Chapter 37
“Eden, are you feeling unwell…”
“No.”
A blunt answer popped out before he could even finish speaking. Eden’s head, already bowed, dropped so low it looked like she might bury it in the bread. At this rate she’d stick her nose in the plate. Bezel firmly suppressed his urge to sneer and asked once more.
“Did I do something to upset you…”
“No.”
…There was no point in asking. Bezel awkwardly lifted one corner of his mouth.
If it weren’t for that plan, he would have torn that mouth of hers from side to side for speaking like that. He wanted to grab her by the collar and shake her, telling her to speak up if she had complaints, asking what the hell she even had a mouth for.
But he had no intention of overturning the painstakingly accumulated goodwill by acting like that. Bezel barely managed to pull up the other corner of his mouth too, forming a convincing smile.
“Maybe you’re suffering from a hangover? You did seem to drink quite a bit yesterday…”
At that moment, Eden’s hand twitched. Her pitch-black eyes darted around busily as if lost in deep thought.
The truth was, Eden wasn’t sick, wasn’t upset with Bezel, and wasn’t suffering from a hangover. What was really tormenting her was yesterday’s memory.
‘I really must have gone crazy. Getting drunk and locking lips with a man I’ve only known for a few days.’
Ah. How much she had regretted it the moment she opened her eyes this morning. They had kissed so intensely yesterday that her lips still tingled even in the morning, making her want to rip them off and throw them in the trash.
Feeling this wretched, there was no way she could properly face him.
‘Do it.’
Damn it. Saying s**t like that with this damned mouth. No, this won’t do. She ought to just die. That seemed to be the only way to forget this embarrassing memory.
In the midst of this, the word “hangover” that Bezel said stuck in her mind. No matter how thick-headed Eden was, she wasn’t without the wits to scheme a little.
Right. Alcohol was an excellent excuse that could transform even accidents into mistakes. Maybe she too could use it to escape this awkward and difficult situation.
“Ahem. Bezel.”
“Yes?”
Seeing him obediently respond with that innocent face made her even more confident in this choice. Come to think of it, that man also made a habit of saying “I don’t remember.” Of course, he had actually lost his memories, but if Bezel could do it, why couldn’t she!
“Actually, I was so drunk yesterday that I don’t really remember what happened.”
“…Huh?”
“I was worried I might have made a mistake… Sorry for suddenly being shy.”
Putting on a shameless expression as if she knew nothing made her heart feel considerably lighter. Indeed, the best way to avoid responsibility was to pretend not to know. This method was pretty good. She should use it often if problems arose with clients later.
However, unlike the relieved Eden, Bezel looked as if he’d been punched. And understandably so. He’d even kissed her under the pretense of curing her curse, and now it was as if it had never happened.
“Ah… You don’t remember.”
Bezel’s lips, which had been gently curved upward, slowly drooped. Tap, tap, the fork hitting the plate suddenly grew forceful, making a harsh sound of ceramic and metal scraping.
She had expected him to just say “Yes” and move on as usual, but his reaction was more intense than expected. Eden clutched her chest, guilt pricking sharply inside, and watched his expression.
Maybe saying she didn’t remember after kissing him was too much. She felt like some shameless person who had taken advantage of him while drunk and tossed him aside the next morning….
No, she didn’t just feel like it, she was one. Eden was an absolute piece of trash who had seduced that angelic man, kissed him, and was now pretending not to know.
Just as she was drowning in self-loathing, wondering if she should tell the truth even now, Bezel set down his fork on the table with a thud and showed an even brighter smile than before.
“…Yes. Well, I suppose that can happen.”
It must be her imagination that his tone had dropped sharply, despite his smile. Eden told herself to pull it together and apologized once more.
“I don’t know what I did, but please forget everything. I’m sorry.”
“Hmm. I’ll think about it.”
His response was somewhat unsettling, but still, the pretending-not-to-know operation was a success. Since she’d said she had no memory of it, there was no need to feel awkward anymore, no need to hide her face from embarrassing memories. Only then did Eden finally begin eating like usual.
***
Despite her appearance, Eden was a diligent Hunter. The single day she had taken off had been a rare exception. Normally, she devoted herself to training and taking commissions every single day.
After finishing breakfast, Eden did some simple warm-up exercises and immediately set off for her commission site.
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