Alan didn’t take his eyes off Melissa’s face as she moved closer to the table, step by step.
He didn’t even blink. Melissa’s grim gaze was towards the floor, but as she drew closer, the scarlet scar under her slim chin was clearly visible. Alan felt his insides twisting.
And the moment Melissa sat across from him instead of next to him, he heard the sound of his reason collapsing. He had already spent a warlike day among the ugly humans.
“Come to the side.”
Melissa didn’t answer or raise her body, she just bowed her head. Her soft brown hair hung like a wave and her slender curved shoulders trembled slightly.
“Did you bite your tongue?”
“…….”
He didn’t mean to make her cry, but suddenly Melissa burst into tears. Alan was stunned as if he had been hit hard in the head. Somehow it was a sense of discomfort.
Alan let out a low, long sigh.
“……why.”
Instead of answering, Melissa wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Still, her shoulders were shaking intermittently, and her head was not raised. At that time, the thin drenched sleeves rolled down to the elbow, and red scars engraved on the thin wrist appeared.
Alan was deeply annoyed. He didn’t know if it was because she was living as if invisible, or because she wasn’t like a lady who was having scars even after living in a safe place.
“Shouldn’t you say it for me to know, Melissa? Or do you intend to make me tired too?”
Unintentionally, an overbearing voice came out. As Alan said that in a low voice, Melissa shook her shoulder and looked up reluctantly.
Her tearful brown eyes finally turned to him. Strangely enough, she looked stunned as if she didn’t know why she was crying.
“……I hate you.”
“Ha.”
The beautiful red lips twisted coldly. Alan leaned back while his icy gaze fixed on her.
“How many days have it been since you said you wanted to have dinner with me every day and to buy you flowers?”
Alan’s voice was calm at first glance, but his cold eyes were staring straight at Melissa like a sharp blade. Melissa also noticed at once that her actions had offended him. But she could not back down.
Melissa clenched her small fists on the table.
“A woman who called herself your lover came……. She said get out of here right now. I mean… I have to get out of here.”
“……What?”
“I tried to shake her off, but it didn’t work. I still don’t know why I had to go through that……. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had such a painful memory…….”
Before he knew it, Melissa was staring at the man in front of her with angry eyes. No, obviously it wasn’t just anger. Emotions such as sadness, despair, and disillusionment were filled in her transparent brown eyes.
Alan suddenly remembered the first time he knew Melissa existed. Was it a ball at the royal palace?
Alan, who is overly sensitive to human’s presence, noticed a gaze watching him from beyond the tiresome human beings surrounding him. The sensation was familiar and unpleasant, but when their eyes met, he was a little surprised and had to hurriedly control his expression.
With a clumsy but obviously blatant stare, she was peeping at him. Still, her gaze was very soft. It was both fluffy and cute. It was extremely rare that the eyes of someone who looked at him didn’t feel dirty in any sense.
But she didn’t approach him once in those years even after having such a mournful gaze.
It must have been a fiery or a desperate yearning. So maybe it’s time for her to try a worn-out method. He felt ridiculous waiting for it in secret.
In that sense, it was commendable that she plucked up the courage for the first time in years, last year, but it was a really worn out method. She wanted him to pick up the book. Alan sank into a state of unexpected disappointment. After all, this woman was no different.
Nevertheless, it was the first and last distraction he had ever made, convincing himself that there would be something special about her, and observing her.
There has been a great deal of work since… She put Alan through a big change, sometimes trivial, sometimes unparalleled.
The small woman who shook him with her innocent face, sometimes gave him goosebumps, but he couldn’t let her go. Even if it is something he would have never done in his life, he couldn’t help it because he could not deny the fact that she gave comfort to him that no one else could give him.
However, it was surprising that Melissa Collins, who always exceeded his expectations, showed this much resentment. She was like a small animal, so there was no sense of intimidation.
Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know deeply about her yet. Or was Monica Elwood so terrible that she poisoned the heart of this small, fragile woman?
“Is it Monica Elwood?”
Melissa’s eyebrows were noticeably distorted when her name came out. She was taking a quiet deep breath, glaring at him like a very wary little cat.
Then Alan’s gaze reached the red scar on her soft skin again.
“……Tch”
“Because of you…… How much I…….”
She burst out a tearful sigh, once again overflowing with sad emotions at the sight of the man clicking his tongue with a dry face.
