The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

“… Elaina Foluin?”

“Yes.”

Lita found himself in front of the duke’s door.
Fortunately, the butler Harold opened the door for him.
The boy looked at Desian Pietro boldly and told him everything that had happened so far.
It was relatively easy for fox beast people to recognize the truth and lies.
It was a trait of the fox beast people race to be deceitful.
So a liar knows another liar when he sees one.

‘Desian Pietro, you’re the only one who can help Citrina-nim.’

Both Elaina and Desian were sweet to Citrina.
But Lita could tell that Elaina’s kindness was false, while Desian’s was real.
In other words, Desian Pietro was honest, at least when it came to Citrina Foluin.

“Can you please deal with her?”
“What was Citrina’s attitude like?”
“What? That…”

The question was out of focus.
Desian slowly rolled up a cigar.
[T.L.
Note: Now I’m imagining how gross it must taste to kiss Desian.
He must brush his teeth and use a lot of breath mints just on the off chance he gets to kiss Citrina.
Maybe it’s a magic cigar that doesn’t lead to smoker’s breath.
Anyway, back to the story.]
His decadent face was gradually obscured by the thick smoke.
It was an unfamiliar image, one that he had not revealed in front of Citrina.
Desian slowly revealed himself to Lita’s gaze.
Perhaps Desian had used some sort of magic to read Lita’s memories.
Lita cowered instinctively.

“As I suspected.”
“Well, then what should…”
“I mean no harm to Citrina.”
“I know that! But I’m just worried about her.”
“And she doesn’t have the temperament to put up with being bothered.”

Desian spat out the words through his teeth.
His voice was cold and distant, unlike what he showed in front of Citrina.

‘You gave me fair warning.’

The search through Lita’s memory was simple.
Desian scoffed.
Elaina Foluin, it seemed, was playing it safe.
Citrina must have seen through Elaina scheming with a polite, indifferent face.
She was sensitive enough to have caught a glimpse into Desian’s feelings.
However, she would not be able to cut off Elaina so easily.
Elaina had once been Citrina’s everything.
Desian took a long drag on his cigar and blew it out with a sigh.
The smoke billowed out past Lita’s vision.
Lita was familiar with cigars.
The boy stood, studying the burning odor curiously.

“You.”
“Yes?”
“Have you told Citrina?”

“Ci, Citrina-nim worries about me going alone, so I didn’t tell her.”
“That’s good.”

Lita blushed at the rare compliment.
If Citrina was his master, was Desian-nim his master’s boyfriend?
Then, are they both his master?
Rubbing his reddened eyes, Lita bowed his head stiffly and answered.

“Th, thank you.”
“Go.”

Lita spun on his heel.
It seemed he’d decided he had done his part.

“Oh, before you go.”

The flame on Desian’s cigar flickered briefly, and a small bead appeared in Lita’s hands.
Lita was very quick to recognize it.

“This…if anything happens, I can call you with this?”
“Right.”

Desian smirked at the intricate family tree newly built in Lita’s head and slowly rubbed out his cigar.
Elaina Foluin’s divine power was a match for him, but there was nothing he couldn’t kill.
The problem is, Citrina still cared quite a bit about Elaina.
Things were more ridiculous than he thought.

Desian slowly opened the invitation on the table.
It was an invitation to see the opera from Princess Iana.
Citrina would also be coming, so he was looking forward to coming.
Desian normally did not enjoy entertainment.
But this intrigued him.
Let’s postpone the trip to the magic tower just by two days.
It seemed he was in for a bit of fun.
He decided to mingle a bit.