If They Get Obsessed, I’m Doomed - Chapter 67

Chapter 34.2

Thankfully, Skylar reluctantly turned his attention towards her. While Devoncia’s eyes followed, Ariel pretended not to notice, urgently guiding Skylar out, who surprisingly complied. They pushed through the canopy as she led the way. Their figures grew distant as they exited the tent.

Devoncia rested his chin on his hand, his face now expressionless. His tilted posture sharply expressed his dissatisfaction.

Anastasia finally opened her mouth.

“That was quite unpleasant behavior. It seems the Prince lacks foresight, as is the Countess’s daughter.”

“….”

“His Highness held your head too high in front of Your Highness, and I worried what might happen if he even reached out to you. He always tries to imitate Your Highness’s composure, but he just can’t…”

“Anastasia.”

“Yes, Your Highness…?”

“Boisterous.”

It was essentially an order to keep her mouth shut.

At Devoncia’s cold response, Anastasia froze as if a knife had been pressed against her throat.

̊ · : * ✧* : · ̊

Devoncia was only provoking Skylar, so it was best to keep the two apart.

Ariel decided that and led Skylar away. Before she knew it, she found herself in a situation she had been trying to avoid—having to face him unavoidably. She planned to briefly explain what happened and part ways. However, Skylar didn’t seem to have any intention of ending the conversation short. When she tried to stop near the tent, he grabbed her and pulled her away.

Before long, he took the lead and walked around the lake. He even dismissed his aide, creating a private space for the two of them.

It had been a month since they last met.

As the two of them stood facing each other under the weeping willows, the surroundings were silent, without any noise. Skylar’s demeanor wasn’t just calm but rather cold.

Ariel’s eyes lowered quietly.

The reunion wasn’t pleasant. Their last parting at the Viscount’s estate hadn’t been good either, making the current situation even more awkward.

“Your Highness.”

Ariel moved her tongue to speak first, intending to momentarily set aside her blatant position and the stiffness of the atmosphere by avoiding eye contact. She decided to discuss the circumstances briefly and then be done with it.

“The reason I’m here is because Princess Chappelle and His Highness brought me along. After meeting in the hall, she personally invited me here, and I met His Highness the Crown Prince afterward. I didn’t dare refuse when he offered me a ride, so I accompanied them here.”

Ariel did her best to recount the circumstances to ensure Skylar wouldn’t misunderstand.

His expressionless face suddenly crumpled.

“Why are you so formal when speaking? At least greet me first.”

As his favorability increased, he now openly demanded for them to speak more casually. Ariel hesitantly chose her words for the greeting.

“…It’s been nearly a month since we last met. Your Highness, how have you been?”

“…Forget it. If that’s how it’s going to be, don’t bother greeting me.”

As if he was dissatisfied with something else, he cut off her carefully chosen inquiry about his well-being. Ariel became speechless for a moment, but she quickly returned to the main topic.

“So, is the explanation sufficient?”

“I expected it to some extent, so… yeah. That’s enough of the explanation.”

“Oh, good. I’m glad.”

With that, the conversation came to an end.

“….”

As the main reason for leaving the tent disappeared, an awkward silence settled between them. Ariel, who found this moment difficult to bear, was the first to open her mouth again.

“I ended up disobeying Your Highness’s order not to touch your body. Thank you for overlooking my unruly behavior.”

“It wasn’t exactly… unruly.”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s generosity.”

“What generosity. Forget that order.”

“No, I committed rudeness. Even now, I’ve taken up Your Highness’s precious time for too long. I’ll go back quickly.”

Ariel effectively ended the conversation by saying she would go back. She didn’t want to increase Skylar’s favorability any further. It was a form of evasion, no different from fleeing from him.

“….”

“…Your Highness?”

Skylar closed his mouth at the mention of returning. His expression, once cold, changed in a strange way. He hesitated and then opened his mouth.

“Didn’t you want to see me?”

Rather than asking out of curiosity, it was a tone that seemed to be pressing for what he wanted. He looked as though she had to really want to see him.

For some reason, his gaze was strangely poignant.

‘‘What should I say about this…’

Setting aside her embarrassment, Ariel couldn’t quite grasp the meaning. In fact, she wanted to turn the question back on him. While she was grateful for the benefits she had received from him, was it really necessary to miss him after just one month?

“…I’m always thankful for your efforts in helping with my transfer. You’ve been very generous to me…”

“No, that’s not what I want to hear. That’s not it, you…”

Skylar trailed off his words.

Ariel was curious about the interruption.

What was he going to say? As she stared at him intently, a flush crossed his face as he had somehow accepted the meaning of the gaze.

“That… It’s nothing. Forget about it.”

He muttered vaguely, averting his eyes. Despite his nonchalant dismissal, there was a subtle hint of disappointment in his demeanor. Even though he wasn’t a straightforward person, he was also bad at hiding his emotions, so Ariel couldn’t help but notice even more. She gradually became aware of his feelings.

‘There’s no way I wouldn’t know if she shows it off like that…’

Yet she couldn’t just blindly fulfill his expectations. What she wanted was a balance of favorability from the targets—no one should be overwhelmed.

‘…Still, I have about half a heart left to spare, so it should be okay to live up to his expectations a little.’

Anyway, the target number was three hearts. Purely in terms of numbers, she still needed more of his favor, so there was no need to push him away already.

“…Your Highness, um… the lake… the lake is beautiful!”

Skylar’s eyes subtly turned towards her under the pretext of a forced conversation topic.

“Huh… Yes.”

The awkwardness of his response was accompanied by a hint of anticipation.

Ariel hesitated for a moment but eventually decided to fulfill his expectations.

“Your Highness… Would you like to take a walk together for a moment?”

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