Villain, Let Me Touch You! - Chapter 37
Once Helios was satisfied that Rienna was asleep, he left the room. Vincenzo, who had been waiting, followed.
“How is Lady Rienna?”
“She’s asleep. Do you have something to report?”
Helios headed to his study. As Rienna predicted, Helios had an extensive workload. He had intended to dedicate a full two days solely to Rienna, but there simply wasn’t a moment to spare. So while waiting for the treatment effects to manifest in Rienna, Helios dealt with reports.
However, there were also matters that couldn’t be handled in Rienna’s room. During those times, he took advantage of her sleeping to quickly attend to his duties.
“Is the experiment progressing well?”
“Write down everything I say and deliver it to Ebony.”
Helios meticulously recited the data from the experiment.
“On average, holding hands for about 30 minutes results in an effect lasting roughly 45 minutes. Can we assume that the effect diminishes with repeated contact? Our conclusion is yes. At least on the same day, using the same method is less effective. However, the effect of touching the imprint lasts quite a while. About five hours.”
As Helios recalled the moment he touched his name engraved on Rienna’s body, a flush of heat surged through his body, causing him to grab at his collar.
“You should use that method more often.” Vincenzo, unaware of where the imprint was, said casually.
Helios ignored Vincenzo’s comment.
“Do you dislike it?” asked Vincenzo. “Touching the imprint?”
Helios scrunched up his face. He didn’t hate it, but he found it far too appealing. The sensation of skin adhering to his hand drove Helios nearly insane.
Observing Helios’ silent response, Vincenzo, wearing a peculiar expression, inquired, “Are you feeling too warm, Your Highness?”
“No.”
“You seem feverish. Should I fetch some medicine?”
“I said it’s fine.”
Helios quickened his pace as if to shake off Vincenzo’s annoying prodding. “Don’t follow me.”
He entered his study alone, his heart pounding frighteningly hard. As soon as Helios shut the door behind him, he flung open the window. The cool breeze eased the heat from his body, but the scene in his mind didn’t go away.
No, it grew clearer, resurrecting the sensation of touching Rienna. Her slender thigh in his hand, softer than silk, her skin; her pink hair tickling his chin, and a fragrant scent unlike any other he’d ever experienced.
A sudden rush of heat surged through the center of his body.
Bang! Helios closed his eyes and slammed the window frame down.
“This is…I’m not going mad.”
It was a simple medical therapy. So, his body shouldn’t be reacting like this. Yet, he hadn’t expected his body to react this way.
Helios had always considered himself sexually restrained. Even during the height of adolescence and rampant curiosity, he had little interest in any gender. More importantly, he despised physical contact with others.
Except Rienna. He didn’t mind touching her, and he felt comfortable holding her hand. So, he thought there wouldn’t be any issue with the therapeutic contact…
Every time he touched her, it got weirder and weirder. And when he squeezed above his name on her, an intense force surged into the quiet core of my being.
It was unmistakable desire.
He was confused. He liked her enough to consider marrying her just to save her. Rienna meant everything to him—he would do anything to keep her safe. But when it came to romantic feelings, providing a straightforward answer was challenging. Frankly, he wanted to say no.
He detested the emotion called love. Love, as he understood it, was an exceedingly shallow emotion. Love was fragile, shattering at the slightest impact, much like ice on a winter lake.
Helios took a deep breath.
He wanted to be with her for a long time. That’s why his feelings for her shouldn’t be love. However, the pounding of his heart, the wrenching ache in his chest whenever he saw her pain, the desire of his body when touching Rienna, kept insisting it was love.
Helios tightly shut his eyes. He needed something else, something to focus on that wasn’t Rienna.
Helios lifted the sword hanging on the wall. He intended to go to the training grounds and sweat his anxieties away.
At that moment, a knock was heard.
“Your Highness, Her Majesty has sent for you.”
Vincenzo entered the study, holding paperwork in his hands.
