I’m not in a position to say this.
Why is my mouth so unnecessarily honest today?
“You really only want my body.”
In the end, Vin’s face didn’t seem so dark when he turned over as I requested.
Maybe it’s the subtle upturn of the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah. Your face is my favorite thing in the world.”
“……What else besides my face?”
” Another thing…….”
“You guys, please do me a favor and talk about that stuff when I’m not around, or I might just spew vomit in your hair in one of these flowery moments.”
Although she spoke in a calm tone, her face looked like she was about to explode.
Vin coughed loudly and slid back onto the bed.
I followed suit, afraid of my sister.
“I thought maybe if I pretended to be pouting, you’d listen to me, but it’s no use. I guess I’ll have to use the last resort.”
What? It was an act?
He had me fooled! I was so anxious because I thought he was really pouting!
I couldn’t even see his face, let alone his lips.
“How?”
“By putting Irillin to bed, not me.”
“If you put her to bed, will she listen?”
“She won’t, so….”
Vin grabbed the hilt of his sword.
Then, instead of drawing the sword, he untied the rope tied to it and held it out like a whip.
“Let’s tie her up.”
* * *
Tie her up.
Sith found Vin’s plan absurd.
Both Vin and Sith had already tried to lunge and grab Mo-na, failing miserably.
It would be one thing if they succeeded in tying her up, but there was no way Mo-na would stand for that.
“Just trust me.”
Vin smiled smugly as if he had a plan.
He whispered something in Mo-na’s ear, then pinned the surprisingly calm Mo-na to the bed with ease.
“What in the world did you say to that mad dog?”
At Sith’s astonished question, Vin brought his index finger to his lips and smirked.
“It’s a secret.”
* * *
‘I swear on my honor. Tomorrow, when we’re alone… I’ll do it, a kiss. So for tonight, be a good girl and sleep tied up.’
I opened my eyes, the words ringing in my ears as vividly as if I had just heard them.
I sat up and looked over to see Vin sleeping on the floor.
My sister was sleeping on the other side of the bed, squatting in the middle, rather than side by side with him.
It seemed like she was being considerate and giving Vin a little more space.
I turned my head back to look at Vin.
His blue eyes, always sparkling with determination, were hidden beneath heavy eyelids and silvery lashes, revealing his angelic features.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him sleeping.
If I kiss his closed eyelids like yesterday, he’ll wake up and show me his pretty eyes, right?
“……Yesterday?”
Like yesterday?
‘I didn’t really enjoy it, but if you’re playing Dinner Monster 2 again, I guess I’ll have to make time.’
‘Yes! Yes! I love it!’
‘You.’
‘Are you ashamed of me because I turn into a dog when I’m drunk and I’m always beating people up with a fencing sword? Huh?’
‘It’s not that… If you’re going to rest, at least show me your face. I wanna see your beautiful face.’
“Aaaahhhhhhh!!!”
I screamed, flailing my fists this way and that, but I couldn’t move an inch against the ropes I was tied with.
What the hell was wrong with me last night?!
I’d drank a lot, but I’d been moderating, and I hadn’t been that drunk.
Was I the only one who thought that?
“……Irillin?”
Vin, who had woken up at my screams, called my name in a muffled voice.
The same name I’d screamed yesterday that it wasn’t mine.
“……Can you untie me?”
I squeaked, turning away from Vin in embarrassment.
How do I look at Vin’s face now?
I want to die.
* * *
“How did yesterday go?”
Sienna asked as soon as I got to work.
She seemed quite used to showing up at training by now.
” Well, princess. Sorry about yesterday…..”
“It’s okay, did you get in better or worse than that?”
She’s supposed to be a benevolent princess, forgiving excuses so readily, so why does it look like she’s bothering me?
Plus, it seems like she’s wondering what happened to me yesterday…
“Yeah. It went well……. ack!”
I was about to reply that I did get indoors safely, but Vin walked by and I involuntarily sucked in a breath and covered my face.
Oh no. Sienna was looking at me.
She looked like she wanted to know what happened, which only made me more curious.
“Hahaha…….”
I lifted my face again and smiled awkwardly at Sienna.
