“This one, right?”
He quietly watched her.
He did not even seem to find it strange that the woman who had spent all day throwing tantrums was now grinning like a drunkard. Perhaps whether she rampaged like a monster or giggled like a lunatic made little difference to him.
Still, Talia wanted to believe that his attitude toward her had changed.
Because at some point, the indifferent gaze that had once passed over her without pause had begun lingering around her face for long stretches of time.
And that was not all.
Even the way he spoke to her seemed gentler than before.
Sensitive to those subtle changes, Talia felt a threadlike hope stirring within her chest.
Could it be that Varkas regretted parting with her too?
After spending such a long time together, perhaps ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ even he had developed some lingering attachment to her.
Talia clung pitifully to that worthless hope.
“If I danced in this dress, I’d look just like a fairy queen, wouldn’t I?”
At her question, a faint crease formed between his brows.
Was he simply exhausted by her endless questions?
No.
Perhaps he was actually considering how to answer her.
Talia decided to think positively.
“Stop standing there like a statue and rehearse with me.”
Before he could even respond, she abruptly grabbed his arm and yanked him toward her. In the past, he would not have budged an inch, but now he allowed himself to be dragged along as though reluctantly indulging her.
See? Talia felt triumphant.
Something really had changed.
She pulled harder on the stiff man, who still did not seem particularly eager to cooperate, and spun in circles with him.
Then her foot caught on a trunk lying on the floor, and she lost her balance.
Instinctively, Talia seized his arm.
Varkas muttered something unintelligible and hurriedly wrapped an arm around her waist.
But the room was such a disaster that there was nowhere proper to step. The heaps of clothing tangled around his ankles as well, and the two of them collapsed together onto the carpet in a tangled heap.
Talia let out a small curse.
“You should’ve cleaned this room up properly in the first place!”
One of Varkas’s brows lifted after suffering this disaster while trying to shield her.
He was merely her guard knight, not a servant. It was unreasonable to force trivial chores like tidying onto him.
Even though she knew that perfectly well, Talia lashed out irritably anyway.
“If my backside bruises, I’m not letting you off easy. You useless excuse for a guard knight!”
Still grumbling, she tried to push herself upright, only to feel a sharp sting in her scalp.
Talia stared at him in disbelief.
“Did you just pull my hair?”
A short sigh escaped his lips.
“It seems your hair caught on my sleeve button.”
Then he slightly drew forward the arm wrapped behind her back.
A sharp pain tugged at her scalp again, and Talia shrieked before pounding against his chest.
“That hurts, idiot!”
He stopped moving and quietly looked down at her eyes, blurred faintly with moisture.
Though she inwardly flinched, Talia stubbornly glared back at him.
After releasing another low sigh, Varkas wrapped his arm around her once more.
Then he cautiously began moving his hand, apparently trying to untangle her hair.
Sitting between his knees, Talia’s eyes darted about anxiously.
Only now had she become fully aware of how improper their distance and posture were.
The faint scent of soap and mint drifting from his body made her heart pound so violently it felt ready to explode.
It almost seemed as though Varkas would be able to hear it too.