Chapter 8 …
“What?”
At those words, Rea shot upright and sat straight. Kevin looked at her as if to say she truly hadn’t thought about it at all.
“Not just that. It’ll be in front of everyone watching.”
“……”
“And in front of our parents… and Raymond.”
“W-wait, stop.”
“No, that’s not all. All those idiot mages will come too. Ursula, Ronald, Connie, Stephen.”
“Eek!”
“And of course, your coworkers from the Magic Tower.”
Rea’s face turned pale as she completely shut her mouth. Kevin shook his head slowly.
“Just as I thought. You didn’t think about any of it.”
After a moment of blank silence, Rea muttered to herself.
“Ah, seriously… should I practice or something?”
“…Should we?”
“Eh?”
She snapped her head to the side. Kevin was looking at her with a faint, amused smile.
And seeing that face brought back the sharp memory of their first kiss.
“W-what? I was just talking to myself, don’t worry about it.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to try it once?”
“Huh? Huh? Huh?”
“We’re already sitting this close anyway…”
Then slowly, Kevin’s face moved closer.
Time felt like it stretched dozens of times longer in that instant.
A cold sensation touched her lips—perhaps from the air in the room—and then the soft pressure of lips.
Their second kiss.
‘Hh—’
Rea’s mind stopped completely. She squeezed her eyes shut.
And then—
Kevin pulled away almost immediately. It wasn’t even a proper kiss; it was barely a touch before separating.
“Huh?”
Rea blinked and looked to the side in confusion. Kevin looked as if nothing had happened at all.
“What?”
“We just… kissed, didn’t we?”
Rea instinctively touched her lips. Of course there was no warmth left.
“It wasn’t really a kiss. It was just practice for one of the essential steps of marriage.”
“Ah… right.”
Her heart, which had been pounding wildly just moments ago, suddenly settled.
Rea still touched her lips absentmindedly as she thought.
‘It wasn’t like this last time.’
Back then, there had been something she couldn’t explain. But now… it felt like she had accidentally bumped her lips against a tree in a garden. Nothing at all.
‘So that feeling last time must’ve been my imagination.’
Above all, Kevin wasn’t even interested in women, right?
There was no way anything like that would happen with someone like him.
Reaching that conclusion, Rea felt a strange sense of peace and stability.
“Why that expression?”
At Kevin’s words, Rea casually draped her arm over his shoulder.
“I just solved a question I had. When we sit like this, we really do look like best friends, don’t we?”
“……”
“Kevin?”
Kevin suddenly went silent.
He avoided her gaze, looking elsewhere and muttering.
“If you stay like that, I can see everything.”
“See what?”
Still not looking at her, he pointed toward her chest.
“Huh?”
Startled by how she had lifted her arm earlier, two of her hooks had come undone. Despite her cute, youthful appearance, a slightly mature silhouette was faintly revealed.
“Ah!”
Rea jumped up in panic. She quickly turned around to fix her hooks, but her fingers kept fumbling.
‘How embarrassing…!’
Even if Kevin wasn’t interested in that sort of thing, he was still not a female friend. Her face burned red with embarrassment.
Then Kevin’s calm voice came.
“Looks like the hook got loose.”
“Y-yeah… it’s an old outfit.”
“Should I call a maid to fix it?”
As expected of considerate Kevin.
Rea only nodded.
Kevin stood up with a small grunt.
“Wait here. It’s fine when it’s just me, but it’d be a problem elsewhere.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Kevin smiled lightly, then left the room.
Only then did Rea let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness it’s Kevin…”
Even after seeing her like that, he hadn’t even blushed. He simply treated it like a minor issue and even offered to call a maid.
Seeing his reaction, no different from a male friend, Rea was once again convinced:
No matter how she looked at it, he really was the safest and most harmless man for her.
‘Yeah. If I was going to do a contract marriage anyway, I’m really glad it’s with Kevin.’
At that very moment, she had no idea that Kevin, looking out the window to calm his mind, had ears that were completely bright red.
Wedding Day
On the day of the wedding.
