Chapter 241
She had a feeling she was in for a serious scolding.
As Ashtel sheepishly turned her head away, Payne cupped her cheek and gently brought her gaze back to him.
“I told you I hate doing things like this. Why do you keep trying to embarrass me like this?”
“I wasn’t trying to make you feel ashamed.”
“Wasn’t this whole trip just an excuse for all this? Using that legend as bait, making me… making me strip down out here…”
Well, that was true.
But she couldn’t just admit that here—he’d get even angrier.
So she kept her mouth shut and just looked up at him with a guilty expression. Payne’s dark eyes slowly softened.
“I’ve felt this for a while now.”
He began, pausing as if he was struggling with the words.
“You…”
“I what?”
“Just my body—”
“You really think I only care about your body? Payne, I love everything about you!”
Why else would she have gone to such lengths for him?
He opened his mouth, but Ashtel rushed ahead.
“You have no idea how much I care! That’s why I became human, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten. That’s not what I—”
“I had so much fun today, going on a picnic with you! It was hard even finding this place. I brought a pie to the old doctor as a thank-you just so I could get this information!”
“What? That pie was… not just a thank-you?”
Well, yes. It was a thank-you—just not the main purpose.
“So it wasn’t just an act of goodwill…”
Payne looked genuinely disappointed, a slight frown creasing his brow as he studied Ashtel. Seeing the discomfort in his deep black eyes, she shrank back a little.
“I’ll bring her a real thank-you next time.”
“It’s fine. You really don’t have to go that far.”
“Why? Do you still think I’m like a demon? Is that why you’re upset?”
“That’s not it—”
“I’ll be even better. If you don’t want me to touch you, I won’t!”
She might have been crossing the line a little, but Ashtel always tried to respect Payne’s wishes when it came to s*x. Payne recognized that much, and answered calmly:
“I know you’re trying. What I’m saying is, don’t force yourself to change so suddenly.”
“You’re not disappointed in me?”
“Over something like this…?”
It wasn’t as if anything catastrophic had happened. The worst that could be said was that the pie for the doctor turned out to be more of a bribe than a gift.
“So what was it you wanted to find out?”
“Um…”
“Hurry up and tell me, Ashtel.”
Oops. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought up the doctor at all. She rolled her innocent eyes around before finally confessing.
“That legend I mentioned—the doctor told me about it.”
“That’s all?”
“…”
Ashtel hesitated. She’d wanted to present her surprise in a more romantic setting, but it felt like now or never. If she waited, Payne might not give her another chance.
With a quiet sigh, she rummaged through her cloak, finally pulling out a small velvet box.
Payne’s eyes went wide as she suddenly produced the box.
“I wanted to give you this.”
“This is…”
Click.
She opened the box, revealing a beautiful jeweled ring. Payne’s mouth fell open in shock.
“They say if you propose here, you’ll be together for a hundred years…”
She wanted to say more, but hesitated.
After all, the two of them were still naked from earlier, they’d just had a little fight, and there were still two slime balls lying around from Payne earlier.
‘…Does the slime even matter?’
She liked a little naughtiness, after all.
Being naked wasn’t the worst thing; she’d planned to confess after s*x anyway.
Actually, maybe this was the perfect moment.
“Payne, will you marry me?”
Having grown up pampered by eleven older sisters, Ashtel was used to bouncing back quickly even when nervous.
This was one of those times.
Despite their earlier squabble, she presented the ring with face tense as she awaited his answer.
“…”
“…”
“…Payne?”
Payne didn’t say a word.
He just stared at her in a daze, then looked at the ring, then back at her, and then at the ring again, eyes darting rapidly.
Even Ashtel, who usually didn’t get embarrassed, felt her shoulders tense up.
“Do you… not want to?”
“No, it’s not that. I—”
He answered automatically, then quickly clamped his mouth shut. His pupils trembled, Adam’s apple bobbing as he looked at her.
“You’re really okay with proposing first?”
“Yeah. Why? Is that weird?”
Isn’t it normal for the one who loves more to confess first in the human world?
Ashtel said as much, scratching her head. Only then did Payne finally relax, letting out a shaky laugh of disbelief.
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