Chapter 95
When Ares appeared unexpectedly, Kirine looked up at him with an expression of disbelief even as she saw him with her own eyes.
She hadn’t expected to meet him like this at all.
Then suddenly, a question occurred to her.
‘Why…’
She couldn’t understand why he was looking at her as if hurt.
If he had looked displeased, she would have understood completely. If it had been her, she would have been more than displeased—her face would have twisted in anger if another woman had approached Ares.
But she never expected Ares, of all people, to look at her with such wounded eyes.
Before she could ask why, Ares spoke in a curt voice.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Why did you just stand there?”
Startled by his sudden accusatory tone, Kirine belatedly understood what Ares meant.
He was asking why she hadn’t immediately refused the request.
She had been about to refuse, of course. Ares had just been a step quicker.
“I was going to refuse, but you first—”
“This is annoying.”
“What?”
When she asked again, thinking she must have misheard, Ares repeated himself with an unwavering expression.
“I said it’s annoying.”
“No, I really was going to refuse!”
If she attended the ball, she had naturally planned to go with Ares.
She could imagine what people would say behind their backs when the famously antagonistic pair walked in together, but she was ready to handle it all.
But seeing Ares’s deeply hurt expression made her increasingly frustrated.
“I was obviously going to go with you—”
“Enough.”
Though she tried to say something, Ares cut her off immediately and just glared at her with narrowed eyes.
“You’re always like this.”
With a reproachful look, he turned sharply away.
She was so shocked she didn’t even have time to grab him.
“No…”
Kirine let out a fierce laugh of disbelief, not understanding why he wouldn’t even listen and just left angry on his own.
But he didn’t look back—if anything, he only got further away.
***
Time passed with neither of them able to resolve the situation, and soon the day of the ball arrived. But since they still hadn’t reconciled, Kirine spent the whole day sighing.
Watching her carefully, her colleague cautiously asked.
“So, did you make up?”
At those words, Kirine’s barely maintained calm expression instantly hardened.
“Does it look like we made up?”
“No.”
Kirine’s eyes flashed so violently that her colleague couldn’t even offer a white lie about things looking better.
Still worried, her colleague spoke up.
“How long are you going to keep this up?”
“I don’t know.”
She and Ares used to fight nearly every day. When words failed, they would point swords at each other and fight like their lives depended on it.
But now that they were fighting as lovers, she was reluctant to engage in their old fierce physical battles.
It seemed she wasn’t alone in this, as Ares had been avoiding her, making a direct confrontation difficult.
“You still need to meet and resolve it.”
“I know, I know, but…”
It was frustrating—what could she do when he wouldn’t even meet her?
Finally, Kirine slumped over onto the table with drooping shoulders.
“Relationships are hard…”
Muttering unconsciously, Kirine slowly lowered her eyes.
With Ares as her partner, saying it was difficult seemed like an understatement.
“Instead of just thinking it’s too hard and difficult, try sharing your thoughts.”
“What thoughts?”
When Kirine blinked, rolling her eyes in confusion about what her colleague meant, they clicked their tongue softly.
“You were waiting for Lord Arensis to ask you to be his partner first, weren’t you? Isn’t that how this mess started?”
“That’s…”
She couldn’t deny it.
It was exactly right. She had hesitated, unable to ask him herself, and ended up receiving a partner request from someone else. Ares had witnessed it, causing things to escalate to this point.
“Things only get resolved when you’re honest.”
“…”
Unable to argue with such truth, Kirine quietly closed her mouth.
She knew it. She knew that being honest would solve half the problem, but it was so difficult that she still hesitated.
“Alright.”
Finally deciding to acknowledge it, Kirine suddenly stood up as if she had never been slumped over.
“Nothing will be solved by just sitting here.”
She decided to make the first move.
***
“Arensis.”
“…”
“Ares Arensis!”
Lately, it had been hard to keep his mind clear. No matter how hard he tried to focus on training, his thoughts would inevitably become overwhelmed with thoughts of Kirine.
So much so that he only noticed when the Knight Commander called his name sharply.
“You keep spacing out these days.”
“I’m sorry.”
“This won’t do. Take the day off.”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine? You can’t even focus right now. What if you get seriously injured?”
“I’m sorry…”
Finally kicked out of the training grounds, Ares roughly messed up his hair while letting out a deep sigh.
‘I shouldn’t have done that.’
With belated regret, Ares bit his lip while half-sitting with his knee bent.
It wasn’t Kirine’s fault. Ares knew this well.
Unlike him, Kirine really liked people. She enjoyed mixing with people and liked becoming friends with them.
Her personality was surprisingly good too, so she was always at the center of any group, never lacking people around her. It was natural that she was popular.
But Ares was different. Anyone he didn’t consider his person was outside his interest. It was even difficult for him to remember names and faces.
Unlike himself, Kirine got along well with everyone and was well-liked, and he understood that people would naturally come to like her.
But understanding something intellectually was different from seeing it with his own eyes.
‘Why?’
He couldn’t understand why she hadn’t refused immediately when he was there. At the same time, he felt hurt and anxious.
Nervous.
Like he was the only one feeling this way.
‘Still, I shouldn’t have gotten angry.’
He felt too sorry and embarrassed, so he just kept avoiding Kirine even when she came looking for him. His body was running away even though he had resolved to properly apologize when they met.
‘Not today.’
Of all days, it was the day of the ball.
‘I wonder if she received requests from others?’
Being Kirine, she must have received plenty.
‘She wouldn’t have accepted, would she?’
As soon as that thought occurred, his heart started pounding abnormally. It felt suffocating.
‘That absolutely can’t happen.’
Even if it meant destroying the ballroom, that absolutely could not happen.
Unable to wait any longer, Ares jumped to his feet. He felt he wouldn’t be able to calm down until he saw Kirine right now.
But before he could take a step, he saw a familiar figure.
“Kirine?”
Unable to believe his eyes, Ares blinked. Not satisfied with that, he even rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Thankfully, Kirine was still standing there, staring at him.
Just as Ares let out a relieved sigh and was about to approach her, before he could move, Kirine quickly closed the distance between them.
The moment their eyes met, Ares apologized as if he had been waiting for this chance.
“I’m sorry for getting angry then. I shouldn’t have gotten angry like that. I’m sorry for getting angry.”
The only thing he wanted to say, needed to say right now, was an apology.
Even though it might seem ridiculous to start with an apology when seeing each other after so long, he wanted to apologize first.
“I’ve been reflecting on it.”
Wondering how to appease her anger, Ares kept checking Kirine’s expression.
But for some reason, Kirine just looked up at him without saying anything.
He had expected her to be angry. It would have been natural for her to be angry since he had been avoiding her.
But Kirine’s response was unexpected.
“Bend down a little.”
“Like this?”
Despite the sudden request, Ares obediently bent down without hesitation.
At that moment, Kirine wrapped her arms around his neck. Before he could even be surprised, he found her red lips right in front of him.
nvmix1
A KISS??!