Chapter 138
It was the third day since I arrived at Floris.
I had planned out exactly how I would spend the day there as usual, but…
"You don’t want to go out today?"
"Yeah, I just want to stay at the lodging today."
Lisa lay on the bed and wrapped her arms around me.
"Let’s not go outside. Let’s just lie on the bed."
"You’re really only planning to lie on the bed?"
"You know, so why ask?"
Lisa subtly slid her hand under my shirt.
And with a very meaningful smile at that.
I let out a dry laugh.
"For someone who said we’re only lying down… your hands are way too suspicious, don’t you think?"
"Fufut."
"Ugh? H-Hey, Noona. Where are you touching?"
After being tormented by Lisa’s hands for a few minutes.
I grabbed both of her wrists and looked down at her.
"Noona, I’ve been holding back, but if you keep doing this…"
"You don’t have to hold back."
With the same meaningful smile, Lisa gently kissed my lips.
"I’m always fine. I can take responsibility for everything, you know?"
“…‘No. Still, after we both graduate…"
"Then it can’t be helped."
"Huh?"
I was definitely holding her wrists quite firmly.
But Lisa slipped out of my grasp far too easily and hugged me tightly.
"I’ll just have to push you until you can’t endure it anymore."
"Noona, we haven’t even been awake for twenty minutes…"
"I know. But so what?"
With an incredibly delighted smile, Lisa kissed me again.
And then I was relentlessly… ‘overpowered’ by her for another few minutes.
"Haa, haa. Noona, h-how long… No, more importantly, your eyes again…"
"Yeah, I got thirsty."
"You drank last night too. If you drink again…"
"Sorry, I can’t hold it."
"Ugh."
Lisa bit into my neck and shoulder, and afterward her subtle hands tormented me again.
That was how we stayed in bed together until late morning… almost lunchtime.
"Uuuugh."
“…‘I’m sorry, Gideon. Really."
"It’s fine, Noona. I want to be alone for a bit."
I turned away from Lisa, pulling the blanket over my head completely.
Because my back was turned, I couldn’t see her face.
But just from her voice alone, I could picture her expression.
"A-Are you really angry?"
"I’m not angry."
"R-Really? But…"
"I said it’s fine."
To be honest, I wasn’t angry or sulking at Lisa at all.
Getting bitten by her or being touched here and there—
I had long grown used to that.
So why was I acting like this now?
I was simply pretending to sulk.
The reason was obvious.
I wanted to tease Lisa a little.
‘If I pretend to sulk for just a bit, I can surprise her later.’
My plan was to time it right, throw off the blanket, smile, and hug her… something like that.
Yes, that was the plan.
Until I suddenly heard the sound of quiet sobbing behind me.
"Hic… G-Gideon, I-I’m sorry. Really… h-heuu…"
"N-Noona?"
Startled, I quickly threw off the blanket and looked at her.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried miserably.
"I… I’ll be careful from now on. No, I won’t do anything you don’t like, so… so please don’t be mad."
"Noona. I’m not mad. I was just joking earlier."
"R-Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"You’re not angry at me? You won’t hate me or abandon me or… h-heuuk… uuuh…"
Her emotions must have surged, because she kept crying in a heartbroken way.
So I pulled her into my arms and began comforting her.
About thirty minutes passed like that.
"Are you feeling a bit calmer?"
“…‘You’re really not angry?"
"I said I’m not angry. I’m seriously fine."
"You don’t hate me or want to abandon me, right?"
"Of course not. Why would I ever abandon you, Noona?"
I gently stroked Lisa’s head.
When I smiled at her and looked into her eyes, Lisa silently stared back for a moment.
Then she buried her face into my chest.
"I… I was really scared. I thought you were super angry… and that you were disappointed in me and were going to abandon me."
"Noona, I would never abandon you. How could I? So don’t worry about that."
“…‘By any chance, when I touch you whenever I want, or when I drink your blood any time… do you dislike it or feel uncomfortable?"
"No, not at all."
"……"
Lisa looked up at me quietly.
I gave her an awkward smile.
"Just try to restrain yourself a bit when we’re around a lot of people, and unless something special happens, drink my blood only once every two days."
"Okay. I’ll be careful from now on. And if anything else ever makes you uncomfortable, tell me anytime. All right?"
"All right, Noona. And if you ever want something from me, you tell me anytime too."
Still holding her, I placed a light kiss on her forehead.
Lisa nestled into me with a blissful expression for a moment—
and then looked up at me with a slightly dissatisfied gaze.
"But that prank earlier was too much. I really thought you were angry."
"Sorry. But I didn’t think you’d cry like that."
"If you get angry at me or get disappointed in me… I honestly have no confidence I could handle it. If you ever hate me… I feel like I’d seriously die."
"Hmm, Noona. Since we’re talking about it… we’re going to be together for a long time from now on. And if we stay together that long, eventually there’ll be times when we make each other angry."
At my words, Lisa nodded attentively.
"When we need to get angry… let’s get angry. Let’s not bottle everything up or force ourselves to always match each other. If we keep yielding too much, they say it’s hard to maintain a relationship long-term."
"Mm, okay. Then like always, I’ll keep being honest with you."
"Heh, right. Noona was always honest with me."
"And you were always honest with me too."
"I can’t help it. I can’t lie in front of you, Noona."
After saying that with a small laugh, I examined Lisa’s face again.
Maybe because she had been crying so hard earlier, the traces of tears were still visible on her cheeks.
Feeling a bit guilty at the sight, I offered Lisa a small apology by…
"Noona, I feel a little sorry for playing that prank earlier… so, do you want to touch me?"
