## Chapter 257 – Malice (20)
My chest felt strangely fluttery, and I could feel my heart beating faster than usual. I couldn’t be sure, but was this the emotion called love?
After realizing that fact, Veronica’s attitude toward Ryu subtly changed. She would linger near Ryu as he sat in front of the cabin fireplace reading a book, or she would glance at his face. *Ahem*, she cleared her throat and casually asked,
“What are you doing?”
Ryu, as always, didn’t make eye contact and replied nonchalantly,
“Reading a book.”
It was a dismissive tone, as if he were talking to a family member.
Veronica, who would normally be nagging him to build up his strength instead of reading, showed interest in the book he was reading.
“Oh? What book is it?”
“Just a novel to pass the time. It was on the bookshelf here. You should read a book sometime too, Veronica, instead of just exercising.”
“Oh? Maybe I should read a book too…”
After saying that, Veronica headed for the bookshelf. Seeing this, Ryu raised his upper body in disbelief and looked at her.
“The Demon Lord reading a book? Doesn’t seem like it suits you.”
Veronica’s face flushed for a moment, and she stood stiffly in front of the bookshelf, arms crossed.
“Sh-shut up! What do you know about me? I read books too.”
She stopped talking and pursed her lips.
The dust piled on the books on the bookshelf seemed to be pitifully waiting for their owner’s touch, and at the same time, they were completely denying her words. Veronica shrieked like a thief caught red-handed.
“Shut up!”
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
She grabbed a random book from the bookshelf. She didn’t even check the cover and plopped down on the sofa, but Ryu smiled and spoke to her from the side.
“Oh… so you were interested in that kind of book?”
Only then did Veronica look at the book she had brought. She could tell just by the cover. This was a book depicting the love between a man and a woman… Of all the books to pick, she had to pick this one? Veronica could feel her face turning red and then burning up.
“Shut up!”
She felt like she would lose her mind if she read this kind of book in front of Ryu, but she didn’t want to show that she was conscious of it. Veronica stubbornly opened the book and began to turn the pages with trembling hands.
The book, which was mainly filled with illustrations, described the relationship between a man and a woman, and their positions in detail. No matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t find any text. It was an obscene book made up only of pictures, but for some reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
How did this happen? She just wanted to share the things that the person she liked was doing.
Every time she glanced at Ryu, her fingertips trembled slightly.
Every time she thought about how she had committed the poses in this book while drunk, she raised the book to eye level to hide her expression. Not only that, but every time she imagined Ryu and herself projected onto the characters in the book, she felt like her reason was melting away. She couldn’t stay here any longer. Veronica got up, threw the book down, and said in an indifferent tone,
“Ah, it’s too childish to watch.”
“Too childish? This is an inappropriate book for kids to see.”
Veronica put her arm around Ryu’s head and began to hit him on the head.
“Are you trying to get fresh with me, you little punk?”
Ryu playfully laughed and screamed.
“Ow!”
It was the same old joke, but Veronica’s fists didn’t have as much strength as before. Every time his soft hair brushed against her hand, she swallowed hard and carefully observed his reaction.
It was her first time having feelings for someone, so she didn’t know how to act.
As a result, Veronica couldn’t treat Ryu in the same way as before, as if she was broken, and she was treating him in a childish way, like kids who bully the person they like.
How nice would it be to properly confess or just lay him down on the bed? She had thought about that for a moment, but it was impossible to do while sober. But she didn’t want to borrow the power of alcohol again.
As Veronica’s subtle changes continued, Ryu slowly began to notice her changes. People are ultimately creatures of habit, and before Veronica knew it, she was subtly touching Ryu’s body or getting closer to him than before.
Ryu tilted his head in confusion and asked,
“Veronica, why have you been acting like this lately?”
“W-what do you mean?”
“Should I say that your attitude towards me has become subtly softer? Do you perhaps… like me?”
Ryu said it with his usual playful smile, but the reaction he got was different than before.
Veronica felt like her mind was fading.
She knew it too. Ryu probably said it casually, like his usual jokes. If it had been her before, she would have cursed and smacked him on the head. But her body didn’t react properly. She just stood there, catching her breath, as if she was broken.
Her heart was beating like crazy. Was it going to explode? Her blood vessels were racing through her body, causing a more rapid reaction than usual. Her face was hot as if it was burning, but on the contrary, her mind went blank. Most of all, the biggest problem was… that he had found out the truth that Veronica had been keeping to herself.
“T-that’s… uh?”
Veronica stammered and tried to step back, but she lost her balance and tripped over her own feet. Unlike her usual self, who boasted a well-trained body, she staggered and almost fell, but Ryu quickly grabbed her wrist. Of course, it was impossible for Ryu’s delicate wrist to completely support someone falling backward. Ryu was pulled by her and fell with her, ending up in her arms.
The heartbeat heard beyond the hard muscles even felt like it was louder than usual.
In that fleeting moment, Veronica’s eyes wavered.
