If You Take the Enemy Prince as Your Knight Chapter 45

“…”

 

What was he denying?

 

It took me three whole seconds of thinking to understand the context. It seemed Regen had empathized with Evan, who was harshly criticized for being kind just because he wanted to sleep with someone.

 

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. There was no way I would misunderstand Regen like that.

 

“I know. Sir Regen is naturally kind.”

 

“…”

 

“You seem like the type to be kind to all ladies.” My smile grew a little more bitter as time went on.

 

The one who should be worried is me. After all, I’m only kind to Regen.

 

In the imperial palace, being caught in love is dangerous, and in that sense, my personality is a weakness.

 

“I envy you, Sir Regen.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I just thought it would’ve been nice if I’d learned how to be kind to all gentlemen.”

 

“Is that really necessary?” Regen furrowed his brows, unusually showing his displeasure. Even when this handsome man frowned, he was so attractive that it was hard to look away.

 

I found myself torn between wanting him to understand my feelings and hoping he wouldn’t notice them at all. Of course, I knew that speaking recklessly at this moment wouldn’t be a good choice. An ambiguous confession would become a problem, whether the other person notices or not.

 

“You’re right. There’s no need to go out of my way to change my personality. It wouldn’t change anyway.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

I’m not a fair or impartial person, so I’ll only be obviously kind to the one I like. To avoid revealing my feelings, how far should I go with my kindness?

 

I stabbed a piece of éclair with my fork and held it out to Regen’s lips. “Here.”

 

“…”

 

Strangely, Regen flinched. I was merely returning the gesture he had done for me countless times as my older brother.

 

“Come on, say ah, Brother.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Regen’s perfectly shaped lips parted and closed again. The slight movement of his jaw as he chewed, and the rise and fall of his throat, were all strangely sensual.

 

Our eyes met. I realized too late that I had been staring at him for too long, lost in thought. Startled, I quickly stood up as if to escape. “I’ll head to the office.”

 

“I’ll escort you.”

 

That wasn’t an invitation to come along. I missed the chance to say I wanted to go alone, and before I knew it, I ended up walking to the office with him.

 

“That is…”

 

And then, unintentionally, I ended up revealing a part of my private life to Regen.

 

“Did you paint this?”

 

“Uh, yes.”

 

The easel and canvas set up in the corner of my office were hard to miss. It wasn’t a hobby I had always enjoyed, but recently, I had something I wanted to paint, so I had been carefully working on it for the past few days.

 

“May I take a look?”

 

“…Sure.”

 

It wasn’t easy to refuse Regen when he asked. He walked over to the canvas. My heart was pounding for no reason as he widened his eyes at the painting. It seemed like he immediately recognized what I had drawn.

 

“Is this my tree by any chance?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

I had filled the canvas with the oak tree. The ash-brown branches stretched out grandly as if supporting the sky, and the deep green leaves shimmered under the sunlight, capturing as much of its beauty as I could.

 

I felt a little nervous. Painting his tree was, to me, like painting Regen. I was worried that he might notice the way I looked at him. But of course, it was just my imagination.

 

Regen couldn’t take his eyes off the painting, as if he liked it. “It’s magnificent.”

 

“The real thing is even more magnificent.”

 

“Or is it that Sasha made it magnificent? Your skills are quite impressive.”

 

“Art is a basic skill for a princess.”

 

His compliment made me feel a little embarrassed, but I couldn’t help but feel pleased.

 

“If Sasha were standing here, how big would you be compared to it?”

 

“Hmm…” I sat down in front of the canvas. After thinking for a while, I dipped my brush in white paint and drew a line. “About this big.” Even though the canvas was quite large, the size I indicated was smaller than a pinky finger.

 

Regen looked at the white mark left by the brush with a hint of regret. “You didn’t have to go this far to show me…”

 

“I can just paint over it with green.”

 

“Instead of painting over it, how about painting Sasha?”

 

“I’m not confident in figure drawing. Especially self-portraits.”

 

“It’s a small size, though.”

 

I almost gave in to his disappointment, but then a thought suddenly crossed my mind. He was a prince too. The education of the royal family and the imperial family must be similar.

 

“Sir Regen, I assume you also learned art as part of your basic education.”

 

“…”

 

“Give it a try.”

 

“…”

 

I tapped the side of the bench-like chair, urging him. There was enough space for the two of us to sit.

 

Regen sat next to me, pretending he had no choice. “As you command.” He moved the brush with a focused expression.

 

For the first time, I realized how intricately a person could be captured in something as small as the size of a pinky finger. A woman in a white chemise dress was lifting her skirt slightly, looking up at a tree. It felt strange.

 

What was drawn was the back view. All that could be seen were her loose platinum blonde hair, her straightened back, the flowing dress, and the arm bent to hold the hem of the dress. And yet, why did the woman in the painting seem so beautiful and lovely that I couldn’t take my eyes off her? Was that really supposed to be me?

 

“Is it not to your liking?”

 

“…No. I kept looking because it was beautiful.”

 

Regen smiled. “I drew Sasha.”

 

“The painting. I mean the painting is beautiful.”

 

For some reason, Regen seemed to smile even more. I could hear the sound of him suppressing his laughter in his throat. I turned my head sharply to glare at him, only to be caught off guard.

 

“The real Sasha is even more beautiful.”

 

“…”

 

Hearing that while sitting this close, face to face, was dangerous for my heart. I was so stunned that I missed the moment to turn my head away, and Regen gazed at me leisurely. Unintentionally, our eyes met at such a close distance for a long time. My throat dried out by reflex.

 

Even though it was still far from nightfall, time didn’t seem to matter. Even in the bright afternoon sunlight, looking at him made my heart flutter and filled me with a sweet sensation. In the silence, our gazes exchanged unspoken permission and acceptance.

 

Regen lowered his eyes and leaned closer to me. Leaving only a hand’s breadth between us, he cupped my cheek with one hand and covered my eyes.

 

“Just like last time, you can’t open your eyes again.”

 

“Okay…”

 

Even the darkness that covered my vision, if it was given by him, felt as sweet and warm as his touch.

 

His lips pressed firmly against mine. When he bit down on my lower lip, the sensation made me part my lips, and he let me taste his tongue. Regen skillfully adjusted the angle of his lips as they pressed against mine, teasing every corner of my mouth while one of his hands gently rubbed my earlobe.

 

A little more. I wanted more. I eagerly accepted the sensations he was giving me, pressing my lips even closer to his. His tongue coiled around mine, coaxing it softly.

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

We pulled apart briefly to catch our breath. The short kiss, more like a warm-up, left me unable to hide the excitement that hadn’t been satisfied.

 

“You’re… really good at this.”

 

Regen, who had been about to kiss me again, froze. “And how would you know if I’m good or not?”

 

“…”

 

I realized my mistake. I couldn’t just say, ‘Because it feels good.’ That would be way too self-centered, wouldn’t it? In moments like this, the best defense was asking a question in return.

 

“How would I know?”

 

“…”

 

I countered his question with another question. It felt like the kind of thing an experienced and confident woman might say, and I was satisfied with that. But it seemed Regen wasn’t as pleased. His eyes narrowed, as if annoyed, and suddenly, he pressed his lips against mine as though he intended to devour them.

 

“Focus, please.”