If she asks me what happened, what am I going to say? I don’t want to tell her the truth.
“Of course.”
But Sienna didn’t say anything, just smiled and walked away gracefully.
Huh? What?
Just now, you seemed to like this.
* * *
Irillin’s reaction earlier, the reaction that proved that something had happened yesterday.
Something so embarrassing that she couldn’t even look up at Vin.
Had she been rejected by Vin for who she really was?
Sienna’s imagination ran wild as she ran to him, bounding with her steps.
“How did it go yesterday?”
It was the same question she’d asked Irillin, but her tone and expression were distinctly different.
It was filled with love and was as fluffy as cotton candy.
“Princess.”
Vin’s smile was like the descent of an angel as he smiled back at her.
Sienna felt that Vin was smiling at her brighter than he had yesterday.
She wondered if his disappointment in Irillin had left a hole in his heart.
No matter how hard she tried to control it, she couldn’t help but dream.
“It went well, thanks to your help.”
“Ah…Can I say I helped? I just paid yesterday and went home.”
Even though he’s drowning in money, he’s grateful for small favors.
‘You’ve grown up so well, Vin.’
Sienna felt a tug in her heart as she remembered the little boy of the past.
She should have prevented the betrothal, even if it meant being beaten to death by Irillin.
She regretted it, but she hadn’t known then that she would fall in love with Vin.
Now he will never be taken from me.
Not even if an enemy other than Irillin stood in the way.
As Sienna hardened her resolve, Vin whispered softly to her.
“No, not the bill. I mean the wine. Thanks to the princess, I was able to enjoy some lovely wine yesterday.”
His smile was as innocent as an angel who knew nothing, yet as threatening as the devil himself.
Sienna had a hunch.
He knows what she had done to the wine yesterday.
“Did you think I didn’t know?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”
“I became Deputy Captain, and not just because I took out a lot of enemies.”
Siena had heard of the Red Dogs and the Blue Dogs, for they were notorious in Serom as well.
Two knights swept through enemy lines with a red glow and a blue glow.
When both appeared, they were as destructive as Serom’s soldiers would ever be, but it was the Blue Dogs who had the better stage to run wild.
“Resveratrol and Violetta’s root, they had a lot to do with it.”
Resveratrol is an ingredient in wine.
In other words, when you mix it with Violetta’s root, you get a truth drug.
And on the battlefield, it’s used as a confession drug.
It’s said that Albert’s people acted as if they could predict where and how the enemy would attack.
It’s a confession drug that’s pumped into key people to make them blab.
“I’ve been around them enough times to remember their scent very well.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Wasn’t Sir Heather simply drunk? You make it sound as if the wine Sir Heather drank was spiked with some of the drugs you mentioned.”
“That’s odd.”
Vin stroked his chin languidly with a finger.
His smile grew dazzlingly bright.
“I never told you that resveratrol was an ingredient in wine, but since you already knew that, I’m guessing you’re very familiar with drugs, Princess.”
“……Well, you mentioned wine earlier, so I can tell from the context that you’re talking about wine, no?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
The mild concession made Sienna uneasy.
Vin would have been able to infer that from what she’d just said.
The way he flashed a toothy grin, there had to be more.
“I’m offended that you would accuse me of being a drunk or drugging someone.”
Sienna jerked away from Vin, trying to hide her unease.
Just as she was about to walk away.
“You must not have a very good sense of smell, no matter how much you’re using the drugs. Can’t you smell this thick scent of violets hovering around you, Princess?”
Violetta. That was the ancient Serom word for violets.
For the root to be potent, it must not be eaten raw, but ground in a mortar and pestle for half a day and aged for a full week.
It’s not surprising that it’s aromatic.
“I must be wearing the scent of some…..violets I left in my r-room.”
Sienna said, turning away.
Vin grabbed her wrist and put his nose to it, sniffing.
The warmth of his breath on her wrist made her blush and turn.
Despite the warmth on her wrist, Vin’s icy blue eyes pierced through her like frostbite.
“Then why is there less incense than yesterday?”
“…….”
“Isn’t it because you used all the flowers?”
T/n: Sienna is getting on my last nerve(≖_≖)
