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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: First Date (2)
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The meal was over.
Frederick lingered, unable to simply turn and leave the restaurant with the couple. He didn't want to depart, but he couldn't very well follow them on a boat ride on the lake.
He had his own schedule for the afternoon, after all.
He had squeezed this time out of an already packed schedule just to be here.
He had heard the rumor that Demian Vandermir had reserved a table at a famous date spot for Sunday lunch. And it was obvious who his companion would be.
Frederick lifted his crimson eyes and gazed at Aracilla, standing beside her husband. Even married, she hadn't changed a bit from her single days.
Of course, it had only been a little over a month since their wedding, but his friend's unchanging demeanor still brought Frederick a small measure of relief.
As expected, this wasn't a marriage born of love. There was another motive.
"Aracilla, I hope you and Sir have a pleasant rest of your time."
"Alright, go carefully."
Aracilla offered a wave with the hand holding her parasol. Her other hand held a handbag, preventing any direct contact with Demian.
Frederick keenly observed that movement as well.
"It was a pleasure meeting you today, Sir."
"The honor was mine, Your Highness."
Demian bowed respectfully. Frederick gave him a fleeting, cold glance before extending his hand to Aracilla.
"What? What do you want?"
"Your hand."
"Why my hand?"
Aracilla tilted her head at the unexpected request. Frederick smiled charmingly and said,
"To bid farewell on your hand."
His words meant he intended to leave a parting kiss on the back of her hand. It was a common social courtesy. Aracilla had received it a few times herself.
However, the men who had kissed her hand before were all strangers, and Frederick was not.
There was nothing quite as awkward as a friend kissing the back of your hand. Instead of offering her hand, Aracilla stepped closer and whispered,
"Why are you acting so cheesy today? Just go already."
Her tone was casual and slightly rough, unmistakably that of a friend.
Frederick, having been thoroughly rebuffed, let out an involuntary chuckle before catching Demian's eye and smoothing his expression.
"Well then, we'll take our leave first."
"As you wish."
Aracilla, opening her lace-trimmed parasol, turned and walked away with Demian. The beautiful couple, striking wherever they went, gradually receded into the distance.
Frederick narrowed his eyes, gazing at the subtly awkward space between them. It was an ambiguous distance.
He pondered whether to leave that ambiguous distance as it was, or intervene.
* * *
"Let me tell you now, I won't be playing the jealous act."
As they neared the lakeside, Demian suddenly blurted out the words without warning. Until then, they had been discussing the weather.
Aracilla, who had been rambling on about nothing in particular, merely to appear as if they were having a pleasant conversation in front of others, was suddenly dumbfounded.
"Oh, really? Why are you spouting such meaningless nonsense out of the blue?"
Who asked him to play jealous?
As she shot him a bewildered look, Demian tilted his head slightly, looking down at her. Regardless of his gaze, his posture, leaning in to listen to his wife, was outwardly affectionate.
Beneath his neatly pomaded hair, his handsome face, bathed in natural light, exuded a striking presence.
"I mean, don't create situations like today where I'm pitted against another man for my wife."
Many leaves had fallen on the path from the restaurant to the lakeside. One crunched under Aracilla's shoe.
But the sound was drowned out by Aracilla's sudden burst of laughter.
"Sir, surely you're not wary of Frederick?"
"Even if he's a friend, he's still a man, isn't he?"
At his words, Aracilla shook her head dismissively. In truth, such remarks weren't new to her. She had already faced numerous suspicions about her relationship with Frederick during her academy days.
Why was it only her, when she, Frederick, and Paula had always hung out as a trio?
Perhaps it was because Paula had a fiancé, but it still felt unfair. She had never once thought of Frederick in *that* way. They were truly just friends.
"Do you know what makes a man utterly unattractive? It's someone who obsesses over and interferes with a woman's friendships."
This wasn't a sentiment limited to romantic relationships. People who doubted friendships between men and women were a dime a dozen in this land.
"Men and women can absolutely be friends. Closed-minded people might raise a fuss and suspect something just from seeing them together, but it only makes them seem rather foolish."
Demian quietly watched his wife, who wore a prim expression. Her face, usually round like a rabbit's, had subtly shifted, becoming more cat-like.
At the very least, Aracilla didn't seem to perceive the Crown Prince as a man, and it looked like she never would.
So, Demian decided to conclude the matter there. There were many ways to explain why he should be wary of Frederick, but he didn't want to inadvertently make her aware of anything.
It was human nature to become interested once given a detailed explanation, even if they hadn't thought about it before.
"At any rate, since you are currently married to me, I expect you to act with caution."
"You should focus on yourself. You're lecturing me even when you're on a date, yet you're keeping your distance."
This was a direct jab at Demian, who was carefully walking so as not to accidentally brush against her.
