Chapter 66:  Alliance(9)

– Knock

Just as I was about to wind down and relax at the end of the day, a knock on the dormitory door interrupted my stretching.

I and Eric Endra, the protagonist of the novel I transmigrated in, made eye contact with each other simultaneously.

We both paused for a moment, just looking at each other.

Eric shrugged his shoulders first.

"It must be Hyung’s guest, right?"

“….Well.”

In response to his words, I stopped stretching and opened the door.

-Creak.

Is it supposed to be the protagonist’s intuition? Or maybe there are only a limited number of people who will come to visit us this late at night. As he guessed, my guest was standing outside the door.

"......Asena."

"......"

Without even greeting me as if this place was her own bedroom, she walked past me and entered.

"Asena, stop. I'm not alone here, isn’t it rude to barge in like this?"

Asena, upon hearing my words, shifted her gaze to Eric, who was still in the living room.

She asked, having already entered the room.

“…Can I come in?”

"Yes, please."

Eric's kind nature aside, his mood of not wanting to escalate the situation was conveyed.

Actually, it didn't even feel like a request.

At that moment, when I was about to say something to Asena, she went straight to my room without saying a word.

"....."

"....."

I was at a loss for words at her actions.

Eric and I remained silent for a long time in this strange situation.

Then, once again, it was Eric who opened his mouth.

"Asena-sama seems a bit down. Is something bothering her?"

"Hmm... seems like it."

"The conference must be tiring… right?"

Since the nobles gathered all day for the conference, it was plausible.

But... something was indeed strange. Of course, it must have been tiring, but I didn't think Asena would be unable to handle it. As someone who knew the amount of work she had to handle in her daily life, I thought that the conference was rather a break time for her.

Unable to find an answer, I asked Eric for his understanding.

"Well, I'll go in and see. I need to hear what she has to say."

"Sure. I'll be in my room as well, so don't worry about me and have a conversation."

"Thanks, Eric. See you tomorrow."

"Have a good night."

After exchanging greetings with him, I followed Asena into my room.

She was leaning against the window, looking outside. It was so dark outside that I couldn't see anything. The moon was hidden, and the only stimulus coming from outside was the chirping of crickets.

-Swoosh

Ah, a refreshing breeze.

As the cool breeze blew in, a fragrant scent wafted from Asena's hair to me.

Feeling a little calmer by that scent, I asked her.

"Why?"

"......"

The more I looked at her, the more I could sense Asena's mood. There weren't many reasons why she would act like this.

Having deduced the reason, I asked her.

"So, what happened with Grandma today that made you so upset?"

"......"

Not hearing any response, I first decided to pour tea into a cup on the table. 

There was nothing better than this to soothe her heart. However, as I was about to pour the tea, she said to me,

"...Oppa, come sit over there."

"Huh?"

Instead of pouring the tea, I looked at Asena.

She was still looking outside, with her back turned to me, and pointing at the bed.

"What about the tea?"

"Just sit for now."

I wondered if she didn't feel like drinking it at the moment. 

I put down the teapot and sat on the bed as she had asked.

As the cushion sank and made a sound, Asena moved. She let go of the window and slowly approached me.

Finally, she showed me her face. Her expression didn't look good. 

I tried to calm her down by holding her approaching hand. But Asena's requests didn't stop there.

"...Oppa, just stay still."

She slowly climbed onto me as I sat there.

"Uh, what are you doing-"

"-Just stay still."

In no time, she straddled me and pressed her body against mine.

Her legs bent, enclosing my thighs, and her navel pressed against mine.

Her chest pressed fully against me, and her arms were suddenly wrapped around my neck.

After burying her head against my collarbone, Asena settled into her position.

In that position, she didn't move anymore, just like a snake coiling around its prey.

Faint breathing. A slim, weak body. 

Sometimes, it's hard to believe that such a girl is the wicked villainess according to the novel.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by this intimate gesture, I asked.

"Why are you acting like this out of the blue?"

"......"

"Did you come this late at night to do this?"

".......".

"Did you get scolded a lot?"

The only times she gets this upset is when we fight or when she gets scolded by Grandma, so I had no choice but to ask.

But Asena's answer was something I couldn't have imagined.

"...We fought."

"Huh?"

"......"

“You had a fight with Grandma?”

I was taken aback by her words. If she gets scolded, she accepts it. If she has complaints, she expresses them. I never expected to hear that they fought.

No one ever stood up against Grandma, so it was quite unexpected.

I quickly recovered from my surprise.

"...So you mustered up the courage to fight even Grandma, huh?"

She nodded her head against my collarbone.

"Did you win?"

"...Huh?"

“If you fight, you have to win.”

Asena paused for a moment at my joking tone, then finally burst into giggles.

It's a good sign if she can laugh. 

I patted her back, embracing her.

Sometimes she can be so cute. 

As an ordinary human, I too feel proud when I see the side of Asena that she only shows to me. Moreover, it's more special because it's Asena we're talking about, the high-ranking aristocrat and the stern Duchess Pryster.

Asena giggled softly in my embrace for a while, then brought up the topic again.

"...It was a tie, Oppa."

"You fought with Grandma and it was a tie?"

"Yeah... I think so. We couldn't come to a conclusion."

"Why are you so upset if it was a tie? You made a lot of progress."

"...We talked about a topic that should never be discussed."

"What was the topic?"

"...That's a secret."

"Hmm, now I'm curious."

