Chapter 7 …
Was it because of the silence… and how uncomfortably close he was?
An unknown tension slowly stirred her heart.
Rea’s thought process froze for a moment.
“Ah.”
It was because his smooth yet hot lips softly pressed against hers.
Kevin gently yet boldly invaded her mouth. His breath mixing with hers was incredibly sweet.
Every time their lips met and parted, the wet, sticky sound made her face burn bright red. Or maybe it wasn’t just the sound.
‘Can you even feel this good without any emotions?’
It felt like drifting through the sky on clouds, light and hazy… and at the same time, a strange sensation tickled somewhere inside her body.
A soft, breathy moan slipped from Rea’s lips.
“Mmnh.”
At her reaction, Kevin smiled faintly for a moment and then gently pulled away.
Even after the kiss ended, silence lingered for a while.
Perhaps Rea should have stepped in to fix the awkward atmosphere.
‘I just kissed Kevin…’
Right now, she was too busy trying to calm her wildly beating heart. She pretended to be calm, but her burning face could not be hidden.
Kevin, who had been staring at her, turned to Oscar with a satisfied expression.
“I understand it may be against etiquette and propriety, but we had no choice if we wanted to prove that Rea and I are truly lovers.”
“……”
“And I also thought it would help Sir Oscar clear his feelings.”
Oscar Donon stood frozen, unable to say anything, his face turning red in confusion. Eventually, even his eyes grew moist.
Seeing him look so devastated made Rea instinctively take a step forward, but Kevin firmly grabbed her wrist.
Oscar, who had been silent with his head lowered, finally lifted his face.
“I understand. I will take my leave now.”
“Sir Oscar.”
Oscar looked at Rea with sad eyes.
“I apologize for interfering between you two.”
“……”
“I said this before as well, but I truly did not know. If I had known, I would never have proposed the marriage.”
His sincere gaze and sorrowful voice made Rea’s chest ache.
Oscar stepped closer and gently took her hand, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. The spot where his lips touched felt burning hot.
“I wish you both happiness.”
With a face that looked like he might burst into tears at any moment, Oscar left the reception room, and Paula followed him out to see him off.
Watching his back made Rea feel extremely uneasy.
“Don’t be swayed by a man’s tears, Rea.”
“Hmm?”
She turned around to see Kevin smiling lightly.
“Men are all foxes.”
He said it while smiling with gently curved eyes. Seeing that, she thought:
‘You’re not exactly one to say that.’
But then she quickly corrected herself.
‘No, no. Calling our angelic Kevin a fox? What am I thinking?’
“Thank you for everything, Kevin.”
“What do you mean, thank you?”
Kevin shook his head at her sincere words.
“The real thanks haven’t even started yet.”
“Wait, what are you two doing right now!”
Raymond, who had been ignored until now, shouted angrily, his face red.
“You saw it yourself, Sir Raymond. And if possible, please use proper honorifics.”
“You brat… do you not understand the situation? Do you think this is a joke?”
Raymond rolled up his sleeves. He rushed toward Kevin’s face like he was about to throw a punch, but then hesitated when he looked up at him.
Kevin’s smile had vanished completely as he looked down at him.
“I think the one who doesn’t understand the situation is you.”
“Y-you…”
As Kevin stepped forward, Raymond instinctively stepped back.
“Even though we’ve known each other since we were kids, ‘you brat’ is a bit much, don’t you think, Sir Raymond?”
‘Did he always have this side?’
She was seeing many unfamiliar sides of Kevin today. It felt like he had changed after returning from his business trip.
Raymond forced his voice out.
“Y-you’re going to act all bold like that? House Donon was practically ready to give me everything! And you ruined the marriage arrangement—”
“‘To me,’ you say? Not Rea?”
“Hah, you really don’t understand. I am the only heir of the noble House Flynn. And Rea is just one of the few cards I can use—”
“That’s enough.”
A dangerous aura began to flow from Kevin. Raymond flinched.
“What do you call something like that again?”
“What, what—”
“Ah, right. Trash talk, I believe?”
At the unexpected words, Raymond’s eyes widened.
“W-what did you just say? Trash talk? How dare you… do you have no conscience?”
“Will this do?”
Kevin took out the marriage proposal document he had shown earlier again.