Bride Rea and groom Kevin entered together, holding hands according to Maclean custom.
At that moment, all the lights in the hall went dark.
“What’s going on?”
Confused whispers spread among the guests as everything turned pitch black.
Then the circular ceiling slowly opened.
What appeared beyond it was a black canvas filled with an entire constellation, glittering like it had been suspended in the sky itself.
A night sky filled with countless stars.
Gasps erupted from the guests.
Rea, excited like a child, murmured:
“Kevin, this is amazing.”
Kevin looked very satisfied with her reaction, but Rea was actually thinking:
‘This is incredible… I should calculate the ROI and, if it’s good, maybe commercialize it for other clients.’
It was fortunate her dangerously practical thoughts weren’t written on her face.
In any case, the wedding—packed with magical engineering technology—was flawless.
A brief officiant speech, quick exchange of rings, and excellent food—Rea even thought:
‘Isn’t the food actually the most important part of a wedding?’
Soon the wedding ended in the blink of an eye.
And then a new stage awaited them.
‘The first night…’
A wooden door decorated with a red floral wreath stood before them.
Beyond it would be their bridal room, filled with a dangerously intimate atmosphere.
Feeling oddly pressured, Rea sighed deeply.
A voice came from behind her.
“What are you doing not going in?”
Startled, she turned around to see Kevin in a nightgown.
Unlike her nervous self, he looked oddly relaxed.
“I was waiting for you. It feels a bit awkward.”
“You must be tired. You should’ve gone in first.”
As always, his tone was gentle and considerate.
Looking at Kevin, now fresh and glowing after showering, Rea muttered:
“You wiped off your makeup, but somehow you look even brighter.”
Then she gathered herself and opened the door.
Completely unaware of what Kevin would become inside.
A short while later
On a wide double bed, the two were having a conversation filled with misunderstandings and confusion.
For reference, Rea was completely trapped between Kevin’s arms.
“You… didn’t you like Pedro?”
“What are you even talking about? Who is Pedro?”
Rea licked her dry lips nervously.
“Don’t you remember Pedro?”
“Who is that supposed to be?”
“My ex-fiancé! You said you liked my man! That’s why my engagement was called off!”
Kevin frowned, thinking hard.
Then he spoke:
“What are you talking about? I actually hated that guy.”
‘That can’t be… back then—’
Rea’s thoughts spiraled in confusion between past and present.
Then Kevin’s red lips—like freshly bloomed petals—filled her vision.
“I want to kiss you.”
His voice was sweet and melting, his breath hot.
Under the moonlight coming through the window, his half-exposed body beneath the loosened robe glowed pale white.
His smooth lines and lean, well-defined muscles were dangerously attractive.
But more than that—
That expression.
‘Was Kevin always like this?’
It was the face of a predator who had long waited for its prey to walk right into its grasp.
This was not the Kevin Tilman she knew.
The familiar friend had vanished, replaced by a dangerous stranger now above her.
Rea swallowed hard without realizing it.
Just as her heart was about to collapse into chaos, an old Maclean saying surfaced in her mind:
“Even if a lion bites you, survive if you keep your mind clear.”
“W-wait, Kevin… you—”
“Hm?”
“You actually…”
Rea pushed him away with all her strength.
“You like men!”
At those words, Kevin released her shoulders and leaned back.
‘I didn’t want to say it so directly…’
Kevin Tilman was someone who could captivate anyone—man or woman—with just a glance.
One suitor who sent Rea flowers daily had fallen hopelessly for Kevin’s smile and started chasing him instead.
Another suitor waiting after work had been so mesmerized by Kevin’s eyes that he changed his target entirely.
Even her ex-fiancé Pedro had been no exception.
But what didn’t make sense was that Kevin always rejected them coldly… and then returned to her.
‘Why?’
Was it that so-called friendship?
Rea continued hesitantly:
“To be honest, Kevin… I’m a woman, not a man. I’m not your type. Even if we’re married, it doesn’t mean we have to… you know… spend the night together.”
