CH 35

Clyde smiled gently and brushed my hair aside.

“It still feels like a dream, having you in front of me.”

“…I feel the same way.”

I looked at Clyde intently and asked, “But did you know that you’ve become incredibly handsome?”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Even when we were young, I always thought you would grow up to be a handsome man, but I never expected you to grow up this charming.”

Honestly, I believe that real-life handsome men could never surpass the fictional ones described in novels.

Even with celebrities known for their good looks, there would always be a friend or two saying, “I don’t know if he’s good-looking.” That was evidence enough.

On the other hand, romance novel male leads were simply described as “extremely handsome” without any room for personal interpretation.

Moreover, in the descriptions, the authors often resort to using all sorts of flowery language, even if they had a dry and concise writing style in other areas.

But the Clyde I met in person had the kind of beauty that matched those descriptions in novels, without a hint of exaggeration.

Perhaps this feeling was what people meant when they said, “I can’t believe it even though I’m looking at it.”

His face was so captivating, and no matter how much I looked at him, I never grew tired of it. It was a face that evoked nothing but admiration.

“I’m glad you see me that way. You once told me that you liked handsome men.”

“…I did?”

“Yeah, and you also like men with good bodies.”

Come to think of it, I think I said something like that. But I’m sure he didn’t realize that I was talking about him specifically.

In reality, Clyde was remarkable not only for his appearance but also for his physical fitness. He had the kind of physique that could easily outshine most athletes.

Even with his clothes on, you could see how good his body was. I could only imagine how impressive it would be if he was undressed. He wasn’t just some high-level romance novel character. I’m sure that scene…….

‘Oops, my bad.’

For a moment, I remembered the original novel, but then I snapped out of it and shook my head.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

I smiled and shrugged. Clyde looked puzzled, but didn’t probe further.

“But why are you acting like this?”

It was the aftermath of a long, 10-day carriage ride.

My head felt too heavy, and my eyes kept closing.

‘No, I can’t fall asleep…’

I lightly tap my cheeks to stay awake.

“If you’re sleepy, you should rest.”

“No, I can’t. I need to go before sunrise.”

“We still have plenty of time until sunrise.”

“But I can’t. What if I can’t wake up on time?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll wake you up before it’s too late.”

Clyde leaned my head against his shoulder.

“I can’t…”

I said that, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift my head from Clyde’s shoulder. I was unable to resist the overwhelming drowsiness any longer.

“I can’t….

Fighting against the hazy feeling in my mind, my eyelids finally closed.

*****

Before he knew it, Ruby was asleep, making colorful breathing noises.

It was the first time he saw Ruby’s sleeping face. Just as he had imagined, it was incredibly adorable. He couldn’t help but think that the expression “angel” would be an understatement to describe her.

‘Always comes to me late at night, she must be exhausted.’

Thinking back, it was the same seven years ago.

Both then and now, Clyde had eagerly awaited Ruby’s arrival, and the time spent with her was the entirety of his daily life.

However, unlike Clyde, it was clear that Ruby had a separate life during the day.

He was aware that Ruby had sacrificed her sleep to come and see him. Her eyelids had become thicker as time passed, and eventually, even the area around her eyes became puffy and swollen.

There were days when she would doze off, barely able to keep her eyes open.

But even knowing that Ruby was pushing herself, he couldn’t bring himself to say, “You can go now.”

The time he spent with her was too precious to let go of.

Just as a person cannot live without air, Ruby was just as essential to Clyde.

During the brief moments they spent together, Clyde had to fully immerse himself in her presence, or else he wouldn’t be able to endure until the next time they met.

“Mmmmm….”

Ruby let out a soft groan.

He noticed that her forehead was covered in sweat.

He wondered if it was due to the heat, so he removed the blanket that was covering her body, leaving only one behind.

And just as he was about to wipe away the sweat, something suddenly happened to Ruby’s body.

The weight on her shoulders increased, and in an instant, her arms and legs stretched. And then, in the next moment, she had transformed into a different appearance.

Her transformation magic had been released.

Clyde swallowed hard and looked at Ruby.

“…Eila Rojasis.”

That day, she was the girl he danced with at the masquerade ball. The moment he saw Eila for the first time after returning to Trachen, he could instantly recognize her.

It was Ruby.

Without a doubt, it was Ruby.

The silky, moonlight-like silver hair.

The blue eyes that perfectly contrasted with Clyde’s eyes.

The round forehead, the prominent nose.

Even the lips, the cheeks, the jawline…

It was impossible not to recognize her.

Because it was the face that had never left Clyde’s mind for the past seven years.

He had imagined countless times how Ruby would have grown.

The twenty-year-old Ruby he finally met was exactly as Clyde had imagined, and she was unbelievably beautiful to the point that his imagination felt insufficient.

The fact that Ruby was the daughter of Julion didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

He wasn’t curious about why the daughter of his enemy had saved him either.

Just the fact that he had reunited with Ruby was enough for him.

Even when she showed up a few days later looking like her 13-year-old self, insisting she wasn’t Eila Rojasis.

It didn’t matter what the truth was.

All that mattered was that she was Ruby.

As long as Ruby was in front of him, smiling at him, and he could reach out and touch her, it was enough.

Compared to the happiness that filled his heart completely, the desire to truly know her identity was a trivial greed.

The fear of losing Ruby again was too great for him to cling to such greed.

And even now, when it was almost certain that Ruby’s true identity was Eila Rojasis, he felt no sense of betrayal towards her.

In fact, he felt like he had known it from the beginning.

There was no way he wouldn’t recognize her.

If Ruby had only borrowed that face, he wouldn’t have been so convinced when seeing Eila.

Thinking that the person in front of him now was Ruby’s true form, he felt a strange sense of excitement.

He felt like he had truly reunited with her in the real sense.

“Hmm…”

With a faint moan, Ruby’s lips slightly parted.

As he gazed at her moist, red lips that seemed to glisten, a suffocating sensation suddenly filled his chest.

The softness of her body, bearing its full weight on him, and the sensation, felt unexpectedly tantalizing.

A hot, intense urge rose from the deepest part of him, as if someone had lit a fire.

It was a sensation that Clyde had never experienced since his birth.

He stiffened, unsure of what to do. As a result, the sensation of the parts of their bodies pressed together became even more vivid.

His throat burned. He felt an intense thirst to the point of pain. But Clyde had no idea how to quench it.

Clyde slowly brought his hand closer to Ruby’s face as she slept. His trembling fingers lightly touched the end of her long eyelashes.

Clyde hesitated for a moment, then gradually extended his hand again.

His fingers moved slowly, as if tracing the contours of Ruby’s face. The touch of his fingertips felt gentle and smooth.

Ruby’s shoulders twitched faintly, as if tickled. Clyde pulled his fingers away again.

“…Clyde.”

Ruby whispered softly.

“Ruby. Are you awake?”

Clyde asked softly, but there was no response. Peering closely, he saw that Ruby was still sound asleep.

Clyde momentarily felt puzzled, then belatedly realized that Ruby’s words just now were sleep talk.

In an instant, heat rose to his face, and he felt his body stiffen to the point of pain.