Raymond, startled, accepted it and opened it. His eyes widened.
“Th-this… is this really—”
“I will repay the debt. And also.”
Kevin stepped closer and pointed at a section of the document.
“And I will provide monthly living expenses to Sir Raymond.”
It was far more than what Oscar had offered. Enough to live more luxuriously than most nobles. Raymond barely restrained the corners of his mouth from rising.
“Ah, of course, there are two conditions.”
“Please speak, Sir Kevin. Anything.”
Raymond’s attitude had already become polite. Rea felt disgusted at her brother’s shamelessness.
“One. Sir Raymond will be banned from entering all gambling houses.”
Raymond’s eyes widened at the “gambling ban.”
“What?!”
“Oh? Wasn’t that what you wanted? Gambling addiction is more serious than you think. You can’t overcome it alone.”
Raymond clenched his trembling fists.
Kevin continued.
“Two. Transfer the authority of the family head to Rea.”
“What?! That’s insulting—”
Among the powers of the family head, the most dangerous for Raymond was the “right of disownment,” which could expel disgraced members from the family.
In other words, Rea would now hold his leash.
“You only became head because you were the eldest son. If we consider future magical inheritance, Rea becoming head would be better for the family.”
Raymond said angrily,
“I am still the head of House Flynn! If I refuse this marriage arrangement—”
“Did you say you used illegal loan sharks?”
Raymond raised his head sharply, startled by Kevin’s expression. He was smiling politely, but his eyes were cold as ice.
“I heard that if you don’t resolve it within a week, you’ll be dragged off as a slave.”
“Hmph! T-that… I won’t be the only one taken! Rea will also—”
“Only Sir Raymond will be taken as a slave.”
“What are you—”
Kevin’s expression turned even colder.
“Because I will make it happen.”
“…Are you threatening me right now?”
“Well. I heard those slaves are used by pirate crews in the Mythos Strait for life. Of course, the choice is yours as the ‘head.’”
Kevin finished speaking with a slight smile.
In the end, Raymond had no choice but to accept all of Kevin’s conditions.
After he left, only the two of them remained in the reception room.
“Sorry, Kevin. I got you involved in something like this.”
Rea apologized bitterly, but Kevin looked oddly cheerful.
“What are you talking about? I was the one who proposed it first.”
He looked almost relieved… even victorious.
Rea looked at him with new eyes. They had known each other for ten years, but today she felt like she had discovered many new sides of him.
However, anyone who had ever worked with Kevin would have been speechless.
Not in a good way, but in a bad way.
Rea had no idea that among business partners, Kevin was known as a “ruthless one” and a “leech.”
And she knew even less that Kevin acted sweet like cotton candy and gentle like melting sugar only toward Rea.
＊ ＊ ＊
After that, everything went smoothly.
Of course, the Tilman household servants, who had been betting on “who on earth the picky young master Kevin Tilman was dating,” were thrown into confusion upon seeing Rea.
But Kevin’s parents, Constance and Herbert, welcomed the decision with open arms.
‘We were truly worried Kevin would grow old alone and die.’
‘My wife is right. We seriously worried about our son dying alone.’
They even prepared Rea’s room so she could stay until the wedding.
Everyone in House Tilman sincerely welcomed her, and thanks to Kevin taking charge of wedding preparations, Rea didn’t have to lift a finger.
‘This is what happiness is.’
Even though the wedding was already the next day, she was enjoying her usual sweet rest.
“Ah, this is nice.”
A huge, soft sofa wrapped around her body. She lay on it, reading a novel with her eyes, grabbing cookies with her hand, and happily chewing away.
A brand-new mystery novel brought by the head butler, madeleines baked by the head chef, and rose-scented tea brewed by the head maid—true bliss.
“Excuse me.”
Then Kevin entered after knocking, looking down at her with slight disbelief.
“Tomorrow is your wedding, and you look completely unbothered.”
Rea licked cookie crumbs from her thumb and index finger and replied.
“Well, everything’s already ready, isn’t it?”
Not just “ready”—everything from A to Z was flawless thanks to Kevin.
“That’s true, but you…”
Kevin smiled and sat next to her.
“Does kissing me not feel like a big deal to you?”
