Villain, Let Me Touch You! - Chapter 85
So, was this the reason you enjoyed shopping so much? To smooth things over through rumors since there’s no time to introduce me to society?
Aristocratic marriages had many little details that had to be taken care of, and one of them was announcing the marriage to social circles.
Usually, the couple or their parents would show up at social gatherings and announce the marriage in person. Receiving a wedding invitation without knowing was considered a huge faux pas.
However, I lacked both the time and parents to handle such matters on my behalf. Hence, Demyr naturally found a way to inform others about me and Helios.
Later, when sending out the wedding invitations, she would probably add a note like this.
Surely, they wouldn’t be completely clueless, right?
Pretending not to know would only make them appear ignorant to rumors, and everyone would just laugh it off.
In any case, she was quite the schemer.
So, it was all good.
“How would you like to settle the bill?”
Donald appeared with the invoice in hand. The seemingly endless scroll of figures fluttered in front of me. The price for just one dress was already staggering, so with a bill of this length…
My conscience pricked just a bit as I roughly estimated the price.
But really, I shouldn’t be feeling bad!
I’m the one who realized after 18 years of living with a terminal illness that you should take while you can and enjoy while you can. With that precious realization as my credo, I turned my head away from the bill and I compromised with my conscience.
If Demyr showed even the slightest hesitation in covering the bill, I would offer to pay half. If she felt it was too much for me, I would gracefully decline.
But there was no need for that.
“I’ll pay now, full price. Unload the gold,” Demyr said.
I had momentarily forgotten that Demyr was dripping with wealth.
A mother-in-law who rode around in a golden carriage. That’s…a good thing, right?
***
“Where have you been all day with the Queen?”
Helios greeted me as I returned from a long day of shopping.
“To dress shops, jewelry stores, and dessert cafes. Would you like some of this?” I dangled the cake box that Demyr had packed for me.
Helios, who didn’t particularly enjoy sweets, immediately frowned.
“Why dress shops and jewelry stores?”
Helios snatched the cake box from my hand and pulled me into his arms, which made me feel weak in the knees. The scent of the forest surrounded me—it was Helios’s natural fragrance that I loved.
I instinctively rested my chin on his shoulder, my chest and stomach pressed against him. As I stayed in his embrace, feeling like my depleted HP bar was slowly refilling.
It’s not a feeling—it’s a fact.
Now, Helios had become more than just my pain reliever—he had turned into a healing potion.
“I’ve been invited to the Imperial Consort’s birthday celebration.”
It seemed Helios had the ability to convey his discomfort through his body language. I could feel his unease radiating from his chest.
“Why are you going there?”
“Should I not go?”
“Of course, you shouldn’t.”
“Hmm… they’re announcing my engagement with you there.”
“Let’s go. We need to dress appropriately. Shall we go shopping for dresses and jewelry?”
It was amusing to see Helios’s expression change like flipping the palm of a hand. I burst out laughing.
***
Rienna’s imprinting symptom diary:
- The imprinting pain is getting worse by the day.
- Skin-to-skin contact to relieve the pain becomes less effective with each passing day.
- Skin-to-skin contact with the imprinted person has not only analgesic and therapeutic effects, but also fatigue-relieving and stamina-boosting effects.
With a sigh, I added the final sentence and took a long stretch. I’ve been imprinted for over a month now.
When I first found out, I thought the sky was falling. Despite my attempts to appear strong, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the whole world was pitying my misfortune. And I had come to accept death to some extent.
But not anymore. Helios, who is genuinely committed to saving me, was here.
I glanced at the luxurious bed and the makeshift cot beside it. It was a humble bed with a mattress laid on top of a sheet. The cot was tiny compared to Helios’s size. When the cot was set up, I thought he wouldn’t last two days and would return to his room. But he endured without a single complaint for days, sleeping on the narrow cot.
Sorry and thank you, Helios.
