How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 5.13
Resena recalled the narration from the novel as she moved her pieces.
…Eldis was closer to thinking that everyone except himself was good. Because of that, he approached everyone with a kind attitude. That was also the reason why he couldn’t help but be called everyone’s lover. …(omitted)… However, Eldis didn’t know that he was losing the people he cherished because of that very reason.
Even in the novel, Eldis’s weakness is described as being kind to people. When first reading “The Name of Love”, she thought, ‘Why is that a weakness? Being gentle is a good thing.’ But after several rereads, she realized that Eldis’s greatest strength was also his weakness.
‘All the trusted people around him disappeared, and in the end, only Lorona remained by his side, but even after she sacrificed herself and died, Eldis went berserk.’
After that, using the “Light of Sernaus” that only a Grand Sword Master could use, he turned the imperial capital into a pile of dust. Having been turned to dust several times by his finishing move, Resena thought the current flow of events, where she was trying to prevent him from causing the end of the world, seemed quite good.
Even if she later rejected Eldis’s feelings and refused him, if she could protect him from losing his friends while being with him… Even if he was rejected, he would heal the pain of unrequited love with his friends, rather than trying to destroy the empire.
“Miss? Why aren’t you moving your piece?”
“Ah. I’ll move. Oh, checkmate.”
“Gasp…”
Cold sweat ran down the merchant’s back. Resena turned her gaze towards the displayed prizes with a bright smile. The merchant weakly collected the pieces and challenged her once more, but Resena overwhelmingly swept away all the pawns and placed her knight diagonally one square away from the king’s straight line.
“I’ve lost…”
“Yes. It was checkmate, but you surrendered first?”
“…”
Even the enthusiastic merchant drooped his shoulders after the fifth defeat. In fact, he had put up an expensive prize thinking it wouldn’t be easily won… The merchant looked at Resena with pleading eyes, but Resena reached out her hand with a smile.
“Give me the prize. I want to hug that big teddy bear quickly. I’m excited to see how fluffy it is.”
“Ugh… You’re really good. Impressive.”
“Hehe. This much is… simple.”
“…”
The merchant weakly trudged over and handed the giant teddy bear to Resena. The teddy bear, as tall as herself, had an adorably black nose, and Resena rubbed her cheek against its soft body with a satisfied expression.
“Ah, it’s so soft…”
Eldis, who had been intently watching this scene, burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, you’re cute, Resena.”
“Ah…”
She had gotten completely absorbed in the teddy bear in the middle of their date. As Resena blushed, Eldis continued with his eye corners curved.
“Your chess skills were truly admirable. Each move was unpredictable, leading to checkmate as quickly as possible. Amazing. Even if I had played chess, I couldn’t have done that well.”
Embarrassed by the praise, Resena lightly scratched her cheek.
“It wasn’t that much…”
“No, it was. You were really amazing, Resena.”
Eldis lowered his head in front of Resena to meet her gaze. His smile, blooming gently like scattered cherry blossoms, was beautiful.
Resena felt as if her breath had stopped. But as if that wasn’t enough, he half-closed his eyelids seductively and whispered languidly.
“By the way, Resena. To pour me champagne, it seems you need to win two more times… What do you think?”
“Ah…! I almost forgot.”
Eldis chuckled. Resena, still red-faced, remembered the original goal of getting one more prize for Eldis. If she won chess twice, she would get quite a good quality champagne, but she had gotten so absorbed in chess that she ended up winning five times and getting the best prize.
“Let’s play two more games. I still need to get that champagne.”
“Ugh… No need. I’ll just give it to you. But you’ll have to pay 1 gold.”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
She watched as the champagne was handed to Eldis. Eldis skillfully twisted off the cork of the champagne with a satisfied face. The faint aroma of green grapes and acacia flowers, along with the bubbling carbonation, slightly overflowed.
He closed his eyes briefly as if savoring it, then slowly opened them.
“It’s a high-quality product for a gambling prize. Resena, I’ll be counting on you again at the next festival.”
At this, Resena smiled brightly, her eyes curving.
“If I get to go to the winter festival with Eldis, I’ll get you an even more fragrant one then. I read that the winter festival has a more diverse range of alcohol as prizes. I can’t be sure if alcohol will be a prize for chess, but if it is, you’ll definitely get that alcohol.”
A beautiful curve formed on Eldis’s lips.
“Alright, Resena. You’ll have to take responsibility for that boast. I have no intention of dating anyone else like this, so I’ll keep sending you invitations until you come to me. Letters filled with desperate pleas for you to date me.”
She looked up at him at his playful words. Even though the teddy bear she was holding should have blocked her view, Resena met his eyes. His eyes, blue like a cold sea rippling with desire, were directed only at her.
“Well then, it would be good to put that teddy bear and champagne in the carriage. We still have many places to go, after all.”
“Yes, that’s good. But where are you thinking of going next?”
Eldis approached one step closer to Resena’s side, wearing a mischievous expression like a prankster planning a trick. At the close distance, before she could respond, he whispered in her ear.
“I want to go anywhere you want to go, Resena. According to the Duke and Duchess of Arnasus, you have a great interest in sculptures.”
Resena’s eyes widened. She hadn’t told her father and mother about Vernas yet, so how did they know she was interested in sculptures?
‘Could it be that Renard told them everything in detail? He probably didn’t say I was interested in Vernas himself, but did the topic of sculptures come up during a meal?’
“You’re so adorable, Resena. That expression, it looks too honest.”
“Ah…!”
Resena only then realized that she had outwardly shown her emotions. Quickly covering her burning cheeks with one hand, she struggled to say,
“That’s… because I’m interested in Vernas.”
At this, Eldis took Resena’s hand with a gentle smile.
His hand was softer than the teddy bear’s fluffy paw. Their skin brushed as their fingers gently intertwined. A soft kiss landed on the back of her hand that was led that way.
Resena flinched but didn’t move. She stood still, dazedly looking down at the back of her hand, feeling the warmth spreading to her nape.
“I’m interested in Vernas too. He’s quite a famous sculptor, said to be the one who sparked the sculpture craze in this capital. Some departments in the imperial palace have also shown interest in his sculptures. I even saw sculptures being exhibited on the 7th floor when I stopped by the auction house last time.”
“I see… Ah, have you seen the ‘God’s Sculpture’ series that Vernas newly sculpted? That work was quite good too.”
Resena swallowed her words in confusion. Eldis, who clearly understood why she was reacting like this, felt a smile forming involuntarily.
Lovely.
As the Crown Prince who would wield power above all others, he even felt grateful for the fact that she was more interested in Vernas, whom she had met simply as a man and a woman, despite not knowing much about him.
“Resena. Do you like that sculptor?”
“That…”
Resena broke out in a cold sweat, unable to predict what would happen next.
Vernas and she weren’t in a deep relationship yet. But if she spoke honestly to Eldis, he might become jealous in some way.
And the jealousy of someone in power can often be cruel. Because of this, Resena couldn’t let any words escape her lips.
