Chapter 135: Chapter 133
His expression immediately turned flat. "That’s not a plan."
"It’s the beginning of a plan."
"That’s called an idea."
"It’s an evolving plan."
"It’s a thought."
I clicked my tongue. "You’re focusing on the wrong part."
"And what’s the right part?"
"That I was going to tell you."
Soren stared at me for several seconds.
"It just so happens that you’re here," I finished weakly.
Soren squeezed my tail again.
I nearly jumped off the couch.
"Stop squeezing my tail!" I hissed as I tried pulling my tail away.
The corner of his mouth twitched. Then, as if deliberately proving a point, he squeezed it again.
I stared at him. "You are absolutely enjoying this."
"It’s your fault."
"How is this my fault?!"
"You know exactly why."
Before I could argue, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward.
I barely had time to react before I found myself pressed against him.
My brain immediately stopped functioning for several seconds before I finally recovered.
"Soren."
No response.
"Soren."
Still nothing.
"General Soren Markhelov."
"What?"
"You’re hugging me."
"Good observation."
"...That’s all you have to say?"
Soren sighed and tightened his arms around me slightly. "You don’t even send me a simple message saying you’re doing fine."
I immediately pointed at him. "Before I explain, let go of me first."
"No."
"You’re impossible."
"So I’ve been told."
I clicked my tongue.
Then another thought occurred to me.
"Also, what would your fiancée think if she saw this?"
Soren’s expression instantly flattened. "She’s not my fiancée."
I blinked. "That’s not what I heard."
"Then what did you hear?"
"She keeps calling you her fiancée."
"That doesn’t make her my fiancée."
’That... was actually a fair point.’
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Then what’s going on?"
Soren looked like he was having a painful conversation with a particularly stubborn child.
"The nobles keep trying to push an engagement between us."
"And?"
"And I never agreed."
"Oh."
"That’s it?"
"What?"
"That’s your reaction?"
I shrugged. "I mean, arranged marriages happen all the time."
His eye twitched. "Blanca."
"What?"
"Stop thinking about random things and answer my question."
"..." I looked away.
"...Blanca."
"Yes?"
"Why haven’t you contacted me?"
I coughed and looked very interested in the carpet. "Well ...I was busy."
"Too busy to send one message?"
"..."
"Blanca."
Maybe when he said it like that, it sounded bad.
"I was adapting to academy life."
He stared at me.
"I know you’re capable of taking care of yourself."
I didn’t interrupt.
"But disappearing without a word isn’t the same thing."
"...I didn’t think it was a big deal."
"It was."
Completely reasonable.
After all, he was the one who saved me.
"I’ll send messages next time."
Soren studied me for a few seconds. "Regularly."
I groaned. "Why are you negotiating like a businessman?"
"Because you’re terrible at staying in contact."
"...Fair."
"Can you let go of me now?" I asked.
"No."
I sighed. "That wasn’t a request. That was me politely informing you."
"And I politely refused."
I glared at him.
Unfortunately, I was losing because he was still holding my tail hostage.
Without warning, he asked, "Did you miss me?"
I froze.
’Of all the questions he could have asked, why that one?’
My brain immediately began working overtime.
There were probably correct and wrong answers but there were also definitely dangerous answers.
And somehow I couldn’t tell which category any of them belonged to.
"..."
Soren waited patiently but when he noticed I don’t have an answer, he continued, "Because I missed you."
To ensure my brain couldn’t recover, he squeezed my tail again.
I sucked in a sharp breath. "Soren!"
To be honest, though, I wasn’t even sure what exactly he missed.
I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously.
"Did you miss me..."
I pointed at myself.
"...or did you just miss your personal plushie toy?"
Soren stared at me for a second before laughing.
The sound was warm and familiar enough to make my chest tighten.
"Both."
I immediately looked away. "What a terrible answer."
"It’s an honest answer."
"That’s even worse."
The smile never left his face.
And that was a very big problem for me.
Seeing him up close now felt different.
Back when I was in my beast form, I never really thought about it.
But now I was painfully aware of everything.
His sharp features.
His cold yet warm eyes.
His smile that seem to only appear when he was talking to me.
The way he looked at me like nothing had changed.
