“Felyn, not there… not that spot…”
“Felyn, don’t press so hard…”
“…”
“Felyn, right there… that feels so good…”
Felyn rinsed the towel in the basin and wrung it out hard with both hands.
Adeline’s string of sultry nonsense was already being auto-filtered by his brain.
He had just finished helping her change clothes and even removed her makeup.
Thankfully, this young lady still had a sliver of consciousness left. Her shiny gray-blue eyes had been fixed on him the whole time, her body wriggling like a fuzzy caterpillar as she changed into a silky camisole nightgown.
Adeline was more drunk than last time—so drunk she could barely stand.
“Felyn, isn’t my house pretty? Look at this Security Seal I’ve got in my hand. If I activate it, every door in the house will lock. No one can open them!”
“Felyn, let me tell you, I’ve run into a bunch of problems with the student council lately…”
“Okay, Adeline, tuck your hand back in. You’ll catch a cold.”
For the tenth time tonight, Felyn stuffed Adeline’s wandering hand back under the covers.
“Waaah, Felyn, I want to grab something! Don’t shove my hand back in!”
Adeline struggled to sit up, flipped over onto her knees on the bed, and began rummaging around on the nightstand.
But that thin lavender camisole nightgown was so sheer—it showed her entire underwear set clearly.
Her full figure was on full display right in front of Felyn.
“Found it!”
Adeline held her forehead with one hand and handed something to Felyn with the other, smiling.
“This is called the Tidal Heart. It’s a matching pair with the charm I gave you earlier.”
Felyn’s mind clicked. He remembered the store clerk mentioning this during his date with Veloti that afternoon.
But wasn’t this kind of thing something lovers usually exchanged?
He watched as Adeline raised her charm and lightly touched it to the one he wore.
“If it senses your feelings of love, the one I’m holding will light up beautifully.”
Adeline stared expectantly at the charm in her hands.
Nothing.
No light, not even a flicker.
Adeline’s eyes stared dumbfounded at the charm, then looked at Felyn, then back at the charm.
“Why isn’t it working?” she tilted her head, clearly confused.
It would’ve been a miracle if it did light up.
Love? Between the two of us?
This is clearly just a contract—me taking orders from you. That’s all.
Felyn began to wonder if the alcohol had completely short-circuited her brain.
“Felyn! Felyn, Felyn! Why isn’t it lighting up?! I can feel it—I know there’s love! Why doesn’t it work…”
“Can you feel love?”
Felyn froze. He couldn’t help but ask.
“Adeline, just to clarify… you think I like you?”
His voice unintentionally rose. He stared straight at Adeline, trying to find even the slightest trace of a joke on her face.
Adeline’s gray-blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight. She nodded without hesitation.
“Felyn, I’ve actually known all along. You like me, don’t you? You’re just too scared to admit it.”
The alcohol finally kicked in. Adeline started spilling everything in her heart.
I… like Adeline?
Felyn opened his mouth, but the shock of that statement was so great, he didn’t even know where to start refuting it.
“Adeline, what made you think that?”
“I just know.” Adeline rolled on the bed. “You always express your love under the excuse of contract duties. I even heard you say you liked me in front of Linda back at Dreamy Summer . There’s more, so much more…”
“But wasn’t that all part of the contract?”
Adeline’s expression shifted. She struggled to sit up, the strap of her nightgown slipping further down her shoulder.
“I know, Felyn. This is called tsundere behavior, right? I’ve been reading lots of novels lately!”
Adeline puffed up her chest, looking very pleased with herself.
“Who’s a tsundere? Me? I’m a tsundere?!”
Felyn racked his brain trying to figure out how Adeline had come to that conclusion.
A tsundere? Me?
Absolutely not!
During the contract period, he always did what Adeline said. Outside of it, he avoided her as much as possible.
She had no reason to think that!
“When you reject me, it’s because deep down you really want to be with me, right?”
“When we’re together, you always sneak glances at me, but you’re too shy to admit it, right?”
“Today, too—you clearly wanted to go to the Royal Capital with me, but didn’t say yes right away. If that’s not tsundere, what is it?”
Felyn was about to lose it. Was he hearing this right?
She was talking about me?!
No way, Adeline, are you seriously this full of yourself?
In Adeline’s mind, what kind of role did I even play?
A shy, secretly-in-love-with-her boy who clings to her under the excuse of a contract?
But I’m not that!
Felyn wanted to argue. His mouth opened—then closed again. He ended up saying nothing.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall.
It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet—still within the contract service period.
And the number one rule of this job: never argue with the client during their time.
Maybe Adeline was already completely drunk and just talking nonsense?
He just had to coax her to sleep. After ten o’clock, he could leave. Anything beyond that wasn’t his concern.
“I saw the charm glow,” Felyn said softly.
“Huh? Where? Where?!”
“Only people who close their eyes quietly and go to sleep can see it. No one else can.”
“Really?”
“Mm. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Adeline immediately closed her eyes, placed her hands neatly at her sides.
Felyn tucked her in gently and smiled faintly.
Good girl.
Adeline, just sleep like this, okay?
As her breathing gradually steadied, Felyn watched the hands on the wall clock creep toward ten.
Moonlight streamed through the curtains, casting soft shadows over Adeline’s face. Her rose-colored hair spilled across the white pillow.
Her lips were slightly parted, her breath tinged with wine, and a faint blush lingered on her cheeks.
“So that’s why you’ve been treating me so nicely lately,” Felyn murmured, smiling helplessly.
Then it all made sense.
Why she’d asked, “Will you still love me after the contract ends?”
Why did she keep buying him clothes?
Why did she treat him so well?
It was all because of the contract. All because she developed false feelings.
“What a hassle.”
Felyn rubbed his face with both hands and headed downstairs.
During contracted service time, if a situation like this came up, Felyn would always go along with the client’s feelings. After all, they paid for the illusion—and he was here to provide it.
But if it happened outside service time, Felyn would always tell them the truth:
“I don’t love you. What you feel for me isn’t real.”
That way, he could avoid upsetting clients during service hours, while also preventing them from falling deeper into those fake emotions.
Fortunately, he probably wouldn’t see Adeline again during his own service schedule.
“The contract’s almost over anyway. I’ll just explain everything to her then.”
Felyn walked to the entryway and turned the doorknob.
It didn’t budge.
Locked?
Then he remembered—Adeline had been showing off her house’s security system earlier.
That security seal she activated—the one that locks all the doors and makes it so no one can open them.
(End of Chapter)