Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 54

Reus usually preferred simple and clean-tasting food, so if he ate the strong, spicy street food I was holding, he might spit it out right away.

“If I had known this, I should have just gone to a restaurant. Or maybe even now…”

At that moment, Reus gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me a little closer.

I was just watching quietly, wondering what he was doing out of nowhere, when without hesitation, Reus bit into the chicken skewer I had been eating.

It was surprising to see him willingly eat street food he seemed like he would never touch, but I was even more shocked that he ate what I was eating without any disgust.

But unlike my stunned reaction, Reus didn’t seem to care much.

‘Maybe it’s because he’s often on the battlefield…?’

I had heard that on the battlefield, it was hard to have proper meals, so hygiene was often ignored, and everyone just quickly ate together.

Thinking about that, it almost seemed like no big deal…?

Curious about how Reus would take this food, I watched him chew the chicken skewer closely.

“Is it not tasty?”

But the more he chewed, the more I noticed his face slightly darkening.

“It’s really not good…?”

“It’s good.”

It felt like watching someone chew rubber.

‘So it must really not taste good.’

This was the first time I realized Reus didn’t just hide his feelings on purpose, but sometimes truly couldn’t hide them.

Whenever Loelle bought new food, Reus worried that she might eat something wrong and get sick. But the woman, unaware of his concern, almost tried everything from the street stalls as if tasting everything once.

It would be nice if she was this enthusiastic about food even at the Duke’s castle. It was frustrating, but there was an unexpected benefit.

He learned about Loelle’s food preferences. Although red-colored food looked like something she wouldn’t eat, she couldn’t pass by spicy food without trying it.

‘She doesn’t look like she eats as much as she likes it though.’

Reus was sure that the amount of spicy food Loelle ate today was only about a third of the drinks and sweet desserts she had to calm it down.

After filling their stomachs enough, the two passed through the food stalls and headed to a place lined with street vendors. This place was also packed tightly with people.

Reus, who usually hated being touched or crowded by people, didn’t feel as bad as he thought today.

It was probably because Loelle held his hand tightly and looked around excitedly all day.

To him, it looked all the same, but to her, everything was new and fascinating, and her eyes sparkled at the smallest things.

Like an excited squirrel, Loelle’s energetic appearance stole all of Reus’s attention.

‘If I had known she’d like it this much, I should have come to the capital from the first day of the festival.’

Due to the schedule, it wasn’t possible to bring Loelle to the festival area every day. Reus thought hard about a solution.

Then Loelle stopped in front of a street vendor selling various accessories. She seemed to browse for a moment but couldn’t take her eyes off a certain bracelet.

‘It’s really pretty… Should I buy one to remember the festival?’

Loelle thought the light blue gemstone on the bracelet looked just like Reus’s clear blue eyes.

She frowned, hesitating over whether to buy it.

‘But I’ve already asked for so many things, asking to pay for this too feels a bit…’

Watching her, Reus silently paid the owner, as if he already knew the answer without needing to hear it.

‘Right. It’s not really necessary, so let’s hold back.’

Unaware of this, Loelle just kept worrying and then walked on again.

After a quick walk around the street vendors, the two headed to a basin a little farther from the festival street.

A knight from the Duke’s family had strongly recommended this spot as the best place to watch the fireworks.

After all, if the fireworks explode in the sky, what difference does it make where you watch from?

Reus couldn’t quite understand, but seeing Loelle get excited like a child saying the view of the fireworks would be better made him forget the thought.

Soon, the two found a suitable bench.

Loelle quietly stared at the scene before her without saying a word. The sparkling lights looked like a cluster of stars falling down, like blessings laid upon the earth.

‘So this place was this beautiful.’

Loelle usually came to the capital to attend balls held at the royal palace. Since it was mostly because of Peria’s orders, she didn’t have good memories here.

But at this moment, she felt she could cover all the bad memories.

Seeing Loelle unable to take her eyes off the festival street, Reus regretted again that they hadn’t come from the first day.

