The Duke's Daughter Is A Villainess (35)

"Zeke? What are you doing?"

Zeke scoffed. "Is it fun? For you to play around with men like this? To toy with their hearts?"

Ah. That was right. Dahlia had been so lost in teasing Zeke that she'd forgotten he was the one responsible for Dahlia's death originally. He was cute and yet was also capable of being ruthless.

"Yeah. It's fun." Dahlia answered honestly. She felt there was no reason to lie, he would see through it any way.

"You... you are a truly poisonous woman, you know that?"

Dahlia smiled lightly. "And yet you like me anyway."

Zeke froze.

Dahlia admitted that she could be oblivious sometimes, most times intentionally so, but she wasn't blind, and she wasn't stupid. How could she not know how Zeke actually felt for her? It was so obvious to her. And she'd been so attuned to the thoughts and feelings of the men around her this entire time, there was no way Zeke's budding affections would've gone unnoticed. Still, she thought he would've simply held it in the whole time, and she'd be able to safely go to the next world without having to deal with it.

He really did surprise her by appearing so suddenly.

"You act like you hate my behaviour... and maybe you really do, but you like me all the same. Don't you just hate that I won't play with you the same way I play with the other boys?"

As expected, she hit the nail right on the head. Zeke, who looked so dominating and assured just a moment ago, now looked unsure and hesitant. Even so, Dahlia thought this side of him was pleasant, and still quite adorable.

Dahlia stepped towards him, trapping him in her cage now. "You could kill me... I know you could... or you could let me kiss you instead. Which one sounds better?"

Zeke swallowed, feeling like he had nowhere to escape under her gaze. "..... Kiss."

In the end, he was as cute as ever.

Dahlia laughed brightly, and Zeke was so lost in her beauty for a moment that he forgot why he even came here in the first place, but then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him without warning.

For half a second Zeke's brain short circuited and he stood there, unmoving, but then he could feel Dahlia begin to move back and jumped into action. He pulled her waist closer to his and then finally moved his mouth against hers.

Dahlia could decisively say that the third kiss was the best one of them all.

Once they separated, Zeke was breathless, his chest heaving and his cheeks warm.

Dahlia caressed one of his cheeks with her hand, and then leaned in to whisper into his ear. "Let me tell you a secret. Out of all the boys... you were my favourite."

[Host?]

~Time to go, I think.

[Are you sure?]

~Yep!

[Congratulations to the host for successfully completing the first challenge! You have earned the 'A' rank for this challenge. Would you like to start the next challenge now?]

~Yes.

[The second challenge has been accepted. Transporting to new world…]