Living a Scheming Marriage with a Mad Villain - Chapter 89

Reus’s heartbeat pounded heavily in his chest. At the loud thumping sound in his ears, Loelle, who had dozed off without realizing it, slowly opened her eyes.

She was just looking at him, and yet her heart, out of sync, grew louder and louder.

Loelle, who was quietly blinking, lifted her head slowly while still resting her face against Reus’s body. But maybe because of the alcohol, she couldn’t hold her head properly and looked very unstable.

Just as her head was about to fall backward, Reus—who had been frozen stiff—quickly reached out and supported her head.

Loelle, now resting her head in his palm, stared into the air for a moment before gently closing her eyes. Then she let out a soft, deflated laugh.

“I feel dizzy…”

As soon as she said that, Reus straightened her head properly, and Loelle’s face fell back onto his chest.

“Reus…”

“It’s too loud… My ears are ringing.”

Annoyed by the pounding sound that kept interrupting her sleepiness, Loelle groaned and rubbed her head against him. Reus’s face, which had seemed fine on the outside, began to crack, and the tips of his ears turned red.

It was a similar mood to their first night, but the situation was very different. To be exact, unlike last time, when it was just bothersome, now it was difficult in a different way.

Then, Loelle, blinking sleepily, lifted her arms and wrapped them around Reus’s neck.

“Reus, hold me.”

It was said in a completely non-seductive tone. Reus knew she was sincerely asking, but for some reason, it still made him uncomfortable. He shut his eyes tightly.

“So… so sleepy.”

As she said that, her legs gave out, and Reus quickly scooped her up.

Even after turning his insides upside down, Loelle simply leaned against his shoulder, battling her sleep. Reus stared at her for a moment, then let out a hollow laugh.

“Even though this is a contract relationship, don’t you think you trust me too much?”

“Hmm?”

Loelle looked up at him again, sensing the hint of complaint in his voice. Her head nearly fell back again, but Reus quickly supported it.

Her limp body swayed carelessly with his slightly unsteady steps.

Blankly staring into space, Loelle mumbled and repeated what Reus had said.

“Trust? …I can trust you.”

“Who? Me?”

“No, I mean me.”

“You can trust me.”

“Yeah.”

Her words suddenly became short, and Reus chuckled as if finding her cute.

“Why?”

“Uh… because… you can trust me.”

“So what’s the reason?”

“Hmm, the reason is… I’m sleepy.”

Her random answer made Reus burst into a bigger laugh. When his body shook with laughter, Loelle flinched slightly and frowned.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Why, do I annoy you again?”

“Yeah… no.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

Her half-closed eyes unfocused, Loelle wobbled as she stared intently at Reus’s face, almost uncomfortably. Then she suddenly giggled.

It was a laugh without meaning, but her bright face made even the one watching her smile. Reus paused in his steps. But then, Loelle abruptly stopped laughing.

“But, you know…”

“You know…”

Her tone sounded like she wanted an answer, so Reus pulled himself together. Though he always said he didn’t like dealing with drunk people, he answered promptly.

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“So, I definitely heard it…”

Loelle mumbled something, then narrowed her eyes as if she were displeased.

“My melon ice cream…”

“I think you said there was some… Yes, there is.”

There it was—the ice cream again. He wondered when it would come up. But unlike before, he wasn’t annoyed. He was just slightly relieved that no one else had seen her like this.

Unable to hold back his laughter, Reus lowered his head and gently rested his forehead against hers.

“Loelle.”

“Yeah.”

But knowing that this was all he could do made Reus’s expression twist in pain.

“Ahh, I’m sleepy… I have to eat ice cream and then sleep… hurry…”

While Reus was lost in serious thought, Loelle was still mumbling about that melon ice cream. Reus took a deep breath and continued walking, finally calming himself.

He was just about to lay her down on the bed.

“No, wait. I’m not sleeping.”

Caught off guard, Loelle clung tightly to him. Reus’s body tensed up instantly.

“Loelle, just for a moment—”

“I said I’m not sleeping. I’m not going to.”

