Chapter 10.3

Chapter 10.3

Those words were full of strength. It was an awkward pronunciation, as if he was trying to cover up the shame, though his movements around her were cold and smooth as usual.

His favorability flashed through Ariel’s mind. A single heart, the meager likability.

‘I can’t let him go like this…!’

She didn’t want to miss this serendipitous opportunity.

Without realizing, her hand reached out and grabbed his wrist and his strong forearm flinched at the sudden contact. Fortunately, he didn’t shake her off and only stopped in his tracks.

Turning his head in surprise, his gaze was questioning her action as if what was she doing while looking down at her with a vague frown. In the meanwhile, Ariel didn’t lose her momentum and brought out a concocted excuse she had made up in a hurry.

“Can I have dinner with you, if you haven’t already?”

“What?”

“If it doesn’t bother you, I’d like to have dinner with Your Highness.”

His face hardened at the words.

Even though she realized that what she was about to say was a bit much, she couldn’t stop. It was an honest approach and she might not have many opportunities anymore, so that thought drove her to act quickly.

When she gripped his wrist tightly and looked up into his steely gaze, a look of bewilderment grew on Skylar’s face. It was as though he was asking her if she was out of her mind right now. Still, he wasn’t angry, rather… he seemed very puzzled.

Perhaps that was why he didn’t shake off Ariel. He didn’t even verbally push her away.

With a look like he was pondering with a troubled face, he finally opened his mouth.

“…Well, it was true that the treatment of your family wasn’t disappointing, so this evening…”

“Thank you, Your Highness!”

It was an ambiguous permission that blurted out the end, but Ariel was happy with just that. Her eyes widened, and she answered cheerfully. The black eyes staring at him shone brightly. She clearly showed that she really liked it and acted like a dog wagging its tail at its master. She did so without even a smile.

In fact, it was almost embarrassing for Skyla.

“Let me go first.”

He became brusque for no reason and pulled his arm out of her grasp. Reading his mood, Ariel quickly took her hand away.

As she obediently withdrew, Skyla became strangely angry again. He resented the tiny hand that slipped away without much resistance. It was a duality he didn’t even understand himself. The blue eyes staring down at Ariel gathered a sense of restlessness, an unknown discomfort that diminished the comfort between them and called for useless emotions.

“Don’t touch me recklessly in the future.”

Skyla spat out a chilly warning, but Ariel didn’t raise an eyebrow.

“Yes, I won’t do that anymore. I’m sorry.”

She was calm and polite, as if she didn’t know how to get angry.

Because of that, there was another twist in Skyla’s sensitive temper. He strode briskly ahead, not bothering to tell her to follow him. Nevertheless, Ariel followed the footsteps that left first as the sound of her light footsteps on the grass followed him.

For some reason, he liked the sound.

He was happy to hear the sound of quick footsteps, urgent to catch up to him as he was moving away.

His emotions were running wild as his head was spinning, Although he was angry and yet strangely excited.

‘Annoying, this is annoying…’

As he kept repeating it, he involuntarily slowed down his pace a little. At the same time, Ariel’s pace slowed slightly as she followed, and at that moment, her phone vibrated in the inside pocket of the coat hem.

Bzzzzz—

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