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nChapter 44 – Bursts of Strangeness

nAs Levisia stared at Pel, her eyes gleaming with a tinge of surprise and betrayal, Pel folded his arms across his chest and glared down at her. “What is with that look?” he asked, squinting his eyes. Levisia too narrowed her eyes at him and retorted, “Since when did you glare down at me like that?”

nPel scoffed at her words and shrugged his shoulders. “If you want me to look up at you,” he lowered his body and positioned himself in front of her, “tell me.” His unexpected behavior stunned Levisia, who only stared at him in bewilderment, taken aback by how easily he had laid one of his knees on the ground. This wasn’t what she had intended. Now it felt as though she was criticising Pel for his behaviour when she was merely referring to his large physique which eclipsed her fragile frame. Levisia began to fret, thinking she might have exacerbated the situation that she eagerly wanted to escape. She reasoned, “No, I didn’t mean it like that-”

n“One moment.”

nShe tried to have him stand, but his hand suddenly reached out towards her face. Her entire body froze and her eyes blinked twice as his slender fingers brushed her cheek. A strand of hair that had been tickling her cheek was tucked behind her ear. Only then did Pel withdraw his hand. “All done,” he declared.

nLevisia couldn’t manage a reply; her gaze suspended somewhere in space. Unlike his gentle voice, his hand was rougher than it seemed. She felt it as it brushed across her cheek and ear. Pel frowned at her silence, “What is it now?”

nAs if the ice which torpefied her being had shattered, she blinked and looked at the man before her. “No… I just thought your hand had gotten bigger than before.”

nAt her words, Pel gazed down at his hand and smirked, “Did you think I was slacking off from work?”

n“I guess that’s true,” she murmured, lowering her head. She had been distracted by his charming appearance and assumed that his hands would be beautiful as well; however, a servant couldn’t have hands as soft as silk. Awkwardly rubbing her cheek where his hand had softly grazed, she mumbled, “It’s because I rarely made contact with it before.”

n“Contact?” Pel asked.

nLevisia stared at him in a look of wonder and confusion. How could he look clueless, as if he had never been distant? She slowly nodded her head and said, “Yes, just now.” But the same cluelessness lingered on Pel’s face. A frown wrinkled Levisia’s brows, and she tried to imitate Pel’s actions in an attempt to make him understand. “You just did it like this.”

nHowever, as swiftly as a predator hunting its prey, he grabbed a hold of her arm before it could even reach his cheek. It had happened in a blink of an eye. But the one who seemed more surprised by the situation was Pel. Levisia could tell, observing how big his golden eyes had become. Noticing his reaction, calmness returned to her. She said, “See, like now.” Her voice sounded like her usual tone, coated with nonchalance, as if nothing out of ordinary had transpired.

nPel let go of his grip around her hand in haste, and Levisia found it a little absurd at how quickly he had drawn his hand back, as though he had been burnt by a flame. She was only trying to repeat his actions to satisfy his oblivion. What kind of reaction was this? ‘So he can come into contact with me, but I can’t come into contact with him?’ The saying ‘If I do it it’s called love, if others do it it’s called an affair.’ perfectly described the current situation.

nBut instead of an egotistical deceiver, it was Pel—Perrid Loikal, the main character that she most feared. In her case, terror triumphed over her desire for justice. As she withdrew her hand that was left hanging in the air, Pel finally seemed to return to his senses and began to behave normal. He bowed his head as he apologized and ruffled his own hair. “I am sorry.”

nLevisia quickly intervened, “No, I didn’t mean for you to apologize.”

nPel sneaked a brief glance to look at her, then tidied up his hair. Unlike how gentle he had been with her, he was extremely rough when dealing with his own hair, to the extent that Levisia wondered in her head whether or not his wig would fall. Then, hidden behind his curtain of golden hair, she caught a glimpse of his crimson ears.

nHow peculiar, she thought.

nPel must have felt her gaze, as he glanced at her before straightening himself. Levisia’s eyes followed his now domineering figure and caught a sight of his slightly reddened neck. Coincidentally, Pel had taken his hands down from his hair and wrapped it around his neck. It was unusual to see such a shade on him through his collar.

nHow strange indeed. It was the first time she had seen color on Pel, who was mostly as white and deadpan as a wax doll. At the sound of a dry cough, she withdrew her insistent gaze.

n“Anyways, thank you for today.”

nShe was satisfied with the neat hairstyle that Pel had skillfully pulled together, admiring her reflection through the mirror. Then, Pel emerged behind her, readjusting the pin. With a stern tone, he said, “Don’t touch it or it will become loose.”

nShe felt tragic to think that she couldn’t touch her own hair. But the feeling was fleeting. She lowered her hand and nodded.

n“Then, you should finish getting ready and come down to the dining hall once you’re ready.”

n“Okay.”

nThrough the mirror, she observed Pel take his leave. It was the same pace as usual but somehow it gave her a feeling that he was in a rush to leave.

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