The more she did this, the more persistent Lexius’ eyes became. His face was colored with a mischievous smile. With Ariel, who had been calm until now, now in a state easily teased, how could he resist? Especially when she was such a delicious prey.

Leaning forward, he peered down at Ariel, who had bowed her head to the ground.

“What did you say earlier? ‘I don’t want to be rendered powerless and unconscious again’?”

When he mimicked her tone, teasing her playfully, Ariel, who was already feeling mortified, was further consumed by embarrassment.

“N, no… that’s… I… I don’t know…”

She stammered with intense embarrassment.

“It’s really not something grand… if you’d just forget about it…”

Ariel kept making excuses. She wanted to escape from him, from this room. Her black eyes anxiously searched for a way to evade this situation.

If not, Lexius was only going to continue teasing her.

“Did you think the command was some kind of all-powerful brainwashing ability?”

She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes properly and just nodded, her deeply bowed face turning even redder.

Cute.

He muttered in a low voice and then turned his body towards Ariel as he sat. His eyes, containing her, curved into half-moon playfully. It seemed as though he truly was to the point of dying from amusement.

“Look at how red your face is. Is it going to explode? Does it feel that embarrassing?”

Ariel remained silent. Her face still bowed deeply towards the floor, and she nodded her head again.

Seeing this, Lexius burst into laughter.

“Please… stop laughing…”

She pleaded in a hushed voice. Her embarrassment grew as he continued to tease her. As she hugged her knees to conceal her now flushed face, her delicate back was naturally exposed, revealing a slightly reddened, translucent skin and a delicate-looking white neckline.

Lexius’s eyes changed strangely at the sight of his slender frame.

Before he knew it, his outstretched hand began to gently play with Ariel’s locks of hair. He twisted and untwisted them in his fingers, persistently staring at the pink cheeks that peeked through.

‘Skylar brought her.’

Even though he didn’t have the hobby of stealing other people’s things like Devoncia, this was something he wanted to intercept.

‘Will she come over if I treat her kindly?’

Lexius stopped his high-handed manner for a moment and masked his fierce expression with a somewhat kind demeanor.

“What you don’t know, you can go to the academy and learn. The Countess mentioned that you’re transferring this time?”

When he steered the conversation in a new direction, Ariel nodded her head before she opened her mouth slightly and mumbled.

“…Yes. I’ll be transferring as a new student this year.”

“Alright. When you enroll, ask Senior Lex to teach you a lot.”

“Who is Senior Lex?”

“He’s right in front of you.”

Ariel lifted her head after a long time. She saw the golden eyes of the Grand Prince as his curved lips smiled softly. His gracious, almost benevolent demeanor caught her off guard, and she called out to him without thinking.

“…Senior Lex?”

“Yeah, our junior.”

For the first time, he smiled without a hint of teasing.

She was strangely reluctant to smile. It felt like a performance intended to control her, yet the smile was so clear that it almost seemed genuine for a moment.

So, it seemed more dangerous.

Ariel faced him in silence. Although she tried to smile back, the corners of her mouth didn’t lift easily.

His own hair seemed dangerously caught between his long fingers.

This person… the Grand Prince wasn’t just a libertine or a ruffian. Beneath his seemingly lighthearted words and bold actions, there hid a cunning sophistication.

‘…A person who would swallow you up in an instant if you trust them carelessly.’

Soon, a severe sense of déjà enveloped her. The person in front of her resembled someone.

‘Oh, right. He looks like that person.’

 
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