You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 90

I looked at the servant standing at attention with his chin held high. The servant bowed his head and spoke with a serious expression.

“I’ll relay the message to His Grace the Duke—”

“W-Wait a moment!”

It wouldn’t even take a minute to reach Karhan’s room, so I needed time to organize my thoughts. At my desperate plea, the servant who was about to knock on the door stopped and resumed his rigid posture.

I let out a small sigh of relief and fidgeted with my fingers as I pondered. I came here boldly, but what should I say? Should I start by asking who that person was? Would it be natural to progress the conversation slowly that way? I’ll ask calmly, as if in passing, without showing any emotion.

I nodded and looked at the servant with wide eyes. As soon as the servant received the signal and put his hand on the door, Karhan’s voice was heard as if he had been watching the situation outside all along.

“Come in.”

Gulp. I swallowed once and carefully entered the room. A flickering white light cast long shadows across the floor. Karhan was sitting at the table, drinking wine with only a small lamp lit, as if it was too early to sleep. The atmosphere was somehow solemn.

Is today a bad day for him? Did I pick the wrong day to visit? Sweating slightly, I walked over and sat in the chair opposite him. I sat up straight and rolled my eyes around to survey the room. After looking here and there, I cautiously shifted my gaze to Karhan, only to meet his silver-gray eyes looking at me through the transparent wine glass.

“Ah.”

Like a fish skewered by a sharp harpoon, I froze, unable to avert my gaze. I should have had some water before coming. My throat kept getting dry, and as I swallowed hard again, his eyes, which had looked cold, instantly filled with amusement, and his tight-lipped expression melted away.

He must have heard me swallow. How embarrassing. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. Karhan spoke first, seemingly impatient with my inability to say anything despite entering so boldly.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much…”

What did I come here for again? Oh, right. I was going to start by asking who the person who kissed him was. Yes, let’s ask casually, as if talking about the weather. Ahem, I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.

“Um, that. Uh…”

But stupidly, my mouth just opened and closed without forming a proper sentence. Why can’t I ask? Just speak in a light, passing tone! Unlike the perfect plan in my head, the words wouldn’t come out properly, making me feel increasingly anxious.

As I lightly bit my lip and darted my eyes around, I noticed the wine glass in Karhan’s hand.

It seemed I needed a bit of alcohol’s help to calm my nerves. I exhaled a shaky breath and slowly reached out to grab the wine glass. Karhan released his grip on the glass without any resistance and handed it over.

He watched my every move as if meticulously recording them. Feeling embarrassed by his unwavering gaze, I turned my head away. My face was already starting to feel hot, even though I hadn’t touched the alcohol yet.

I squeezed my eyes shut and drank the wine. As soon as the smooth liquid touched my throat, a burning sensation rose as if I had been scalded. I might have drunk too much at once, but I couldn’t spit out what was already in my mouth, so I endured it and swallowed. I shouldn’t have done that. In an instant, a fiery sensation reached my stomach, and I opened my eyes wide and parted my lips.

“Ugh…”

I felt like a dragon capable of breathing fire. I wanted to drink some water and looked around the table, but the only thing I could put in my mouth was wine. With no other choice, I kept swallowing my saliva, trying to soothe my stomach that was on the verge of revolt.

Karhan let out a soft laugh at my bewildered expression from the powerful alcohol I had never experienced before. Then he gently reached out and took the glass from my hand. I vowed never to covet Karhan’s glass again.

Although my stomach was extremely hot, thanks to the alcohol that had gone down, my head, which had been spinning wildly, became calm. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if I had become calm or if my thoughts had just become lighter, but I felt somewhat comfortable. With this feeling, I thought I could easily start talking.

I let out a small breath and looked at Karhan. The gaze that had been fixed on me since earlier didn’t waver. Baseless courage welled up, and now even that gaze didn’t embarrass me.

Our eyes locked in mid-air. Wiggling my fingers resting on my knee, I carefully chose my words and opened my mouth.

“That person I met in your office yesterday… who was that?”

Good. I said it without stuttering. I slightly curved the corners of my mouth in a victorious smile.

“An elf from the Elven Forest.”

“An elf?”

But their ears weren’t pointed. Noticing my confusion, Karhan continued.

“It’s difficult, but appearance can be changed with magic.”

I see. So they hid their ears. Wait, why would an elf who dislikes humans meet alone with Karhan in his office and even kiss him on the eye? That’s even stranger.

