The Heir I Dragged Into My “He’s My Fiancé!” Lie Is Somehow Playing Along!? - Chapter 1.15

“Seriously, that’s too long! I’m going to stop breathing.” Alice protested with a squirm, and after what felt like the umpteenth kiss, Kai finally pulled his lips away.

Somehow, she had been pushed down onto the rug, so she glared up at him from below, thinking, “You’re going too far.”

Emotions running high, Alice was teary-eyed, and she was breathing rapidly, trying to get air into her lungs as she panted.

Kai seemed to have taken some kind of massive damage.

“Visual violence… It’s still morning. The day’s just started, and turning into a beast is way too shameless. Endure it, me.”

Kai ended up clutching his head.

As for Alice, her feelings were all floaty, reality felt distant and hazy, and she was looking at Kai with moist eyes, but she realized she should use this chance to put some distance between them.

She crawled out from under him and asserted, as if scolding him, “You don’t have to pin me down so firmly, like a lion eating its meal…!”

“Yeah, that’s right, I’m a lion. I’m just big—I’m not a dog, I’m a kitty-cat.”

Kai, who had glanced over at her, made this mysterious claim as he stood up.

He approached Alice, and as he passed by her side, he lightly touched her shoulder with his fingertips and asked, “You okay?”

“Nothing particularly wrong.”

“Good. Want some coffee?”

“Yes, please. Um, I’ve been curious about that espresso maker in the corner of the counter. Can you make cappuccinos and stuff?”

Hearing the word “coffee,” Alice eagerly stood up.

At that moment, the drawstring at her waist must have come loose, because her shorts slid right down to her ankles.

“Ah…”

“Hm?”

“No! Don’t turn around now!”

Even if she screamed, it was too late. She made eye contact with Kai, who had turned around. Alice pulled her T-shirt hem down as hard as she could, making a fuss: “Don’t look over here!”

She felt the blood rush to her face, but Kai’s reaction was even more blatant.

He turned bright red, staggered, walked over behind the counter, and then crouched down out of sight.

“Um… Kai-san? I’m sorry. For showing you such shabby legs…”

“Sorry… I can’t right now. If you have a change of clothes, go change. If you don’t have enough, we’ll go buy some later. If you keep living like that, I’ll be dead sooner or later.”

“I’m sorry.”

Alice pulled up her fallen shorts, tied the drawstring, and left the living room to head to the guest room.

(I don’t remember showing him anything that would shake him up that much. It was an accident to begin with. If he gets too embarrassed, I’ll end up embarrassed too. I’m dying of shame.)

Mr. Lion is pretty pure, huh? she muttered in her heart as she entered the guest room and closed the door. But her bravado only went that far.

Leaning her back against the door, Alice slid down to the floor.

Her wrists, pinned down firmly on the rug by his strong fingers. The kisses, repeated from different angles. The way he carefully but firmly pressed his weight against her, making her aware through the fabric of his hot body temperature and the significant difference in their builds.

(Kitty-cat…! Lies, that wasn’t a cat…!)

During the long kisses, he nibbled on her ears a few times, whispering along with his hot breath.

“I’ve liked you for a long time,” he said.

He gave her no chance to reply, immediately sealing her lips again. He devoured her until it was hard to breathe, toyed with her until she didn’t know what was what.

Remembering that storm-like time, Alice muttered to herself, “Pure…? What’s pure about that?”

That was unmistakably a large, ferocious carnivore.

“Delicious. It’s nice having a proper espresso maker at home.”

After changing into a summer sweater and skirt and borrowing the washroom to wash her face, Alice returned to the living room, took a sip of the cappuccino Kai had prepared for her, and her face broke into a smile.

“It’s here at home? Feel free to use it anytime.”

“…Yes. Huh?”

Hm? Something feels off? she thought, sitting side-by-side with Kai at the counter and looking at his profile as they drank coffee together.

He was adding more ear cuffs. They were so tasteful they were mesmerizing, accentuating his beautiful profile.

“I like looking at accessories, but I’m not very good at managing them. I’d probably lose piercings and ear cuffs right away. So, I admire people who can wear that kind of stuff in a laid-back, stylish way. I’m too scared to get my ears pierced anyway.”

“If you don’t have piercings now, I wouldn’t particularly recommend it. In the end, it’s still injuring your body.”

“Kai-san, was there a reason you got your ears pierced?”

“Ah… Not really. If I had to say, I think accessories are decorations, but they also feel like charms. Though I’m just parroting someone else. I asked someone who wore them really stylishly, ‘Is there any meaning to layering them?’ and they said, ‘Charms,’ and I thought that was kind of cool. I don’t wear them myself, but I like anklets too.”

Anklets…? Imagining it, Alice casually glanced at Kai’s feet. Immediately, Kai, who had been sipping from his coffee cup, spoke up.

“My feet aren’t anything interesting to look at, but Shirotsuki-san… Alice, your feet are a no. It’s not good to show them to people. Do you go to the sea or pools?”

“I don’t, really.”

“That’s good. Let’s just stay home with me forever.”

Given that Kai identified as an indoor person, there was nothing strange about what he said, but Alice couldn’t help feeling a sense of danger and changed the subject.

“When I hear ‘charms,’ it sounds like a good excuse, so it seems like you could wear them without feeling shy. Do you have any recommendations that are easy for beginners?”

Clunk. Kai set his cup down on the counter.

