Lily was sitting on the bed, waiting for her fiancé.
Just moments ago, she had embraced Arthur, who was feeling down due to an unexpected situation, with her broad and generous heart.
‘Hmm, he seems pleased.’
She could tell just by looking into his eyes.
His gaze was filled with intense emotion as it met hers.
It felt like he might pounce on her at any moment—
‘…Cripes! Pull yourself together! I still need to hold back… for now…’
Just as Lily managed to regain her composure, the restroom door opened, and she ran toward it with a bright smile.
“Ah sss… Hm?”
Lily stopped mid-motion as she approached.
Arthur, who had come out of the restroom, seemed a bit different.
While there didn’t appear to be any noticeable changes on the surface, something about him felt… off. Different from the usual Arthur.
Sharper somehow…
Regardless, he wasn’t what she’d been expecting.
“Arthur? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”
In response to Lily’s worried question, Arthur slowly lifted his head. When their gazes met, Lily had the feeling that something had gone wrong.
However, Arthur responded with his usual soft smile.
“What’s for dinner?”
This completely natural question left Lily speechless.
Then Arthur ran up and hugged her.
“I’m hungry, Lily.”
Arthur’s expression as he smiled faintly while speaking seemed no different from his usual demeanor.
He was still her loving and adorable fiancé and contracted partner.
But there was something…
Whether it was the result of the outsider’s omniscient power, or perhaps a woman’s intuition, Lily felt that Arthur was slightly different.
Nevertheless, that’s one thing, and this is another.
There was no way Lily would turn down Arthur when he said he was hungry.
“Just hold on a little longer, and I’ll muster some energy to make something for you.”
Lily, who smiled softly at her, stood on tiptoe and offered a brief kiss.
“Thank you, Lily.”
As Lily walked toward the kitchen, Arthur’s gaze followed her.
Arthur glanced at the mirror in the living room.
And the Arthur reflected in the mirror—
“…”
—
There was no way he could tell Lily.
Rather, he didn’t want to.
If he told Lily, she would immediately go after the person who wrote that letter and inflict a near-death punishment.
Just as she had with Louis.
But this matter was clearly a challenge aimed directly at him.
To disclose it to Lily right away and ignore it—
‘…I want to handle this on my own.’
This time, he didn’t want to rely on Lily’s help.
He wanted to deal with the person who sent the letter with his own strength alone.
Besides, he didn’t want to show her the contents of the letter.
The mere thought of the contents caused him to flare with anger.
To calm his emotions, he headed toward where Lily was in the kitchen, cooking over a black flame.
He embraced her from behind, careful not to let his breath touch her this time.
He stood on tiptoe and looked over Lily’s shoulder.
“What are you cooking?”
“I’m going to try pasta.”
“Oh, what kind of pasta?”
“That’s a secret~”
When she turned toward him, Arthur kissed her cheek, causing her to smile sweetly, warming his heart.
It was a miracle that this gentle and warm feeling could suppress the fiery emotions.
Though the fiery anger subsided thanks to her, it didn’t completely go away.
‘Excessive anger isn’t good. Keep your head cool, stay calm.’
His mind, now tempered, began to work quickly.
Not long after, a plan was formed.
First, he needed Lily’s permission.
When the food was done and placed before him on the dining table, a plate of pasta was set in front of him.
While the pasta in front of him didn’t appear particularly special, given that Lily had hidden the ingredients, there was likely something special in it.
Looking at her expectantly beside him, she awaited his reaction.
As Arthur wrapped a forkful of pasta around and popped it into his mouth—
‘…Dear heavens.’
“How is it? Does it taste good?”
“…Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Exactly what did you do to this pasta…?”
Arthur bowed his head deeply, trembling as he spoke, while Lily’s tense voice responded.
“Uh, what? Is something wrong? Is the seasoning off?”
In response, Arthur—
Kissed Lily unexpectedly.
A confused Lily with wide eyes.
“It’s delicious.”
“Kyaa! You startled me!”
Lily slapped his upper arm, but the smile on her face was beautiful.
As they enjoyed their meal, Arthur paused briefly, looking at Lily.
With a deep breath, he began speaking.
