The Villain's End Is Pregnancy - c38
Thanks to his loyal attendant, the meal flowed quite satisfactorily. As the food was mostly filled with things Ryan liked, he looked even more delighted.
“I received an invitation to Liam’s birthday this weekend, will you attend too?”
Thinking that his voice sounded lively, Hendrick scooped shrimp salad onto Ryan’s plate.
Actually, regardless of whose birthday it was, such matters were currently of no interest to him. However, if Ryan was saying he was going somewhere, wasn’t it only proper for Hendrick to accompany him?
So when he said he would go if Ryan went, the protruding lips looked so cute and sweet, as if they would emit a sugary scent.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
When something he had barely managed to suppress popped out as if this was its chance, Hendrick gulp down water and tried to subdue it again.
At this point, it seemed he had to admit there was a problem with his self-control.
Still, thanks to steadily training himself, by the time the meal ended, he succeeded in controlling himself. Of course, there were critical moments whenever his gaze kept drifting towards those cute, moist lips, but anyhow.
After the enjoyable yet troubling meal ended, Ryan expressed his intention to leave.
“Already?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Seeing those innocent eyes, Hendrick was momentarily at a loss for words. Why, you ask? We’ve only met for a mere 2 hours so far. The sun is even still high up in the sky.
So he had planned for them to spend a pleasant time together, whether taking a walk in the gardens or going on a picnic, and even have a drink over dinner to spend the night.
‘No. Spending the night doesn’t mean it in that sense.’
He must have a demon inside him. Considering how lewd imaginations pop up whenever there’s a chance. Well, he couldn’t help it when subtle pheromones kept stimulating him beside him.
‘Come to think of it, I seem to be sensing Ryan’s pheromones often these days.’
Could it be that he also had similar thoughts as Hendrick even without saying it? He looked at him with some anticipation, but all that returned was an innocent gaze.
‘Of course.’
Even if they were the same age, Ryan’s behavior and thoughts were much more childlike. Hendrick was certain Ryan wouldn’t know how to act coy to get attention or even attempt to seduce with pheromones.
‘Still.’
One never knows. Perhaps he was failing to grasp Ryan’s intentions.
“Did you look at the painting enough?”
Hendrick asked while concentrating so as not to miss even the slightest change in Ryan’s eyes or expression.
“Ah, oh. Yeah. I had a good look thanks to you.”
The small head nodded cutely again. It seemed he quite liked the sparkling eyes too.
“If it was to your liking…”
As he was about to suggest spending time together in the afternoon and having a drink in the evening, an unwelcome guest interrupted. It was none other than the king.
The king made advances under the pretext of inviting Ryan for tea, and when it didn’t go as he wished, he even said strange things like Hendrick was doing it wrong and he was worried, and that Ryan was precious to him too.
As a result, after the king left, Hendrick had to deal with Ryan who confronted him with sharp eyes.
“Why did His Majesty come to see me?”
It seemed he wasn’t unaware that the king came here with him as the purpose. Well, he kept looking at Ryan while inviting him for tea, so no matter how dense, he would have noticed.
“And what does he mean by precious child?”
“You don’t need to mind it.”
He just said that to provoke Hendrick anyway. So Ryan could ignore it, but it seemed to anger him even more.
“You wouldn’t care!”
The way he growled at Hendrick to quickly explain, as if a cat whose toy was taken away was throwing a tantrum, made the corners of Hendrick’s mouth want to rise. Hendrick asked while pretending to be nonchalant.
“Do you really want to hear it?”
Yet seeing that face again made him want to tease for some reason. Meeting the round eyes and gaze filled with tension, he opened his mouth.
“He said if I’m going to date you, I should think carefully.”
“Carefully my foot! I have no in-in-intention of d-dating you!”
As expected, the reaction that came back was no different from Hendrick’s prediction. The way he stammered and was flustered was again cutely felt.
‘Dating Ryan definitely won’t be boring.’
Just seeing him taking naps or playing with the cat would be quite fun. Hendrick couldn’t help but smile at the imagination that naturally came to mind.
