How to Tame That Gentle Male Lead - Chapter 5.8
‘As I thought, I…’
As much as she had regressed many times because of Eldis, even if he had feelings for her, Resena was not at all pleased. Not only had the Emperor put pressure on her, but she felt burdened by the thought of having to go on dates with him and develop feelings.
On the other hand, Vernas…
‘I want to see him again.’
Although it’s too early to declare it love, the movement of those beautiful fingers came as an impulse to want to see more. As she thought of him, a corner of her heart felt warm and a smile naturally appeared.
“Renard.”
“Yes, sis.”
“Today is Wednesday, right?”
“Yes. Oh, sis, are you going to see Vernas?”
Resena’s face turned red, but she soon nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Renard felt pity for Eldis, who had been the Commander-in-Chief leading him. It seemed that his sister had taken a liking to Vernas… Even though he was just a sculptor with an unknown background, if it was to this extent, it looked like it would be very difficult for Eldis to seduce Resena.
‘I’m sorry, Your Highness Eldis. If my sister chooses Vernas, I think I’ll have no choice but to support her…’
A person’s heart cannot be forcibly changed.
It might be possible to be suddenly attracted due to some trigger, but it’s nearly impossible to forcibly make a non-existent feeling turn towards oneself.
That’s why even though Resena had been chasing after Eldis, his heart never turned towards her.
‘…If I think about how His Highness’s position, who didn’t respond to my sister’s feelings, has now changed… I guess it can’t be helped.’
Renard watched Resena board the carriage with somewhat mixed feelings.
The combination of Eldis and Resena seemed to be a very well-matched one on the surface, but for his sister, that combination had now turned into something unwelcome. Moreover, since Resena was the heir to the Arnasus family, if she wasn’t chasing after Eldis, the Duke and Duchess probably wouldn’t want her to become the Crown Princess either.
“Drop me off at the canal dock. I’ll hire a carriage to come back.”
“Alright, sis. You’ll be back by dinner, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be back by then. I suppose the merchant guild work has piled up while I was away, so I’ll need to take care of that too.”
As Resena smiled brightly, Renard followed suit with a smile of his own.
It was a day with intense sunlight shining down from the clear summer sky.
And so, not long after, Resena got off at the canal dock.
“See you later then.”
“Yeah, see you later, sis.”
Renard watched her retreating figure for a while, then turned his gaze towards a man in a robe sitting on a bench under the shade of a tree. He seemed to be engrossed in sculpting, but when Resena approached, he looked up and faced her.
‘Judging by that huge build, he seems like quite a high-ranking knight…’
Therefore, Vernas would know Resena’s face, and he probably wouldn’t be unaware of her notoriety either. But somehow, Vernas seemed as if he didn’t care about her infamous reputation at all. Because after exchanging a few words, Resena sat down right next to Vernas and started observing his sculpture.
“…Let’s go.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
As he started the carriage, Renard looked around the canal dock. It was a place where goods regularly came in, but it looked quiet as almost nothing came in on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Anyone who knew this schedule would either be involved in the business or interested in it, so what exactly was this Vernas’s identity?
‘…If it’s not my sister, I should look into it myself.’
Renard made up his mind as he turned his head away from there.
***
Eldis, disguised as Vernas, looked down at the finished sculpture.
But even so, he felt a pleasant tension.
He wasn’t someone who didn’t know why she was observing the wooden sculpture next to him, or why the young lady was showing intimacy towards him. It seemed that the young lady had feelings for ‘Vernas’.
“Resena. Do you find it interesting to observe the sculpture?”
While occasionally glancing at the children noisily chattering in front of him, Resena was smiling brightly. Eldis felt at ease as he asked that question. It was a sensation he couldn’t often taste in social circles.
However, he was still curious.
What exactly about Vernas had attracted the young lady? He hadn’t done anything particularly eye-catching.
“Yes. It calms my mind… and it’s fascinating to see how the wooden piece transforms into a beautiful shape.”
As Eldis, he would have to beg just to maybe get her to accept a date request…
But he had no intention of revealing that he was Eldis in front of her now. If she knew he was Eldis, she might feel burdened and run away from the time they were spending together. Eldis, now Vernas pulled back his hood, revealing his features enhanced by magic.
His common brown hair took on a dark hue under the shade. His face, with blue eyes holding light, was strangely difficult to grasp clearly, but it was easy to tell that he belonged to the category of fine-featured handsome men.
“When I finish this sculpture, would you like to take a walk together?”
“Yes. I’d like that.”
While acting as the sculptor Vernas, he had met many children, young ladies, and wives from time to time, but Resena was the first person to show interest solely in the sculpture itself.
It was an hour later when Resena, who had been staring as if mesmerized at the movement of his pretty fingers, got up from her seat with him. It was around the time when the sunset was approaching, but Resena looked down at the completed sculpture with a hint of regret and tilted her head towards Vernas.
‘A nice fragrance…’
Eldis felt his heart beating heavily. With Resena so close to him, he naturally felt his heart racing and fluttering. He had to repeatedly remind himself to refrain from involuntarily looking at Resena, who had been giving him advice.
‘Right now, I’m in the form of Vernas. So I can’t approach Resena too intimately. Even though she told me not to mention status, Resena is a young lady and Vernas is just a knight. So…’
But even until the moment he handed the sculpture to the children, Eldis was acutely aware of Resena sticking close by his side. She exuded a fragrance of freshly bloomed hydrangeas mixed with the subtle scent of freshly heated vanilla. Eldis was surprised at his own impulse to bury his face in her nape and inhale her scent.
“Thanks, big bro! This sculpture is mine now. I’ll take good care of it and play carefully.”
Vernas’s lips curled up at the children’s innocent words.
“Don’t worry about that, you can play with it as much as you want. If it breaks or wears out, I’ll make you a new one.”
“Wow, big bro, thank you so much!”
The child who received the sculpture was delighted. The sight of the child hugging the sculpture tightly to their chest was truly heartwarming. It had been over three years since he started his activities as Vernas, the children’s sculptor, but whenever he received such pure gratitude, his heart always felt warm.
“Vernas.”
Perhaps Resena felt that emotion too. Eldis turned to look at Resena, who had called him. Resena was looking up at Vernas with a bright smile on her lovely face.
“The sculpture you gave to that child was so wonderful. I’m sure they’ll cherish it for a long time.”
At that, Vernas smiled at her amidst the children’s cheering.
His brown hair framed his face and his eyes, blue as the summer sea, curved brightly and clearly reflected the light. Resena could see her own reflection so vividly in those eyes that she felt her heartbeat growing louder with each passing moment.
In that way, he was enough to make Resena’s heart flutter. Resena felt her cheeks getting hot as she held his gaze for a while.
“I hope so.”
The child who seemed to be the leader, looking back and forth between them, grabbed Vernas’s hand and shook it, shifting their gaze.
“Well then, big bro. See you later.”
“Alright. Take care, everyone.”
“Yeah! See you tomorrow!”
He watched as the group of children moved away from him. By now, the sunset was precariously hanging over the buildings. As the crimson light settled amicably over both of them, Vernas turned his head to look at Resena.
“Then, would you grant me the honor of escorting you, Resena?”
Resena burst into laughter at his polite tone.
