It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 122
“So physical strength can be a strength.”
“Absolutely.”
And, as a reader of A Night of Entwined Serpents, I was certain Halid had a very impressive that as well.
It was a given, considering all three male leads in a rated-19 reverse harem novel had that in common. Halid at least had the stamina to back it up.
“I think I understand what you mean.”
“You don’t need to say much. What matters more is being a good listener.”
“You’re right.”
Halid mouthed the words I’d said to himself without sound, running them over in his mind.
“I don’t know if I’ll do well, but I’ll try my best.”
Seeing his face no longer so weighed down, I smiled with satisfaction. May my stock rise to the moon…!
However, I quickly wiped the smile from my face and gave a soft, clearing cough. Because Lionel had gently tugged at my hand.
“Would you mind bringing more tea? The scent is quite lovely.”
“Of course.”
While Halid went to fetch more leaves, Lionel wrapped his arm around my waist and whispered low.
“That smile… When you smile like that… I don’t want you showing it to the man who was your first love.”
“Does it bother you?”
“I know it makes me look petty, but I can’t help it. The truth is, you still have Halid Calitas as another option.”
I stared at him, wide-eyed.
“…What?”
“If you asked him to protect you, he’d take you to the North without hesitation. Even the Imperial Family wouldn’t be able to reach you there.”
He wasn’t wrong, but the idea of joining hands with anyone other than Lionel was hard to imagine.
Why was that?
Was it because I already knew Halid, Dantère, and Ardin were meant to be tangled up with Vivian? Or was it simply because I had no room to bear the risk of coveting something that wasn’t mine?
No… more than that…
It might sound like absurd hubris, but I kept thinking that I was the only one meant to be by Lionel’s side.
I’d never felt this kind of certainty with anyone else, but Lionel alone felt like he belonged to me.
Yes, mine.
No matter how much Father or my brother loved and cherished me, I had never once thought of them as mine. They each had something else, something more precious to them than me.
But Lionel… somehow, I didn’t think he did.
If someone like him, who had lived endless lives, were told to choose just one thing, one thing he could carry into his next life… What would he choose?
I felt like he would choose me. I was almost certain of it. That without me, no matter how many lives he lived, he would remain alone.
Ever since the night we spent together, I hadn’t felt anxious because of Lionel anymore.
Even if the Youngest Princess clung to him, I might be annoyed, but I no longer feared his heart would betray me.
That peace, that sense of security was a gift Lionel had given it to me.
Then what about me? Do I belong to Lionel?
Well… I wasn’t sure.
At the very least, Lionel didn’t seem certain that I was his. The way Halid’s presence made him uneasy made that clear.
And wasn’t that a little unfair?
With all the work Lionel had, all the things he had to worry over, the one thing I wished he wouldn’t fret about was whether my heart might change.
Even if I didn’t have the strength to be his fortress, I wanted to soothe his fears in the ways I could. I wanted to return at least half of the comfort he’d given me.
So I spoke. Halid had come back with the tea leaves, but I didn’t pay him any mind.
“Lionel.”
As if only the two of us remained in this world, I looked him straight in the eyes and said,
“If I were given complete freedom, I would still choose you.”