Something strange suddenly happened.
My heart started behaving like it had completely lost its mind.
One moment it was beating normally.
The next, it decided to perform advanced gymnastics.
Backflips.
Somersaults.
Possibly several cartwheels.
Heat rushed into my face.
Oh no.
Not now.
Not in front of him.
I immediately buried my face against his chest.
It was the safest solution I could think of.
"Don’t look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like that."
"That’s not an answer."
"You know exactly what I mean."
"I don’t."
’Liar.’
I could hear the amusement in his voice, he definitely knows what I’m saying.
I groaned and pressed my forehead against his chest. "You’re being annoying."
"You’re hiding."
"I’m protecting my dignity."
"That’s a new one."
I made an offended noise.
Soren chuckled again.
The vibration from his chest only made me more aware of how close we were that somehow made my face even hotter.
"Blanca."
"No."
"I haven’t said anything yet."
"I know."
"Then why are you saying no?"
I tightened my grip on his shirt. "Because whatever you’re about to say is probably going to make this worse."
The room grew quiet when I felt him gently pat my head.
My ears immediately flattened.
For once, Soren didn’t tease me about it.
He just smiled to himself and let me hide there for a little longer.
Which, annoyingly enough, made my heart do another somersault.
"The house felt lonely when you were gone."
I froze.
"The house?"
"Mm."
His hand absentmindedly stroked my head, my ears immediately twitching by his touch.
"Even Agatha and Mikael missed you."
"They did?"
Soren nodded.
"They were bored enough that making Blanca plushies and annoying each other became their hobby."
I finally looked up. "They made what?"
"Blanca plushies."
"..."
"They made several."
"..."
"I think Mikael made one with removable ears."
I looked genuinely horrified. "What is wrong with all of you?"
Soren looked completely serious. "You’re asking the wrong question."
"The right question being?"
"Why did the removable ears sell out first?"
I couldn’t even tell if he was joking anymore.
That was the terrifying part.
Then what he said finally sank in.
"They missed me?"
"Yes."
A small smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.
Soren noticed immediately. "Even if they don’t admit it, they missed your nonsense."
I glared at him. "Did you really have to add that?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
I clicked my tongue.
Soren only looked more amused.
"I wanted to see all your reactions before I leave."
I blinked. "What?"
"I didn’t get to see them before."
His smile softened.
"Back then you were still a beast."
Oh.
That...
That somehow made my face even hotter.
My ears drooped and unfortunately, my tail even began swaying behind me.
"S-Stop being like that!"
"Like what?"
"That!"
"Very descriptive."
I pointed at his face. "That expression!"
Soren reached over and lightly flicked one of my ears.
I jumped. "Soren!"
"Why?"
He flicked it again. "Are you embarrassed?"
"No!"
"Happy?"
"No!"
"Then what are you feeling now?"
"I am angry!"
He raised an eyebrow. "You always say that."
I immediately looked away.
"You droop your ears when you’re embarrassed or sad."
I immediately grabbed both ears.
"And your tail sways whenever you’re happy."
"Soren."
"Sometimes excited too."
"Soren."
"You also twitch your ears when you’re trying to lie."
"Soren!"
"I think the rest of your body is just more honest than your mouth."
"Okay, that’s it!"
I finally snapped and started struggling out of his arms.
"You’ve been observing me like some kind of mad scientist!"
Soren raised an eyebrow. "What’s the problem with that?"
"SEE?!"
I finally managed to wiggle free from his arms and retreated several steps away and put a safe distance between us.
Soren looked entirely unbothered. "You’re just making yourself feel guilty."
He pointed behind me as I turned around to see that my tail was still swaying.
I immediately grabbed it. "Stop it!"
"What about your ears?"
My hands instantly flew upward, both ears were softly twitching as I quickly pressed them down but Soren let out a chuckle.
I glared at him. "You’re making fun of me."
Soren looked entirely innocent. "I haven’t even started."
I pointed at him accusingly. "You already started the moment you opened the door."
That only made him laugh as he stood up.
"Stay back!" I screamed as I immediately backed away.
He continued walking forward.
"Stay. Back."
Still walking.
’Why is he like this?’
"Don’t—"
Before I could escape, he already scooped me up.
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