If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 158

“Just when did it get this big…”

 

Now that I said it aloud, the answer was obvious. Unlike its sacred atmosphere, this tree grew by devouring my desires. And since the day of the martial arts tournament, I had done plenty of things that could have provided nourishment to the oak. My cheeks grew hot.

 

“I’m the one who restored you. You should be grateful.” I shamelessly said this to the oak. Soon, the rustling of leaves ringing in my ears sounded strangely like pleasant laughter.

 

I lifted the hem of my dress with one hand and placed the other against the tree trunk as I walked around it. Counting my steps inwardly, I suddenly looked up and got startled.

 

“Wow, it really does bear acorns.” I could see the fruits hanging from the branches. Quite a few of the ripe ones had already fallen to the ground. Crouching down, I picked one up. “There are so many.”

 

Once I picked up one, I noticed another. When I picked that one up, I spotted yet another. For some reason, I just kept picking them up. Soon the acorns I had gathered one after another were piled high on my skirt.

 

It was just when I was unconsciously becoming engrossed in gathering them. The oak tree suddenly shook violently, and acorns began pouring down from above. That made me startle. It felt like a gesture of kindness, as if it were telling me to take them all. But honestly, having large ones falling right in front of me was frightening.

 

“S-Stop.” I put down all the acorns I had greedily gathered and stood up. “I only picked up a few. Besides, I can’t take them outside anyway. They look like they’d hurt if I got hit, so please stop dropping them.”

 

The oak stopped immediately. An immense amount of acorns was now piled on the ground. I could only hope squirrels or birds would take care of them all.

 

I turned around and leaned my back against the tree trunk. Like a traveler resting for a while in the shade, I took in the scenery that made up the mental realm. The environment had changed along with the oak’s recovery and growth. At first, this place had been a desolate land of death, so barren that it seemed not even a single blade of grass could survive. The sky had been so bleak and dark that it felt as though I were carrying hell over my head. But what now spread out before my eyes was a green field into which sunlight poured brilliantly. A world where blue and green competed in vividness all the way to the horizon was overflowing with vitality.

 

“I should capture this in painting someday.”

 

The wild grasses rippling in the gentle breeze brought peace to my heart. For a moment, I imagined what it would be like to live here as the guardian of the tree. “Um, then I’d have to eat nothing but acorns for all three meals. That won’t do.”

 

Quite some time had passed while I admired the scenery. I lifted my back from where it had been resting against the tree. “I’ll be going now. I hope you continue to grow big and strong in good health.”

 

✦

Whenever Sasha returned after staying in Regen’s mental realm for a long time, they usually ended up tangled in a suggestive position while unconscious. But this time, their position was the most wholesome and ordinary it had ever been. Regen was sitting with his back against the headboard, while Sasha lay beside him with her head resting on his thigh. Still using Regen’s thigh as a pillow, Sasha blinked in puzzlement.

 

This is the first time I’ve woken up first. She did not rashly get up. Instead, she merely lifted her gaze and looked up at Regen. His eyes were closed, his head tilted slightly backward, and he appeared to be deeply asleep. But his highly trained body would surely react sensitively to even the slightest presence. Perhaps he was already awake.

 

What should I do? In fact, Sasha had had a certain plan prepared for today for quite some time. To carry it out, she needed Regen to remain asleep a little longer, but she had no confidence that she could avoid waking him. So she decided it would be better to simply go ahead boldly.

 

“Regen, even if you’re awake, pretend to sleep just a little longer. Okay?”

 

“…”

 

Perhaps her shameless request had worked, because Regen remained motionless with his eyes closed.

 

Sasha sat up and opened the bedside table drawer as quietly as possible. She took out the small object she had kept inside a velvet box. It was still in good condition. Good. She then hid the object in her hand and turned toward Regen. “Regen, you can open your eyes now.”

 

“…”

 

“Are you really asleep?”

