Rarely did Arnold tell Rishe something in a commanding tone.

…But all my deaths so far have been caused by none other than Your Highness, you know?!

It was a pity she couldn’t utter that protest.

First off, there was no point in telling Arnold this now. But Arnold, who had no way of knowing our inner thoughts, peered more closely into Rishe’s face.

“Your answer?”

“M…”

Her voice was a little scratchy, but it seemed strangely sweet.

It was as if he was scolding but also coddling her. With him looking down at her with eyes as blue as jewels, she felt at a loss for words.

“[I understand]… If you don’t nod yes, I’d be unreasonable as I was before.”

“Uh…”

Arnold stroked the outline of Rishe’s lips with his thumb.

It just barely touched her lips, but it was a warning touch. It sent a strange tickle down her spine, and a weak numbness creeping in.

When he said “before,” he must have been referring to the time he kissed her out of the blue.

His touch was soft, but Arnold’s eyes were somewhat cold.

Nevertheless, Rishe looked back into his eyes and somehow managed to wring out a rebuttal.

“…You’re pretending to be mean again!”

“…”

He certainly kissed her impolitely before.

His meaning and his real intent was a mystery, but she knew a lot more than she did then.

For instance, Arnold sometimes acted like a villain when he was covering up some secret.

“I-I can understand that much. Your Highness isn’t someone who would act rashly or unreasonably…!”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Eh?”

The moment her eyes widened, Arnold drew her by her waist.

Dark eyes looked down at Rishe. She couldn’t even avert her gaze because of the way his hand captured her outline.

In this state, Arnold bent down to cover her.

“…!!”

The kiss from that day flashed through her mind, and she shut her eyes tightly.

Simultaneously, she distinctly felt that the approaching lips stopped just before they touched Rishe’s lips.

“―――― ……”

Their lips were barely touching each other.

But they were really close, so close that she could almost feel the temperature of his lips seeping through the air.

If either Arnold or Rishe were to make even the slightest movement, a second kiss would surely be exchanged.

“~~~~ …”

Rishe’s eyelashes trembled as she shut her eyes tightly.

She could feel Arnold blinking, so she knew he hadn’t closed his eyes. Arnold stared, presumably at Rishe’s face, and then slowly distanced himself.

“…”

“H-Haah…”

Once released, Rishe exhaled heavily. She had been holding her breath without even realizing it.

Ho, I really thought he was going to kiss me…

T/N: Thank you all for the Coffee ^_^ Happy Friyayyy!