The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Chapter 68

Every plaza in Petrosha Empire was equipped with a video sphere. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. They served as a type of billboard, changing daily or weekly to advertise a variety of things. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Sometimes, they promoted the emperor’s spectacular exploits, sometimes they were used by noble families to enhance their own prestige, and there were times when the space was used to sell goods.
People would usually pass by the area without taking notice.
But today was different.
A spectacular battle scene was projected over the huge sphere. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Everyone was stopped in their tracks as they walked past. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. People flocked to see the commercial that had been up since dawn. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“Duke Pietro finished off the last remnants of the Dark Tower.”
Said one knight.
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“That’s amazing. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. What the hell is that?” read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Shouted a man wearing a pointed wizard’s hat.

“That bracelet is shining!”
Gasped a little boy with a surprised face.

“People are saying it’s elementism. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. It was in the morning paper today.” read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
“Beautiful, mysterious, and even powerful…”
“It looks more holy than the prophetic stone containing God’s prophecy.”

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Everyone was staring at the image.
Citrina watched as well as the tower crumbled, the pendant around her neck glinting. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Gemma whispered quietly. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

-That was th, th, that scary guy, right?
-Desian? It seems so.
-Sheesh…you do a lot, but he’s on a whole other level.

Gemma babbled. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Citrina felt a little disoriented. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
She stopped at a corner of the plaza. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. The crowd was unusually dense. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
So those…mercenaries must be quick-witted people. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Sooner or later, the atelier would be plagued with an overwhelming order for enchantments. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

At that moment, Princess Iana was leaving the imperial palace. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. She’d been invited to a county house party by the marquess. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Her carriage crossed the bridge that connected the imperial palace to the islands and drove towards the plaza.

“It’s been a long time since I saw the plaza.”
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It was a nice day. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. On a day like this, she should be lazing about the imperial palace, rewriting the second draft of ⟨The Spiritist’s Diary⟩. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Iana was suddenly bothered by everything.

“Ah, it’s stuffy, so please open a window.”

At Princess Iana’s words, the lady-in-waiting quickly opened the carriage window. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. There were many people outside. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Iana asked indifferently.

“Why are there so many people out there?”
“Ah! Duke Pietro has used elementism to turn to tower into dust.”
“…dust?”

That’s a strong word!
Anyway…
Duke Pietro was the one.
Elementism had reduced the tower to dust!
It was obvious. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Duke Pietro showed the power of the spirits to the people for Citrina! It was so romantic! Heroic, too! He was cold to other people but sweet and warm-hearted to his woman. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
To no one’s surprise, Princess Iana’s reasoning was flawless once more.

“Oh my gosh, isn’t it too romantic?”
“…It’s romantic?”
“The world is so beautiful.”

Iana smiled and cupped both of her cheeks in her hands. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. The lady-in-waiting who was close to the princess seriously considered this. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Did the knights academy make people like this? What was so romantic about a tower demolition?

“Wait a minute.”
“What?”
“…are you two dating now?”
“What… who is dating who?”

The princess’s ladies-in-waiting looked at each other, troubled. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Maybe she had been reading romance novels for so long that all of her prejudices had disappeared. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“No, I’m talking about the Duke and Citrina.”

‘They’re still not dating yet, are they? Even though it’s so obvious that you’re in love.’

The princess murmured to herself grimly.

“Ah…”

The ladies-in-waiting choked back their words. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Princess Iana, who was unable to understand their hearts, fell into a long-awaited trance. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

‘Should I spice it up a bit?’

What that too much?
Princess Iana racked her brain as the carriage sped through the plaza.
Behind the royal carriage, Citrina also left the square with a great deal of surprise and trepidation.
So it seemed that things had surely turned in her favor. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. But this was a little more than she had asked for, no, quite a bit more. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Citrina left the plaza.
Instead of returning to the atelier, she took the path to the duke’s residence.

“What happened?”
“Everything went just as we discussed.”
“That… thank you. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Um…but…” read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Desian’s answer came too quickly for Citrina’s liking.
‘More than anything, the scale is too big.’
Just as she was about to say that, she realized something all of a sudden. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Ah, she had forgotten something. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Desian was a duke.

‘Is this scale nothing to a duke?’

