BJ Villainess Chapter 369

Damian Special Story. The Qualifications for a Proposal

 

Damian glared seriously at the two pieces of paper in his hand. They were ferry tickets.

 

“Is this too obvious?”

 

On January 31st, Theresa had come to him on his birthday and accepted his confession. From that day, the two officially began dating, and half a year had already passed. In that time, Damian had joined the Wizard Association, smoothly climbing the elite course and setting his sights on the position of its next president.

 

Everyone spoke with one voice, saying it was an important time. If he announced new research findings at the upcoming seminar, the president of the association would surely be his next year. That’s why they advised against taking a single day off and even suggested reducing his sleep.

 

Damian had always been diligent, even as a student. Struggling for the presidency of the Wizard Association was nothing to him. As long as it didn’t interfere with his dates with his lover.

 

“Hmm.”

 

Perhaps because of the pressure from those around him, Damian had noticed, almost supernaturally, that Theresa had been avoiding him lately. Who could have told Theresa not to disturb him? His golden eyes flashed sharply, filled with a chilling light.

 

Knock knock. A staff member from the Magic Tower knocked on the door and delivered unexpected news.

 

“Excuse me, Lord Damian. Princess Squire has come to visit.”

 

Damian’s expression immediately softened like a gentle lamb. He hurriedly stuffed the tickets into his pocket and stood up. Why would Theresa come to the association? She’s been avoiding me lately. He didn’t know the reason, but the longer he delayed, the less time he’d have to see her.

 

Damian rushed to the private parlor, obviously excited. He could feel the surprised stares around him and even heard whispers questioning what was going on. But that didn’t matter. He didn’t care if people gossiped about him acting above his station because of his commoner blood. He never cared about others’ opinions anyway.

 

The only reason he sought the presidency was to stand proudly by Theresa’s side. She loved her family deeply, and her family didn’t seem too fond of Damian. It was understandable. His past was unclear, and he was the illegitimate child of Duke Kapento.

 

If only Theresa had a bad relationship with her family, things would be easier. But Damian had no way to drive a wedge between them, so he had no choice but to take the straightforward path.

 

“Theresa!”

 

As soon as Damian arrived at the parlor, he hugged Theresa tightly. Her slender body fit snugly in his arms, her soft scent at the tip of his nose, and silk-like hair twined around his fingers, made him feel dizzy. He wanted to kiss her. Remembering the past when he’d tried to kiss her out of impatience and got thoroughly scolded, Damian barely held back.

 

Whether she knew about his struggles or not, Theresa patted his back comfortingly. “Sorry for coming when you must be busy.” Her first words were riddled with errors.

 

“I’m not busy at all. And why should you apologize for visiting? I’m always happy, and everyone at the Magic Tower would welcome you with open arms.” He then pinched her cheek gently, as if to say, ‘Am I wrong?’ “So don’t say you’re sorry for coming. If anything, maybe you should apologize for not coming to see me more often.”

 

With her cheek squished like a steamed bun, Theresa gave an exasperated smile.

 

She’s so cute.

 

Damian, acting on impulse, almost lowered his head, but stopped himself and instead hugged her tightly again, swallowing a hot sigh. A simple hug couldn’t satisfy his longing, but he had to hold back until work was over. It’s just because it’s been so long.

 

He nuzzled her neck and complained. “I thought I was going crazy not seeing you lately.”

 

“…Actually, me too. So I used seminar preparations as an excuse to come see you.”

 

Those cute words should be illegal to use. He’d already held back twice, so he was exercising tremendous patience.

 

Damian took off his glasses and kissed her. He expected Theresa to push him away, but she stiffened only for a moment before accepting him. Soon, the room was filled with the sounds of rustling clothes and ragged breaths. Their sticky kiss revealed how much they needed each other.

 

She missed me as much as I missed her. Realizing he wasn’t the only one who felt desperate to see and touch her, Damian felt an overwhelming joy.

 

“Now, enough… Damian…”

 

“Just a little more, okay?”

 

“Mmm…”

 

“It’s just a kiss, isn’t it?”

 

He shamelessly made excuses, naturally leading Theresa to the sofa. A soundproofing spell was already in place, and he’d locked the door when he entered. Nothing could disturb this moment. As Damian’s kisses intensified, Theresa stumbled backward and ended up sitting on the sofa.

 

“…Seriously, stop!” Theresa forcibly stopped Damian, who had undone about five buttons of her dress.

 

“Please, Theresa.”

 

“No.”

 

“…”

 

“It’s no use making such a face.”

 

Rejected by his beloved, Damian looked like a pitiful puppy. However, as soon as Theresa sat next to him and laced their fingers together, his disappointment vanished without a trace.

 

“Hmm? What’s this?”

 

Theresa picked up the paper that had fallen to the floor and inspected it closely. It was a luxurious, gold-embossed ticket, obviously not an ordinary one.

 

“A ferry ticket?”

 

The most popular luxury cruise ticket in the empire, and a VIP one at that. How could two tickets, which even nobles had trouble getting, end up on the floor? Theresa looked at Damian, puzzled.

 

Damian, realizing the tickets had fallen out of his pocket during their kiss, gave an awkward smile. Well, might as well just say it. “Actually, I went through a lot of trouble to get them because I wanted to go on a trip with you.”

