Demian silently followed Arasila’s steps. As she said, the streets were filled with food, sights, and entertainment.
While he looked around, Arasila bought meat skewers from a nearby stall and held them out.
“Do you eat street food? I’m used to it from eating with my elder sister at the national festival, but if you don’t, you can refuse.”
Many nobles considered commoners’ food beneath them and wouldn’t even glance at it.
If Demian refused the skewer, Arasila planned to eat both herself.
“I’m used to it too. When on knightly missions, one can’t always eat refined food.”
Demian said calmly as he took the skewer.
In fact, he had probably eaten more commoner food than her. In bad situations, he’d eaten even worse.
The meat skewer, grilled golden brown with onions and fruit in between, was delicious with its salty juices.
While eating the skewer, Arasila looked around restlessly for what to do next. Demian, walking in step, glanced at her.
A faint brown sauce stain was visible on the corner of her plump lips. He couldn’t resist wiping it off.
“My lady, excuse me for a moment.”
“…Yes?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Demian stopped Arasila. She was bewildered as his large hand suddenly reached out.
His firm fingers gently cupped her chin, his thumb brushing over her lips. The soft lips and warm fingertip barely grazed each other.
“There was sauce on your lips.”
“Ah….”
Arasila rummaged through her bag for a handkerchief with an embarrassed look.
It’s natural for food to get on one’s mouth while eating, but she felt strangely ashamed.
Even after wiping off all the sauce, she kept rubbing her lips with the handkerchief. She quickly finished the remaining skewer and wiped her mouth again.
Demian also quickly finished the food on his skewer and held out his hand.
“Give it to me. I’ll throw it away.”
“Thank you.”
Arasila glanced up at Demian as she handed over the empty stick.
She stared at his face, still radiant despite the mask covering his eyes and nose, then suddenly tugged on his clothes.
Demian bent down, not resisting the pull. As their faces drew closer, he flinched.
“What….”
“You have some on you too.”
Arasila vigorously wiped Demian’s mouth with her handkerchief. Satisfied with his now cleaner lips, she smiled brightly and released his collar.
Demian touched around his lips as he went to throw the skewers in the trash can at the corner of the alley.
Though it was just a simple touch, his chest fluttered for a moment.
He placed his hand on his mask and let out a small chuckle.
Am I getting severe? Or does liking someone on your own always make you overreact to small things?
Demian returned with a light sigh to find Arasila looking somehow flushed.
“Mimi! Come quickly, I’ve found some fun things.”
Demian quickened his pace at her fluttering hand gesture.
“What is it?”
“Dart throwing, ball throwing to burst balloons, and treasure hunting. By the way, these are the most popular activities.”
Arasila smiled proudly, having done some market research by eavesdropping while waiting. It didn’t sound bad, so Demian nodded.
Seeing his positive reaction, Arasila made a suggestion.
“Shall we make a bet with these?”
“How so?”
“The person who wins two out of three games gets their wish granted. How about it?”
“Sounds good.”
Demian readily agreed. The two first headed to the closest dart game.
A sign at the entrance said a special prize would be given for hitting 10 points with all five throws.
“Welcome, are you here to throw darts?”
The owner of the dart game greeted them with a friendly smile.
“How do we participate?”
“Pay the entry fee and wait your turn. Just two silver coins.”
Demian took money from his jacket’s inner pocket and handed it to the owner.
The couple stood in line behind others waiting to throw darts and chatted.
“By the way, Mimi, are you good at throwing darts?”
“It’s not too different from arrows, is it?”
Demian answered confidently. Arasila crossed her arms and spoke with a contemplative look.
“Hmm, I’ve never shot an arrow before. It’s different from shooting magic, right?”
“You’re not throwing something that actually exists.”
“Then isn’t this too advantageous for you? I have no experience throwing anything except magic.”
Arasila grumbled lightly. She chose without much thought, but now wondered if she picked something too favorable for one side.
Demian smiled at her as she pondered with pursed lips.
It was a smile full of affection for her, but Arasila was too lost in thought to notice.
“Then I’ll quickly teach you now.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, try taking a stance.”
Arasila acted as if holding and throwing a dart. Watching her seriously, Demian went behind her.
His large hands grasped both her forearms and corrected her posture.
As his thick body drew close, almost embracing her, Arasila felt as if receiving a back hug.
“Raise your arm a bit higher. And don’t swing down too much when throwing. The dart will stick in the ground if you do.”
Arasila flinched involuntarily as his low voice resonated right by her ear. A strange tingling slowly spread.
