When Beauty Destroys The BL World

Chapter 16~To Court Her~

Irene and Arlo arrived at the tavern. As always, the tavern was full of customers.
Seeing all the food and items they had brought back, Old Judy and Lydia were very surprised.

"Why are there so many things you bought? Does the pile of supplies in our kitchen seem too little to you?" Old Judy nagged.

"I didn’t buy any of this. The town folks gave it to Arlo for free. Here, let me introduce you to our town hero." Irene then told them about what had happened in the market. Both Lydia and Old Judy were impressed.

Arlo could only accept their compliments sheepishly.

"Let’s bring all of this to the back."

The three of them then went to the kitchen, while Lydia served the customers in front.

Arriving at the back, Irene noticed Lucas cutting cabbages. He suddenly looked up. Irene quickly looked away.

"Thank you for your hard work. You must be tired from all that cutting," Old Judy thanked him as she carried the rest of the vegetables that had been sliced.

"Not at all, I’m rather happy that I can offer some help," Lucas said, glancing at Irene.

Old Judy then noticed a streak of blood on Lucas’s bandages arm.

"Oh no, did you get injured?" Old Judy pointed at his arm.

Hearing that, Irene and Arlo turned to look at them.

"I might have reopened my old wound. It’s alright, I will tend to it later," Lucas said calmly.

"No, this won’t do. You must go and rewrap your wound. Here, let Arlo take your place. You go and rest." Old Judy pulled Lucas away and pushed Arlo into his seat.

Just as Old Judy pushed Lucas out, she also called Irene.

"Irene, you go help tend to his wound."

"Wha… but I…" Irene was about to refuse, but Old Judy forced her out.

"No excuses. Hurry and go help him."

Arlo could only watch as Irene was pulled away until she disappeared from his sight.

In front of Lucas’s room, Irene hesitated for a minute before knocking. She entered the room after calming herself.

Both of them exchanged a glance, but Irene broke eye contact first.

Lucas watched as she set out her tools.

She then sat beside him after asking his permission.

Irene reached for his arm.

Lucas watched her as she carefully cleaned his wound.

"Irene… may I ask you something?"

"Ask away," Irene said as she applied some ointment to the wound.

"What do you plan to do in the future?"

"Me? Hmm… I’m not sure. But for now, I’ll probably stay here and help grow Old Judy’s business. At the same time, I’ll help anyone who needs medical attention," Irene shared her thoughts.

"Will you be staying long?"

"Probably…" Irene wasn’t even sure if she would stay that long. All she knew was that she would do anything worthwhile while she was still in this world. She might return to her original world someday. She could only give him a vague answer.

As she wrapped his wound, Lucas watched her gentle movements with fondness. He usually disliked such closeness with others, but with her, he felt comfortable and at ease. Watching her care for him so attentively, he came to a conclusion.

After finishing, Irene noticed him staring.

"What’s wrong?" she asked, wondering if something was off.

Lucas simply shook his head with a smile.

"I’m just looking at you."

"Me? Is there something on my face?" Irene quickly touched her veil, worried it might have slipped.

"Beauty."

Hearing that word, Irene froze for a moment. She looked at Lucas as his smile widened.

"I was looking at how beautiful you are."

Irene’s heart began to beat loudly. She could feel her cheeks and ears heating up.

What kind of line was that? Why was the male protagonist saying this to her? Even before, the second male lead had uttered such corny lines towards her.

Unable to predict such unusual behavior from both of them, Irene chose to remains silent.

She packed her tools, preparing to leave.

"Irene," Lucas called.

She stopped and turned to him.

"If it’s alright with you, I want to be a part of your future," Lucas declared.

Irene frowned, not understanding.

"I want to marry you."

Hearing this, Irene was shocked.

"Ma—marry? You’re not serious?" she asked, making sure she hadn’t misheard.

"Irene, I’ve already decided. I want to take responsibility for you. You don’t have to worry—I will take care of you."

"Your Holiness, you don’t need to do that. You don’t have to sacrifice your happiness for me. I don’t need you to take responsibility," Irene said. Only then did she realize why he proposed.

"I’ve thought it through. I am a man of my word. You will not suffer any grievance with me."

"Your Holiness… do you love me?"

The question caught Lucas off guard.

"You don’t," Irene continued. "You only want to marry me because you feel responsible for what happened that day. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love me. And I certainly don’t want to spend my life with someone I don’t love."

"I do not resent you for what happened. It was just an accident. Besides, it does not affect my chastity. I am happy and content with my life here. So please… let us pretend this matter was never mentioned. Have a good rest, Your Holiness."

Irene quickly left the room, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.