Asena, who was already pressed tightly against me, twisted her hips and clung to me even more. I never thought we could get any closer, but the gap between us seemed to disappear even more.

"Tell me what Grandma said. I need to know what she said that made you act like this."

"...Do you want to hear?"

"If you can tell me."

"...Never think about it. Absolutely not. Just calm your mind and snap out of it. You're confused right now..."

"She said those things to you?"

"Yes."

Although it was Asena who heard Grandma’s words, even I could sense her stern tone.

Certainly, she wouldn't have spoken calmly like Aseena just described. Judging from the choice of words and expressions, I could reasonably guess that Grandma was quite upset.

As Asena buried her head in my embrace, I couldn't see her facial expression.

My curiosity grew, and I really wanted to ask her what happened, but I knew she wouldn't tell me, and it wasn't the right time to ask either.

Since Asena came to lean on me, I was content to be her support.

I caressed her back and wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"There, there."

"Uh...?"

She was momentarily surprised, but as if it wasn't the wrong answer, Asena responded by embracing me just as strongly.

"It's okay. Grandma must be mad right now, but she will surely forget later. If it's tough, I'll always be by your side, so come to me whenever you need to. Got it?"

"....Um."

"Haha. Isn't this what family is for, after all?"

"................"

Upon hearing my words, Asena stiffened for a moment and then once again buried her face in my neck. Wouldn't a cat do something like this?

We held each other tightly for a while.

After letting out a long sigh, Asena spoke to me.

"...Oppa, I feel like there will be significant changes in the future."

"In what sense?"

"Just… in terms of relationships."

"Asena, can't you at least tell me what you talked about?"

I looked at her again, but all she did was shake her head.

Easily rejecting my words, she made a request.

"So, Oppa, no matter what happens, don't be too surprised, okay?"

"...Well, I guess I'll have to see."

In that instant, Asena used her whole body to move me. 

While our bodies remained pressed against each other, only her bent legs moved aside, pushing me backward.

Under her force, I ended up lying on the bed, holding Asena in my arms, who was now on top of me.

"Uh?"

"...Oppa."

As I lay on the bed, the thought that came to my mind was that her tantrum was particularly intense today.

It was flirting with the boundaries of affectionate expressions between family members, testing my limits.

The fact that we were lying in a bed also contributed to it.

On a daring night with no one around, as we held each other tightly on the bed, it was hard not to feel a slight sense of unease.

Just as I was about to separate from her, Asena, who had climbed on top of me, slowly raised her head and brought her face right in front of mine.

There was only a finger's width of space between our noses.

Her gaze stared straight into me, and a strange tension began to flow.

As she silently looked at me, she quietly made a request.

"...Oppa, tell me you love me."

"...yes?"

"...Say you love me. Just… three times."

It wasn't such a difficult request, but there was still a strange undercurrent in the situation. I could sense an unfamiliarity in Asena that I hadn't noticed before, and it only added to my confusion.

Nevertheless, the reason I couldn't refuse her request outright was that her voice trembled ever so slightly at the end.

Whether it was due to tension or because something had upset her, seeing Asena, who rarely wavered, in such a state made my own heart tremble.

I wondered how pushed to the edge she must have been to act like this. Although she casually mentioned Grandma, the situation seemed to have escalated more than I expected. Faced with Asena, who wanted to hear me say it, I couldn't bring myself to deny her.

"...Haah... I love you. I love you. I love you."

In the end, I told her that I loved her. I decided to put off the questions for later and focus on being her strength for now. It seemed better to give her what she wanted and quickly resolve the situation.

After hearing my words, Asena averted her gaze for a moment, trembling slightly, and then shook her head, speaking to me.

"...Take a breath and say it again."

"What?"

"You sighed as if you had no choice. Say it again."

"...Even if I don't say it, you know I love you, right?"

"...Still, I want to hear it."

"..."

I locked eyes with Asena, who was staring at me, and in the end, I held her tightly by the nape of her neck. It was my effort to divert her gaze and bring the situation to a close.

While doing so, I spoke to her in a serious tone. If I didn't say these words, the situation wouldn't be resolved.

"...I love you, Asena. Really."

"..."

Once again, Asena trembled like a frightened animal. Her reaction was also peculiar, but I didn't offer her any other comfort.

After ignoring her tantrum about wanting to sleep together, I got up from the bed and escorted Asena back to her dormitory room, putting an end to the consolation of the night.

And then, the next day.

During lunchtime, Grandma summoned us.

In Grandma's room, it was the twins, me, Grandma, Head Maid Helen, and Butler Thein, all gathered together.

Asena and Grandma didn't even meet each other's eyes, a sign of how serious the fight had been.

Moreover, Grandma’s face was filled with worry, something I hadn't easily seen before.

In this uncomfortable atmosphere, Grandma spoke.

"...I have made an important decision, so I have gathered all of you."

Normally, I would have been surprised by the weight of Grandma’s words, but perhaps because of Asena's words to me the previous day, I was able to listen to her a bit more calmly.

Grandma's gaze shifted to me, then to Keirsey, then to Asena, and finally back to me.

Looking at me, Grandma spoke.

"...Cayden."

"This seems to be about me, right?"

"Yes."

"It's okay. Please go ahead and tell me."

Grandma's eyes finally glanced briefly at Asena, whose gaze was locked on me since we entered the room.

Grandma took a deep breath and spoke.

"Cayden, Judy Ice has been chosen as your fiancée."

---  End Of The Chapter ---

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