༺ Unexpected Situation ༻
“Y-you’re here? It seems like it took a bit longer. Did something happen…”
“Shut up.”
Frey, stepping onto the carriage prepared for their date, responded with a cold tone as Serena stumbled over her words, watching his reaction.
“Huff.”
After a sigh, Frey, who had taken his seat, silently gazed out the window and sighed again.
‘Why am I acting like this? Why?’
An inexplicable impulse had persistently urged him for a while now, an emotion entirely foreign to Frey.
‘Why do I want to torment others?’
For the first time in his life, he genuinely wished to torment others, committing pure acts of malevolence unrelated to the forced actions during the first cycle or the current wickedness to save the world.
“Ugh…”
The signs of this change appeared when the drunken Isolet had barged into his hideout.
In that moment, Frey, slightly intoxicated, tried to ease her week-long worries, reassuring her that his high position in the Demon King’s army held no issues with lifespan while also emphasizing the difference in their positions.
The decision itself was correct, but insulting her by calling her a “doormat” or “lecherous wretch” was never part of his plan.
However, he felt guilty and exhilarated for some reason when saying those words, and the situation spiraled out of control from that point onward.
He passionately kissed Miho— his fiancé’s aide and friend— who had already disliked him, intertwining their tongues and displaying possessiveness.
Throwing words he didn’t even mean and saying that he wanted to have an affair with Miho left his fiancée, Serena, wounded and tearful as she clung to him.
Earlier, he had uttered hurtful words, even insulting and sexually harassing Isolet, the second person he respected the most in the world.
Lulu, always loyal and affectionate, received cold treatment, facing physical punishment through strangulation and even biting, actions that left Frey bewildered as to why he was yielding to such desires.
‘Could it be… I am under a curse?’
Guilt and confusion etched Frey’s expression as he stared out the window.
‘Perhaps I should contact Kania…’
After suffering in silence for a while, Frey’s thoughts led him to seek advice from Kania, an expert on curses, and he turned his gaze to the side.
“Frey.”
“…Ugh.”
Simultaneously, Serena, who had somehow attached herself closely to his side, sparkled with anticipation, caught his attention.
‘I want to torment her…’
As a result, Frey’s briefly tranquil mind began to be disturbed, and negative thoughts resurfaced once more.
“Go away.”
“…Heok.”
Consequently, Frey pushed Serena aside and spoke coldly.
“Behave, Serena.”
“B-but… I should put this on you…”
“What?”
Perplexed, Frey tilted his head, and Serena quietly extended something for him to see.
“Is this… a lens?”
What she presented was a lens emitting rainbow colors.
“Yes, you should wear this so we can see each other’s faces…”
As Serena explained, both of them were currently under special disguise.
To conceal Frey, who was feigning his disappearance and hiding, Serena used the hereditary perception-altering magic passed down through her family, altering both their facial appearances.
Thanks to this, to external observers Frey and Serena appeared entirely different
Of course, their inherent charm from their original appearances remained unchanged despite the altered “perception.”
“I-I’m already wearing it. When I look at our altered appearances, it feels like we’re having an affair… F-for me, even if you beat me to death, I still like you the best…”
“……”
“Come to think of it… I’m the only one who can see your true appearance now… Hehe.”
Serena, who had been mumbling timidly, suddenly spoke with a blissful look as Frey gazed at her.
When Frey stared at her intently, Serena, who was timidly muttering, spoke as if suddenly reminded of something and gazed at him thrilled.
“I don’t need that.”
“…Sorry?”
“I’d rather see that appearance than your original face, which is nothing to look at.”
“…….!”
But as Frey continued with his shocking statement, her previously gleeful smile vanished completely.
“Th-that’s…”
“Now, move away from my side.”
“U-ugh…”
Upon hearing that, Serena looked dejected like a pitiable, drenched puppy. Without arguing, she simply lowered her head in response to Frey’s cold command and muttered softly.
“A-alright then, I’ll keep this appearance today…”
“That’s right, now…”
“N-no, I mean, from now on, I’ll always look like this in front of you.”
“Hmm.”
“S-should I keep this appearance even in normal situations?”
Serena asked with a trembling expression as she gazed at Frey.
“It’s been years since the last time I received a compliment about my looks from you.”
“……..”
“E-even if I change my face, I’m still me… I’ll do anything as long as you acknowledge me.”
After hearing her words, Frey, who had shown no interest, once again shifted his gaze to outside the window.
“I’ll schedule cosmetic surgery for tomorrow. I’ll change my appearance to match the perception-altering magic’s appearance…”
– Whoosh…!
“Huh?”
As Serena muttered while fiddling with her two fingers, Frey abruptly snatched the lens she had placed next to her.
“Huh? Frey?”
Still staring out the window, Frey slowly placed the lens Serena had prepared on his eyes.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
Serena stared in bewilderment, mouth wide open, witnessing this action, but Frey soon responded with the same cold tone.
“I’m wearing it to conceal the color of my irises.”
“Hehe, hehehe…”
“You’re so noisy.”
Frey pushed Serena, who leaned on his shoulder with a foolish smile, away again and stared at the clear sky in silence.
“…Huh?”
While behaving this way, Frey suddenly slightly furrowed his brow and tilted his head.