 

Since the fall of Stigmata, Damian had secretly run an information guild. He had a better sense for underworld matters than anyone else, and before he knew it, his guild had grown to be one of the top five in the empire. For someone like him, getting his hands on some ferry tickets was like a child’s play. But I can’t tell her the truth.

 

A noble might be a customer of the underworld, but would never operate it directly. It was a matter directly tied to their honor. Although there are some who secretly engage in shady activities anyway.

 

But old, prestigious noble houses like Squire were different. They’d produced generations of genius wizards and were nobles among nobles. Such a family would never accept someone vulgar enough to have connections to the underworld.

 

If only the Squire family were less prestigious, they might have just accepted him, pretending not to know. But the Squire family was too noble, while Damian had always lived in the shadows and had to stay there to keep his advantage over the nobles. In a way, that suited him, as he had always lived by less-than-noble means.

 

Of course, even if Theresa found out about his information guild, she wouldn’t hate him. She’d probably just worry, and he didn’t want that.

 

Damian spoke innocently, as if he knew nothing. “I haven’t taken a vacation this year, so I thought we could go on a long trip. Besides, you once said you wanted to go there, remember?” He watched Theresa’s reaction closely, pretending the trip was just for fun.

 

Traveling alone together without family? For a young, unmarried couple, it was quite bold. This was something you could only do if you were practically engaged. How would Theresa react?

 

Theresa didn’t seem to think the fact that they were traveling alone was a problem, instead bringing up the seminar. “Is that okay? I heard you need to present your new magic research at the upcoming conference.”

 

Damian’s eyes sparkled. “So, if it weren’t for the conference, you’d go?”

 

“Yes, I really wanted to go. However, it appears that our schedules may not align. What to do?”

 

“Then I’ll just skip the conference.”

 

After all, the only reason he wanted to be president of the Wizard Association was to marry her as soon as possible. But going on a trip alone together was almost the same as admitting they were engaged. Either way, it brought them closer to marriage.

 

As Damian was lost in his scheming thoughts—

 

“Oh, right. I almost forgot why I came today.”

 

Theresa’s sudden remark made him tilt his head. He thought she just came to see him, but maybe she really had something to say. If she had come all this way, it would have been important.

 

“Is something up?”

 

Theresa fidgeted nervously, hands still laced with his. “My father wanted me to ask if you could come to our house today. He said he’d prepare dinner.”

 

“Dinner with me?”

 

Damian suddenly felt like an idiot. He was definitely listening to Theresa, but he couldn’t quite grasp what she meant. After all, it was such a sudden invitation.

 

Theresa continued. “As you know, everyone knows we’re dating. My father says it’s undignified to keep seeing each other without being engaged.”

 

“Uh…?”

 

“Attending dinner today is practically saying you intend to get engaged to me.”

 

Damian was completely stunned. It took him a few seconds to understand what she meant since it was that shocking. Almost in disbelief, he asked. “I can marry you? Even though I’m not the president of the Wizard Association yet?”

 

“What are you talking about? What does the president of the Wizard Association have to do with this?”

 

“But, I…”

 

Damian was overjoyed and just as bewildered. The Squire family was accepting someone like him with nothing? He had never considered this possibility.

 

“I thought they were against me.”

 

At that, Theresa hugged him with a pained expression. “Of course not. Why would you think that? Did my father or Giuseppe ever treat you rudely?”

 

That was exactly it.

 

“My father would dislike anyone, no matter who it is. He really dislikes everyone. Giuseppe is the same.”

 

Damian recalled the two infamous mad dogs of high society. Raul was older and more mature, but Giuseppe was notorious as a wild child. But at the end of the day, he was just a kid. Since Damian never responded to his provocations, Giuseppe later tried to challenge him out of competitiveness, unrelated to his being Theresa’s lover. Suddenly, Damian wondered if he’d been too prejudiced against noble families.

 

Finally, Damian could be genuinely happy about this. And then he felt embarrassed.

 

“I should have been brave and proposed first. Sorry.”

 

“You always overthink things.”

 

Every time she spoke as if she knew everything about him, he felt a shiver. Her clear, unmistakable love left no room for misunderstanding.

 

Theresa smiled and waved the ticket in her hand. “And you’ve already proposed, haven’t you?”

 

“…You knew what I was up to?”

 

“Isn’t it obvious? Sometimes, I think you see me as an idiot.”

 

Damian blushed furiously and hugged her tightly again, not wanting her to see his face about to burst. “Ah… I should have just been honest.”

 

Theresa comforted him, patting his back. “It’s okay. You were cute.”

 

Damian struggled with embarrassment for a while, then lifted his head, his ears still red. “At tonight’s dinner, I’ll confidently ask for permission to marry you.”

 

Theresa burst out laughing at his determined declaration. “Yes. Make sure you say it bravely. I’ll be cheering for you.”

 

At her teasing, Damian couldn’t help but laugh, too.

 

Overcome with happiness, Damian kissed Theresa. There couldn’t be anyone in the world happier than him at that moment.

 

That night, the two became officially engaged with everyone’s blessing.

 

<The end of Damian Special Story>