The Duke's Daughter Is A Villainess (31)

[Host, are you bored again?]

~No? I'm having fun. Why?

[... But... the last time you had to stay home this long you said you were so bored you wanted to die!]

~Hm... well, that's true... but things are different now.

[What's different?]

~Zeke's here, of course! How could I be bored when he shows me such interesting reactions every time I tease him?

[Host....]

~What? Don't you think it's cute when he's blushing but acts like he isn't? Or when he's trying his best to be mean to me but can't actually bring himself to say anything that hurts my feelings?

[... Host, I feel like your tastes are so peculiar...]

~No way! Who doesn't find this kind of person cute? Clearly you're the strange one here, Buddy.

[.... Whatever you say, Host.]

Deciding to ignore how defeated Buddy sounded, Dahlia instead put her focus onto dressing up. Though she had a good enough face to look good in anything, she wanted to put a little more effort into what she wore today. She was finally allowed to visit the palace once again, but obviously not without the duke tagging along.

While Stella went off to find the king as usual, the duke and Dahlia had tea together. Clearly, the duke was not intending to let Dahlia out of his sight for even one second, but when Dahlia looked at him with her big puppy eyes and said "Pleaaaase?" so cutely, he couldn't help but agree. He made sure that Zeke was with her though, as well as two other knights that the king provided.

She wandered around for a little with no real destination in mind, but then ended up bumping into Noah. The first thing that she noticed was that his percentage had went up a considerable amount since the last time she saw him. It was so close to +100% already... was she actually... a genius at romancing men?

"Your Highness." Dahlia greeted politely, as if they were nothing more than a prince and his subject.

Noah frowned immediately, unintentionally remembering when Dahlia used to greet him happily by his name and followed him around like a lovesick puppy. It wasn't that he wanted her to return to those days, in fact he found he liked the newer, more mature version of Dahlia, but thinking back on it now he felt kind of nostalgic for it. It was strange. At first he found that behaviour repulsive and annoying, but now that she was acting distant, he suddenly missed it.

~Oh my... would you look at this? The prince's thoughts are so obvious....

[What is he thinking, Host? I can't tell!]

~Now that I'm addressing him so formally he can't help but be reminded of before, when Dahlia used to chase him so forcefully and call his name so familiarly. Since I no longer act like that, he unintentionally thinks back to it fondly, as if they were good memories, even though he always hated how Dahlia acted before.

[But, why does he like it now?]

~It's obvious! Compared to this kind of coldness and distance, of course he would prefer that kind of over familiarity. Especially since he likes me so much now, he feels a sense of regret about those days. He's thinking that even though he likes me now, I've already stopped liking him and he's missed his opportunity.

[Oh! I see! Host, you are so smart!]

~No, no, I'm not smart. Most men are just simple.

"You can..." Noah spoke, before hesitating. "You can call me Noah, if you wish. After all that we've been through... it should be alright for you to call me by my name."

Dahlia looked surprised, before nodding, her cheeks turning pink. "Okay... Noah. You can also... call me Dahlia, if you like."

Noah smiled, extremely pleased.

Zeke took one look at Dahlia's blushing face and rolled his eyes.