My hands on my knees unconsciously clenched, creating wrinkles in my clothes.When did they meet? It couldn’t have been when we went to the elf village together last time… Is this someone Karhan knew before raising me? If so, why did Karhan confess to me? Why, when he already had someone he liked? Did he really confess because he was confused after being apart for a while?

My heart filled with hurt. He said he liked me. How could he do this? The alcohol suddenly surged, making it difficult to control my emotions. I barely held back the words of resentment that were about to burst out, pressing my lips tightly together, but finally, I let out one sentence.

“You said you liked me.”

Then I lowered my head, feeling his gaze fixed on me. I felt I should stop here, but once my mouth had opened, it wasn’t easy to close it.

“You said you had feelings for me. How, how could you?”

As I spoke, my hurt intensified. My voice trembled involuntarily, and I pressed my lips together to suppress it. I clenched my fists and glared at Karhan with all my might.

“Do you really li-like me?”

I managed to hold back a hiccup in the middle and spoke. Although I stumbled slightly because of it, I pretended nothing was wrong and looked at Karhan. His eyes were uncharacteristically round. Perhaps because of the small lamp beside the table, his silver-gray eyes held a warm light and soon curved delicately.

Karhan looked at me with a hint of a smile and slowly took a sip of wine. His prominent Adam’s apple moved greatly as the alcohol went down.

A brief silence passed, and Karhan’s lips parted as his gentle voice was heard.

“I like you very much, and I adore you.”

He spoke each word clearly, not seeming to be embarrassed by his confession, without averting his eyes from mine. His lips moved slowly, as if telling me to engrave each syllable in my heart. Hearing those words, I lowered my head even more and looked at my trembling hands.

As expected, I don’t dislike it. Rather, I like it.

I loved his words full of affection for me so much. My heart beat faster than when I first heard his confession, incomparably so. I took my gaze off my clenched hands and looked at Karhan. He was smiling deeply as if he had sensed my heartbeat.

It was a face I saw every day, but today it caught my attention even more. Maybe that’s why. Without thinking about the consequences, I impulsively opened my mouth.

“I, I like you too.”

There’s no turning back now. An unusually quiet silence fell in the already quiet space. Neither I nor Karhan said anything, just looking at each other’s faces.

Karhan, who had been blinking slowly, lowered his eyelids and exhaled softly. He sank into the chair’s backrest and slowly opened his eyes. Light entered his silver-gray eyes as they appeared, shining transparently.

“You might regret it when you wake up in the morning.”

“I’m not saying this because I’m drunk.”

Of course, the power of alcohol played a big part in being able to say I liked him. But even if I said it with the help of alcohol, it was sincere. The current me even harbored a desire to stay with Karhan.

I looked at Karhan with determination in my eyes. He narrowed his eyes and examined me, then slowly got up from his seat. In the moment I flinched, he took a step closer and carefully grabbed both my arms to lift me up.

“It’s better to see how you feel after sleeping it off tomorrow.”

Saying that, he bent down as if to lift me up. It was clearly childish treatment, so I hurriedly stepped back. What’s with this treatment after I finally managed to speak? I frowned and glared at him, and he made a slightly troubled expression.

This time, I slowly approached Karhan one step at a time. I’ll make sure he never treats me like a child again. I stood in front of Karhan and lifted my chin high. At a distance of less than a hand span, I could hear Karhan’s breathing.

I smiled inwardly at his stiff expression, completely unaware of what was about to happen. I quickly raised my heels and thrust my lips forward, colliding with Karhan’s lips like a headbutt to prevent him from avoiding it.

The softly overlapping lips felt so unfamiliar. Afraid our eyes might meet, I kept my eyes tightly shut and just pressed my lips against his, feeling his lips form a smile against mine. I felt a puff of air from his nose, and then our lips parted.

Can I open my eyes now?I slowly lifted my tightly closed eyelids to see silver-gray eyes full of joy. Perhaps because of the alcohol, they seemed to glisten more than usual. Being so close, I could see my reflection in his pale silver-gray eyes. I had put all my strength into my face.

Thinking I should be even bolder here, I tried to grab his large hand and pull him into my arms, but instead, I was pulled in. Karhan embraced me, lowered his head, and whispered in a low voice near my ear.

“Even if you regret it the next day, I won’t let you take it back. Are you okay with that?”