Chapter 72

Chapter 72 – Payment Fee

Kiehl liked every aspect of Bella, but he didn’t like how she sometimes laughed like a naughty girl without awareness.

She said she was thinking of him, yet she didn’t come.

When he asked her to come, she laughed. In addition, it was annoying that she kept saying he was cute.

“Kiss me if it’s cute.”

“…What?”

“If you think I’m cute, pay a fee.”

“Kiehl…”

“If you can’t do it, don’t say cute.”

As Bella gazed at him in bewilderment, Kiehl then released his hand that was on the tip of her chin.

‘She won’t make fun of me anymore.’

He had hated being treated like this since he was a kid. He wanted to look like a man, so why did she keep treating him like a chick in his arms?

However, there was another reason for Bella’s embarrassment.

‘Do you think I can’t do it?’

At the thought, she grabbed Kiehl’s chest with both hands and stood on tiptoe.

Chu.

The sound dominated Bella’s room, and all the sorrows ran away like a shadow that had seen the light. Now, the center of all Kiehl’s thoughts rolled around his cheek where Bella’s lips met. His cheeks were burning like his heart.

“So, now that I kissed you, can I say you’re cute?”

Bella poked Kiehl’s cheek with a playful face.

“I get to say you’re cute for the day.”

Even though he disliked her adoration for him, he liked the word ‘for the day.’

“Then, will you stay with me for the day?”

“No. I am busy.”

Kiehl looked at Bella coldly.

“Then, don’t do it for the day. Just do it once.”

“Ten times.”

“One.”

“Five times.”

“One.”

“If I kiss Pur, she’ll keep her mouth shut all day!”

Kiehl raised a corner of his lips and pinched Bella’s cheek, “Are you treating Pur and me the same now?”

Bella replied, babbling.

“Nnhoo, heenn foohh temm.” (No, then four times.)

“All right. Three times.”

Bella grunted as she shook Kiehl’s hand away.

“Huh. How expensive are my kisses?”

“My cheeks are expensive, too.”

Bella smiled with a playful face.

“So, can you get rid of the pout?”

“…Yes.”

Just a little while ago, he thought the sorrow he was holding in was about to explode. However, just being by Bella made it feel like a thing of the past.

“Have you eaten lunch? Shall we eat together after a long time?”

* * *

Usually, everyone ate lunch separately. Since the Cruelle people usually eat in their own rooms, Kiehl said that he didn’t want to be noticed by the Cruelle family, so he ate separately. Meanwhile, Bella usually dined with the demons.

“Oh my, why did the Young Master come down to the dining room?”

Iwer looked at Kiel with a sinister look. She also seemed to think that this was the result of the nagging earlier.

“The Miss, too?”

“Iwer. You look like a pervert.”

“…Sheesh.”

When the twins came down, the dining room was quite crowded. Even though everyone was seated, something was strange.

“Where’s Jenkins and Zanbar?”

“They say they’ll go out and eat!”

“They are a bit suspicious.”

Everyone looked at Bella in surprise. Did she finally find out about their relationship?

“Are they going out hunting humans?”

And, as soon as she had finished speaking, everyone turned their heads away as if it was in vain. The twins shook their heads as they had already adapted to the atmosphere.

“I don’t think that person would know even if Juan Cruelle did his best.”

Rio looked at Kiehl and whispered in his ear so he would be relieved. Because of that, he didn’t have to be a gentleman.

After a while, Juan Cruelle appeared with a relaxed smile.

“Miss, good to see you again. If you happen to meet three times a day, it’s fate.”

“Ah… Silvert—”

He suddenly changed his clothes again, and from his head to his toes, he appeared dressed in white like the summer festival ten years ago. Bella tried to say ‘silvertail,’ but then she shut her mouth and replied back.

“It’s the second time I’ve seen you today.”

“Haha. If we meet just one more time, it’s fate.”

Bella frowned at those words. Even now, she ran into the demons several times a day. She didn’t want to call it fate.

“It’s only natural to bump into each other in this small space many times…”

Juan listened to her and sat down next to Bella.

It was Pur’s place.

At that time, Iwer saw the new man and smacked her lips.

“Oh my, who is this person?”

“Don’t touch.”

Bella warned Iwer straightforwardly. It was because there were people to touch and people not to touch. However, when she stopped Iwer from trying to seduce Juan, he laughed as if it was cute. Then, he gave Kiehl a triumphant smile.

‘…Sir Juan. He must be mistaken.’

He couldn’t even say that Iwer was a dream demon, so Kiehl just ignored it.

“Remember? Ten years ago, we met at the summer festival in Daisy.”

“Yes. You wore the same clothes as back then.”

“It’s an honor to even remember the clothes.”

Bella was very surprised by Juan.

‘How come the silvertail was the same as he used to be…?’

At the thought, she then turned to Kiehl with a squint. Even though he was similarly dressed in a white suit and gilded decoration, he had a different atmosphere enveloping him.

Light blonde hair reminiscent of a wheat field full of sunlight, and amber eyes that sparkle more than jewels. His long, slender fingers were holding a cup and pink lips as he took a sip of water… In addition, the light was reflected off the long, long eyelashes that glanced down.