“…‘Touch you?"
"Touch my body however you want."
“…‘Do you know you’re a genius at driving me insane?"
Lisa pushed me down onto the bed and climbed on top of me.
"Are you confident you won’t regret this?"
"Whatever you do, I doubt I’ll regret it?"
"Haaah. You really are…"
Lisa brought her face close to mine.
I thought we’d end up lying in bed together for a few more hours but…
Knock knock knock―
"Room service. You ordered the brunch set?"
A voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Lisa and I tilted our heads in confusion.
"Gideon, did you order it?"
"No, I don’t remember ordering anything. They probably have the wrong room."
I got up from the bed and properly put on my clothes.
"Wait here. I’ll send them back."
And without giving it much thought, I headed toward the door.
But that voice earlier…
It felt strangely familiar…
"You have the wrong room. We didn’t order anyth—"
"Yes, I know. But since I brought it all the way here, please enjoy it. No—let’s all enjoy it together."
"Huh? What do you… huh?"
As the door opened, the first thing I saw was a man pushing a cart overflowing with food.
A man with green hair.
“…‘Sir Jason?"
"A luxurious room service meal, personally paid for by the Princess. Please, don’t refuse it, dear guest."
I glanced behind Jason.
Leila, Sara… and even Nia and Luke.
Several familiar faces stood there.
Just as I was trying to process the unexpected situation—
"Gideon, is something wrong?"
Lisa approached me.
The moment she saw Jason standing outside, and everyone behind him…
Bang―!
She closed the door without hesitation.
And didn’t stop there—she locked it.
"What is this? Why are they here? No, more importantly, how did they even know we were here… was it Nia-unni? There’s no one else she could’ve told except…"
"Noona. Still, we should at least hear them out…"
"No. I’m spending time alone with you. The door is locked, so we’re not going anywhere today…"
Tick-tick―
A sudden clicking noise came from the door, and then it opened again.
Jason walked in smiling, pushing the food cart.
"Noona. Unlocking doors is basic training for people from our family. Forgot?"
“…‘Our family smashes people’s heads in one blow. Did you forget?"
"Ahahaha… C’mon, Noona. Don’t be like that. Since we’re hanging out anyway, isn’t it more fun together? Look. Everyone wanted to have fun so badly they all came— even Luke-hyung came."
Jason grinned slyly and gestured toward the others slipping into the room.
Lisa pressed her fingers to her forehead and sighed.
"It was Nia-unni who told you we came here to hang out, right?"
"Uh… yeah?"
"U-Um, Sir Jason? We agreed it would be a secret that I was the one who told you…"
"Nia-unni told you, and you’re the one who planned to bring everyone here, right? Fine. Got it."
Lisa nodded slowly—then shot Jason a chilling stare.
He shuddered, sensing danger.
But Lisa continued anyway.
"You said you wanted to hang out together, right? Fine. Since you came all the way here, let’s all hang out."
A small park near the lodging.
We spread out a picnic mat and had a small picnic.
And that picnic… was being enjoyed only by me and Luke.
The rest of the group…
"Uh, Lisa-Noona? I get that you’re angry, but can’t we, you know, handle this peacefully like civilized people…"
"Hey! Lisa! This isn’t right! I’m gonna die! I’m seriously going to die!"
"Don’t worry, you two. I’ll control my strength."
"NO! Even if you control your strength, I’m still going to die!"
…seemed to be having fun in their own way.
Jason and Nia were tied up and hanging from a tree.
And Lisa stood in front of them holding a stick.
"You wanted to have fun together, didn’t you? Isn’t it nice to play piñata with your friends on a trip…"
"Why am I the piñata, you crazy girl?! The only thing I did wrong was telling Sir Jason that you and Gideon went to Floris…"
"So you do know it was wrong. Jason, do you have anything to say?"
“…‘No matter what I say, you’re going to beat me anyway, right?"
"You know me well."
"Hahahahahaha."
Jason simply laughed, as if accepting his fate.
Lisa, expressionless, handed sticks to Leila and Sara who stood nearby.
"Sara, you’ve got plenty built up against Jason, don’t you?"
"A whole lot, unni."
"Then feel free to let it all out. And Lady Leila, if you also have accumulated stress, I recommend releasing it now."
"I-Is it okay? What if they get hurt…"
"Do not worry. Jason is sturdy enough that he usually won’t die. Ah, but please refrain from hitting Nia-unni. Compared to Jason, Nia-unni’s body is weaker, so I’ll control my strength for her…"
"HEY! Even if you control your strength, I told you I’ll die!"
Despite Nia’s desperate cry, their piñata game soon began.
I watched the scene and then looked at Luke with a dry chuckle.
"Should we stop them?"
"They’ll be fine. Those two will be crawling on the floor until tomorrow, but they won’t be seriously hurt."
"If you say so, then…"
I nodded while eating the brunch Jason had brought earlier.
Then I looked back at Luke.
"Still, it’s unexpected. Sir Jason, Lady Sara, Lady Leila… sure, they make sense being here. Even Lady Nia. But I didn’t expect you, Instructor Luke, to come too."
"Teachers have a lot of free time during vacation, you know. I was a bit bored, and Jason happened to call me. I had nothing else to do, so I followed. Besides… I actually had something I wanted to talk about with you."
"With me?"
I tilted my head.
What would Luke have to talk to me about at this time?
"I was going to talk to you slowly when the time came, but I think it’s better to bring it up sooner."
"What is it?"
"The Academy Competition. Remember?"
“…‘Ah."
A word I hadn’t heard in a very long time.
I let out a small, involuntary laugh.