Seeing the deepening blush on Esdeath's face and the dazed, sultry look in her eyes, Blayn suddenly had a bad feeling.
She wouldn't be thinking of that, would she...?
"What are you standing around for? You're done washing, so co to bed," Esdeath said.
"Hm..."
Blayn sat down on the other side of the bed and slowly lay down.
Thankfully, it seed like he had been overthinking things. Esdeath didn’t do anything—she simply lay down next to him.
But it didn’t take long for her to start getting restless.
She first turned onto her side, resting a hand on Blayn’s body, then pressed her entire body against him.
Originally, the bed only had one pillow, which was a bit awkward. But now, that was no longer an issue—they were sharing the sa pillow, with Esdeath’s icy-blue hair brushing against Blayn’s face.
"...Esdeath?"
Blayn softly called her na, but there was no response.
Listening to her slow, steady breathing, he realized that she had already fallen asleep.
So... was that just part of her sleeping habits?
He had planned to use this mont to make his stance clear to her, but he didn’t expect her to fall asleep so quickly...
Well, there was no helping it. He'd have to wait until tomorrow. Waking her now would be pointless.
...
The night passed. Nothing happened.
But Blayn still didn't sleep well.
The problem was that Esdeath kept shifting in her sleep—more specifically, pressing up against him in a rather... problematic way.
How was he supposed to get any rest like that?
And to be honest, despite only spending a day with Esdeath as her supposed lover, his perception of her had already changed quite a bit.
To the outside world, she was ruthless and rciless. But to her lover, she was incredibly affectionate—and, surprisingly, clingy.
If it weren’t for their opposing positions, Blayn had to admit—Esdeath would be the perfect partner.
Which led to an important question: once she learned the truth about his real stance, how would her attitude change...?
Would she go from a devoted lover to a bitter enemy?
...
Esdeath woke up early, while Blayn, still groggy from his restless night, remained half-asleep.
However, Esdeath didn't get up imdiately. Instead, she lay on her side, gazing at Blayn’s sleeping face with tender eyes.
This must be what they ant by love makes everything look beautiful—the longer she looked, the more pleasing he seed to her.
So when Blayn finally opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Esdeath staring right at him.
"Good morning, Blayn," she said with a smile.
"Morning."
Now fully awake, Blayn sat up.
Although his sleep quality had been poor, his enhanced physical condition ensured it wouldn't affect him much.
Only then did Esdeath finally get out of bed. Without any hesitation, she casually stripped off her nightgown in the middle of the room and began putting on her undergarnts and military uniform.
The key issue here was that... she had been wearing nothing beneath that nightgown.
Although Blayn deliberately averted his gaze, his peripheral vision still caught a glimpse—an unavoidable consequence of his Mangekyō Sharingan’s heightened perception. Even in just a split second, he had seen everything with crystal clarity.
Esdeath, however, remained completely unfazed, dressing swiftly with an air of nonchalance.
She wasn’t trying to seduce him or anything—she simply didn’t care about such things when it ca to Blayn. Of course, only Blayn.
"What do you want for breakfast? There are plenty of good places nearby," she asked, now clad in her signature white military uniform.
"For breakfast... how about I cook? Do you have any ingredients at ho?"
Blayn felt there was no need to eat out when he could make sothing just as good—if not better—himself.
Esdeath thought for a mont. "I don't think so. I've been stationed at the northern border dealing with the tribes, and I just got back. I haven't had ti to restock anything."
"Then let's go out and buy so," Blayn suggested.
"Sounds good," Esdeath nodded, smiling.
As long as she was with Blayn, even sothing as simple as grocery shopping felt enjoyable.
...
At that mont, Blayn and Esdeath were shopping for ingredients at a bustling market.
Blayn planned to buy eggs, bread, butter, at patties, vegetables, milk, and other essentials. A market like this, where one could find just about anything, was the perfect place to do so.
While picking out fresh vegetables, the two arrived at a stall.
Since Esdeath was far more familiar with the market than Blayn, she had been leading him by the hand the entire way.
Beside the stall owner stood a young girl with pigtails—likely his daughter.
The mont she saw Blayn and Esdeath walking hand in hand, her eyes sparkled with excitent. "Daddy, look! They're a couple!"
The stall owner was so startled that he imdiately covered his daughter's mouth. This was General Esdeath! A single misstep in front of her could cost a person their head!
"G-General Esdeath, my daughter is still young and doesn’t understand proper decorum. Please, I beg your forgiveness..." the man pleaded cautiously.
"It's fine. She hasn't done anything wrong—and besides, she's only speaking the truth."
Esdeath lifted her intertwined fingers with Blayn, her face radiating happiness. "He is the one I love."
Seeing such an expression on Esdeath's face, the little girl looked as if she'd just discovered a whole new world.
So this was what love was like? So magical, so full of happiness?
Even General Esdeath could look like this.
anwhile, her father, the stall owner, was utterly dumbfounded.
A mont ago, he had been terrified that his daughter's loose tongue might get them into trouble. But instead, General Esdeath had just openly admitted to being in a relationship?!
The shock didn’t stop there. The surrounding crowd, overhearing Esdeath’s words, collectively froze in disbelief.
As the most prominent figure in the Imperial Capital—perhaps even the entire Empire—any move Esdeath made would capture the attention of thousands. But this? This was monuntal.
Now that she had publicly declared their relationship, Blayn could instantly feel countless eyes locking onto him.
So were filled with shock, others with confusion. And of course, there were plenty carrying envy—or outright jealousy.
In an instant, all kinds of gazes from every direction converged on Blayn.
He couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward.
Good thing he wasn’t so weakling who only relied on Esdeath to get by—otherwise, handling this situation would’ve been a nightmare.
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