silky with his usual routines. No, the issue was Raphael. He was lying sprawled on the sofa with his head in her lap, of all places. None of the servants had said anything yet, smiling warmly at them if anything.
Is everyone in this place crazy?!
“Yulie?” Raphael suddenly said.
“Y-Yes?!”
“We’ll need to go surveying again tomorrow.”
“Whatever you please.”
She didn’t want to go but had no real say in the matter.
“There was an unusual influx of miasma in the capital last year,” he continued. “Free-flowing mana and miasma are vastly different substances, but each strongly influences the other. The leylines in the area have been unusually active, and that fragile balance has been destroyed.”
“The…what?”
“The spring we visited today was so rife with activity, it should’ve reshaped the very geography of this region—but it didn’t. The water was normal, and the animals hadn’t turned into monsters.”
“But there was a monster.”
“Only one of them, though. A different spring must have mutated it. Our mission, then, is to locate that spring and remove all the excess mana.”
“Er… Okay.”
“So, why do you think I’m telling you this?”
Yulisse returned a blank look, and Raphael smirked.
“Where we’re headed tomorrow has a much higher chance of harboring far more dangerous monsters.”
“Are you trying to scare me?!”
He snapped his fingers. “Excellent! I knew you’d figure it out.”
I wish I was wrong.
“You see, I have an excellent reason for wanting to push you to such desperate extremes.” He gazed off into space and chuckled. “It’s tremendous fun~!”
I knew it! He’s punishing me somehow! He’s trying to get me killed! There’s no way this is love!
“Hehe, don’t worry, I’m joking~!” he trilled.
As if! Does he really think he can gloss over it that easily?!
He shot her an impish look. “I wasn’t joking when I said I have a reason, though!”
Why does it feel like we’re talking, even though I’m not saying a word? What possessed me to flirt with him in the first place all those years ago?! No, wait, he approached me… This is all a trap. He’s definitely trying to punish me.
Raphael winked at her. “My love for you may be twisted, but it’s love all the same!”
“Ew.”
“I know I’m a far cry from Prince Vincent, but I’m still quite the catch if I do say so myself.”
He laughed in the way that only a man with complete confidence in himself could. It was honestly unfair.
“Thank you for the brushing. That’s enough for now.”
The weight suddenly disappeared from her thighs, and Yulisse dutifully stood up. She couldn’t linger in her master’s quarters now that her work was done.
“I’ll take my leave, then.”
She curtsied deeply. When she looked up, the sight of him in that opulent chamber made her chest ache. Everything in the room was fancier than what she’d had as a wealthy merchant’s daughter, or a baron’s for that matter. It was proof of his bloodline and that he was in a different world from her altogether. He knew that, but he still wanted a filthy criminal like her at his service.
“Yulie?”
“Um… Yes?”
“Do you hate working for me?” he asked. “If you do, I might know a few other mansions you can work at. You’re not a dangerous offender, so if you’re truly sorry, some would be willing to overlook that.”
“No, I don’t hate—”
Wait. I don’t hate it here? What’s wrong with me? Now that she thought of it, she had no idea what she wanted.
“Ah! I’ll have to ask you again later, then~!”
His voice was as floaty and flirtatious as always, but his smile was off. It was kind, serene even, in a way she’d never seen him before.