“Um… Lily.”
“Yes? Do you want a drink?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Having steeled himself, Arthur met Lily’s eyes and continued.
“Can I study a bit?”
“Hm? Study?”
“Yes. The midterm exams are coming up soon.”
Lily turned around and looked at the calendar.
The calendar had all the academic schedule dates marked on it.
Upon looking at the calendar, Lily tilted her head.
“Aren’t there still over a month before the exam?”
“I usually start studying two months prior.”
Arthur, who hadn’t been able to show his practical skills, had no choice but to rely on his written scores.
After the midterms come finals, after finals come the next semester’s midterms, after the last final exams come preparations for the next year’s midterms…
…Of course, the purpose had changed slightly now.
“Alright, do you want a snack? Chocolate? Oh, will you study at your desk? Or in bed?”
Lily had assumed he would study in his room.
Indeed, given Lily’s nature, it wasn’t surprising that she would say such things.
But—
“…Lily.”
It was… truly, truly heartbreaking, but
He had to shatter her expectations.
“I want to study alone.”
“……What?”
—
Lily questioned her own ears.
What did Arthur just say?
Study alone?
Did he just say to study alone?
That he wants to study alone?
And me?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Looking at Lily’s rigid expression, Arthur slowly began speaking.
“I don’t want to be apart from Lily either.”
“But—”
“However, if Lily is beside me… I won’t be able to concentrate at all.”
This was an undeniable fact, regardless of his intentions.
Even with the purest of intentions to study, Arthur wouldn’t be able to concentrate with Lily next to him.
He’d just want to keep looking at her, keep talking to her,
and… well, those sorts of thoughts would probably arise.
“But…”
Lily, unable to continue her words,
Arthur placed his hand on hers.
“Do you know, Lily? The Academy assigns dormitories by grades. And after this midterm, the dormitories are being reassigned. Although I have been in the smallest dorm because I’ve failed practical tests each time, this time…”
Lily, understanding his unspoken words, spoke hesitantly.
“Because you did well on the practical test. If you get good marks on this test… will you get a better dormitory?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…You mean, you’re going to study to get better dorms?”
“Among other things. Think about it, Lily. The room will get bigger, and the bed will get bigger too. The current bed is a bit cramped for two of us anyway, so it’s a perfect arrangement.”
“…It’s not like we can’t cuddle anyway.”
That’s fair.
But Lily wasn’t accepting it.
This was barely a flimsy attempt at wrapping the truth.
Arthur spoke openly of the truth.
“To be honest, Lily, I want to try and put in some effort without your help.”
“…Why?”
In response, Arthur seemed a little awkward, glancing sideways.
“It’s my pride.”
“What?”
Arthur, trailing off his words, placed his hand on Lily’s cheek.
Caressing her warm cheek, Arthur continued speaking.
“I like Lily a lot.”
The unexpected words caused Lily’s face to turn bright red.
“G-Geez?!”
“Yes, I like you.”
“Mmm…”
Preventing Lily from turning away due to her embarrassment, Arthur met her gaze once more.
“Because I like you. Sometimes it gets kind of hard.”
“…Eh?”
Lily’s heart dropped.
Did I do something wrong to Arthur?
From Lily’s frozen expression, Arthur quickly continued speaking.
“It’s not because you didn’t do anything for me, it’s the issue of my pride, just as I said earlier.”
Arthur slowly caressed Lily’s cheek.
“Knowing that I can’t do anything without someone’s help, and that someone is someone I deeply love… That fact has kept my heart restless all along.”
This was Arthur’s genuine truth, separate from his current intentions, something he carried from before.
Although many things had changed thanks to Lily’s help, how much of that was truly his own effort?
And if Lily wasn’t there, what could he accomplish?
Thinking about that, Arthur felt some unease in his heart.
“Of course, I know that Lily helps me with good intentions. What I’m doing now might seem childish.”
But, Arthur continued,
“Lily, I want to grow a little more. I want to stand proudly by your side after growing more. Then… I think I might be able to acknowledge myself.”
Arthur took Lily’s hand.
“It’s not because I find Lily bothersome. This is my effort to love Lily more. So…”
Arthur squeezed Lily’s hand firmly and met her gaze.
