To My Gentle Villain

Chapter 28

"I heard as soon as you came back from downtown, you locked yourself up in the study."

"Yes... Reading the newspaper... ."

"The capital's newspaper?"

"Yes, I had a lot of questions."

Gerald nodded his head in understanding, then put a finger into her curled up hand. Then, holding his finger tightly, she turned around.

He chuckled as he watched the jewel-like light in Dahlia's blue eyes.

The guiding began with her clenched hand. Feeling as if he was looking at a group of soft stars in the night sky. The power, which has been messed up by hard training, found its place. He kissed the back of Dahlia's hand, clutching his finger, pulled the cushion up and laid down with a relaxed expression on his face.

"I'm curious. How does it feel... . getting guided?"

Dahlia tried to raise her eyelids a little more. Her senses were dull, as if she had been immersed in her hot water, perhaps because she was not fully awake.

"Well... . It depends on my condition. Sometimes it's as dazzling as lying on the beach in Ishiyan and basking in the sun, and sometimes it's as pleasant as the autumn wind blowing after the rain. But like now, it's a tickling feeling caressing a sore spot. The calmness of finding a place I like the most, sister."

Tickling.

Dahlia looked down at her lower belly as her seal was flowing. Although she was obviously guiding, she never had her seal activated before Gerald.

But why in front of that man? Because he's a high-ranking sentinel? But neither Gerald nor his father had the power of a Royal Sentinel.

"Gerald, have you ever met a guide with a high matching rate?"

Gerald's expression changed, as he was playing around with her hair. A ferocious light flashed in his once boyish eyes.

"I have. Why are you curious about that?"

"How does it feel?"

"Why are you curious?"

Whether it's because he didn't want to answer or he was shy, the tips of Gerald's ears grew red, his mischievous eyes growing wide.

"Can't I be curious? I need to know how it feels, so I can protect my body. Rodrigo mentioned it. If the matching rate is high, the seal may be broken."

"Really?"

"Yes."

In fact, Rodrigo didn't openly say that the seal would be broken, but Gerald wouldn't doubt her. Worried, he opened his mouth reluctantly.

"When I touch it, I know it naturally. It's so hot that I can't just describe how good it feels. I want to touch it more, I want to swallow it in one bite... . It feels like that. I'm a sentinel, so I don't know how the guide feels, but maybe it's similar?"

"... So is it good? If you're not afraid, isn't it good?"

"No. A guide's point of view will be different. Literally, energy is taken by a Sentinel. Everything in here.... I can't imagine how it would feel."

Gerald rested his forehead on her chest. Dahlia calmly stroked the back of his silly head.

You want to swallow it in one bite?

'It's the first time I've ever felt so good about guiding. It's so terribly good.'

Did the Young Duke feel the same way as Gerald that day?

How complicated.

Strangely, as time went on, her Sentinel powers grew stagnant, while her guiding power kept growing.

She stroked Gerald's soft hair, a little scared.

What if her Sentinel energy is consumed by the Guide's power like this... .

In the end, her guiding abilities would be discovered and she would be taken to the temple. So... . she was afraid of what it would be like if the nightmare-like dream that arrived in midsummer became a reality.

"Tomorrow, the Crown Prince will hold an event. Students taking the exam and their families were invited. It would be nice if you could be my partner, but the Imperial Palace is dangerous, so I would insist."

There was a faint sense of sadness in his relaxed tone. Dahlia jumped to her feet.

"No, I can go. When I said I was going to the capital, Rodrigo went half crazy making something for me."

"You told Rodrigo you were going?"

"Yes."

Dahlia went down under the bed, smiled brightly, found the jewelry box and opened it. Inside was a sapphire necklace that resembled the color of her eyes.

It was a very simple enchanted necklace.

'If a Luster-class or higher Sentinel approaches nearby, the color will change. It will become very red. So when the color starts to change you get far away. Understood?'

After all, isn't it the older you get, the more you worry?

Besides, he said that the magic in her necklace would be unrecognizable except by a high-ranking wizard.

Dahlia grabbed her necklace and turned around with a lightened heart. She then walked over to Gerald lying on the bed.

"Here it is, Gerald. Originally, it was magic used to check a sentinel's grade, but now... ."

Did he fall asleep?

Dahlia shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed. Then she brought her necklace close to Gerald's body.

But the necklace still glowed blue, and he didn't open his eyes either.

'Red... .'