CHAPTER 29 "TEA TIME" (1)

Albeit a bit belatedly, I realized that I needed to stop staring at him because ogling people for no reason, or frankly any reason, was definitely against the rules of proper etiquette.

Moreover, this was not the first time I was caught peeking at Kyle. I mentally told myself I should be more careful.

"… No, there's nothing on your face," I said as I averted my gaze. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't stare at you like that."

"It's fine."

Kyle brushed off my apology without much of a reaction and just continued to sip his tea. I surreptitiously tried to change the subject.

"Archduke, I heard from Jean that this rose tea is made from the ones in this very garden?"

"That's right."

The Romani family was also well known for their famous red roses because their blooms were larger and brighter than the usual rose varieties, making them especially popular among the aristocracy.

However, outside of the Romani mansion's gardens, these roses were exceptionally hard to come by because they could not be found or purchased anywhere else.

If we were somehow able to scale their production and turn them into a product, then the rest of the kingdom could benefit from the roses and the mansion would surely see a boon in its fortunes—not that they were lacking to begin with or anything.

I can't imagine the kind of money we would earn from such a venture…

When I looked back at Kyle's face after letting my thoughts trail on entrepreneurial interests for a while, I saw he still wore his usual, expressionless countenance.

Then, I picked up my teacup to take a sip and noticed that the cup was still quite warm.

"Oh, the tea is still hot, so you should be careful when you drink it… Ahhh!"

Ironically, I had warned him to be careful, but I was the one who burned their tongue in the end.

My face flushed hotly and I couldn't help but feel self-conscious at how foolish I must have seemed.

"Didn't you just tell me to be careful because it was hot?" Kyle was quick with his sarcastic remark as if he had been waiting all along for the opportunity to tease me.

Huh? I know that it's my fault, but he's seriously pissing me off.

Despite my irritation at his smugness, I couldn't really say much in retaliation because I was indeed the only one to blame for my negligence.

I grimaced and placed a finger on my tongue out of instinct in response to the buzzing sensation.

"Ah, it stings," I whined.

I resolved never to drink tea again after this.

Should I use my power to heal myself?

I felt a certain someone staring relentlessly at me as I was busy thinking about the tea.

Why is he looking at me like that? Does he want to make another sarcastic comment?

Anticipating his next provocation, I shot him a glare, but the words coming out of Kyle's mouth momentarily stunned me.

"Do you want me to lick it?"

Huh?

For a moment, I couldn't understand what Kyle had meant. I had to take a minute to process his sentence and then deliberate with myself over whether I had heard him correctly or not.

Licking? Hmm? Wait… Does he mean my tongue?!

"A… Are you crazy?!"

Upon realizing his words, I momentarily lost my cool and yelled at him. The blood rushed quickly to my cheeks and they felt so hot that I worried my entire face would start to burn up.

Kyle nonchalantly continued drinking his tea.

"You're overreacting. You won't die from a little lick. It will just feel a little bit cold."

He was very clearly misunderstanding what was making me so flustered. The possibility of my tongue freezing over upon contact was certainly not high on my list of concerns over his very flagrant offer.

Did he really believe I would just say, "Ahh, it's cold," and be done with it? It didn't matter if it was cold or not. What mattered was Kyle offering to lick my tongue. That would never happen.

"No thanks," I shot him down immediately. "I'll pass on your offer."

Upon hearing my rejection, Kyle frowned slightly.

"You don't have to."

"Then, I'll rephrase it as I'm not passing on that offer, but I'm refusing it."

"But you're the one who said licking helps heal wounds."

"When did I say that? All I said was that it was just a habit of mine that helped me feel like my injuries would heal soon—not that licking actually has any real healing properties."

Only

These were two very different concepts, but he had combined them in his head and distorted my words. Kyle's forehead creased in confusion.

"Then, I will help you feel that way."

"Argh, but why do you feel the need to be the one who makes me feel like that?"

"Because you're the one who taught me so."

"But what does that have to do with what you just said?"

"I'll lick your wounds for you in return for you teaching me."

He's crazy. He's really a crazy man. You can't say something so outrageous if you're not crazy.

Ah, it seems he's actually a madman deep down.