Demian, momentarily speechless, merely parted his lips, while Aracilla imperiously turned her head and retorted sharply.
"If you keep acting like that, I'll get angry, you know? Do it properly during the boat ride."
Having sternly warned him, Aracilla strode purposefully towards the lakeside dock where the boats were moored.
The small boats drifting on the lake were filled with couples. Among them, the Vandermir couple undeniably stood out.
The Peculiar Mage and the Tenacious Knight.
The news that this unexpected pairing had not only dated but married still held the public's unwavering interest.
Under the surreptitious glances of onlookers pretending not to stare, the two gracefully boarded a boat and drifted across the lake.
A pleasant breeze, blowing from the tail end of spring, tickled their faces. The couple, wearing faint smiles, began to converse intimately.
To those nearby, only muffled murmurs were audible, but judging by their expressions, it was clear affectionate words were being exchanged.
"Demian, can you possibly cross the lake from end to end in under a minute by boat?"
Aracilla, who had been intently watching his strong arms as he rowed, posed an unexpected question.
"It seems my wife regards me as a fisherman. Please ask a sensible question."
"And it seems you regard me as a thoughtless wife. I asked because I *can* do it, you know?"
Demian's lips twitched. He surveyed the vast lake. Realistically, completing the entire lake in one minute alone was impossible.
Even he, whose body was honed by daily training, couldn't do it, so how could someone with legs thinner than his forearms possibly manage?
"You just thought that was impossible, didn't you? Did you forget? I'm a mage."
Aracilla snapped her fingers. Immediately, a gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, nudged their boat forward as if pushing it. It was her wind magic.
"Using magic seems like cheating, though."
"Humans should use their abilities, shouldn't they? If you only rely on brute strength, can you even call yourself a higher animal?"
"A sound mind resides in a sound body. That's what makes a human truly human."
Even as they exchanged words, neither yielding an inch, they meticulously maintained their smiles.
Up close, one could discern the cracks in their smiles, but fortunately, no one approached the Vandermir couple.
Being together, they exuded an aura that made them difficult to approach, making even passing by them feel unnecessarily burdensome.
"But, Demian. Don't you think our boat is a bit too… sterile?"
Aracilla observed the other boats passing by and raised an issue.
Everyone else was holding hands, hugging, kissing, and generally being all lovey-dovey, but their boat remained perfectly sedate.
"That couple doesn't seem to show much affection."
"Right? They seem to get along, but I wonder if there's an issue."
The casual, speculative remarks from another couple only further provoked Aracilla.
We need to put on a convincing show.
They couldn't afford to be complacent, not when Rosalyn from the Vandermir Ducal Family might use intel to attack their marital facade at any moment.
"So what exactly should we do?"
"Let's show some intimacy, too."
Demian's eyebrow twitched. Unless he was a fool, he knew she meant to show a bit of physical affection, just like the others.
However—
His eyes, like molten sunlight, drifted to her small, pale hand. How could he possibly hold that hand?
Next, he looked at her body, tall but delicately built and slender. And how could he embrace that body?
His gaze traveled up her slender, elegant neck, stopping at her beautifully shaped red lips. Those lips...
'You idiot.'
Demian consciously lowered his gaze and pressed a hand to his temple. As expected, he wasn't confident with physical contact.
It was the moment he lifted his head, about to suggest they consider another method.
"…!"
Aracilla was suddenly right in front of him; he hadn't even noticed her approach. Her full lips, which he had just secretly admired, moved as if to bewitch him.
"Stay still, Sir."
Demian instinctively held his breath and obeyed. Aracilla leaned in a little closer and extended her hand.
As her small body gradually leaned towards him, Demian's heart tightened with tension. A faint floral scent wafted from her wavy hair.
The moment her fingers were inches from his face. His patience finally snapped.
Demian abruptly stood up and scrambled to the opposite side, causing the small boat to rock violently. Aracilla gasped, nearly toppling over, but managed to regain her balance.
Having inadvertently switched places, Demian calmly composed himself, then looked forward and flinched in surprise. Unbeknownst to him, the waves caused by the rocking boat had splashed all over Aracilla.
Oh, damn it. A brief curse formed in his mouth, then vanished.
"..."
"..."
In the dreadful silence, Aracilla slowly turned around. Her hair plastered all over her face, coupled with her fierce glare, made her look eerily like a vengeful water spirit.
She couldn't contain the fury bubbling inside her. It had been a disaster that occurred when she tried to pluck a flower petal from Demian's hair.
More precisely, it was an accident caused by her husband, who disliked physical contact, trying to avoid her touch.
"…You."
As her voice, filled with wrath and resentment, eerily flowed out, Demian instinctively became like a zookeeper encountering a wild bear, extending both hands forward.
"Wife, calm down. Please calm down."
