Pride and Sanctimony

Chapter 47

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Both of them knew what that meant.

But there was no fanfare behind it. They did not kiss nor did they hug, but for them, a moment like this was enough. It was their first time doing this, after all.

[Lexus] “So can we start seeing each other, starting today?”

She was surprised right now at the face he was making, asking like he was unsure and awkward. She didn’t think he was capable of making such an expression—like a foolish little boy who didn’t know what to do with all his feelings.

[Valentia] “I will think about it.”

[Lexus] “What?”

[Valentia] “I said I’d think about it.”

Lexus looked a little caught off guard.

[Lexus] “But I thought you just said yes?”

[Valentia] “I didn’t say anything for certain.”

[Lexus] “That, well, I, but……..Are you really saying this right now?”

[Valentia] “Do you think I’m the sort to joke about this?”

[Lexus] “……….I guess not.”

[Valentia] “But, I will think favorably about this.”

He stared blankly at her, and she returned his gaze. 

Even in such darkness, his lovely hair glistened in the breeze, and his barely visible but wonderful golden eyes were sparkling as he blinked.

Then, his eyes curved into an arch, like he was holding back a grin. It was such an overwhelming look that she felt her heart drop to the ground.

But Valentia didn’t break eye contact either as she stared into his eyes. It was no use trying to convince her using that handsome and arrogant face of his. He was truly a very attractive man, but it was not enough to shake her right now.

Pouting his lips, Lexus eventually smiled.

[Lexus] “That’s good. You aren’t rejecting me, so this isn’t so bad, either.”

Her impressively fierce answers were a force to be reckoned with. She was truly a strong woman, and he’d never met anyone as difficult as she was.

But still, this woman used to look at him as if he were a bug unexpectedly crawling up her arm, so seeing her smile like that at him was a huge development. 

And he could not deny how stupidly good it made him feel.

[Lexus] “I guess the rest depends on my efforts.”

Lexus took a clean step back, widening the distance between us. Seeing the space, Valentia even felt a little sorry about it.

[Valentia] “Lexus.”

[Lexus] “I know you’re not that easy.”

Was he trying to say he didn’t like her because she wasn’t easy? But looking at Lexus’ face right now, with such a bright grin plastered on his expression, there didn’t seem to be any hint of ill will there.

[Lexus] “But I like it. It makes things fun.”

[Valentia] “Fun?”

Hearing that, she didn’t quite understand, so the question naturally slipped out.

Maybe he meant that it was fun dealing with difficult things. She herself never missed the top ranking at the Academy, and that was certainly never easy. Some luck may have played a part, but she knew she always worked hard to earn that spot, and that brought some satisfaction to her so maybe this was something similar to that?

[Lexus] “Yes. It’s surprisingly fun to know there are some things in this world that won’t go my way.”

It was such an arrogant and prideful thing to say that Valentia unconsciously let out a laugh. He was brimming with such blatant confidence, filled with the belief that everything in this world would be as he wished.

But that was to be expected, considering he was a Prince.

He was one of the most noble men in the entire Empire, so it should come at no surprise that there were few things in this world that didn’t flow as he wanted them to.

And that fact would not have changed even if he were short and unsightly. But considering his reliable stature and handsome appearance that could blind anyone, it was only natural to think everything must have come very easily to him.

For someone like Valentia, whose life was hardship upon hardship, such a remark should have inspired envy or bitterness within her. 

But it didn’t.

Instead, she thought it was nice. It felt good to hear that this man was living a happy life.

She hoped that strife and difficulty would be concepts forever unknown to him, and that such would always remain true in the future. 

That was how Valentia loved Lexus. Those were her true feelings.

I wonder, would he have spent so much time with me if I had been an easy woman?

The thought suddenly came to her. Though she knew it would not be a good idea to dwell on such an idea, she could not help but entertain the thought once it entered her mind.

[Lexus] “It’s getting a bit cold. Should we head inside?”

[Valentia] “I would like that.”

As he stood up, Lexus naturally reached out his arm to her—the sign of a man ready to escort a lady.

Before, she never once placed her hand upon his arm. They did not have the kind of relationship with one another, and so she never thought to take his hand even when he offered it. 

But this time, Valentia actually reached back.

[Lexus] “What are you planning on doing with your weekend?”

[Valentia] “I will study.”

[Lexus] “……You study on weekends?”

She kept her head straight and answered without much thought. She took the question to mean he was literally asking her what her plans were, and so she responded to the question just as literally.

And she didn’t even notice the slowing of his voice. 

[Valentia] “Of course.”

When she said that, she said it like it was only obvious. For a moment, Lexus was actually pretty stunned.

[Lexus] “For two whole days?”

[Valentia] “Naturally. Final examinations will be soon.”

[Lexus] “But you’re going to start studying now?”

[Valentia] “That should be expected.”

[Lexus] “It must be hard being the top student.”

[Valentia] “It’s because of those efforts that I’ve earned my place.”

From his previous experiences with Valentia, somehow Lexus was getting a strong sense of deja vu.

[Lexus] “I’m a bit sad, since I think I know what you’re about to say.”

[Valentia] “Let’s not meet before the exams.”

[Lexus] “……..Alright. But you need to spare some free time this weekend, okay?”

[Valentia] “I have to study.”

[Lexus] “Hah, you have to be acting dense on purpose.”

[Valentia] “Excuse me?”

