You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 63

Feeling uneasy, I finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

Although I couldn’t explain the exact reason, I apologized sincerely. After my words, silence filled the space between us.

The attendant standing behind hesitated for a moment, then bowed and left the room. Karhan, who had been standing still, moved to sit in his usual seat and looked at me. Even though it was a face I had longed to see, I could barely meet his eyes, my head drooping lower and lower.

“…I was worried.”

Though brief, hearing Karhan’s true feelings made my vision blur. As I remained silent, unable to speak, Karhan said softly:

“I know Lord Liras can be quite mischievous, but this time he went too far. Tell me what he did, and I’ll warn him never to do it again.”

His concern, directed solely at me, touched my heart. Finally, the tears I had been holding back fell in drops onto the back of my hand. Hiccuping and trying to stifle my sobs, I cried as Karhan pulled his chair closer to me.

Karhan’s large arm reached out, cradling my head and drawing me to rest against his chest. The warmth of his body, which I hadn’t felt in so long, made me even more emotional, and my body trembled.

“Are you… are you not going to see me anymore?” I asked, crying pitifully.

Karhan’s voice, tinged with amusement, replied, “No, that’s not it. I was wrong. I threw a little tantrum without knowing anything.”

“Tantrum?”

My words came out shaky, accompanied by hiccups. Though it was embarrassing to have my voice break, I couldn’t stop crying. The hand cradling my head stroked it gently, and I could hear Karhan’s heartbeat clearly in my ear.

“Yes. I was foolish and acted badly, unable to understand your feelings. I’m sorry.”

“Hic… really?”

“Really.”

“Then… can I… just visit your office… whenever I want?”

My words kept breaking up as I couldn’t stop crying. Finding it funny, Karhan’s muffled laughter vibrated through his body. Feeling embarrassed belatedly, I gripped Karhan’s clothes tightly.

“Yes, you can visit whenever you like. But please be a little careful of others’ gazes. It’s fine when we’re alone, but just in case, you know.”

“Okay… I’ll make sure to call you ‘Your Grace’ when there are people around.”

Saying that, I nuzzled my face against his chest like a child seeking comfort. I could feel his chest getting damp from my tear-stained face. Hmm, it’s a bit dirty, but it should be okay, right? After staying like that for a while, pretending not to notice, Karhan’s hands cupped my cheeks and slowly lifted my face.

“Eek.”

I tensed my neck, not wanting to show my face, which was surely a mess. But I couldn’t resist the strength of the hands cradling my cheeks. Eventually, my head was slowly lifted, and I had no choice but to face Karhan. My eyelids felt heavy from my swollen eyes.

As Karhan stared intently at my face, a smile bloomed on his lips.

“Your face has become quite ugly.”

“N-No, it hasn’t.”

Why is he suddenly dissing my face? Does he think his own face is some kind of national treasure or something? Well, actually, it is. But still, that’s too much.

I stammered, unable to hide my surprise at Karhan’s blunt words. Just as my eyes were about to narrow into triangles and deep furrows were about to form between my brows, Karhan continued:

“But it’s still cute, so that’s a relief.”

“Huh?”

What does he mean by that?My eyes, which had been narrowing into triangles, suddenly widened. My jaw slowly relaxed and began to drop open. I’m sure I must have looked like an idiot with a dumbfounded expression to anyone watching. Karhan’s eyes were filled with amusement as he looked at me.

🐤

A gentle curve formed on Karhan’s lips as he held Seol in his arms, patting him soothingly. The fine threads he felt under his hand and the warm body temperature helped calm his rapidly beating heart.

Suddenly, an anomaly occurred in the mana flow at the mansion, and something heavy separated the space. As far as Karhan knew, there was only one person, no, one dragon in the world who could use such high-level magic right now: Liras. But there was no reason for him to do something like this so abruptly.

To assess the situation, Karhan quickly closed his eyes and concentrated his senses. At first glance, the countless mana in the air seemed to flow naturally, but in one place, the dining room, the flow had changed. It was quiet as if nothing had happened, yet it seemed to be holding its breath, frightened by something.

Only after careful examination could he realize it. Seol was at the center of it all.

Karhan had sensed that Liras was different from usual to some extent. It bothered him a little that Liras was strangely unable to control himself and acted arbitrarily and authoritatively. But he didn’t expect him to cause such a commotion in his mansion. He hadn’t had the leisure to pay much attention elsewhere, as he was preoccupied with Seol.

