Chapter 163

Owen unconsciously reacted with a frown to the subtle taste that filled his mouth.

“What do you mean?”

Correcting his expression, Owen saw Ayla pointing at the mandolin that he had placed on the floor.

“Ah… It’s something very valuable to me. I used to have it with me all the time, so I felt empty.”

“By the way, I’ve never listened to it.”

“You’ve never listened to it?”

“The Grand Duke playing it. Do you just carry it around for style??”

Owen snorted at the sight of Ayla speaking while narrowing her eyes, as if she were in doubt, and answered.

“Oh really, I may look like this, but I was a recognized musician in Hanan. You don’t know anything. You will be very surprised when you hear it.”

“Ah, really?”

“Of course! That’s right. The women I flirted with in Hanan… Shh!”

Owen hurriedly raised his hand and covered his mouth, embarrassed by the words that unconsciously came out.

“Then please let me hear it! I’m curious to see the Grand Duke playing an instrument.”

There was a slight hesitation in Owen’s eyes as he looked at Ayla’s twinkling eyes.

After a while, Owen’s olive-colored eyes, which had been shaking slowly, calmed down.

And he repeated it over and over again.

That he wanted her first.

Contrary to Ayla, who had an expression of anticipation while holding the teapot, Owen’s expression, holding the mandolin, was somewhat stiff.

Would it be understandable to call it a guilty conscience?

Owen knew better than anyone what would happen if he played the mandolin like this.

She would inevitably be caught up in a delusion. The effect was truly enormous and beyond imagination.

“Aren’t you going to let me listen to it?”

Whether she knew his intentions or not, Ayla urged him with her eyes wide open.

“If you look at me like that, I can’t refuse…”

Looking at Ayla, Owen’s heart began to beat rapidly with a thumping sound.

“Ah… You know…”

“I see you can’t do it. I thought so. It’s alright, it’s alright. The tea is getting cold. Grand Duke!”

Ayla, who narrowed her eyes, raised one arm and waved it up and down as if telling him to stop.

Seeing Ayla turning her head while muttering, ‘He was just showing off, just showing off.’, Owen, who was stiff, suddenly burst out laughing.

“Pfft. It’s not a lie. Are you making fun of me now, Ayla?”

“You can’t do it, yet your pride… Then prove it to me once.”

An unspoiled smile bloomed on Owen’s face as Ayla grumbled in a playful tone.

After coming to the royal palace, everyone treated him in an unfriendly and difficult manner, conscious of his identity as a royal grandson.

As Owen used to live freely, he seemed to suffocate at the relationship between the upper and lower ranks inside the royal palace.

Even though a lot of time had passed, it was still uncomfortable and he wanted to run away somewhere.

On the other hand, Ayla, who treated him as neither a member of the royal family nor a grand duke, but a human called Owen Arrot, made him feel at ease.

He didn’t know how long it had been since he had smiled with a relaxed mind.

There was a time when he talked about people without consideration, and now he can’t even judge them.

‘If I lived my entire life with this child… Wouldn’t we be happy together?’

Small greed began to well up in Owen’s heart.

He almost went crazy just from her serving Theon.

He decided not to look for or see Ayla because he wasn’t happy with it, but…

He found himself waiting involuntarily, standing in the path that she walked.

If only her beautiful smile was only for him.

If he could kiss Ayla’s red lips…

Owen, who was silently staring at Ayla, who was still grumbling, looked down at the mandolin he was holding in his hand.

“Hm… Ayla, is there any song you want to hear?”

Ayla gave a small head shake towards Owen, who spoke in a calm voice as if he had made up his mind, and replied, ‘I’m fine with anything.’

Is he a bad guy for feeling nervous and excited at the same time?

At Ayla’s words, Owen swallowed dry without realizing it.

Ding-Ding-Ding-

The bright and cheerful sound of the mandolin resonated in the office room filled with silence.

Contrary to the thought that he would play an exciting song, a relatively slow melody was found inside the room.

Ayla smiled as if she liked Owen’s selection quite a bit and nodded her head while matching the beat without saying a word.

As his playing continued, Ayla’s clear blue eyes gradually blurred.

The delusion effect was slowly appearing.

When he reaches the climax in this state, if he lifts his gaze and makes eye contact with her, the delusion will be perfectly successful.

A smile slowly appeared on Owen’s lips, who was perfectly aware of that fact.