“Monica Elwood,”
Alan’s eyes were filled with anger towards himself for not being able to stop Monica’s sudden action. The blue veins on the back of his hand, which were as pale as snow, were clear.
“She’s not my lover.”
“Then what…….”
Melissa’s fist quivered. She no longer wanted to be fooled by the man’s red lips, tongue and sweet voice. She no longer wanted to regard herself as pathetic and insignificant.
“That’s enough to make a fool of a person……. I heard everything about how sweet you and her were before I came to the Duchy…….”
A heavy silence came as she shouted at him with a face mixed with anger and resentment. He didn’t even move a muscle such that one could mistook him as a plastered statue. Only the cold gaze stayed at Melissa’s red eyes for a long time.
She wanted Alan to say something. Whether it was an apology or an excuse, she just hoped that the heart that had been badly torn by Monica wouldn’t be ignored by him.
“It’s a family affair.”
But it was Melissa Collins who wanted to hear an excuse rather than an apology.
“What does that mean…….”
“It means that it is a story that cannot be told to anyone outside the family’s fence.”
His answer threw Melissa’s heart onto the cold floor. Such elegant and noble violence. It is true that her body is trembling, but how dare he put the blame on Leopold’s name?
Then Alan’s beautiful lips moved, letting out a sigh-like low voice.
“But I’m in trouble because I want to tell you everything.”
“…….”
Alan, who took a white handkerchief out of his coat, got up and approached her. Melissa opened her eyes wide in surprise, and tears that had not yet fallen flowed slowly.
Alan sat next to her and carefully wiped her tear-stained cheeks. The scent of his body and the distant scent of roses that leaked through his collar, which had been opened because he was not wearing his cravat, gently tickled the tip of her nose.
Melissa froze with her eyes closed tightly as his cold fingertips swept over the wound near her chin. Alan smiled at the sight and let out a sweet sigh.
“Melissa, I’m a businessman.”
“…….”
Melissa could not understand what he was trying to say, but she was not so confident of looking at his face which was very close so she kept her eyes closed.
“I have a terrible habit of replacing everything in the world with a deal, and I can’t help it.”
“…….”
“So, tell me your secret. Then I’ll tell you everything.”
“Secret…?”
It was a sweet and gentle tone as if he was dealing with a child again. Melissa had a strange feeling. A deal to her tears and appeals.
It was hard to tell if he was playing a joke or if he really meant it to tell her his story.
Nevertheless, she wished for the latter, and pondered what secrets would satisfy him—a businessman.
After a while Melissa’s pink lips fell cautiously.
“……I started writing <Paradise on the Moon> again. I’m sure I’ll finish it this time.”
“Really?”
“And then you’ll really have to let me go…….”
Alan slowly scoured a drop of tear hanging on her delicate jaw because it was not wiped. The smooth handkerchief lingered as if caressing her trembling lips, and only after gently pressing her lower lip did it return to his coat.
“I’ve already heard that you’ve started to write that novel. You think the servants are blind?”
“…….”
“That’s not a secret, Melissa.”
“But it’s no longer a secret…….”
Melissa’s face lit up with embarrassment. Alan, who sat with his body turned towards her, was looking at her with his arms resting languidly on her back, which seemed to push Melissa to reveal her secret.
“Um……. Troy in my novel…….”
“…….”
“Actually…… I modeled it on you.”
Melissa, who said so, hurriedly covered her face with her hands. The color of her face seen through the gap of her fingers was red.
“Did I not know that?”
“Then…”
Melissa felt her eyes go dark. Should she be more embarrassed here? What a great thing he’s trying to say.
“About the first time I fell in love with you was when I was 12……? It was a Leopold charity event.….”
“…….”
“If, if it’s not that…….”
Melissa closed her eyes tightly as she felt her covered palms turning clammy. If she stops here, she’ll be the only one to reveal her secrets without hearing anything from him. That’s the only thing she didn’t like.
Unfortunately or fortunately, there was a secret left for her.
“Um…….”
The other day, Alan asked what he did with her in her dream. At that time, it was urgent to avoid the question, but in principle, anyone would want to know that if they heard such a thing.
Wouldn’t this deal be more likely to be in her favour if Alan gets to know what he wanted to know? With that thought, Melissa put down her hands that covered her face.
But she covered and whispered in a very low voice.
“When I dreamed of you…….”
Of course, she can’t tell him every detail of what happened, so just a little bit.
“……Alan Leopold in my dream once kissed me.”
