The Villain is Being Suspiciously Kind

g about it.’

Citrina chewed on her dry lips.
Desian’s feelings were clear, but her own feelings for Desian were getting confused little by little.
Then, Gemstone placed her hand on the gemstone and met Citrina’s gaze.
The gemstone slowly changed.
The bumpy surface of the stone smoothed out.
The gemstone flattened out, then elongated, and finally rounded out into a doughnut shape.
Because Gemma was connected to Citrina, the spirit was able to replicate the design in her head.

-Now I’m going to cast a spell.

Gemma spoke cheerfully in an energetic voice.
The sweet sound of the good luck charm rang in her ears.
A small vortex formed over the bracelet, which had been summoned by the spirit.
Desian watched, his jaw set.
His expression was blank.
Feeling his gaze, Gemma wiped the sweat from her brow.
She wondered if it was okay to cast a luck spell for someone who didn’t need it.

-It’s done!

A silver bracelet floated onto the table.
Citrina smiled contentedly and took the bracelet in her hand.
Desian looked at her bracelet and whispered.

“Rina.”
“Yeah?”
“Help me put it on.”
“…Oh?”

For a moment, Citrina was puzzled, but then she quickly understood.

‘Come to think of it, Desian must not have worn a bracelet before.’

Men of this era rarely wore jewelry.
Even magical tools were rarely worn, except in times of war.
Nor were magical tools needed by wizards like Desian, for whom magic circles were pointless.
So the very idea of something like this bracelet would be foreign to him.

“Will you give me your wrist?”

Desian held his wrist out to her like a docile lamb.
Citrina unbuckled the bracelet and quietly slipped it on his wrist.
She was very careful, trying not to feel the pounding of his wrist.

“Is it comfortable?”
“Light and comfortable.”

Desian clenched and unclenched his fist a few times.
Was he trying to feel the luck in it?
Citrina asked carefully.

“Do you feel lucky?”
“Yeah.”

It was a simple answer, but also the one she wanted to hear.
To be honest, as a black magic warlock, the elemental magic had an opposing effect.
The degree of luck was too small to impact him.
However, Desian thought as he looked into her forest-green eyes.
He’d already been blessed with enough good fortune in her, so he didn’t need to ask for more.

“It will probably take about fifteen days to make lucky bracelets for all of the knights.”
“Will the craftworker also make them?”
“Yeah, Lita also knows how to craft, so he can make them.”

If the knightly order could perform miracles with the help of lucky gems, it would cause quite a stir among society’s lords and ladies.
It would also help her case for being knighted even though she didn’t have a territory.
If that were to happen, Citrina would be a success in her own right.
Her name, along with Oslo’s, would spread throughout the empire.

“How long do you think we have to deliver them all?”
“You can take your time.
I’ll make it work for you.”
“You can do that?”

Citrina narrowed her eyes.
Desian was so sweet.
There was that creepy tingle she felt now and then like it was screaming it was all a lie.
Desian smiled at the look in Citrina’s eyes.

“Yeah.
I can do that.”

He quickly organized the plan in his head.
It would be easy to sweep it all up, but it would be nice to have some light action for Citrina.
She wanted her business to flourish, and Desian wanted to see her myriad of expressions.
“It wouldn’t hurt to arrange some press coverage.”
Citrina’s eyes sparkled at his words.

“That’s right.
I was thinking of contacting the press too.
We could make a video clip of the dark tower being cleaned up and send it to the press, right?”
“Alright.”

Of course, Desian’s ‘arrange’ had the nuance of blackmail, while Citrina’s ‘arrange’ was a bit more literal.
Still, their thoughts were in agreement.
They would use the press.

“I hope it works out for both of us.
I hope it helps me as well as you.”
“You’re helpful all the time.”

Desian’s sincere gaze was always comforting to her.
Citrina leaned back slowly.
She felt at home, comfortable, and at ease.

‘I feel comfortable with Desian.’

This comfort was separate from the unsettling feelings she had for him.
Citrina had never had a place to call her own.
For her, it felt like a home away from home.