He swiveled his chair to face Alice directly and took her left hand.

“Yeah. The most effective charm, easy to wear and hard to lose. Recommended for beginners, and you can use it for life.”

“Wow, amazing. What is it?”

Kai stared into Alice’s eyes as he intertwined his fingers with hers.

“I think it’s pretty user-friendly, but I don’t have one either. Since we have the chance, why don’t we buy matching ones? We could even go today.”

“But it’s a holiday—is it okay to leave the house?”

“As long as we’re together, anywhere is fine. Let’s take our time looking in shops and go shopping.”

Oh, right, I need to buy loungewear too. Alice was about to agree to the suggestion when she realized, “Huh?”

“What should I do today? I’ve been banned from using the guest room, so I should go home, right?”

“Alice, your home is here. The ban is only on the bed, so feel free to use the room as you like.”

“At night, the sofa?”

“My bed is wide, so we can both use it normally.”

“…Huh?”

Something felt off. If she went along with this, it felt like she was about to step on what she thought was solid ground, only to plunge through into a bottomless swamp?

In the moment Alice hesitated over her next words, Kai’s smartphone, which had been on the counter, started ringing.

After a quick glance, Kai muttered, “Kido?” with a puzzled expression, then let go of Alice’s hand and stood up, picking up his phone. He gestured “Sorry” to Alice and answered the call.

“Morning. What’s up? …Huh? Why? No way. Can’t. Think about the situation. …Tch.”

It seemed the call had been cut off; Kai glared at the screen, his face twisted in frustration.

Alice had been leisurely drinking her cappuccino, but thinking it might be work-related since it was Kido-san, she asked, “Is something wrong?”

Kai answered with a deep, reluctant sigh.

“That work I left on Friday… Kido brought it over. He says he’s almost at the apartment now. Is that guy an idiot? Does he even understand the situation here? There was a chance we wouldn’t be able to let him in right away!”

“Um, the situation… I overslept, so I haven’t had breakfast yet, but if you tell him that, wouldn’t Kido-san understand? If there’s nothing at home, I can go buy something from the convenience store. I don’t know the area, but I’ll check a map or something.”

Kai smiled faintly at her.

“Don’t worry about food. Kido probably brought something. That guy brings ingredients to make me cook whatever he wants to eat. Since he knows you’re here today, he should have enough for three.”

“That’s so considerate!”

“The one who’s really considerate isn’t coming today! He’s definitely just doing this for fun!”

“Isn’t it urgent work? Or rather, if there’s food for me too, does that mean I can stay here?”

Well, I’ll take you up on that offer while she was saying that, Kido seemed to have passed through the entrance; Kai got a notification, and Kido came up to the room.

“Good morning, Shirotsuki-san. After what happened yesterday, were you able to calm down and sleep well?”

“Yes! Thanks to you, Kido-san, I slept really soundly. Straight through till morning. Thank you very much for that time!”

Even though she hadn’t told a single lie, Kai seemed to be sulking for some reason.

In contrast, Kido was smiling, looking in a wonderfully good mood.

They had met once the day before and spoken on the phone, but this was the first time Alice had seen Kido’s face properly, up close.

Kido was dressed just as casually as Kai, with a tanned face and wearing tinted glasses.

He had a good build, and standing next to him, Kai, who was the same height, looked slender.

“Kido-san, you have this refreshing vibe, like you’d be surfing in Shonan.”

“I get that a lot, but I’m an indoor person. On my days off, I get whoever can join into a group call on speaker and play online games together. At our age, the only one who’s always free is Kai, though.”

“Like Monster Hunter? That sounds fun. If I had a game console, I’d want to join from home too, but I’m a beginner, so I’d probably be completely lost.”

I am interested, though, Alice said offhandedly, and Kai immediately cut in.

“If you’re motivated, we can get two consoles, so it’s fine. Actually, we have a few consoles already, so if it’s something like Minecraft, we can make accounts for each console and play together.”

“I’ll buy my own. Huh?”

That’s not what I meant? The thought suddenly struck her, and Alice tilted her head.

Kido, who had been listening to the conversation with a very pleasant smile, murmured, “The next time Shirotsuki-san returns to her own home will probably be when she moves out. Kai may not look it, but when he sets his mind to something, he goes for it. He’s persistent.”

Huh? So, they’re on a first-name basis in private? As Alice thought this, Kai closed in on Kido, getting right up in his face, and said in a gloomy, withering voice, “You’ve got some nerve, coming here to interfere on purpose when you know that.”

Kido, still looking perfectly composed, pressed an eco-bag filled with what looked like ingredients into Kai’s hands and said, “I’m not interfering. I came to work. Come on, let’s get to it.”

Groaning, “Uggghhh,” Kai went to put the ingredients in the kitchen.

As he noisily stuffed the bag’s contents into the fridge, he asked, “Alice, what do you want for breakfast?” How dutiful.

“Can I have the leftover roast beef from yesterday?”

“Got it. I’ll add a salad.”

Watching Kai start moving around busily, Alice asked Kido, “What are those ingredients for? If you two are going to work now, should I do some of the prep work or something?”

“It’s fine, just leave it all to Kai. Or rather, that’s not just for lunch—it’ll take until evening, so that’s for dinner.”

Overhearing that, Kai glared at Kido with an extremely irritated expression and yelled, “Don’t mess with me!”