Alan didn’t take his eyes off Melissa’s face as she moved closer to the table, step by step.
He didn’t even blink. Melissa’s grim gaze was towards the floor, but as she drew closer, the scarlet scar under her slim chin was clearly visible. Alan felt his insides twisting.
And the moment Melissa sat across from him instead of next to him, he heard the sound of his reason collapsing. He had already spent a warlike day among the ugly humans.
“Come to the side.”
Melissa didn’t answer or raise her body, she just bowed her head. Her soft brown hair hung like a wave and her slender curved shoulders trembled slightly.
“Did you bite your tongue?”
“…….”
He didn’t mean to make her cry, but suddenly Melissa burst into tears. Alan was stunned as if he had been hit hard in the head. Somehow it was a sense of discomfort.
Alan let out a low, long sigh.
“……why.”
Instead of answering, Melissa wiped her tears with the back of her hand. Still, her shoulders were shaking intermittently, and her head was not raised. At that time, the thin drenched sleeves rolled down to the elbow, and red scars engraved on the thin wrist appeared.
Alan was deeply annoyed. He didn’t know if it was because she was living as if invisible, or because she wasn’t like a lady who was having scars even after living in a safe place.
“Shouldn’t you say it for me to know, Melissa? Or do you intend to make me tired too?”
Unintentionally, an overbearing voice came out. As Alan said that in a low voice, Melissa shook her shoulder and looked up reluctantly.
Her tearful brown eyes finally turned to him. Strangely enough, she looked stunned as if she didn’t know why she was crying.
“……I hate you.”
“Ha.”
The beautiful red lips twisted coldly. Alan leaned back while his icy gaze fixed on her.
“How many days have it been since you said you wanted to have dinner with me every day and to buy you flowers?”
Alan’s voice was calm at first glance, but his cold eyes were staring straight at Melissa like a sharp blade. Melissa also noticed at once that her actions had offended him. But she could not back down.
Melissa clenched her small fists on the table.
“A woman who called herself your lover came……. She said get out of here right now. I mean… I have to get out of here.”
“……What?”
“I tried to shake her off, but it didn’t work. I still don’t know why I had to go through that……. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had such a painful memory…….”
Before he knew it, Melissa was staring at the man in front of her with angry eyes. No, obviously it wasn’t just anger. Emotions such as sadness, despair, and disillusionment were filled in her transparent brown eyes.
Alan suddenly remembered the first time he knew Melissa existed. Was it a ball at the royal palace?
Alan, who is overly sensitive to human’s presence, noticed a gaze watching him from beyond the tiresome human beings surrounding him. The sensation was familiar and unpleasant, but when their eyes met, he was a little surprised and had to hurriedly control his expression.
With a clumsy but obviously blatant stare, she was peeping at him. Still, her gaze was very soft. It was both fluffy and cute. It was extremely rare that the eyes of someone who looked at him didn’t feel dirty in any sense.
But she didn’t approach him once in those years even after having such a mournful gaze.
It must have been a fiery or a desperate yearning. So maybe it’s time for her to try a worn-out method. He felt ridiculous waiting for it in secret.
In that sense, it was commendable that she plucked up the courage for the first time in years, last year, but it was a really worn out method. She wanted him to pick up the book. Alan sank into a state of unexpected disappointment. After all, this woman was no different.
Nevertheless, it was the first and last distraction he had ever made, convincing himself that there would be something special about her, and observing her.
There has been a great deal of work since… She put Alan through a big change, sometimes trivial, sometimes unparalleled.
The small woman who shook him with her innocent face, sometimes gave him goosebumps, but he couldn’t let her go. Even if it is something he would have never done in his life, he couldn’t help it because he could not deny the fact that she gave comfort to him that no one else could give him.
However, it was surprising that Melissa Collins, who always exceeded his expectations, showed this much resentment. She was like a small animal, so there was no sense of intimidation.
Maybe it’s because he doesn’t know deeply about her yet. Or was Monica Elwood so terrible that she poisoned the heart of this small, fragile woman?
“Is it Monica Elwood?”
Melissa’s eyebrows were noticeably distorted when her name came out. She was taking a quiet deep breath, glaring at him like a very wary little cat.
Then Alan’s gaze reached the red scar on her soft skin again.
“……Tch”
“Because of you…… How much I…….”
She burst out a tearful sigh, once again overflowing with sad emotions at the sight of the man clicking his tongue with a dry face.
