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nRosenia was startled when coarse words came from Llewellyn’s mouth, completely unbecoming of him. She looked around to find the ‘bastards’ he was talking about.

nInside the restaurant, there were two couples, a family, and two groups with three and four people respectively. She thought maybe he was talking about them.

nThose guys looked like they were in their early or mid 30s at most, while the youngest seemed to be about her age.

nThey were glancing her way, at her to be exact, and whispering among themselves.

nAnd then, for a brief moment, Rosenia met the eyes of the youngest, who quickly blushed and lowered his head.

nWithout realizing it, that cute reaction made her giggle. Following her reaction, the other people began to look her way. At any rate, she only appeared fine on the outside…

n‘I’m glad Adrian isn’t here.’

nRosenia was certain her brother would have gone wild and threatened to dig out those men’s eyes…

nAs Rosenia was shuddering at the thought of Arian’s fearsome magic power, she suddenly felt a chill coming from the seat next to her.

nSlowly turning her head to the side, she noticed Llewellyn was glaring at the youngest man with a chilling smile.

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n

n“…”

nRosenia stared at him with her eyes wide open, speechless.

nCome to think of it, it was the first time she had seen his angry face.

n‘Why is he angry? Because that young man blushed at me?’

n‘Just that, this guy, why?’

nHaving just noticed his reaction, her mind became chaotic and she had a hard time digesting the situation.

nThen, it suddenly hit her.

n‘Ah, I see…!’

n‘The old-fashioned Duke Rasiane can’t stand other men blushing at the sight of the opposite sex in public!’

n‘So, sure enough.’

nRosenia nodded her head in agreement with herself. Llewellyn’s eyes turned to her.

nAt a glance, his eyes had returned to their soft glow.

n‘Well, as expected, he’s tolerant.’

nLooking at Llewellyn, Rosenia smiled brightly. Then, seeming to hesitate for a moment, he soon smiled back at her. His hand stretched out and tucked the side of her hair behind her ear that had fallen down her cheek.

n“You said you were hungry, right? Shall we order?”

n“Oh! Yes.”

nAt his question, Rosenia nodded and picked up the menu. She had gone to this restaurant often with Adrian, so she knew what was delicious.

n“Hmm, olive clam stew…Ah, do you like clams?”

n“I’m fine with anything.”

n“Really? I thought you would be fussy about food.”

nAs they talked, unexpectedly, Llewellyn smiled and said.

n“When I’m with Rose, everything is delicious.”

n“I-Is that so?”

n“Yes. But I haven’t tasted the most delicious thing yet.”

n‘What the hell is he talking about?’

nRosenia felt like there was some hidden meaning behind his words, but couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She guessed the Duke was simply making a joke.

n‘Let’s quickly order.’

nRosenia lowered her head and looked at the menu, choosing a few more dishes and drinks.

nLlewellyn said he was fine with anything, but she asked him one by one just in case.

nEach time Rosenia did so, Llewellyn would answer with a ‘anything is fine as long as Rose feeds me,’ or a ‘I like what Rose likes.’

nRosenia couldn’t tell whether Llewellyn was serious or not. After ordering the food with mixed emotions and waiting for some time, the waiter finally arrived with the food fresh out of the oven. She swallowed her saliva while watching the dishes fill the table.

nThe seafood in this area were fresh and of good quality, so it was delicious no matter how it was cooked. The cheese and tomato salad was also excellent.

nOn top of that, Rosenia didn’t get drunk from the carbonated raspberry ale mixed with honey no matter how much she drank.

n‘Has Llewellyn ever been drunk?’

nRosenia peeped at Llewellyn while taking a sip of her raspberry ale. A sweet and refreshing taste spread out inside her mouth.

n‘It’s so delicious…!’

nIt was not long before her inner turmoil melted away. All her worries and thoughts about Llewellyn disappeared completely and the only thing left on her mind was the delicious food and drinks.

nRosenia ate and drank enthusiastically without caring about her surroundings. It was only when she was a little full did she slowly come back to her senses.

n‘This…I was too focused on eating again.’

nAdrian used to tease her about her eating habit.

n‘I feel a little embarrassed for some reason…’

nRosenia glanced up and looked at Llewellyn sitting next to her. Their eyes immediately met.

nThen, Rosenia noticed that his plates and utensils were untouched, as if he has been watching her this whole time instead.

n‘No, he hasn’t eaten and has only been watching me this whole time?!’

n‘Is it that exciting watching me eat? Is it fun to watch?’

nSuddenly, Rosenia felt so embarrassed that she blushed and lowered her head. Wriggling her hands, she asked.

n“Duke, aren’t you going to eat?”

n“…”

nPausing for a moment, Llewellyn answered.

n“Rose looks so cute when she eats to her heart’s content.”

n“…?”

n‘What?’

nRosenia blinked, looking at Llewellyn in bewilderment. He smiled leisurely and reached out his thumb to wipe her mouth. Next, he brought the sauce-stained thumb to his mouth! She was shocked.