Whether he knew or not, Demian continued explaining with a relatively calm expression.
“You need to aim precisely at the target and throw with power. It’s not just about throwing as hard as you can.”
“Mm, I see. Thank you.”
Arasila said as she slipped out of Demian’s arms. It wasn’t that she disliked him, but the inexplicable tickling made it uncomfortable to stay still.
Demian felt deep regret but obediently let her go and stepped back. He didn’t want to reveal a piece of his heart because of a tiny desire.
If he did, Arasila might leave his side forever.
Instead, he tightly clenched the hand that had been holding her just moments ago, suppressing the emptiness.
After a long wait, it was finally the couple’s turn.
The couple took their places in front of the dart boards and carefully selected five darts each from the basket offered by the staff.
“The person with the higher final score wins. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Demian answered lightly and easily.
Until throwing the first dart, he planned to go easy. If he won by too large a margin, Arasila would be disappointed and discouraged.
He intended to hit the darts just enough to protect her pride, but an unexpected variable arose.
“10 points! 10 points!”
“Did you see that, Mimi? I hit 10 points!”
Arasila turned out to be an excellent student with better learning ability than expected.
She fully absorbed Demian’s teachings and demonstrated outstanding dart-throwing skills. She hit 10 points from the start and continued to score 10 points in succession.
‘…This is a bit troublesome.’
Feeling a sense of crisis, Demian abandoned his intention to take it easy and got serious.
As the attractive couple, even with masks on, engaged in a heated dart competition, spectators gradually gathered.
Overhearing how they addressed each other, the onlookers began cheering.
“Go Mimi! Go Mimi!”
“My lady is the best! You can do it, my lady!”
Unexpectedly gaining their own supporters, the two engaged in an intense dart battle.
Finally, the last round.
Arasila and Demian both hit the dead center. It was a clean 10 points that made the spectators cheer equally.
The owner, who had been recording the scores, quickly calculated the totals and approached with a solemn expression.
“I’ll announce your final scores. My lady, you scored 48 out of 50 points. Mimi, you scored a perfect 50 out of 50 points.”
The result was Demian’s victory.
“Congratulations, Mimi.”
Arasila, who had anticipated the outcome since Demian started hitting consecutive 10 points, clapped her hands.
The owner and spectators also applauded and congratulated him.
“Ah! We’ll give Mimi a special prize. Please wait a moment.”
The owner hurriedly ran to the back of the stall and returned with a small gift box carefully wrapped with a ribbon.
Arasila watched curiously as Demian opened the box beside her.
The special prize that finally revealed itself from the box was none other than a dazzling badge with “Dart King” written in large letters.
“Pfft!”
Arasila burst into laughter as soon as she saw the badge, covering her mouth with her hand.
Demian looked down at the badge with a deflated expression.
“What are you doing, Mimi? Put it on quickly.”
“…”
“Come on, don’t take it off.”
Arasila personally took the badge from the box and pinned it to Demian’s chest. A cute mask, an adorable nickname, and now a flashy badge.
After looking over his overall appearance, Arasila burst into loud laughter.
He came out trying to be as plain as possible to avoid catching people’s eyes, but now he was decorated more brightly than anyone else. She couldn’t hold back her laughter at the sight.
“Ha…”
Demian, who had received many medals and honors before, but never something like this, rubbed his forehead.
He was quite dumbfounded, but also found it amusing himself, so he had no thoughts of getting angry or throwing the badge away.
“Dart King! Let’s go to the next game now.”
“Please don’t tease me, my lady.”
“Tut-tut, you should take pride as the Dart King.”
Arasila’s lips twitched slightly as she deliberately put her hands on her hips and made a stern face.
“Let’s go, Dart King Mimi.”
“…Do as you please.”
Demian followed her with a resigned look. His lips also loosened at Arasila’s excited expression visible through her mask.
[This is the timeline separator]The two moved to a place where they could play a game of throwing balls to burst balloons.
This place was also very crowded. While waiting in line again, Arasila said,
“Honestly, considering the difference in physical strength, you should allow me to use magic.”
“Alright. But you can’t directly burst the balloons with magic.”
“Of course not. I just plan to infuse some power into my ball.”
Arasila’s slender arms, trained with magic rather than muscles, needed magical power to throw the ball with strong force.
Demian, who could accept that much, nodded.
A moment later, when it was their turn. The balls infused with magic shook the balloons violently.
Thanks to Arasila’s precise aim at the balloons, the effect was even greater.
The balls that never missed their mark properly struck the balloons.
Before long, the couple’s balloons burst one after another with a 5-second difference.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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