Chapter 47: The villainess flaunts (part 1)

We left the theater. Now, I should avoid running into Clie and go home.

I walked alongside Shael, while checking my surroundings through sight magic.

And then I finally noticed, that my efforts were in vain from the start. 

Clie was watching Shael and me from some distance.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince was not around Clie. But that didn’t make the situation any better.

As Shael and I moved, Clie seemed to be secretly following us.

‘Why was she suddenly following us?’

“…”

“…?”

When I stopped walking for a moment, Shael tilted her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“No…nothing.”

But Shael didn’t stop her questioning. The villainess was unusually quick to notice some thing at times like this.

“Tell the truth.”

“It’s nothing, really.”

As it was always with the villainess, she didn’t believe me.

“Let’s go back to the Azbel family now.” I said, ignoring Clie’s presence and moved my steps.

I didn’t want to meet Clie just yet. It was due to the advice written in the book, and there’s no way Shael would like Clie. 

However, the villainess directly rejected my proposal.

“No. Let’s walk a bit more.”

“Yes.”

I had no power to refuse her. 

Usually, Shael was the type of person who didn’t really like to wander outside.

Only days like today were different. 

When I looked at Shael with a questioning gaze, I found that her face had turned frosty.

‘No way, did she notice Clie?’

Maybe she did. Shael could be very perceptive at times like this.

In the first place, Clie wasn’t even trying to hide that had while following us.

“Come on.”

I confirmed my guess from her words filled with anger. Shael had indeed noticed that Clie was following us.

I let out a sigh and walked along with Shael.

Clie still continued to follow us. 

I couldn’t understand why the hell she was doing that.

But before long, I had to erase that thought. No, I had no choice but to erase it.

“What is it?”

“Be quiet.”

Because Shael had suddenly grabbed my hand!

Of course, it was something she would never do if it was the usual villainess. 

But the situation was different now that Clie was following us. It was clear that Shael was conscious of Clie and held my hand.

To be honest, I didn’t understand why she would have to hold my hand just because Clie was watching.

But, when I thought about it again, it wasn’t something unexpected.

If, by any chance, Shael had heard the sound of my bracelet, she would think I was in private contact with Clie.

From Shael’s point of view, Clie and I were acting in a way that anyone would be suspicious of.

In addition, Shael hated Clie to death. So, she must have decided to hold my hand, even though it would be shameful.

She was even showing off the ring on her left hand. 

I decided to speak up while I was being dragged by Shael’s right hand, “How about going slowly?”

“Slowly?”

I immediately closed my mouth at Shael’s expressionless face. 

Shael was indeed very angry.

Well, it was natural, since Clie, who she hated so much, was following her.

To be honest, it was already very fortunate that Shael didn’t bother to go confront Clie. If it was the original villainess from the novel, she wouldn’t be able to stand it and she would have gone to torment Clie.

Then, Shael frowned. I noticed the look on her face. It was the look she made when she wanted to find a way to annoy me.

This time, the target wasn’t me, it was Clie.

Then, Shael came up with a method and directly put it into action.

“What…”

Shael had embraced my arm! Even if it was in front of Clie, it was a shocking action!

That villainess embraced my arm?

Anyway, it seemed that the romance movie she watched earlier had influenced Shael. From holding hands to embracing arms. Everything was executed in the order they appeared in the movie.

It kind of made sense, since Shael didn’t have any other way to know about such things except for the movie she just saw.

Kewk!

A dog on a leash passed by Shael and me. When Shael saw that, she seemed to have an inspiration.

“What are you doing?”

“Wait.”

Shael rummaged through the bag of things she had bought in that store. And the things in that bag were all unusual items.

“Why are you taking that out now?”

“Come here.”

Shael took out the rope and lifted it. Her eyes were on the nape of my neck. 

A chill runs down my spine.

“No!”

“I gave you a ring too.”

I do appreciate the ring, but… ‘isn’t that the same as wrapping a leash around a person’s neck? Just like the dog that just passed by?’

However, Shael’s seemed firm in her intention. Then with a deep sigh, she handed the rope over to me.

Of course, it wasn’t for me to tie the rope on my own neck.

“Come here.”

“…?”

“You have to tie me up.”

“What, what?”

Anyway, the villainess was being selfish again. She was telling me to tie the rope around her neck!

So, I directly refused.

“Didn’t you tell me that you will respect my preference? You can’t break your words.”

[I prefer doing the tying rather than being tied.]

Actually, I had said it as a joke, but who knew that this would happen.

“…”

Shael remained silent.

No sane person would do something like that in public.

But… I had forgotten that Shael was crazy.

“Go on.” Shael nodded her head. 

It didn’t matter if Clie was still following us… to think that she would go this far. 

‘Maybe she really has strange preferences?’

“It was just a joke. How can I tie a rope around your neck in public? You’re not a dog.”

“I’m not joking.” Shael said as she held out her neck. “You can’t? Surely, you’re not spineless wimp, right?”

She was even provoking me. 

I must say, it was a very effective provocation!

As a result of that provocation, I tied the rope around Shael’s neck before I knew it.

It was fortunate that it was a thin rope. Thanks to that, it looked like she was on a leash.