“Um, are you okay now?” Lia got straight to the point, her hands fidgeting under the table—her telltale sign of nervousness.
“I’m fine. It would’ve been better if you had gone easier yesterday. Tina acted like a hedgehog—anyone who touched her got pricked. If you didn’t look closely, you’d think she was the guest.”
“What do I have to do to make you forgive me? I’ll do anything.”
“Really?” Tina’s tone rose a few notes, a mischievous glint flashing in her eyes as she stared at Lia.
“Yeah, I swear it in the name of the King of Kellyville—I won’t go back on my word.” Lia was also worried that Tina might ask for something too much, but to make amends, she had to show sincerity.
“Alright then.”
At this point, Tina had originally wanted to flat-out refuse Lia, making her regret her reckless actions for a while.
But considering this was a rare opportunity to use Lia to achieve her next goal, she decided to save her little prank for later and focus on something useful for now, like—
“You said you’re a king, so there must be countless treasures in the palace, right? Can I just pick a few with high magical energy?” Tina’s eyes sparkled; she really needed those.
But Lia scratched her head awkwardly. “Actually, I don’t usually collect those kinds of things. I don’t think there’s even one in the palace.”
“What? Is that even a king? I thought I could just accept a few gifts and forgive you,” Tina said with a troubled expression. “That’s such a pity. Looks like I can’t forgive you so easily after all.”
Hearing this, Lia panicked. “Hey, wait! There’s still a way to make it up to you. I can get those high-magical treasures for you right at the auction! I’ll buy them on the spot!”
She hadn’t been interested in bidding before, not even wanting to go, but now this boring meeting unexpectedly became useful, giving her a chance to redeem herself.
“Oh? But I’m just a low-ranking citizen. How can I go with you to a place filled with big shots like that?”
Tina asked a crucial question. Permission to Enter was limited to top-tier nobles and the king; even ordinary nobles like Vanessa would be turned away.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan.” Lia suddenly grabbed Tina’s hand, her cheeks flushed a strange shade of pink.
“You can… be my dance partner. That way, I can bring you in. Then, after the auction ends, we dance once at the banquet and go our separate ways.”
“Huh?” Tina’s mouth opened slightly as she considered the feasibility of this.
No way? I was the one who wanted to take advantage of her, but now she’s turning the tables on me?
Seriously, she’s offering an apology but also giving herself away. This one’s too calculating.
“Well?” Lia squeezed Tina’s hand tighter, eagerly awaiting her answer.
“Alright then, but just so you know, this is only a temporary partnership. Don’t expect me to put up with anything too much.”
“So does that mean you forgive me?”
“Hmm, I’ll say once I get what I want.” Her answer was vague, half-push, half-accept.
In truth, Tina didn’t hate Lia deeply. She knew very well that half of Lia’s obsession was her own doing.
The simulation’s time was six years ago in reality, meaning Lia had been looking for her for a full six years, without contacting any other girls during that time.
Even if she had, her reactions wouldn’t have been so intense. From some angles, she really had left a deep impression on Lia. Just the feeling of familiarity could make Lia completely lose control.
Tina wasn’t opposed to love and romance; the Lia in the simulation had indeed moved her. It was just that the current Lia was too impatient and violent, making her uncomfortable.
She had actually thought about just letting it happen, as a compensation for wasting Lia’s six years of youth, but Lia stopped just before the final step, which surprised her.
Of course, Tina wasn’t expecting anything like that to happen.
Being forced and being willing were two different things—one painful, the other pleasurable. Given a choice, she would definitely choose the latter.
No… when did my views change to this?
Jumping into things so quickly—she’s not that frivolous a person.
“Then it’s settled. We become temporary partners until the trial period ends?” Lia looked hesitant, about to say more.
“I mean, if you think I’m okay, maybe we can continue this relationship? We can take it slow. I won’t treat you the way I did before. The beautiful experience of love you want, I can give you without reservation.”
“No way!”
Tina finally saw through her. Lia said sorry, but she actually just wanted to win her over—she was simply craving.
Why cling to me so much? Even if you changed bodies, kept your distance, you still found me among the crowd by some twist of fate?
You really are… crazy.
Tina felt that no matter how guilty she was towards Lia, she had to keep some boundaries, or sooner or later, she’d be dragged into Lia’s mess.
She definitely didn’t want to fall into Lia’s soft trap. “The most I’ll learn from you is the dance steps, since they’re necessary for the banquet. Don’t get any ideas beyond that.”
“Fine.” Lia lowered her head. Despite all her persuasion, she couldn’t convince Tina.
In that case, she would use the few days of dance practice to raise her favorability as much as possible.
Lia firmly believed that as long as she persisted long enough and showed enough enthusiasm, she could eventually make Tina accept her.
Eileen listened to their conversation and felt a tickling sensation on her scalp.
She didn’t want to directly let Tina refuse, because so far, all demands were reasonable.
Tina wanted treasures as compensation, which meant she needed to attend the banquet—and therefore had to learn the dances of the elite.
Eileen felt powerless for the first time.
If only she could dance, then Tina wouldn’t have to go to that scheming wicked woman and be bullied by her.
But unfortunately, she was only skilled in fighting, good for nothing else. She could only watch helplessly as Tina was taken away.
It was painful.
“I…” Eileen shook Tina’s arm beside her. Her hesitant expression was immediately noticed by Tina.
“Don’t worry. If you really can’t be at ease, then come along! That way you can guarantee I won’t get into trouble.”
“Yeah!” Eileen nodded happily.
“No objections, Your Majesty?”
“Ah—of course not.” Lia looked toward the door, even though the person had already left some time ago.
Why does this blond loser keep getting in my way everywhere!