Chapter 65

“Are your ankles okay?”

Their lips almost touched.

“Uh, yes. It’s okay.”

Cersinia replied by pulling back her face as far as possible.

“Cersinia.”

Ben didn’t let Cersinia out of his arms, like someone who forgot how to let her go.

When she came down from the stairs, his eyes shocked greatly. Her slender ankles look precarious in those shoes. Her slender body line is not hidden even when wearing a dress, then her soft, fluttering red hair. Her long black eyelashes, bright crimson eyes, a tall nose, and thick red lips shine clearer than usual. It felt like his whole body was burning. Ben forgot how to breathe, so he couldn’t even breathe properly.

The loud surroundings stopped, and only the sound of Cersinia’s shoes thumped like a drum. Neither Archen, who was standing next to him, nor the servants could be seen. Only Cersinia, who came down from the stairs, was reflected in his sight. His heart was beating fast. As he held her, who nearly fell down the stairs, he could feel her soft skin touching him, and the smell of her body was felt.

Ben opened his lips, barely holding onto his mind, which had been dizzy from touching Cersinia in his arms.

“You’re so pretty.”

“…”

His low-pitched voice that penetrated like a whisper was not fascinating but dangerous. A dangerous warning sound was ringing in Cersinia’s head.

* * *

Upon arriving at the estate where the harvest festival was held, Cersinia got off the carriage under Ben’s escort. They left early in the morning, but they arrived was well past the afternoon.

As she sat only with Ben in the carriage, she felt suffocated. She couldn’t do anything because she was afraid that whatever she said or did would look unnatural. So, Cersinia only looked at the scenery through the small window in the carriage.

Ben seemed to want to talk, but Cersinia kept silent while pretending to sleep. She did that just in case Ben asked her about her thoughts from his confession. Cersinia repeatedly vowed that she had to reject him as she had been troubled by that. Therefore, she has to express her intention to reject properly, but her mind is not fully prepared yet. She still has a little bit of selfishness to spend more time with him.

“Cersinia, come here.”

Ben reached out to the crowd. People were surrounding him and greeting him. Standing a little far away, she found him at a glance even in the midst of the crowd. Cersinia hesitated because she knew if she held his hand, it would attract all attention, but her time to spend with Ben only left a little.

She slowly reached out her hand to him. Then his large hand wrapped around each of her fingers. His hand, holding her hand naturally, fits perfectly as if two separate pieces were joined together. It seemed like they were a couple from the beginning.

‘I’m going to talk about it today… So, let’s not think about it for now.’

Cersinia entered the village holding his hand tightly, wiping a bitter smile. The harvest festival was bigger than she expected. Street vendors decorated like night markets were open around the village market. There were interesting things to enjoy, so it was lively. She was more focused than ever and watched the harvest festival. It was to forget that moment that would eventually come to an end.

Ben explained next to her, saying that all the foods sold now are made with crops harvested from the estate this year. From grilled chicken, fragrant bread, and fruit wrapped in syrup with a sweet and refreshing smell. Cersinia tilted her head and looked at the strawberries stuck in the stick. The shape of candy with a strawberry inside but is hardened with syrup on the outside was familiar.

“It’s a fruit syrup candy.”

Ben spoke affectionately when Cersinia couldn’t take her eyes off with a strange face.

“Fruit syrup candy?”

“It’s a candy made by coating the fruit with syrup and hardening it. It is also something that is only made in this village.”

‘Ah, they call this fruit syrup candy in here.’

Since it was a familiar food, Cersinia nodded her head without saying anything. In the meantime, Ben paid a generous price to the owner, who said he couldn’t accept the generous payment and handed over the strawberry syrup candy to Cersinia.

“Huh?”

“I think you’ll like it.”

She didn’t really ask for it, but Cersinia accepted it because she couldn’t ignore his sincerity.

“Thank you.”