“Would you mind letting me have my way this time?”
At Arthur’s question, Lily remained silent.
All this time, she thought she was trying her best for Arthur, but never imagined that her efforts might have been holding him back, or that they might make Arthur even momentarily unhappy.
Though she truly wanted… to keep Arthur by her side forever, if doing so blocked his path, if it made Arthur even briefly unhappy—
Lily made her decision.
Though it felt like her heart was being torn apart just thinking about being separated from him—
“…Alright.”
“Thank you, Lily.”
Seeing Arthur’s joyful smile made Lily’s lips turn upward as well.
Yeah, for Arthur’s smile, Lily would do anything.
But even so, she wanted to stay with Arthur as much as possible, so she asked,
“…Then, how long will you do this?”
Arthur thought about it for a moment.
Though time was necessary to achieve his goals, he also regretfully had to give up some time with Lily.
“Hmm… After school until evening. Around two hours.”
Lily, thinking it was reasonable, nodded.
“Where will you do it?”
“The library. Ah, sometimes I might need to visit the professor with questions.”
“…Would it be alright if I see you off to the entrance of the library?”
“Absolutely, otherwise I might feel a little hurt that you didn’t.”
“When will you start?”
“From tomorrow.”
“…Alright.”
With their agreement, the two turned back to the table to resume their postponed meal.
Then,
“Ah…”
“Ah…”
In front of them was pasta that had grown significantly, the thickness almost 1.5 times more than before.
“…Shall I make it again?”
At Lily’s question, Arthur shook his head.
“It’s fine. There’s something more important than this right now.”
“Huh? We still have plenty of time till sleep.”
“No, not sleeping.”
Arthur, trailing off, suddenly moved and their lips met.
Not a brief kiss this time, a much more passionate kiss.
“Chu…p… Ahhh… Why suddenly…?”
In response to Lily’s question, Arthur smiled softly and replied.
“It’s a thank you. A thank you for letting me have my way.”
“This isn’t nece—”
“Today for the rest of the day, Lily can have as much food…”
Arthur broke off and shook his head.
Right now, he didn’t want to hide anything further.
“I’ll give you kisses.”
The moment Arthur’s words finished,
Click
The light in the dorm room flickered momentarily.
In the brief moment the light disappeared, before Lily could blink, Arthur was suddenly right in front of her, her eyes gleaming with a crimson light.
“Really? You’ll give me as many as I want?”
The crimson light in her eyes intensified as Arthur gulped.
“Oh… Let me revise that. Until sleep, alright?”
“That’s enough.”
Lily lifted Arthur effortlessly and headed straight for the bed.
Summoning the blanket with magic, Lily fell onto the bed while hugging Arthur, covering them both.
As darkness enveloped Arthur’s vision, Lily’s crimson glow pierced through the curtain of darkness.
“Haa… Haa… Cripes…”
The harsh sound of breathing in the darkness.
As Arthur listened, he began to regret uttering those words.
‘Did I open a can of worms…?’
In no time, the fragrance of Lily surrounded the area under the blanket.
Arthur, unknowingly, moved towards the source.
At the moment Lily’s breath tickled his nose,
Arthur’s eyes, adjusted to the dark, recognized the situation.
Her crimson eyes piercing straight through him, saliva involuntarily dripping from the corner of her mouth.
She looked devilishly seductive, almost like a demon tempting a human.
Arthur slowly raised his hand and gently wiped away the saliva trickling from Lily’s lips.
“What a waste…”
Arthur placed his sticky fingers into his mouth and sucked Lily’s saliva.
“Something so sweet…”
Lily watched his actions with wide eyes.
Arthur, committing her reactions to memory, wrapped his arms around the back of her neck.
“Don’t waste it; give it to me instead.”
Arthur leaned in slowly, his lips nearly brushing hers as he whispered softly.
“I love you.”
The moment those words were spoken, Arthur was engulfed in a fierce wave.
For a full three hours,
The sounds of sucking, slurping, and occasional moans of voices melting in the darkness echoed within the dimly lit room.
“Love… …chu…p…p… Arthur… ♥”