If it had been normal, she would have shouted, “Get off me!” but now she couldn’t open her mouth. Rather, she even wished that this state would last forever. Veronica blinked and stared intently at Ryu’s face, which was close to her.
‘So close.’
His face with his attractive long eyelashes, the body temperature felt as their hearts touched, the breath that touched her face, were all too close. Everything was so clear and vivid that… she even felt like she was in a dream. But the sound of her heart, which was as loud as a scream, was telling her that this was reality.
Ryu looked at Veronica and tilted his head slightly. His expression, which had always been playful when he faced Veronica, slowly changed.
First, bewilderment.
“I said it as a joke… was it real?”
“… .”
Ryu’s voice was light as usual, but it was a little shaky. Ryu’s face, which had been filled with embarrassment, gradually changed. Veronica had no idea what he wanted to say.
She didn’t want to hear it.
If it was going to be hurtful, it was better not to hear it from the beginning.
Veronica swallowed. She had to run away. She had to say something to gloss over this situation.
“N-no way?! Someone like you, who would…”
“Then why are you avoiding my eyes like that?”
Ryu whispered softly.
Veronica wanted to kick down the door and get out of the cabin right away. Wouldn’t Ryu forget about her if she locked herself in the mountains for about a week? But strangely, her body wouldn’t move. Ryu was still lying on top of her, and she wasn’t even thinking about shaking him off.
A space with only the two of them, an awkward silence.
The lazy sunlight was shining on them from outside the window.
Ryu stared at her for a moment and then chuckled.
“…What are you going to do now?”
Veronica had never been this stiff, even when she had been hit in the head with a hammer. His words hit her harder than any shock she had ever experienced.
“W-what do you mean, what am I going to do?”
All she could do in this situation was run away. She didn’t want her inner thoughts to be revealed. The embarrassing feelings that she couldn’t tell anyone made her think of several excuses to get out of this situation. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t get the words that were welling up in her throat out.
She already knew it too. Just like Ryu had realized her feelings.
That his attitude was no longer playful.
Ryu, who would normally have made a mischievous joke to change the atmosphere, was looking at her with strangely serious eyes.
Those clear eyes, like a deer’s, were so deep, so warm…
Veronica was suffocating. She couldn’t help but avoid his gaze, feeling like she was drowning in his eyes.
Ryu was quietly waiting for her answer, still on top of her. As if giving her time to choose.
“Veronica.”
When he called her quietly, Veronica was startled and reacted.
“W-what?!”
“It’s not true?”
Veronica pursed her lips. If she answered like this, it felt like there would be no turning back.
Whether she chose to accept or reject, an irreversible result was waiting for her.
But this was a betrayal. Knowing the pain of losing her precious person, was she going to take Ryu, who was precious to someone else? She had to deny it now. She had to shout, “Am I crazy? Of course, it’s a joke!” She had to get over it shamelessly, like she always did. But the words that came out of Veronica’s mouth were the most sincere words she had ever said today.
“…Fuck, I don’t know.”
The honest feelings that she couldn’t escape from finally came out of her throat.
At those words, Ryu’s eyes wavered, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
When Veronica saw his reaction, she realized she had made a mistake.
Before Ryu could say anything, Veronica reflexively pushed him away and jumped up from her seat.
“A-anyway! That’s not it! It’s definitely not! Forget everything that happened here!”
She coughed a few times, as if trying to hide the burning sensation on her face, and then walked towards the door without saying anything else.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know! I’m going out to get some fresh air!”
It was an act no different from running away, but if she stayed here with Ryu, she felt like her heart wouldn’t be able to handle it. It was already close enough to the limit.
Just as she was about to open the door and go outside, Ryu threw out a short sentence in a slightly different tone.
“Don’t run away.”
Veronica flinched.
“You know that I didn’t ask you as a joke, right?”
“Then… then what am I supposed to do? Yeah, fuck! I like you! I like you, but this is a feeling that I shouldn’t have!”
Ryu quietly mulled over her words.
It was a confession and a denial of herself at the same time.
Veronica looked at Ryu, panting. The precarious expression she was showing for the first time, as if she was about to cry at any moment.
Ryu sighed briefly and then looked at her intently and opened his mouth.
“Who decided that you shouldn’t like me?”
Veronica flinched. Ryu approached her little by little and continued to speak.
“I know. There’s nothing more painful than putting restrictions on your own feelings.”
Veronica was speechless at Ryu’s words. Ryu, who had come close to her, asked her one last time in a quiet but firm voice.
“Are you going to run away, Veronica? Or are you going to admit it?”
Veronica pursed her lips. Her heart was beating like crazy.
To be honest, she wanted to run away. The fruit in front of her was sweet, but she was also afraid of dealing with what would happen after that. She was scared, but even more strongly than that…
She wanted to be in his arms.
More than anything, she didn’t want to run away anymore.
It was okay not to be drunk. She already had a feeling like she was getting drunk, and she laid down with Ryu as if she was being sucked into the bed with him.