nHis tongue slipped through his pale lips, slightly licking his thumb. She nearly fainted at such a sight.

nLlewellyn, who had licked the sauce, stared at her with a strange look as he muttered.

n“…It’s delicious.”

n‘Saying it’s delicious…I don’t think he means the sauce!’

nHer nerves were on edge as she tightly clasped her hands together.

nRosenia finished her meal without knowing whether the food was going through her mouth or straight to her stomach.

nListlessly walking out of the restaurant and down the road, Rosenia had a thought. The thought that Llewellyn was purposely seducing her had sprung up in the corner of her mind.

n‘N-no it can’t be, he’s just not himself…’

n‘Yeah, maybe that’s why he’s like that. If this keeps up, I won’t be able to handle it. Should I contact the Duke’s family? But, what if there’s a misunderstanding?’

n‘Agh, I’m going crazy.’

nRosenia imagined this is how soldiers felt in a dilemma. She kept thinking about how to resolve this crazy situation, but couldn’t find an answer no matter how hard she thought about it.

nAnd from what Rosenia had learned in her previous life, there was one tried-and-true approach all humans took in these crazy situations. To simply give up!

n‘Haha, I don’t know. Let’s play for the time being!’

nRosenia grabbed Llewellyn’s hand tightly and headed for the beach.

nWalking side by side, as Rosenia smiled, Llewellyn looked down at her and gave a beautiful smile.

nSince it was already like this, Rosenia decided to enjoy the male lead’s handsome face. Seeing her smiling face, the visibly pleased Llewellyn asked.

n“Is my face to your liking?”

nWith a zealous nod, Rosenia answered.

n“Yes, of course I like it.”

n‘Who in the world wouldn’t like Duke Rasiane’s face?’

nEven the strict Adrian would acknowledge Llewellyn’s beauty.

nLlewellyn, hearing her answer, for some reason lowered his chin with a look of embarrassment. Although his eyes were a little red, he seemed to be somewhat proud of himself.

nRosenia suddenly wondered and asked while they were on the topic. It was just a curiosity.

n“How about me? Does the Duke like my face?”

n“…”

nRosenia became a little agitated because it was her first time asking someone such a question.

nHer face was pretty thanks to the genes from her mother and father, but she wondered what it was like to someone like Llewellyn Rasiane.

nAfter all, in the original story, the male lead had an eye for beautiful people.

nAnd the female lead Sierra, the only one who had caught Llewellyn’s eye at a glance and made him enthralled, was a very beautiful woman.

nBut rather than being glamorous, Sierra was a beautiful woman with a pure and graceful demeanor, like seeing a Lily of the Valley flower in full bloom.

nPerhaps that’s why Llewellyn fell in love with her at first sight. A single Lily of the Valley among numerous roses was bound to catch a person’s eyes.

n‘Thinking about it, I should be a rose.’

n‘My name means rose…Precisely, it meant ‘rose garden.’ Rosenia.’

nRosenia was told that when her mother was pregnant with her, she dreamed of a rose garden full of scarlet summer roses, so that’s how her name came to be.

n‘Well, it’s truly romantic.’

nThe origin of her name didn’t appear in the original story. In the first place, she was just the younger sister of the villain Adrian.

n‘Adrian’s evil sidekick…Cannon fodder, so to speak?’

nHowever, Rosenia remembered her past life and acted differently compared to the original story. She didn’t help Adrian do bad things and pacified him every time he tried to be evil as they grew up side by side.

nRosenia was well aware of the fact that no amount of nurturing could suppress Adrian’s evil thoughts. So she had to stimulate Adrian’s other desires.

nBrother, can’t you just stop? For me?

nBrother, I’m scared when you act like this…

nThat was how Rosenia tamed Adrian.

nAnd her method worked very well in taming him. Adrian, who had a sister complex, was deathly afraid of Rosenia hating him.

n‘I didn’t expect that Adrian would grow up with a serious sister complex…’

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n

n‘Well, thanks to that, he became easier to tame.’

nRosenia stared at Llewellyn and waited for his answer. It’s been some time since she asked him, but he just stared at her quietly.

n‘…Maybe, is he thinking about how to answer without hurting my feelings because my face is not to his liking? Duke Rasiane is considerate after all. W-well, he can just tell me straight. I’m not going to be hurt. Really…’

n‘…Right? Or am I going to be offended?’

nRosenia would kick Adrian to shut him up whenever he told her she was ugly, but for some reason, the thought of it coming from Llewellyn made her feel strange.

nAt this point, her excitement at the thought to simply ‘give up’ subsided, and the atmosphere became unbearable for some reason.

nTo be exact, the person next to her was still holding her hand tightly and won’t let go…

nRosenia wiggled her hand from inside his big hands to try and pull away.

nHowever, his hands suddenly tightened and held her hand firmly.

n“…!”

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