– Ssk…
He began to feel an itching sensation around his legs. So, he slowly lowered his gaze.
– Squirm, squirm…
Serena, who was now lying beside him, had somehow sneakily found her way into his spot.
“Hehe.”
Having successfully found her place, she rested her head on his lap, looking up at him with a foolish smile.
“It’s Frey… Hehehe…”
From her perspective, there was the face of the most magnificent man in the world, a face that only she could see.
“…As unremarkable as always.”
Soon, in Frey’s shifted gaze, there was also the face of Serena, who looked at him and giggled sillily as if she found something amusing.
“There’s nothing to see; it’s unremarkable, and there’s nothing special.”
While muttering to himself with a pout, Frey attempted to push Serena off his lap. However, in the end, he could only shake his head, lean back, and close his eyes.
“Seriously, I really don’t like you.”
After a while, the carriage that had left his hideout slowly started traveling down the road.
– Clatter, clatter…
After a long ride, the carriage carrying Frey and Serena began to shake pleasantly.
“Ack, eh ah…”
Seizing the opportunity, Serena, with her head on Frey’s lap, sneakily rubbed her head against his legs.
“Ouch…”
While making it appear as if she was being pushed by the swaying of the carriage, she turned her head to press her face against Frey’s lower abdomen.
“Hmm…”
Then, the sensation of his flesh and body warmth under his thin shirt reached Serena.
– Nuzzle, nuzzle…
Since Frey and Serena rarely had the chance to be so close, she tried to make the most of it and gently brushed her face here and there.
“Hm?”
However, Serena, who was basking in happiness while nuzzling her face against Frey’s lap, suddenly wore a dark expression.
“This smell is…”
Then, with hollow eyes, she started fiddling with Frey’s shirt.
“…No way.”
The scent of a woman emanated from the shirt Frey was wearing.
Although he had always cheated on her in front of her, Serena always secretly sniffed his clothes every time, so she knew very well.
While she could always detect the scent of perfume, soap, and cosmetics, she had never detected the ‘scent of a woman’ on him even once.
However, now the fragrance emanating from Frey’s shirt unmistakably belonged to a woman.
“…….”
Serena, who had opened her eyes while glaring hard to analyze the wrinkles on the shirt and the scent, quickly reached a conclusion.
“That damn old maid…”
Serena had been regularly keeping a record detailing the threat levels of those who had their sights set on Frey.
So she quickly realized that the owner of this drastic action was none other than Isolet, who had recently risen to the top of the file.
“I should revise the ranking soon…”
Serena, who quietly elevated Isolet’s threat level to the maximum in her mind, gritted her teeth and soon began looking at Frey to shake off her unpleasant feeling.
“Are you asleep, Frey?”
His eyes remained closed throughout.
– Poke, poke.
Lost in contemplation while staring at his doll-like face, Serena delicately prodded Frey’s cheek with her finger.
“It’s so squishy…”
For a while, Serena blushed as she continued to poke Frey’s soft cheek.
“…..Huh?”
Suddenly, as the carriage began to sway, her expression turned cold in an instant.
– Crash!!
However, before she could react, the unexpected happened.
“Kyaaack!!”
The roar echoed as the carriage teetered as if on the verge of flipping over.
‘An accident? No, it was a dirt path, so the carriage shook quite a bit, but it wasn’t to the extent it would flip over.’
In the half-tilted carriage, Serena, lifted slightly into the air, started to contemplate inwardly.
‘Then… there must be an ambush.’
Serena, who had wiped away her foolish smile until then, swiftly assumed a cold, ruthless expression reminiscent of an assassin.
‘Not the Imperial Family, perhaps the Church? Or maybe the Hero Party? Regardless, first…’
While using her brain to the fullest, Serena clung to Frey, who had also floated into the air with her and took out a fan from her inner chest pocket. Her eyes began to gleam.
“Oof!?”
Taken aback, she gasped and blushed.
– Snatch…!
The reason for this was that Frey, who had woken up with a start after dozing off for a moment, unconsciously embraced Serena due to the shock.
“Ahhhhh…?”
Frey’s bold action, which she hadn’t experienced ever since he was young, left Serena’s normally sharp mind in a state of disarray.
– Crash, thud…!
Just like that, the carriage, with Frey tightly embracing Serena, dramatically flipped over.
‘What should I do, what should I do, what should I do…’
Buried in Frey’s warm embrace, Serena’s mind turned blank.
.
.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
“…Hmm.”
Leaning her chin on her hands at the table, Vener quietly observed the floating projection magical device in the situation room.
– Cssssss…
The monitor displayed a carriage covered in dust, overturned.
“Um, excuse me…”
In the quiet situation room where no one spoke due to the dismal sight, someone suddenly raised their hand.
“I-I… I came here because they said Frey… Frey is here…? I…?”
The pitiful, worn expression belonged to none other than Roswyn.
“Oh, well.”
Vener, who was sharply looking at her, had a cold expression and was about to open her mouth to speak.
“Actually…”
– Creak…!
“….?”
The door to the situation room swung open suddenly, and someone entered, causing Vener to momentarily pause her words and tilt her head in confusion.
“What in the world…?”
It was Frey’s younger sister who had become the temporary head of the Starlight family.
“…What are you all doing?”
Aria Raon Starlight appeared in the situation room.
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