Why is his face red? Rather, he"s blus.h.i.+ng?

"Uh, Lyn, you"re not wearing much, huh?"

Lyn face turned beat red when she realized what he meant. She left the inn in such a hurry with Beth that she forgot that she was in her night garments. N—no wonder people were staring and whistling on their way out. She moved away from him and covered her chest with her hands. It feels stupid doing so now, how many people had seen her already?

Her thoughts broke off when Kazuya wrapped his cloak around her; he coughed, "It"s a good thing I"m a gentleman."

"Y—you use your tongue, so I wouldn"t say that."

Kazuya scratches his cheeks, "Well, it"s a first for me too. Using tongue when kissing."

"I—I already know I"m your first for everything," Lyn said. No need for him to clarify it.

"Can we hug?"

"Okay."

Kazuya wrapped his arms around her, and a content sigh pa.s.sed her lips, "Honestly, maybe we rushed things," Kazuya commented, "But I do understand I want to be with you."

So he was thinking the same, "I think the same, but we can"t turn back."

"True, I already swore my soul away."

Lila rolled her eyes, and she hits him, "Don"t be overdramatic."

"You don"t know I had to sign a contract, your b---" Kazuya quickly stopped himself.

Eh? Contract? She eyed him suspiciously. What is he talking about? Con— Lyn recalled something, her eyes widened, and she turned to Kazuya. "Wait, what type of deal did you make with my brother?"

"Nothing."

Lyn pouted, "I don"t believe that, tell me!"

Since she acted stubborn about it, Kazuya eventually told her. This is one of the times she is grateful for her spoilt brat behavior. Still, she looked towards Kazuya, "Are you dating me because of the deal you made with my brother?" while she knew that question was stupid. Lyn wanted to make sure.

Kazuya shook his head, "No, I"m dating this cute girl in my arms because since the first day I saw her on the verge of tears I wanted nothing more than to hug her tightly."

"Verge of tears, I wasn"t crying," Lyn muttered.

"But, you were in pain, right?"

Was she? That morning, she woke up exceptionally early to do some training, but that was because she had a nightmare. A nightmare of when she lost control of her powers. "Kazuya, I want to be more like you."

"Huh?"

"Your good at talking to people, your strong and intelligent. Unlike you, I"m not good at anything," she clenched her fist. Why did Kazuya choose her over her sister? Even now, Lyn didn"t understand it.

When there is a phoenix right in front of a person, why would anybody choose the lowly bird? But Kazuya did, even after finding out her sister"s feelings. Kazuya picked her. The overwhelming feeling of happiness she felt in her heart continued to grow. She knew she didn"t deserve his kindness, didn"t deserve his kind words. Yet Kazuya still embraces her like this; he still loves her.

Her thoughts broke off when Kazuya burst into laughter, that"s right; he started laughing loudly.

"Kazuya?" she stared at him puzzled. Was it something she said or did he suddenly recall something funny?

"It"s just what you said."

"What I said?"

"About me," Kazuya"s lips curve to a smile, "While the ideal scenario is getting you out of your sh.e.l.l. At the same time, I don"t want you to think badly of yourself. There is nothing wrong with the way you are now."

There isn"t? Even though she"s causing him so many problems?

Kazuya held her tightly, "You know Lyn, I"ve never met anybody like you before."

"I know, I"m troublesome and cause you problems. I"m also rude, and not pretty enough," now she"s starting to understand why Pupillam tells her to act more like a Princess, why she has to act more like a refined lady. If she were a lady, then she would be the perfect female for Kazuya.

To her surprise, he shook his head, "You"re different because you"re not like those other women. You don"t chase after me for your own gain; you don"t approach me with hidden motives. Your pure and honest, and even when you lie, even when the guilt is eating you away, you don"t say it so you can protect me."

Her eyes widened at his words, is it possible that he knows? That he knows everything? But then, how come he still stayed with her?

"How come?"

"Because I trust the girl, I fell in love with; she would never do anything to harm those she cares about. Orders or not, Princess or not. For the sake of the country? Those things are important, but she won"t dismiss those who are in need. She won"t hate anybody discriminately."

"Kazuya.."

"There are loads of people who care about you Lyn, contrary to what others may think your not a burden, your not an unwanted child. The things your family is doing may seem very harsh," he shook his head, "No, it is too harsh. But I believe that everybody in your family is very clumsy when it comes to expressing their feelings."

Clumsy when, her eyes widened, "Like me?"

Kazuya chuckled, "Like you," he repeated, "But, they aren"t as cute as you."

Stupid, what is he doing flirting with her like this? She leaned into his embrace. Why is it so warm when she is beside this person? How come she feels this way when she is with him? Sometimes Lyn thinks as long as she can stay with Kazuya like this, nothing else matters. Even if her circ.u.mstances don"t change, as long as they can stay together. Such naive thoughts.

"No matter what sort of past you have, none of that matters."

"But, I," she trailed off and took a deep breath, "My hands aren"t as clean as you think they are. They are stained with blood," without saying the complete story, Lyn revealed to him that she"s killed a person before.

"I know."

Did he investigate that about her too? Does Kazuya, Kazuya knows everything about her. It"s one thing not to believe the information, but after she personally admitted it?

"For me, your past doesn"t matter. Because you"re important to me."

"I know," Lyn nodded, "You need me for your plan."

"No. I admit, I initially approached you because of the plan, and at the start, I was experimenting around with your reactions. But even then, that night when I saw you in tears, I knew I couldn"t leave you alone. So even all that experimenting afterward was simply because I wanted to see you smile."

That night?

"The first night we met, you were sleepwalking and broke down," Kazuya muttered, "I carried you to your chambers."

Did she sleepwalk? Is that why Pupillam had that type of expression when she woke up the following day? That"s why the General seemed troubled? So then, "You"ve loved me since that time?"

Her question must have caught Kazuya off guard since his cheeks turned red. It was not just his cheeks; slowly, it was his whole face. "Ah, he"s embarra.s.sed," Lyn thought. Kazuya face flushed all the way to his ears. Is it that embarra.s.sing for him? To hear that he"s loved her for so long? Then again, the two of them are both new when it comes to love and relations.h.i.+ps. Sometimes Lyn forgets that part about Kazuya and herself. They are both new to this romance scene, so n.o.body would blame them for making mistakes.