Chapter 100 - Genuinely desire her

But did that stop him from thinking about her? Stop him from thinking how beautiful she would look without those clothes on? He is no pervert like Rhys, but whenever he thought about Lyn, he couldn't help himself and while he fantasizes less now then when he first met her. Kazuya never quite got them quite out of his head. A faint seed of desire.

He didn't realize it was her, at least when he first came here for his mission. He tried to separate the Lyn he met back then, and the girl in the mission as a separate person. For a while, he could keep up the act. But the more he spoke to her, the more he saw her - the more that resolve of his crumbled away.

Occasionally he played with the idea of the two of them having a future together, him waking up with her by his side, eating meals with her, holding hands and going to places, holding her in his arms every day. However, whenever that idea came to mind, he would shrug it off. No matter what happens, their future together is already something not possible.

The inn was strangely active today, Kazuya could hear people rushing about. Kazuya slowly got up from the bed and opened the door to their room. Sure enough, he noticed people running about, picking up boxes - and carrying trays. Where did Lyn get to? Kazuya made his way down the halls, lost in his thoughts. All he needed was Lyn.

He caught a flash of black hair outside and went out. The girl was by the well, hunched over on the cold white ground. While the snow isn't as heavy in this side of the Kingdom, it still snows. He quickly made his way across the snow. 'I only need her to be happy. Nothing more than this,' Kazuya recalled thinking such naive thoughts once upon a time.

Lila must have heard his approach. She looked over her shoulder, and Kazuya felt that someone had just punched him when he saw her eyes filled with tears, "Why are you crying?"

Lyn held her hands and hid them behind her, cloak, "Nothing," she whimpered.

Kazuya looked at her suspiciously and sighed. This girl makes it way too obvious. He knelt down in front of her and moved her cloak away before grabbing her hands. Just taking her hands in his caused the girl to yelp in pain; naturally, she would. Kazuya was staring at her hand, examining the damage. Good grief. Quite some time had passed since he'd seen hands as mangled as these. The color of blood filled her fingers and palms, scratches, and bruises too. Lyn must have sensed his anger since she quickly explained the situation.

"You see, I heard from Sir Yuzuhara, there are good medical herbs in the forest nearby. So I went to fetch someone, but when I did," Lyn trailed off and sobbed, "The thorns stabbed me," she murmured.

Geez, how helpless? Yuzuhara? He's dead later on. He certainly hopes his friends didn't let Lyn go to the forest all alone, and where is Rhys when he is needed? Kazuya shook his head if Rhys is here. Rhys would take her from him again, and the two would be alone together. Kazuya tried to ensure that the two aren't left together. Lyn isn't clueless and naive. But the girl lets her guard down when it comes to people she knows.

Fresh tears ran down her cheeks. "It hurts so much, but I c-can't get them… out!" she sobbed.

Kazuya looked at her and saw how messed up her current appearance was. Her hair was messy and tangled up most likely from wind, her body trembling - she seemed to be limping on one leg too. Despite her current state, he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of her. She's beautiful, in Kazuya's eyes the girl is still beautiful. He can't help but be transfixed at the girl's actions since they came to this village. Even though she knows better than to overexpose herself, she's been talking to a lot of the village folk. She's gotten to know them very well and even created bonds with them.

He's exasperated at her lack of common sense; he's suffering to the incidence with that silly Prince - stepping up and exposing her identity aside. Why did Lyn march up to ring? What if she got hurt?

He grabbed her, wrists, "Let's get your wounds healed."

Lyn meekly obeyed, Kazuya knew that the girl wanted to complain. But didn't have the strength to do so. No doubt her injuries are throbbing by now.

He looked around and saw Rhys medicine bag. "Where's Rhys?"

"He's helping Beth make dinner," Lyn said. Kazuya nodded and reached out for the bag. "Kazuya, he will get mad if you touch his stuff."

"It's for your sake, he won't get angry," Kazuya said. He regrets what he said a second too late since Lyn turned quiet.

'Damn, quit bringing it up,' Kazuya thought when he saw her downcast expression. It's not Lyn's fault that Rhys is in love with her. It's not Rhys fault either for falling in love with Lyn. Kazuya knew that his current mission regarding Lyn used to belong to Rhys. Rhys spent all that time and effort researching Lyn; it's only natural that he would fall in love with her. When Kazuya saw the amount of work his friend put in that case, the elders showed him the research material Rhys handed over - it made him feel incredibly guilty.

Initially, he swore that he would not get attached to Lyn, that once the plan was complete. He would give Lyn to Rhys and give them his blessings. But all of that changed, before Kazuya knew it, he became attached to the girl. He didn't want to let her go. Kazuya found what he was looking for in the bag and poured the contents on the girl's hands. Lyn didn't question him even once, but she noticed the girl staring at him.

"What is it?"

"Kazuya, your very handsome."

Uh, what? Kazuya stared at the girl dumbfounded, what is she saying all of a sudden? Before he could question her, Lyn continued. "But, since you always smiling like an idiot, people don't see how handsome you can be. When you look all sullen, and when you're deep in thought though, people can see it."

Sullen and deep in thought, indeed lately his behavior has been very odd. He can't tell Lyn that it had to do with the meeting he had with her sister. If Kazuya told her that she would puff her cheeks out, and sulk about it. Even though he wanted to tell Lyn not over to think things, the words remained on his throat, and he focused more on the girl's hand in his.

He has never held her hands this long before. Even when they hold hands, it's not long for a long time since Lyn usually ends up clinging to his arm. Kazuya ran his thumb along the edge of her fingers, and Lyn laughed, "Um, what are you doing Kazuya?"

Kazuya snapped his attention back to her and realized how this whole time he had been thinking things he shouldn't. From the beginning, he knew he genuinely desired her, genuinely wanted to be with her. But Kazuya pushed those feelings aside for the sake of his mission; however, things are different now. They are dating, and she accepted his hand. He doesn't want to let her go.

"I was wondering Lyn, do you want to marry me?"