 

Sasha leaned forward, placing her hands and knees on the sheets. Even as the mattress sank beneath her, Regen showed no particular reaction. Determined to figure out if he was truly asleep or just pretending, she decided to take a closer look at his handsome face. As she brought her face closer to the sleeping prince, a large, warm hand suddenly cupped the back of her head and pulled her in.

 

“Re—mmph.”

 

The voice that had been about to call his name was swallowed up by him along with her lips. His tongue slipped deeply inside and moved and licked around her mouth for quite some time before withdrawing. As a gap formed between their wet lips, his eyelids opened. His round, golden eyes were as beautiful as a sunrise.

 

Sasha stared blankly for a moment before belatedly coming to her senses. She deliberately complained as though scolding him. “You surprised me by kissing me all of a sudden.”

 

“I apologize. I wanted to finish what I had started.” He meant that he wanted to continue from where they had left off just before she lost consciousness.

 

Because that excuse came from Regen, it sounded strangely reasonable. Therefore, Sasha accepted it. In truth, she hadn’t been that surprised. After all, she had responded to that kiss as well.

 

Regen asked, “How was my tree?”

 

“It was magnificent. I felt as though a massive mountain had been moved there. Looking up directly from under the tree, your mental realm feels so mystical that the sky itself appears green. It’s grown enormously, too, and the branches have spread out very widely, while the circumference of the trunk has increased as well.”

 

“I see.”

 

Regen smiled. He seemed less interested in the tree itself than in Sasha’s reaction after seeing it.

 

It was then that a mischievous glint appeared in Sasha’s eyes as she happily chatted away. “It didn’t just grow in size. Regen, could you hold out your hand for a moment?”

 

“My hand? Like this?” He awkwardly held out both hands.

 

Suppressing a laugh at the sight of him looking as though he were about to be handcuffed, Sasha took his right hand and pulled it toward her. “Here, it’s a present.”

 

“This is…”

 

The small object placed in Regen’s palm was an acorn.

 

Sasha calmly explained to the surprised Regen. “The oak tree had tons of acorns on it. I picked one up and brought it back.”

 

“…Is it possible to bring something out of the mental realm?”

 

“Of course. If I see a squirrel next time, I plan to bring it back too.”

 

Regen fiddled with the acorn in his hand, then narrowed his eyes and let out a small laugh. “How would Sasha catch a squirrel?”

 

“…”

 

“Now I understand. This is what you took out of the bedside table earlier.”

 

“Ah, I knew it. I knew you were awake.” Sasha deliberately slumped her shoulders as though disappointed.

 

Regen gently rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. It was a tender touch, like soothing a child whose cheeks had puffed out in a sulk. “When did you prepare this? By now, the squirrels should have already gathered all the acorns.”

 

“When we went for a walk in the windbreak forest a while ago.”

 

“Aah.”

 

It had been shortly before they witnessed Lilliana and Yulis fighting. She had apparently turned away from Regen, ordered him to close his eyes and block his ears with magic, and then secretly gathered acorns behind him.

 

“Thank you. I suppose I should treasure it like a talisman.”

 

“Huh? It’s just an acorn. If you want something to use as a talisman, I’ll give you something else.”

 

“I like this.”

 

Regen smiled. He liked it very much because he found the feelings of the princess who had played such a cute prank on him adorable. So much to the point that he had to restrain the urge to press his lips firmly against hers once more right then and there.

 

Confronting the impure thoughts within himself, Regen suddenly had a question come to mind. “Sasha, did the tree do anything foolish this time?” He had heard that the tree in which his mana core had taken shape reacted as though it possessed a personality. He was a little worried that the tree, which presumably reflected his subconscious, might have tried something with Sasha.

 

Sasha blinked. Her thick eyelashes fluttered like wings. “Something foolish?”

 

“You told me last time. Dropping leaves on the crown of your head, making a nest… Things like that.”

 

“Aah, that. But is making a nest really something foolish?”

 

From Regen’s perspective, it was. Offering a nest is an ancient courtship ritual for birds. Moreover, her title happened to be the Silver Bird.