“Monica Elwood,”
Alan’s eyes were filled with anger towards himself for not being able to stop Monica’s sudden action. The blue veins on the back of his hand, which were as pale as snow, were clear.
“She’s not my lover.”
“Then what…….”
Melissa’s fist quivered. She no longer wanted to be fooled by the man’s red lips, tongue and sweet voice. She no longer wanted to regard herself as pathetic and insignificant.
“That’s enough to make a fool of a person……. I heard everything about how sweet you and her were before I came to the Duchy…….”
A heavy silence came as she shouted at him with a face mixed with anger and resentment. He didn’t even move a muscle such that one could mistook him as a plastered statue. Only the cold gaze stayed at Melissa’s red eyes for a long time.
She wanted Alan to say something. Whether it was an apology or an excuse, she just hoped that the heart that had been badly torn by Monica wouldn’t be ignored by him.
“It’s a family affair.”
But it was Melissa Collins who wanted to hear an excuse rather than an apology.
“What does that mean…….”
“It means that it is a story that cannot be told to anyone outside the family’s fence.”
His answer threw Melissa’s heart onto the cold floor. Such elegant and noble violence. It is true that her body is trembling, but how dare he put the blame on Leopold’s name?
Then Alan’s beautiful lips moved, letting out a sigh-like low voice.
“But I’m in trouble because I want to tell you everything.”
“…….”
Alan, who took a white handkerchief out of his coat, got up and approached her. Melissa opened her eyes wide in surprise, and tears that had not yet fallen flowed slowly.
Alan sat next to her and carefully wiped her tear-stained cheeks. The scent of his body and the distant scent of roses that leaked through his collar, which had been opened because he was not wearing his cravat, gently tickled the tip of her nose.
Melissa froze with her eyes closed tightly as his cold fingertips swept over the wound near her chin. Alan smiled at the sight and let out a sweet sigh.
“Melissa, I’m a businessman.”
“…….”
Melissa could not understand what he was trying to say, but she was not so confident of looking at his face which was very close so she kept her eyes closed.
“I have a terrible habit of replacing everything in the world with a deal, and I can’t help it.”
“…….”
“So, tell me your secret. Then I’ll tell you everything.”
“Secret…?”
It was a sweet and gentle tone as if he was dealing with a child again. Melissa had a strange feeling. A deal to her tears and appeals.
It was hard to tell if he was playing a joke or if he really meant it to tell her his story.
Nevertheless, she wished for the latter, and pondered what secrets would satisfy him—a businessman.
After a while Melissa’s pink lips fell cautiously.
“……I started writing <Paradise on the Moon> again. I’m sure I’ll finish it this time.”
“Really?”
“And then you’ll really have to let me go…….”
Alan slowly scoured a drop of tear hanging on her delicate jaw because it was not wiped. The smooth handkerchief lingered as if caressing her trembling lips, and only after gently pressing her lower lip did it return to his coat.
“I’ve already heard that you’ve started to write that novel. You think the servants are blind?”
“…….”
“That’s not a secret, Melissa.”
“But it’s no longer a secret…….”
Melissa’s face lit up with embarrassment. Alan, who sat with his body turned towards her, was looking at her with his arms resting languidly on her back, which seemed to push Melissa to reveal her secret.
“Um……. Troy in my novel…….”
“…….”
“Actually…… I modeled it on you.”
Melissa, who said so, hurriedly covered her face with her hands. The color of her face seen through the gap of her fingers was red.
“Did I not know that?”
“Then…”
Melissa felt her eyes go dark. Should she be more embarrassed here? What a great thing he’s trying to say.
“About the first time I fell in love with you was when I was 12……? It was a Leopold charity event.….”
“…….”
“If, if it’s not that…….”
Melissa closed her eyes tightly as she felt her covered palms turning clammy. If she stops here, she’ll be the only one to reveal her secrets without hearing anything from him. That’s the only thing she didn’t like.
Unfortunately or fortunately, there was a secret left for her.
“Um…….”
The other day, Alan asked what he did with her in her dream. At that time, it was urgent to avoid the question, but in principle, anyone would want to know that if they heard such a thing.
Wouldn’t this deal be more likely to be in her favour if Alan gets to know what he wanted to know? With that thought, Melissa put down her hands that covered her face.
But she covered and whispered in a very low voice.
“When I dreamed of you…….”
Of course, she can’t tell him every detail of what happened, so just a little bit.
“……Alan Leopold in my dream once kissed me.”