When she said thank you, Ben smiled the brightest smile in the world. She felt that this trivial word could make him the happiest person in this world. Then Cersinia chewed the candy, avoiding his eyes, fearing that her heart would beat fast again. Sweet syrup spread through her mouth. The aftertaste was refreshing as she also took a bite of the strawberry.

‘It’s delicious.’

It tasted like eating a very sweet candy. She liked it so much that she kept taking a bite while walking.

“Here.”

Ben raised his finger lovingly as if seeing a squirrel was eating an acorn. His fingers touched her red lips with pieces of syrup on them.

“You got something on your face.”

His thumb gently swept through her lips. At that moment, Cersinia’s lips felt hot. It was the same with Ben’s fingers. It was just to wipe off the stain, but the fingers that touched her lips were as hot as being burned.

“…”

“…”

Their faces turned red at the same time. They could feel each other’s pulses through the hands that were still holding. The autumn wind blew gently, just in time to cool the two people who were getting hot. Cersinia’s hair and dress fluttered in the gentle breeze.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m okay.”

“I’m worried that you will catch a cold.”

He took off his jacket and put it on her shoulder.

“You wear it. What if you catch a cold?”

Cersinia refused and returned his jacket, but Ben insisted he was okay until the end.

“It’s chilly.”

Ben buttoned his jacket on Cersinia.

“Tell me when you felt cold. I will return it anytime.”

“By the way, at night, they light a big fire in the middle of the square and send a thank-you ritual.”

“Are you thankful for this year’s bountiful harvest?”

“Yes. And I wish a good harvest for next year. If it’s okay with you, why don’t we go back after seeing that?”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

The sun was still up in the sky. They had to wait two or three hours at the most for the sun to completely set and darkness to come. If they return after seeing the thank-you ritual, they will arrive at the Grand Duchy at dawn, but she had no worries.

‘Because I wanted to be with him a little longer.’

Cersinia liked the time they spent together, so she wanted to postpone it as much as possible.

“Ben, look at this.”

Cersinia was browsing accessories on the stands. The two, who had been watching the harvest festival for a long time, had returned similar to their past appearance three years ago. They had a lot of meaningless conversations and could laugh and joke around.

“Do you like it?”

Ben, who went to buy a drink when she said she was thirsty, was approaching.

“It reminds me of that time.”

Cersinia’s face hardened slightly when she threw words without a second thought. There was no way Ben didn’t know what she was talking about. When they went shopping together in the village of Mulain, her face as she looked at the bracelets was still clear to him.

“The color is pretty. You pick one too.”

Cersinia saw a bracelet among the accessories on display. Among the bracelets made of colorful threads, the dark bracelet with a particularly purple color caught her eyes.

“This one.”

“I think this bracelet will look good on you.”

They both picked up the bracelet at the same time. Cersinia chose the dark purple bracelet, and Ben chose a crimson bracelet with an impressive red color. It was the same design, but only the color was different.

“You two can give each other a present.”

The owner looked at the two and gave out a comment. The owner, who had come from another village to do business, looked at them like a couple who had just started dating. Coincidentally, the bracelets they picked out were similar to each other.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes? Because the color is pretty…”

“Give me both.”

The owner quickly finished calculating before Cersinia could stop him. Two bracelets, each individually wrapped, were placed in front of Cersinia.

“It’s late, but I really wanted to give it to you.”

Cersinia didn’t understand what Ben meant when he said it was late.

“Two are too many.”

Just the way Ben looked at her when she said it was pretty and couldn’t help but buy those things for her made Cersinia speechless.

“That’s right. You can share one each.”

The owner smiled and added an opinion to the two.

“Yes, let’s do that. You can have one. I like both, so Ben, you choose the one you like.”

Cersinia agrees with the owner’s opinion. She held out her hands in front of him with the bracelets.

“Then.”

His long fingers slowly headed for the bracelet on her hand.

“I want the crimson one.”

His lustful eyes stared at her as if they were swallowing her.