But still, she didn’t like the idea of being dependent on Desian for help. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. She wasn’t the type to live with a debt floating over her head. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Citrina decided that sooner or later she would explore the mines to bring him back gold.
It was a bit of a stretch, but…it would be in their mutual interests to do so. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Otherwise, she would have to think seriously about how she could help him. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“Still, I never thought it would come to that, Del.”
“Don’t feel pressured.”
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Knowing Citrina’s mind, Desian spoke softly.
He’d placed a personal ad in every plaza all around the empire. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. It was an astronomical amount of money that Citrina couldn’t even imagine. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“The Senate also was a factor in it.”
“…Huh?”
“There was a request to lessen the notoriety of the duke.”

Citrina knew about the infamy of Duke Pietro, though she hadn’t heard all of the rumors yet, as others fled in a panic when he was mentioned.
“I see.”
She was slightly mistaken.
Desian looked at Citrina and lowered his eyes. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Dense, long eyelashes shaded his eyes, making him look almost pitiful. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

‘When I look at you like this, you look like an angel.’

Citrina slowly ripped out the bud of doubt from her mind.

“Del.”
“Yeah?”
“There were no people in the tower? Weren’t you hurt?”
“I killed them all.”

Desian smiled merrily.
If you think of it that way…it still looks bad.
He spoke of death more easily than anyone else. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Citrina rubbed at the goosebumps that had risen on her arms. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that our plans worked out for both of us.”

It was an unfortunate thing, the difference in status. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. It meant that Citrina couldn’t be sure that she could give as much as she was given. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“Then I have a favor to ask of you.”
“What favor?”
“I have this strange sound ringing in my ears.”
“A strange sound?”
“Yeah. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. And…” read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Trailing off, Desian bit his lip slowly. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. The tip of his tongue tingled. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“I hear it whenever you’re not around.”

Feigning weakness.
Slowly.
To make her love him.
Desian lifted his eyelashes slowly upward, looking at Citrina.
He smiled as pretty as a picture.

“So stay with me.”
“…”
“Because that’s enough.”

Desian’s large hands gently swept through Citrina’s hair.
Citrina flinched.
It was strange. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. There had been times before when he’d affectionately ruffled her hair, and she had never thought about it. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. She had just assumed it was a touch between friends. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
But now it was so obvious this was an intimate touch.
Desian removed his hand from her hair and brought it to her cheek. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. His hand was cold enough to make her wince. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

“You have a bit of a fever.”

Desian murmured languidly.
Her heat transferred to his cold hand.
He thought.

‘I was going to wait until your feelings for me gradually developed. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. I was going to give you a choice. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. If I didn’t do that, you would run away again. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. But isn’t this a clear foul to look at me with both cheeks tinted red?’ read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Desian slowly removed his hands from her cheeks as well. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. This was because if they touched for much longer, it would be unbearable really. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
He knew only one thing- his patience was running thin.
There was only so much time before his patience ran out.

“What are you thinking?”
“Nothing much.”
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Citrina’s everyday question was followed by Desian’s falsely calm response. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Hearing his voice, Citrina smiled. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
When she looked at him like that, with eyes so full of emotions while saying nothing,
it made him want to know her more.
And it made him want to keep trying again and again.

“I’m not really thinking about anything.”

Citrina cupped her hands around Desian’s ears.

“Now there’s no sound?”

Their gazes met fiercely in the air.

“All I hear is your voice.”
“That…makes me feel good.”

Citrina smiled.
Citrina Foluin liked Desian Pietro.
That was clear to see.
She didn’t know if it was love, but she did know that a crush was slowly blooming in her heart.
For now, pushing for success to precedence over the gentle waves of love.
Citrina blinked.

“For the time being, let’s just put it to the back of our minds. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. We have enough stuff to work through.” read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

For now.
And yet.
If he stopped trying at all, he wouldn’t get anywhere.

“Del, I heard Elaina and Genfiros are after me.”
“Yes, it’s dangerous.”
“Do you think they’ll try to take my life?”
“…yes.”

Citrina was lost in thought.
Desian looked down and smiled grimly, deep in thought.
It wasn’t just one person who was after Citrina’s life. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. The leader of the paladins had labeled elementism as a forbidden art. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. which meant that Citrina’s safety was slowly getting more and more precarious. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
Desian had already noticed a few suspicious faces circling around Citrina, but he didn’t need to tell her everything.
You remain lovely.
I’ll get my hands dirty.
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“So…I have one favor to ask, Rina.”

The emphasis was on the word ‘favor’.
There was a force in his earnest voice. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. Citrina looked at Desian again. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.
And what happened next was something she hadn’t predicted.
It was right then.
Desian looked at the pendant around her neck without saying a word. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there. The pendant sparkled, glowing. read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.