Widening her eyes, Valentia looked up at Lexus with a face filled with bewilderment.

He was smiling at her, but there was a tinge of unhappiness on his face—but even something like that was very cute about him, like he was a little kid almost. She wondered, he must know very well what sort of face he had right now.

[Lexus] “You’re not making excuses, saying that you need to study because you don’t want to spend time with me, are you?”

[Valentia] “What do you mean? Why would I do that?”

Valentia stopped in place, and Lexus naturally stood next to her. 

As he stood there, staring down at her, his words lingered in her ears. His stiff expression was so incredible, as if he were trying to express just how beyond unfair this was.

[Lexus] “Then why do you toy around with people like this?”

What Valentia didn’t notice, however, was his tone of voice. She could not hear how soft it was, joking around as though he was trying to pick a fight. 

It was things like this that truly proved how dense she could be when it came to these matters.

[Valentia] “When did I say I was toying with you?”

[Lexus] “You really don’t know?”

[Valentia] “Pardon? What do you mean?”

[Lexus] “I’m trying to ask you out right now.”

After saying that, his stiff expression became significantly more gentle. And it was only after she saw it that Valentia realized she was acting carelessly.

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It was unbelievable to think he was actually trying to ask her out.

But how was she supposed to know that? They’d never met on the weekends before, and never once had he asked her what she was planning on doing during that time. 

But then again, in a situation where a man slyly asks a woman what she was going to be doing during her spare time, what else could he be doing if not trying to take that time for himself?

And now her face was flushing red because that fact went completely over her head, and she just told him they shouldn’t meet before examinations again.

Valentia stared down at her feet, somehow caught up in all her embarrassment.

[Valentia] “I see.”

[Lexus] “Do you get it now?”

His annoying and insufferable part was back. She was suddenly overcome with the urge to pinch his cheeks, but she managed to fight it back, glaring at him instead.

[Lexus] “I asked, do you understand now?”

[Valentia] “…….I’ll make some time.”

[Lexus] “You weren’t pretending to be dense just to avoid seeing me, right?”

[Valentia] “That……!”

Valentia shouted out in anger. For someone as quiet as her, such a loud voice was a shocking thing to hear, so she pulled back, quieting down as her words went along.

[Valentia] “……..That’s not true.”

[Lexus] “Really?”

[Valentia] “Yes.”

[Lexus] “I was really worried you wouldn’t be able to understand.”

He was definitely teasing her, but Valentia didn’t get that either.

Lexus knew he shouldn’t do this, but the fact that she couldn’t tell how much he was messing with her was so cute that he had to bite in the inside of his mouth to stop from smiling.

She was mumbling like an oblivious little squirrel, but if he smiled now, she would definitely notice how much he was enjoying her reactions.

[Valentia] “That’s not true.”

[Lexus] “Alright. Then I’ll send Yusef to you. It’d be nice if I could go pick you up myself, but I think I’d only end up causing a fuss if I went in person.”

[Valentia] “It’s good that you’re aware.”

Valentia gave a quiet laugh. If the Prince himself arrived at the Baron’s mansion, she could already see the kind of commotion that would cause in her mind. His envoy alone already caused such a disturbance.

[Lexus] “And, um, this is a little strange to say considering the atmosphere, but I managed to find someone I think might have been responsible for what happened.”

[Valentia] “You did? Were they detained?”

No one ever contacted her to inform her of how the investigation was progressing, so this was the first piece of information she was getting. She pretended everything was fine, but this concern was one that constantly lived in the back of her mind.

Lexus shook his head.

[Lexus] “They already disappeared. A fire broke out where the perpetrator supposedly lived, but there was no land owner.”

That means whoever sent him must’ve tied up loose ends by destroying what evidence remained because Valentia managed to survive. They couldn’t even ascertain if the man was dead or alive.

[Lexus] “I’m sorry.”

His voice was calm, but she could tell that he was genuinely sorry.

[Valentia] “What do you have to be sorry about?”

[Lexus] “I wanted to be able to take care of this properly, but I guess I was too late.”

[Valentia] “This isn’t something you need to be sorry about, so don’t look like that. Instead, I should be thanking you.”

[Lexus] “No. This involves you, so that makes it my responsibility. I’m sorry.”

He was very firm with this. Being given no choice, Valentia stopped in her tracks once more.

She heard him perfectly clearly; her hearing wasn’t the problem. But she couldn’t understand his words when he said them all at once. 

Like he said, this involved her, so why was it his responsibility to handle? And why was he sorry that he couldn’t deal with it?

These were phrases and concepts Valentia was not familiar with.

[Valentia] “Wh…..why? How is this your responsibility? And why are you sorry?”

[Lexus] “Why do you ask?”

[Valentia] “I’m just curious.”

Valentia’s face was one of true confusion. She was not speaking in jest, nor was she trying to tease him. She was asking out of pure wonder.

[Lexus] “Do I have to answer?”

[Valentia] “Yes.”

[Lexus] “Well, it should be obvious. It’s because you’re precious to me.”

He looked down, somehow looking a little embarrassed.

[Lexus] “If you don’t mind, would it be fine if I attached some people to you? It could get more dangerous in the future, and I’m really worried.”

Tap–

Looking at her face, Lexus widened his eyes in apparent shock, but such surprise was completely unavoidable.

Because the second he spoke that phrase, large pools of tears formed at the edges of her eyes, falling and flowing down her cheeks with no end.

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