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It felt like it would take forever for him to actually hug me at this rate, so I took the lead and wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Uh, ugh…!”
“Arms on the shoulders. Relax. Just think of it as if we're dancing.”
“Ah, cough, yes…!”
The way his arms obediently settled around my shoulders as I instructed was truly awkward.
At this point, my faith in Yulan was bound to waver.
On what basis on earth did he pick these three?
However, since I couldn't openly grumble in front of the person himself, I quickly managed my expression.
I tightened my grip, completely closing the slight gap that had remained between Sol and me.
Then, I looked up toward the nape of his neck.
“Look down at me. Make eye contact naturally.”
Sol seemed so stiff I thought I could hear gears grinding, but he followed my instructions exactly.
While looking straight into Sol's brown eyes, I slowly stroked his back.
At that, his back stiffened slightly as if he were nervous.
But soon, he seemed to consciously relax his muscles, becoming considerably softer.
‘Maybe this isn't so bad.’
Perhaps Sol was the only candidate Yulan had sincerely prepared.
Maybe he intentionally included flawed candidates like Jack and Vic just to make Sol shine more, or something like that.
Wearing a satisfied smile, I turned my head toward Yulan.
The moment I took in his face, I unconsciously gasped.
‘Why is he making that expression…?’
I might have understood, even slightly, if Yulan's face had been crumpled or if his eyebrows had been slanted in irritation.
But that face—perfectly matching the word 'void,' showing not a single trace of emotion—left me confused.
It was clear that something was displeasing him, but since I couldn't tell what it was, my mind became cluttered.
After hesitating, I summoned the courage that was sinking to the bottom and asked.
“Yul—no, Nox. How is it? Do we look good together?”
“…I don't know. It feels like you don't suit each other at all.”
As expected.
It must have been Sol's reaction, which was like an unlubricated gear, that was the problem.
That was fine; it was something that could be fixed by increasing physical contact and getting used to it.
Since Sol seemed to stiffen even more at Yulan's cold words, I added more to clear up the misunderstanding.
“That's because Sol is still… Ah, I can call you Sol, right?”
“Huh? Ah, yes, of course, certainly!”
“Thank you. Anyway, Sol is…”
Fortunately, as I spoke, Sol's tension seemed to ease again.
Everything would have gone smoothly if not for the sound of Yulan's laughter that burst out.
“Our lady is truly quite affectionate.”
“No…”
Before I could refute, the arrow flew toward Sol.
“You look far from being lovers; why don't you try locking lips?”
“What? No, Captain, that's a bit…”
“If you're going to act like lovers, you should be able to do that naturally. At this rate, you couldn't even fool the guards in front of the lady's house.”
Though I had mentally prepared myself, any contact beyond a hug was still burdensome.
After all, we were in a relationship where we hadn't even had a proper conversation, let alone spent any significant time together.
But if I thought of him as a sacrifice to expel Raymond from my life, then yes, I could give up my lips.
Hiding my embarrassment, I spoke to Sol.
“It's okay. Just think of me as a woman you've met before, and be comfortable.”
“M-my lady, really…”
“Yes, do it. I sincerely need Sol.”
I tilted my head slightly and gently closed my eyes.
I took a deep breath to suppress my nerves and waited for the sensation to come.
Until then, I thought I could handle it.
But as I felt the breath gradually drawing closer, I couldn't instinctively hide the trembling of my eyelashes.
The moment the warmth of his breath touched the area near my cheek.
“Stop. Sol, as I thought, you won't do either.”
“M-me? Uh.”
“Get out.”
In the blink of an eye, Sol was half-dragged out by Yulan.
I was left standing there alone, eyes closed, waiting for a kiss.
As I stood there, unable to even close my slightly parted mouth in sheer absurdity, Yulan had already firmly shut the door and returned.
The moment I met his green eyes, the words I had been suppressing poured out.
“Are you crazy? What was that all of a sudden? It's only natural that Sol is awkward. They just met for the first time. And it's not like you explained the whole request so he could act properly…”
“The way you call his name is quite natural.”
He seemed to be quietly listening to the stream of complaints, only to fire back with a point that completely missed the mark.
However, now that it was just the two of us, there was no need to hide my words or reactions.
So, I let out a loud snort, intentionally making sure he heard me, and retorted.
“Ha! I called your name quite naturally when I first met you, too. What's so strange about that?”
“I never said you were strange. I just said I didn't like it.”
Now it was my turn to have a strange expression.
Without fixing my crooked mouth, I asked in a skeptical voice.
“Are you going to pull that nonsense about jealousy again? Even if things go wrong, I have no intention of retaliating against Sol, Vic, or Jack. They didn't even step foot into this in the first place, so why would I?”
“No, I'm actually a bit surprised because that makes more sense than I expected.”
His voice was utterly nonchalant, completely different from mine.
But that made it feel even more sincere.
Yulan, who was touching his lips with a blank expression, spoke.
“What should I do, Imperial Princess. Is this what they call physical attraction?”
“…This is unbelievable.”
“Right? I feel the same. Why does it irritate me so much when another man clings to you…?”
This emotion… how should I describe it?
Absurdity? Bewilderment? Anger?
Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a sweet emotion like trembling or excitement.
“No, you're the one who came here to help me pick a man to be by my side. And you're the one who picked all those candidates.”
“Exactly. It wasn't like this when I was filtering the candidates. I thought Jack's shyness would provide an element of unpredictability that might fool the Duke, and since Vic has a family, I thought he'd understand the Duke's heart better and point out things I missed.”
“Hah… Then, what about Sol?”
“I think I heard in passing that he's not good at sweet talk… Ah, is that it?”
Yulan, who had been muttering to himself, suddenly tilted his head as if he had reached a realization.
Then, looking back at me, he said:
“I think I just didn't want to see the Imperial Princess wavering for a man who isn't me.”
“…Huh?”
So, right now…
“You're saying you picked candidates who would all fail the criteria?”
“I didn't realize it when I was picking them, but thinking about it now, that's the case.”
What kind of absurd thing is this?
I suppose this is what it's like to be scammed for the first time in one's life.
While I was too speechless from the absurdity to say anything, Yulan, who had approached me before I knew it, lightly grabbed my chin.
He narrowed the distance until our noses almost touched, doing this while our breaths mingled.
“It seems there's no one but me who can play the role of the Imperial Princess's lover.”
“…Surely you're not calling this a confession?”
He seemed to ponder my question for a moment before stating firmly.
“No, it's not that. Rather than love… hmm, should I call it a desire for conquest?”
“Conquest… Are you comparing a person to land right now?”
“Hmm. Yes, that fits perfectly. I get angry when someone else arbitrarily plants a flag on my land. I think it's something like that.”
The fact that he took my sarcasm literally and even answered seriously wasn't even funny.
After a short snort, without even considering the distance, I drove my fist straight into Yulan's cheek.
“Yulan Artlux. You are a truly massive son of a bitch.”
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