Ryan, not knowing what he was thinking, yelled loudly.
“Hey, go and tell him clearly. We have no relationship whatsoever!”
At that moment, words that made him come to his senses were heard.
“It’s not like we don’t.”
No matter how heated he got, this was too much. How could he deny our relationship? We already spent the night together, and Hendrick clearly proposed dating with marriage in mind on his side.
“We don’t!”
“You sure?”
“Of course!”
It seemed meeting the king really displeased him, as Ryan pretended to have no feelings for Hendrick again.
“That was just an accident!”
When he brought up what happened the night of the party, Ryan claimed it was an accident with a red face, and his eyes asking if the king knew were very sharp.
He looked ready to bare his claws and pounce any moment if Hendrick said yes.
‘Hmm, what should I do?’
Tell the truth? Or tease him some more?
Hendrick delayed answering for a moment and looked around. It was to check if the king had left eyes and ears near him.
But impatient Ryan couldn’t stand that short moment and turned away sullenly.
“Hey, let go!”
It seemed he grabbed him without realizing and used too much force. Seeing the slightly frowning eyes, Hendrick quickly came to his senses and reassured him.
But Ryan didn’t seem to believe it. Hendrick calmly persuaded him. He didn’t know the details. He only knew they rested at the annex.
In the end, he mentioned his own parents and Count Fitzroy’s couple, saying it would be alright. Only then did Ryan soften as if relieved.
“Okay, I get it. I won’t question you further about that.”
No, that was a misunderstanding.
“Let’s not see each other for a while. I think that would be best.”
Because more shocking words were heard.
“And here I thought we got a bit closer. Guess it was my misconception.”
He frequently visited the palace and released pheromones, albeit weakly, so Hendrick thought Ryan had somewhat accepted his proposal.
Somehow his mouth felt a bit bitter.
“Do you really not have any feelings for me? At all?”
When asked if he truly had no intention of dating, the answer that came back was firm. No matter how much he thought about it, Hendrick couldn’t understand. No, from earlier, he felt a stinging pain inside his stomach. His hands were numb and his mouth was parched.
“Give me an answer I can understand.”
Hendrick was unaware that at some point, he was looking at Ryan with desperate eyes.
And not knowing what he would say, he hastily retreated.
“You don’t have to answer right away. But please think about it seriously too. Whether we really can’t date, how you will tell me that reason.”
Stalling for time wouldn’t change Ryan’s mind anyway. Still, Hendrick wanted to buy as much time as possible.
While Ryan was troubled, he had to find a way to make him approach Hendrick more. Forgetting that he had only told the king Ryan was someone he had to take responsibility for, Hendrick vowed to seriously agonize over it.
Ryan really didn’t come to the palace after that day. On the second day of waiting for him, Hendrick eventually asked Edgar about Ryan’s recent state in a roundabout way.
“Ryan? Well? He seems a bit busy these days… Ah! I heard from Catherine that he’s studying real estate these days.”
“Real estate?”
“Yes. He asked about the recently developed mine. Now that he’s an adult too, perhaps he’s thinking about ways to make a living?”
Looking at Edgar’s indifferent face, Hendrick clicked his tongue. How could he let his youngest sibling worry about such things?
‘I should make it so he can live without any worries for life.’
Despite doting on him so much usually, were they not going to provide financial support just because he was the youngest? Not knowing Hendrick was building such misunderstandings, Edgar continued speaking in a bright tone.
“Come to think of it, he said he was going to a birthday party today.”
“Birthday party?”
“Yes. Uh, whose was it… It was the child of some count.”
Hendrick quickly waited for Edgar to tell him who it was, but the dull man only tilted his head without recalling the name.
‘With such little interest in his brother’s affairs.’
Hendrick also heard that from Ryan but dismissed it. Not realizing that, right after parting with Edgar, he ordered Peter to find out whose noble child was having a birthday party today.
“It is the birthday party of Liam, the youngest son of Count Seiden, Your Highness.”
Then, in less than an hour, the loyal attendant brought the information. Hendrick willingly prepared to leave the palace to meet Ryan.