‘Or maybe next year…’

But that thought didn’t go far.

Loelle would soon leave the empire. Of course, Reus planned the same.

Why did he keep forgetting that this would be the last time spending the early, sweet days of summer together?

Thinking that their time together was quickly running out even now, his mouth felt bitter.

Feeling Roel’s gaze on him, she turned her head.

“What are you thinking about?”

“And what about you… What were you thinking?”

“Nothing special, just that today was so, so fun?”

Loelle tried to focus and keep eye contact even with small talk. Seeing her like that, Reus’s eyes relaxed.

Soon Loelle smiled brightly.

“Thank you for taking the time to bring me to the festival even though you’re busy. Thanks to you, I have one more good memory.”

Seeing her bright face made his chest flutter. It felt like a flower bud about to bloom inside him.

Unable to calm down, Reus moved his lips without meaning to.

“How about you, Reus? How was today?”

“It was good.”

“Really? That’s a relief. I was worried it would be bad if only I enjoyed it.”

Loelle quietly kept expressing thanks for the day’s events. Her gentle voice melted Reus’s heart.

It was amazing how one person’s kindness could have such a big impact. It felt natural because it was Loelle, though it was still surprising.

Just then, a streak of fireworks shot into the air, followed by a loud bang signaling the start of the show.

Golden streaks like silver light flowed in all directions, decorating the dark sky. Loelle, who was immediately captivated, tilted her head up.

Even though loud fireworks continued, Reus didn’t turn his head. Instead, he looked at the sky through Loelle’s clear eyes.

The fireworks blooming in her eyes looked incredibly beautiful. He couldn’t tell if it was the fireworks or the woman sitting beside him that was mesmerizing him.

Seeing his heart beat so fast, it was probably her, not the fireworks, that had him enchanted again.

If once was enough to fall for someone, why was he still seeing her as if it was the first time?

Reus stared endlessly at Loelle’s side profile.

So this moment could leave a trace in his memory. So even after she left him, he could recall today anytime.

After the long fireworks ended, they headed back to the festival street. It was much more crowded than before they went to the basin.

To avoid losing her hand by mistake, Reus held it tighter, but then stopped suddenly.

“Reus… , what’s wrong?”

He had been a bit dazed after the fireworks and still seemed that way.

When she shook his hand lightly, the light returned to his vacant eyes.

It didn’t seem like anything serious, but without explanation, Reus started walking again.

I didn’t ask more and continued talking about the festival.

“I’m so glad we enjoyed the festival before leaving. It would have felt unfair if we left without seeing it.”

“You’re right. I’m glad we came. It will probably be the first and last time though.”

“Well, it’s the last for me, but you can come back anytime, Rues.”

“Maybe.”

Thinking about it, Reus probably wouldn’t come back here alone.

Even though he suggested it this time, he wasn’t the type to seek crowded places.

Still, if he said he had fun, maybe he would come again someday.

“Um… Maybe with someone new next time?”

Does Reus really hate hearing that he should get a duchess so much?

Lately, if he doesn’t want to answer, he just stays silent. Last time his reaction was lukewarm, but today it seemed even more reluctant.

I wished he could sometimes take a break from work and training instead of always focusing on them.

‘He’s not the type to do that unless someone tells him…’

My head got complicated with this sudden worry.

Then we entered an area where people suddenly poured out, and soon the festival street was packed without space.

In the crowd, I lost hold of Reus’s hand.

“Uh… Reus…!”

Maybe Reus let go too easily by mistake. We tried to hold hands again, but the crowd was so dense we couldn’t return to where we were.

The space between us grew wider as the crowd pushed in. At some point, I lost sight of where Reus was.

I tried to turn around quickly, but the pushing made it hard to stand still.

After being swept by the crowd for a while, when I could walk properly again, I was somewhere completely different from where I was before.

I didn’t expect us to get this far apart so quickly.

Looking around, it seemed to be the end of the festival street. So it was the complete opposite direction from where we were.

“Hmm… Should I wait here or go back to the hotel?”

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