The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

Every plaza in Petrosha Empire was equipped with a video sphere.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.They served as a type of billboard, changing daily or weekly to advertise a variety of things.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Sometimes, they promoted the emperors spectacular exploits, sometimes they were used by noble families to enhance their own prestige, and there were times when the space was used to sell goods.

People would usually pass by the area without taking notice.

But today was different.

A spectacular battle scene was projected over the huge sphere.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Everyone was stopped in their tracks as they walked past.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.People flocked to see the commercial that had been up since dawn.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Duke Pietro finished off the last remnants of the Dark Tower.

Said one knight.

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Thats amazing.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.What the hell is that?read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Shouted a man wearing a pointed wizards hat.

That bracelet is shining!

Gasped a little boy with a surprised face.

People are saying its elementism.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.It was in the morning paper today.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Beautiful, mysterious, and even powerful

It looks more holy than the prophetic stone containing Gods prophecy.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Everyone was staring at the image.

Citrina watched as well as the tower crumbled, the pendant around her neck glinting.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Gemma whispered quietly.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

-That was th, th, that scary guy, right?

-Desian? It seems so.

-Sheeshyou do a lot, but hes on a whole other level.

Gemma babbled.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Citrina felt a little disoriented.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

She stopped at a corner of the plaza.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The crowd was unusually dense.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

So thosemercenaries must be quick-witted people.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Sooner or later, the atelier would be plagued with an overwhelming order for enchantments.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

At that moment, Princess Iana was leaving the imperial palace.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Shed been invited to a county house party by the marquess.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Her carriage crossed the bridge that connected the imperial palace to the islands and drove towards the plaza.

Its been a long time since I saw the plaza.

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It was a nice day.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.On a day like this, she should be lazing about the imperial palace, rewriting the second draft of The Spiritists Diary.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Iana was suddenly bothered by everything.

Ah, its stuffy, so please open a window.

At Princess Ianas words, the lady-in-waiting quickly opened the carriage window.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.There were many people outside.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Iana asked indifferently.

Why are there so many people out there?

Ah! Duke Pietro has used elementism to turn to tower into dust.

dust?

Thats a strong word!

Anyway

Duke Pietro was the one.

Elementism had reduced the tower to dust!

It was obvious.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Duke Pietro showed the power of the spirits to the people for Citrina! It was so romantic! Heroic, too! He was cold to other people but sweet and warm-hearted to his woman.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

To no ones surprise, Princess Ianas reasoning was flawless once more.

Oh my gosh, isnt it too romantic?

Its romantic?

The world is so beautiful.

Iana smiled and cupped both of her cheeks in her hands.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The lady-in-waiting who was close to the princess seriously considered this.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Did the knights academy make people like this? What was so romantic about a tower demolition?

Wait a minute.

What?

are you two dating now?

What who is dating who?

The princesss ladies-in-waiting looked at each other, troubled.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Maybe she had been reading romance novels for so long that all of her prejudices had disappeared.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

No, Im talking about the Duke and Citrina.

Theyre still not dating yet, are they? Even though its so obvious that youre in love.

The princess murmured to herself grimly.

Ah

The ladies-in-waiting choked back their words.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Princess Iana, who was unable to understand their hearts, fell into a long-awaited trance.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Should I spice it up a bit?

What that too much?

Princess Iana racked her brain as the carriage sped through the plaza.

Behind the royal carriage, Citrina also left the square with a great deal of surprise and trepidation.

So it seemed that things had surely turned in her favor.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.But this was a little more than she had asked for, no, quite a bit more.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Citrina left the plaza.

Instead of returning to the atelier, she took the path to the dukes residence.

What happened?

Desians answer came too quickly for Citrinas liking.

More than anything, the scale is too big.

Just as she was about to say that, she realized something all of a sudden.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Ah, she had forgotten something.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Desian was a duke.

Is this scale nothing to a duke?

But still, she didnt like the idea of being dependent on Desian for help.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.She wasnt the type to live with a debt floating over her head.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Citrina decided that sooner or later she would explore the mines to bring him back gold.

It was a bit of a stretch, butit would be in their mutual interests to do so.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Otherwise, she would have to think seriously about how she could help him.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Still, I never thought it would come to that, Del.