He immediately sprang up from his seat. He heard the pen he had been holding fall and roll on the floor, but he couldn’t pay attention to that. All sorts of worries stirred in his mind, wondering if something might happen to Seol.

He roughly opened the door and ran towards the dining room with unusually quick steps. The distance to the dining room, which he usually thought was close, felt so far today for some reason.

He went down the stairs, turned right, and flung open the dining room door that came into view. Then he saw an opaque membrane enveloping the area around them. It was such skillful work that even the servant outside couldn’t notice that something was wrong with the situation.

When he used mana to examine the inside, he saw Seol with his head bowed, looking completely intimidated. Although he had seemed a bit low on energy recently, it was the first time he had seen him so hunched and cowed. Why was he putting such pressure on a child who was just sitting quietly? Karhan approached with large strides.

The servant who noticed Karhan’s arrival bowed in greeting. But unlike usual, Karhan ignored him completely and reached out to touch the membrane. A tingling sensation, like electricity, ran up his fingertips. His arm hesitated for a moment, then resolutely made contact, as if about to pierce through.

The membrane, which had looked soft and pliable, unexpectedly refused to give way. As if imbued with Liras’s will, it didn’t allow Karhan’s approach. Karhan narrowed his eyes and gathered the mana inside his body to his fingertips, sharpening it. He created a hole by penetrating the regular but minute gaps.

The membrane that had been distorting space and blocking everything quickly expanded the hole Karhan had made and began to disappear. Liras, who already knew Karhan had arrived, skillfully put on a smile and raised his gaze.

Liras and Karhan’s eyes met. Only then did Seol, realizing the situation, turn around and lift his head. Then, with a slightly trembling voice, he said:

“Karhan…?”

This was only the second time he had heard such a frightened voice. The first time was on the first day they exercised in the training ground, when Doel’s name had been on those small lips. He could still vividly remember Seol speaking haltingly, watching his mood and demeanor, overwhelmed by his aura and atmosphere.

That day, Karhan had covered up the emotion that had filled his heart with other thoughts before he could recognize it. So he didn’t know. How he had looked at Seol with what kind of emotion.

And now he could understand. What his emotions and feelings were. Why it bothered him when Doel’s name came from those lips.

Without realizing it, he had his heart stolen by this small bird.

Liras, who had thoroughly messed with Seol’s feelings with just a few words, left the dining room with a smile as if nothing had happened. Having known him for a long time, Karhan could tell that the smile was a mask to hide something.

Liras wasn’t a dragon who would do such things as a prank. There must have been a reason for such an ancient, enormous dragon to use magic to oppress a small living being.

When he asked Seol about the situation just now, he misunderstood something and just cried for a long time. The sound of him crying pitifully with hiccups was heart-wrenching, but strangely, the corners of Karhan’s mouth kept rising. Karhan felt satisfaction as he comforted Seol, who was crying with his head resting on Karhan’s chest. His heart felt fluffy, as if clouds were floating in it.

Then, wanting to see his face, he cupped Seol’s cheeks and lifted his head. Seol made a funny “eek” sound and resisted, but wasn’t he the child who could only run five laps around the training ground? Soon his head was raised gently.

The face of Seol that came into Karhan’s view was like a freshly baked round bread. His cheeks, pressed by Karhan’s hands, and his reddened eyelids and nostrils were truly comical. He thought he was barely holding it in, but a smile appeared on his face again.

“Your face has become quite ugly.”

It was truly ugly. How could every part be so swollen? As Karhan smiled happily, his eyes curving like crescent moons, Seol opened and closed his mouth with his cheeks still squished.

“N-No, it hasn’t.”

He tried to deny it, insisting it couldn’t be true. As if he had never been bawling his eyes out, anger began to fill his two eyes. Whatever was in this small head, he was truly an adorable creature.

After the incident in the dining room, Liras rarely showed himself. Occasionally, there were reports of him appearing at the training ground but leaving soon after. He didn’t make much of a presence, so not many people noticed him.

After staying quiet like that for a while, Liras suddenly appeared in the office today. Seol, who had been sitting on the sofa next to the table, was startled and quickly hid behind Karhan. It was a breach of etiquette, but no one pointed it out.

Liras approached slowly and spoke first.

“I think it’s time for me to return to my mansion.”

“So suddenly?”

“Yes. I’ve found out most of what I wanted to know.”

Karhan looked at Liras with questioning eyes, but he didn’t say anything more. With a bag on his back, he looked like someone who had already finished preparing to leave.