Morning light slipped in through the cracks of the curtains, warming the wooden floor of the living room with a gentle glow. The fireplace still held the fading warmth of the previous night, faint red embers flickering within the ashes.
Daiyi rubbed her eyes and stepped out of the room, the floor creaking softly under her feet.
The dining table was covered with a slightly faded but freshly washed checkered tablecloth. A steaming orange ceramic teapot sat on top, accompanied by several chipped mugs.
A few family portraits stood on the mantle. The photos were already yellowing with age.
"Morning."
Felyn poked his head out from the kitchen, greeting Daiyi.
"Good morning."
Daiyi clasped her hands and gave a slight bow.
"It must’ve been hard not getting woken up in the middle of the night by Mr. Felyn knocking on your door for a surprise visit."
She pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Miss Daiyi’s charm is a real dilemma for me, you know. But I figured letting you have a good night’s sleep was more important than anything else, so I held back. That said, if you’d let me tonight, I could come over."
Daiyi’s cheeks turned a shade of red as she looked at Felyn cooking breakfast in the kitchen.
Strong arms, exceptionally handsome looks, a defined jawline.
And right now, he was wearing an apron with cartoon bears on it, flipping eggs with a serious expression.
"Breakfast will be ready soon. You must be hungry since you’ve been staring at me?" Felyn, sensing the gaze on his back, spoke up.
"I wasn’t staring at you."
With that, she quickly averted her eyes.
"You live alone, don’t you?" Daiyi asked.
"Yeah, I do."
"Then why are there women’s undergarments in my room?"
Undergarments?
Could it be that one busty client with a strange sense of humor who gifted him her bra as a bonus?
He had been using the guest room as a storage space until now.
He’d only done a rushed cleanup last night—apparently not good enough.
"Ah, that… that’s just…"
"Did you bring some girl home?"
"Of course not! I’m not that kind of guy!"
"Then you got them especially for me?"
"Even more impossible—that would be sexual harassment!"
Felyn stuck his head out of the kitchen, scrambling to explain.
Besides… that SIZE was definitely off.
Perhaps she noticed something up, Felyn noticed the sudden fierceness in Daiyi’s gaze.
She clutched her chest and frowned at him.
"Sorry for the wait. The bread’s a bit hard today." Felyn placed the toasted bread on the table and quickly changed the subject.
"But it should go well with jam. I went out of my way to buy this—Lylaeria’s jam. Your favorite one."
Sunlight gradually spread across the dining table, lighting up the drifting aroma of tea.
Felyn rubbed his eyes. Somehow, those 1-crowns-for-10 wooden spoons looked like fine silverware in Daiyi’s hands.
If this world had live-stream sales, Daiyi would definitely make a fortune as a host.
"Is there something on my face?"
When Felyn snapped back to reality, those deep forest green eyes were already very close to his.
"I was just thinking… if we’ll be together from now on, and I get to see your face every morning, that’s really the happiest thing ever."
Daiyi’s brows twitched, and she took a small sip of her tea.
Together, always…
If you knew how I really feel about the gods, would you still want to be with me?
The people of this world would probably all despise me.
Daiyi closed her eyes, trying not to think about it.
Felyn picked up a small piece of steak with his fork and held it out to her, breaking her reverie.
"Eh?"
"Miss Daiyi, try this."
Her hand paused slightly, and the teacup made a crisp sound as it touched the saucer.
"What are you doing?"
"Hm? Relationship training, right? What if your father eats breakfast with us? I’ll feed you in front of him."
Felyn’s sincere smile held a trace of mischief.
Hmph, don’t think I’m easy to tease. Watch my counterattack!
Daiyi bit her lip. She knew Felyn was right.
She took a deep breath, then cautiously opened her mouth, accepting the bite he offered.
A flush of pink touched the tips of her ears, but she forced herself to stay calm, dabbing the corner of her mouth with a napkin.
Daiyi had to admit, Felyn played the role of boyfriend perfectly.
The tea and jam for breakfast were all her favorites—he must’ve gone out early to buy them.
He knew her too well.
To her father, who didn’t care at all, there’d be no way to tell this was all an act.
Which meant the biggest challenge in faking the relationship… was her own performance.
If she wanted to keep her father from seeing through it, she’d have to make an effort to understand him.
…
St. Andros Academy.
This ten-year institution was currently ranked number one in Seiwa City.
The gap between Adelina’s Lanche Academy and St. Andros was very small, so the two schools often took turns holding the top spot.
Thanks to the original Daiyi paying a full ten years’ worth of tuition up front, Felyn even had a chance to attend school.
"Felyn, this is your fifth time being late this month."
At the gates of St. Andros Academy.
Student council president Linda stood with hands on her hips in front of Felyn.
The blonde girl had a delicate face, her long hair tied into a high ponytail, showing off a pair of cute little fangs.
Her neatly worn school uniform bore the emblem of the student council president.
"Sorry, sorry, my house is just too far away."
Linda jotted Felyn’s name into her little notebook without even looking up.
"Don’t you have any new excuses? You’re obviously late because you were making breakfast for some girl, weren’t you?"
"I wasn’t."
She hit the nail on the head, but Linda was thinking of Viloti.
Although Felyn’s contract with Viloti had ended, the aftermath still lingered.
No matter how he explained things, he felt like he’d spend the rest of his school life in the shadow of being Viloti’s lapdog.
But whatever—Silafiel had paid a full five hundred thousand.
Compared to that, this was nothing.
Linda tucked her notebook into her bag and looked up at this rather well-known classmate.
Just a few days ago, she’d thought Felyn and Viloti had truly parted ways.
Then she heard at the banquet from Adelina that she’d run into Felyn.
So this guy hadn’t given up after all—he must’ve gone to sneak a peek at Viloti during the banquet.
Men. Not one of them ever tells the truth.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at Felyn’s face.
Felyn looked like a boy straight out of an idol magazine. A spotless uniform, a flawless face—impossible to look away.
Handsome, for sure.
But are all handsome men liars?
Linda cleared her throat and remembered her own bitter memories.
Today, she’d keep a close eye on Felyn. If he tried to approach Viloti again, she would definitely step in and stop him.
"Go in. I’ll be reporting this to Teacher Sophia, as is."
Teacher Sophia had never liked Felyn.
Let her give you a proper scolding first!
(End of Chapter)