Dont feel pressured.

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Knowing Citrinas mind, Desian spoke softly.

Hed placed a personal ad in every plaza all around the empire.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.It was an astronomical amount of money that Citrina couldnt even imagine.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

The Senate also was a factor in it.

Huh?

There was a request to lessen the notoriety of the duke.

Citrina knew about the infamy of Duke Pietro, though she hadnt heard all of the rumors yet, as others fled in a panic when he was mentioned.

I see.

She was slightly mistaken.

Desian looked at Citrina and lowered his eyes.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Dense, long eyelashes shaded his eyes, making him look almost pitiful.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

When I look at you like this, you look like an angel.

Citrina slowly ripped out the bud of doubt from her mind.

Del.

Yeah?

There were no people in the tower? Werent you hurt?

I killed them all.

Desian smiled merrily.

If you think of it that wayit still looks bad.

He spoke of death more easily than anyone else.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Citrina rubbed at the goosebumps that had risen on her arms.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Well, Im glad to hear that our plans worked out for both of us.

It was an unfortunate thing, the difference in status.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.It meant that Citrina couldnt be sure that she could give as much as she was given.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Then I have a favor to ask of you.

What favor?

I have this strange sound ringing in my ears.

A strange sound?

Yeah.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Andread only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Trailing off, Desian bit his lip slowly.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The tip of his tongue tingled.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

I hear it whenever youre not around.

Feigning weakness.

Slowly.

To make her love him.

Desian lifted his eyelashes slowly upward, looking at Citrina.

He smiled as pretty as a picture.

So stay with me.

Because thats enough.

Desians large hands gently swept through Citrinas hair.

Citrina flinched.

It was strange.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.There had been times before when hed affectionately ruffled her hair, and she had never thought about it.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.She had just assumed it was a touch between friends.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

But now it was so obvious this was an intimate touch.

Desian removed his hand from her hair and brought it to her cheek.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.His hand was cold enough to make her wince.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

You have a bit of a fever.

Desian murmured languidly.

Her heat transferred to his cold hand.

He thought.

I was going to wait until your feelings for me gradually developed.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.I was going to give you a choice.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.If I didnt do that, you would run away again.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.But isnt this a clear foul to look at me with both cheeks tinted red?read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Desian slowly removed his hands from her cheeks as well.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.This was because if they touched for much longer, it would be unbearable really.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

He knew only one thing- his patience was running thin.

There was only so much time before his patience ran out.

What are you thinking?

Nothing much.

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Citrinas everyday question was followed by Desians falsely calm response.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Hearing his voice, Citrina smiled.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

When she looked at him like that, with eyes so full of emotions while saying nothing,

it made him want to know her more.

Im not really thinking about anything.

Citrina cupped her hands around Desians ears.

Now theres no sound?

Their gazes met fiercely in the air.

All I hear is your voice.

Thatmakes me feel good.

Citrina smiled.

Citrina Foluin liked Desian Pietro.

That was clear to see.

She didnt know if it was love, but she did know that a crush was slowly blooming in her heart.

For now, pushing for success to precedence over the gentle waves of love.

Citrina blinked.

For the time being, lets just put it to the back of our minds.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.We have enough stuff to work through.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

For now.

And yet.

If he stopped trying at all, he wouldnt get anywhere.

Del, I heard Elaina and Genfiros are after me.

Yes, its dangerous.

Do you think theyll try to take my life?

yes.

Citrina was lost in thought.

Desian looked down and smiled grimly, deep in thought.

It wasnt just one person who was after Citrinas life.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The leader of the paladins had labeled elementism as a forbidden art.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.which meant that Citrinas safety was slowly getting more and more precarious.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

Desian had already noticed a few suspicious faces circling around Citrina, but he didnt need to tell her everything.

You remain lovely.

Ill get my hands dirty.

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SoI have one favor to ask, Rina.

The emphasis was on the word favor.

There was a force in his earnest voice.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.Citrina looked at Desian again.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.

And what happened next was something she hadnt predicted.

It was right then.

Desian looked at the pendant around her neck without saying a word.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.The pendant sparkled, glowing.read only at salmonlatte . com. This annoying watermark is not there.