“If you’re hungry, you can’t work. That’s how it is for all working people.”

 

“Leo, you didn’t do anything today. Nothing.”

 

“Shall we go out for lunch together today? There’s a restaurant I want to go to with you.”

 

“Hey.”

 

“I’ve already made a reservation.”

 

“Hey, you.”

 

Do you have your wits about you right now or not?

 

“I’m begging you, please have some sense of urgency.”

 

“I want to spend time with just the two of us.”

 

“I’m telling you, now is not the time for that.”

 

“You like pork chops, right?”

 

Pork chops… Kise closed her mouth.

 

“They put cheese on the pork chop and add Worcestershire sauce.”

 

Cheese… Butter…

 

“For the appetizer, cream of mushroom soup and oliekoeken with chocolate syrup.”

 

Cream of mushroom… Chocolate…

 

“What do you think?”

 

I don’t know, I’m hungry…

 

Kise answered that statement by lightly biting her lower lip and releasing it. The bitten lip swelled up thickly, clearly revealing a redness. Leonhardt’s faint complexion gradually changed.

 

His gaze fixed on that spot first, and his eyes gradually grew turbid. 

 

And not long after, a satisfied laugh echoed in his throat.

 

Grabbing Kise’s wrist, who was giving him a suspicious look, Leonhardt headed outside as if pleased.

 

The unwanted guest was gone, and an event had occurred.

 

“I’m looking forward to it,” He muttered.

 

🫧

 

The street lined with popular restaurants was a famous promenade.

 

On the tables arranged in a row on the terrace, rare dishes came and went. 

 

From tropical fruits below the equator to vodka imported from the ice continent, there was no type of food they didn’t serve.

 

The lunch was as excellent as expected. 

 

So excellent, in fact, that Kise didn’t want to waste even a single drop of sauce. She smeared the remaining sauce around her clean plate to scribble an insult directed at the Girach Trading Company.

 

The waiter clearing the table started upon seeing the familiar mark left in the middle of the white plate, but he likely didn’t think it was a message left by the critical, elegant, and kind young lady.

 

If it looks like a middle finger, it must be because I’m just too tired.

 

The retreating figures of the young man and woman, who paid the bill and left unhurriedly, were so radiant that they could distort even the most obvious truth.

 

“Was it delicious?”

 

Leonhardt, noticing Kise’s gaze stolen by the street vendor’s ice cream, presented her with a dessert of ice cream piled on a thick waffle.

 

“It’s decent gelato.”

 

Should I offer him a bite? She agonized over the etiquette—whether to offer, to extend it, to ask. 

 

But the current Leonhardt was the payer.

 

In other words, the one footing the bill. He was on a completely different level from a freeloader. 

 

An existence that could never be ignored. Kise reluctantly raised her arm.

 

If I do this, he’ll buy me more later, right? 

 

An investment for the future. A step back to advance two steps forward.

 

Contrary to expectations, Leonhardt, who seemed like he would bite into anything offered, showed his unpredictability. He shook his head lightly.

 

“On second thought, I won’t have any.”

 

“Why?”

 

“If I took a bite right now without thinking, I feel like you would get upset. That would be my loss.”

 

“…You really are quite a guy, Leo.”

 

Where did you learn such perfect manners? How can you read a woman’s heart so well? How can you be so perceptive? 

 

That’s not something you can even learn from books…

 

He’s like an onion—no matter how many layers you peel, there’s always more. 

 

Kise was genuinely impressed.

 

Leonhardt smiled faintly at the unexpected bonus point, then gently dabbed the ice cream from Kise’s lip with his thumb. He then licked it off with his tongue.

 

It was an action that took less than a second.

 

This bastard…

 

The slick, licking sound that brushed her ear in that brief moment was so explicit that Kise instinctively clenched her fist. 

 

A corner of her waffle crumbled with a sharp ‘Crack!’

 

What the…!

 

It felt like hot water had been suddenly splashed on her face.

 

When Kise showed signs of resisting, Leonhardt skillfully played innocent.

 

No, it was hard to tell if he was pretending or just acting naturally. 

 

The only clear things were his wagging tail, as if to say ‘I was just helping you,’ and the happy smile he wore alone while setting her face ablaze.

 

While gently smoothing down Kise’s heightened guard, Leonhardt began to steer her in the direction he wanted again. He gestured with his chin towards the tree-lined path along the river.

 

“Shall we take a walk before going in?”

 

“A walk?”

 

“You don’t want to?”

 

“It’s not about liking or disliking it. This path is the complete opposite of the way to the office.”

 

“It’s fine, we have plenty of time today. We canceled all our schedules, remember?”

 

Is that so? Well, he did cancel them all. 

 

Since Kise was the one who personally did it, he knew it well. That Leonhardt was extremely free right now. Such days were rare. He was always busy.

 

But the problem was that he seemed completely unaware of the reason for this sudden free time.

 

An incident had occurred. And it still hadn’t been resolved. 

 

Yet, he was acting completely at ease. 

 

Unless he wanted to experience a shower of eggs mixed with criticism and insults in the plaza, he shouldn’t be acting like this.

 

“Our feet are on fire.”

 

“Huh? Should I buy you new shoes?”

 

“Statements that divert from the main point are prohibited from now on.”

 

“Okay. Then I just need to be honest, right? Stay with me longer. Don’t go.”

 

Leonhardt didn’t let slip the rare free time he had.

 

“Leo, you can’t do this. Shouldn’t we at least try to make some kind of effort?”

 

“I’m always making an effort.”

 

“What effort?”

 

“I’m trying hard right now. Trying to spend time with you by any means possible.”                                                        

 

This little rascal, seriously.