Just like last time, Loelle refused to lie down, and Reus ended up sweating as he tried to settle her.

“Please, just stay still…”

“Ahh, no…”

Each time she moved, a sweet scent wafted from her. Last time, he thought it was perfume, but it seemed the scent came from her skin.

Realizing this, Reus let out a soft groan.

How far was she planning to test his patience?

He tried his best to pull away, not for himself, but for her. But Reus, who always worried Loelle might break if she just walked too fast, couldn’t even grab her properly. In the end, just like that night, he ended up lying on the bed with her body pressed tightly against his.

“Hey… you lied… There’s no ice cream…”

Even then, Loelle kept asking about ice cream and clung to him like he was a pillow.

“Haa…”

Reus let out a very long sigh. Just like before, tonight was going to be a long night.

The cold sensation made her eyes snap open. Slowly, memories of the previous night came back.

‘I thought I was pacing myself…’

But at some point, the alcohol hit hard, and everything after that went blank. The last vague memory was Theron walking in when the door opened.

But even that was blurry. She couldn’t remember what she said or did.

‘What if I messed up with Theron too?’

She was sure she messed up with Reus. His tired-looking face, glimpsed briefly, left no room for doubt.

She tightly shut her eyes and slowly unwrapped her arms from around Reus’s neck.

It seemed she had a habit of hugging something when drunk—besides the usual ice cream obsession.

‘I wasn’t like this in my past life. When did I start doing this?’

Thankfully, Reus didn’t seem affected by their contact. If it had been the other way around, then…

‘I should apologize properly.’

With that thought, she looked at Reus’s face again—and her mouth closed on its own. Judging by how worn-out he looked, he hadn’t just been tired; he looked nearly broken.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

He smiled and said it was fine with no further comment, which only made her feel guiltier.

“I—I won’t ever…”

“Loelle, it’s better not to make promises you can’t keep.”

“Last time, you promised not to make me worry. Then you showed up with a cold.”

He wasn’t wrong… but did he have to bring that up now?

Still, there wasn’t much a guilty person could say. Loelle quietly listened to his long list of scolding’s.

It felt like he’d been waiting for her to make a mistake, because the words just kept coming. As her expression grew more and more sullen, Reus looked at her as if to say, ‘Well, if you’d behaved, none of this would have happened.’

Once again, she had nothing to say.

The remaining two days passed very quickly. Finally, the day came when Helen would take her to watch the swordsmanship tournament.

Most countries had similar events, but she was curious why the one in the Leveren Kingdom was especially famous.

‘Did she say it’s held four times a year?’

Because the tournaments were frequent, the arena was well-maintained, though not very large.

‘Maybe that’s why it’s easier to see the knights.’

She realized why it was built smaller and sighed softly.

Just then, the crowd’s murmurs turned into cheers as the first two knights walked into the arena.

One male knight and one female knight took their positions.

Leveren was unusual in that it had a relatively high number of female knights. Unlike Loelle, who wasn’t used to seeing women in tournaments, the other spectators didn’t seem to find it strange at all.

‘If it weren’t for the heat, this would be a really nice country to live in.’

Soon, a small cannon sound signaled the start of the first match.

Despite Helen’s earlier comment that it wasn’t a serious event, the two knights did their best. The following matches also felt no different from any other formal tournament.

“This is more serious than I expected.”

“Mhm, well, they have to make it look good.”

“Sorry?”

“The first matches are usually fought by the best knights in the royal guard.”

Normally, the strongest fighters compete at the end. No wonder the matches were so intense from the start.

The unusual format made her curious, but she kept watching.

Only six knights had fought, but a winner was already declared. Helen pointed to him by name—Sir Ansley.

“That’s it?”

Loelle had never watched a tournament in the Ashelit Empire, but she’d heard they split them into morning and afternoon, often going late into the evening.

Of course, Ashelit was much larger and more populated than Leveren, but today’s event still felt too short.

Just as she was looking around in confusion, Helen spoke up.

“Oh, no. That was just the formal part. The real tournament starts now.”

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