‘Whatever he does, he looks like a picture…’

Although she knew, when she compared it with the silvertail, Bella realized for sure.

Kiehl was handsome from head to toe.

While he was still as pretty as a boy, he wasn’t delicate. His tight chest that she felt when the carriage turned over. The muscles she touched when she tried to treat his wounds. It was a completely different feeling from Kiehl, whom she had teased a while ago for being cute.

After Bella said nothing, Juan spoke again.

“That summer festival was really impressive.”

“Hmm… I think so, too.”

Bella smiled as she remembered that moment.

‘Even then, Kiehl’s was really cute. Pouting all day long.’

He said he was going to do something cool, so he became so cool all of a sudden.

“Then, the Miss…”

“Oh my God, what is this?”

Bella took a fork and a knife in her hands as the employees put delicious food that was more eye-catching than the handsome Kiehl’s.

“The Miss…”

When Juan was about to talk again, Iwer raised her hand.

“Miss! Do you want to eat and go shopping with me?”

“No. I have a lot of work to do.”

“Just trying to see the Miss’ face is like picking stars in the sky!”

“You don’t even have to look at my face. Can you please let me go?”

“Zanbar is also grumbling.”

Iwer cleared her neck and poked out her chest, pretending to be Zanbar, “It was the first time in my life that the Princess of the Animal Kingdom studied! He said so.”

At that, Rinne nodded her head, finding it funny.

“It’s exactly the same. Do you know the way of talking of everyone here?”

Bella smiled as she listened to their conversation. It seemed that it was that bastard was the one who started the rumor.

“Oh my, when Zanbar comes home, be sure to tell him to come to me.”

Let’s skin the leopard Zanbar and make a coat?

Meanwhile, Juan stared at Bella and smiled.

“The Princess of the Animal Kingdom… It’s cute, it suits you.”

Did he know what happened in that cute Princess’s head?

“What kind of place is the Animal Kingdom?”

At his words, Bella didn’t really want to answer since she didn’t even want to think about the underworld.

“It would be a fantastic place for such a beautiful Princess to live.”

It was Iwer, not Bella, who answered Juan’s words.

“It’s absolutely fantastic.”

‘…It was an absolutely crazy place.’

Juan changed the question again as Iwer kept interrupting.

“Have you ever been to the Imperial Palace?”

“…No.”

“Because it is the place where His Highness is…”

Juan continued, but Bella was chopping up the beef without saying a word.

‘If you come here to eat, let’s just eat…’

The next moment, she unconsciously placed the cut meat on Kiehl’s plate, as she had used to do at the mansion.

Juan read the strange atmosphere as he looked at it.

‘Hmm…’

Ever since he first met her at the summer festival, she was someone he wanted to see again. Since the woman he liked had never come over, he spoke with the thought of getting rid of the obstacles first.

“By the way, Miss…”

Juan didn’t know how much pain Kiehl had been through. Whenever he tried to flutter even a little bit, something happened around them.

“Young Master, Stuuu-pid!”

…Suddenly, the world’s number 1 senseless Pur, appeared vaguely.

“I was in the closet! Stuuu-pid!”

As Bella listened carefully to Pur’s words, she turned to Kiehl and asked him, “What is she talking about?”

“She kept asking me to play, so we played hide and seek.”

And, he didn’t find her. Who was the stupid one?

“What? Pur, did you ask Kiehl to play with you again? I told you not to disturb him.”

However, Pur did not respond to Bella’s words and stared at Juan.

“That’s my seat!”

Juan, who had been silently staring at the scene, was somewhat perplexed. When Kiehl said, ‘We have a bear at home,’ at the summer festival, he thought it was a lie.

“Ah… A… real bear.”

“Move! Next to the Miss is my seat!”

Bella pressed her finger against Pur’s forehead.

“Hey. I told you not to disturb Kiehl, didn’t I?”

“Iwer also plays with the Young Master every day! Why can’t I?”

“What…?”

Bella turned around, and Iwer slid down like melting from the chair and sat down on the floor.

“Iwer leaving…”

Even Zanbar, who she thought would be disturbing, was quiet like a mouse, so why the two of them!

In Bella’s mind, she wanted to open the summoning circle to the demon realm and put the two of them in. Nonetheless, her magic has not returned yet. She did not know why though the wound on her back hadn’t healed.

“Get away! That is my place!”

Without knowing how angry Bella was, Pur continued to growl at Juan. He watched the cute teddy bear get angry before his eyes were drawn to the familiar handkerchief wrapped around her neck.

“…No way that handkerchief, that handkerchief?”

Bella, who frowned slightly at those words, turned her gaze to Pur.

“Ah… it…”

‘It was this person’s…’

Pur was quite obsessed with it.

‘Should I give it back?’

Bella started sweating from her hands. If she wanted to take it from the bear, she could take it, but Pur would cry loudly.

“It was pretty valuable to you. You kept it around the teddy bear. As expected, you are cute.”

“Haha… Should I…give it back?”

At her question, Juan grabbed Bella’s hand.

“Or, how about giving time instead of the handkerchief back?”

At that moment, despite the fact that he knew Kiehl was staring at him, Juan just raised a corner of his lips and kissed Bella’s hand lightly.

He shouldn’t have done that.