The Lunatic Obsessed With Me

“Hold on, Julie.”

“!”

“Please wait a minute.”

Their gazes collided again.

Juliana looked at the man holding her wrist with a curious expression.

“……Why are you here?”

As she said that, Louis had a confused expression. Juliana felt strange at his question mark-filled face.

“I don’t know, I just thought I should come.”

Louis, who had a puzzled look, folded and unfolded his palms that were wrapped around Juliana’s wrists.

“Julie’s wrists are very thin.”

Louis tilted his head at the unfamiliar feeling. She overpowered so many men with this? His large palms were more than enough to wrap around the woman’s slender wrists.

“Whoo.”

Juliana shook her head from side to side to get rid of her confused expression.

‘What the hell were you thinking? Are you here to catch me again?’

She had all sorts of thoughts. Juliana first removed the gunk in her eyes, and then pulled her wrist out of his hand. The corners of his eyes drooped as if he was disappointed.

‘It’s so weird.’

Her heart was so weak in front of Louis that even she was astonished to think of it herself. Juliana bit her lip as the black pupils stared at her to the point that it made her feel shy.

It’s hot. His gaze.

‘It’s really weird.’

Juliana tried to avoid his gaze.

“Princess Hariens, I have brought a carriage.”

The Imperial Knight, who had just returned, said to Juliana.

“And I also found the desert fox you mentioned earlier, is this the fox?”

“Nathan……!!!”

Juliana rushed to the Knight. Fortunately, Nathan was unharmed.

“Grrrrr.”

The Gerada desert fox rubbed its fur on Juliana’s face. As they shared a thrilling reunion, she heard the voice of the Imperial Knight.

“Uh… Who is that person?”

The knight looked at the robed man with a curious gaze.

‘Oh, I forgot!’

Juliana hurriedly parted her lips as she looked at Louis.

“This is my escort knight.”

It would be difficult to be mistaken for someone related to the slave traders.

“Ah, yes. Then, as expected, you personally… helped and didn’t turn a blind eye to the injustice.”

Juliana smiled awkwardly, embarrassed by the Knight’s view of herself. She grabbed the hem of Louis’ robe as she stood still, then whispered.

“I’m sorry I left without a word. In that sense… Shall we talk a bit?”

Juliana wanted to keep the things about the Grand Duke a secret. It was dangerous for her to be associated with the Empire’s Lunatic and it could be controversial in the social world.

Juliana didn’t want her to become someone else’s gossip.

‘In order to do that, our stories need to match.’

“I think we need to kiss**.”

Juliana said hurriedly. Louis’ face hardened. His black eyes trembled like there was an earthquake underneath.

‘Oh my gosh!’

It was then that Juliana realized what she said.

…I did not mean a kiss!

**[T/N: LOL. So here, she wanted to say that they should get their stories straight but she mispronounced so the words that came out (which almost sounds the same in Korean) said she wanted a kiss.] 

***

Juliana and Louis boarded the carriage. An awkward silence engulfed the two of them.

‘Wah, I’m going crazy!’

Juliana screamed inwardly. It was really frustrating. She was completely lost. The same could be said for Louis.

‘Did you aim for my body?’

Louis’s face was seriously stiff.

It was the first time she had approached him so blatantly. No, the problem was that he, who was not shaken by any land attack, was affected. He didn’t think he would have to protect his lips.

‘It’s strange.’

‘I’m going crazy’

Juliana and Louis each had different thoughts. Juliana’s head was in a mess.

The person who uttered the words was also surprised, but Louis was terrified. With a tearful face, she closed her eyes.

‘This is what Louis does.’ 

[T/N: Like it was unlike her to do things like this, it was Louis’ thing.]

It was Louis who embarrassed people by attacking them from behind.

Juliana self-rationalized and thought that she caught the Lunatic’s madness.

‘Yes, it’s okay. Juliana! It’s because you were in such a hurry that the words came out like that. You don’t have to be embarrassed at all!’

…but it didn’t make sense, it really didn’t.

“Ugh.”

A groan of despair escaped from Juliana’s mouth, who had failed her self-justification.

‘Is Louis okay?’

As she calmed down to some extent, Juliana glanced at Louis who was fanning his blush-stricken face.

He was looking out of the window with his mouth shut. It seemed that he had also moved away from her.

‘Is this an illusion?’

Juliana’s expression became ambiguous. The bumpy road made the carriage rattle loudly.

In this situation, their knees should have at least touched once in this cramped carriage.

He persistently and abnormally distanced himself from her.

‘This is a little upsetting.’

Juliana frowned slightly.

She was embarrassed by herself as well, but it was even more humiliating that Louis was like that. Didn’t it feel like she was being treated like a disease?

‘So embarrassing…’

Juliana pouted her lips as she secretly glared at Louis.

The man stood still like a statue, deliberately avoiding her eyes. At that, Juliana gathered her courage and glanced at Louis.

“!”

Her golden eyes stopped at Louis’ neck. Veins were protruding underneath his white skin. His Adam’s apple, which was bobbing up and down, and his tight muscular thighs, which she was subconsciously aware of, bothered her.

‘Strange.’

Juliana’s heart beat slightly faster.

Juliana tilted her head as her stomach churned as if she was feeling motion sickness.

‘What’s this, did I develop carriage motion sickness?’

Rattle.

The carriage was moving fast towards its destination, the Capital.

The distance would take more than 2 hours.

Juliana pondered whether her magic could speed up the wheels of the wagon, but then she shook her head.

Because she needed to talk to Louis.

“Louis.”

Juliana called out his name. The man’s eyelids, that had been tightly closed, opened.

His black eyes, with depth that could not be fathomed, turned to her. Juliana stared at the black pupils as if she was possessed, and then came to her senses.

‘What’s wrong with your head!’

Juliana slapped her cheek. She had forgotten that the man possessed a dangerous appearance.

‘I can’t do this.’

Juliana calmed her beating heart. Looking at his beauty, her heart, which pounded reflexively, was innocent. But still it was difficult while talking.

Juliana opened her eyes again after arming herself like a fortress. Louis’ halo, which blinded people, seemed to have improved and she could not see better.

“Okay, now we can have a proper conversation.”

Juliana nodded her head with satisfaction. And before she went straight to the point, she opened her lips, thinking that she would paint a proper rhetoric.

“Louis, I have a question, how did you know I was here?”

First of all, the most incomprehensible thing.

“……”

Instead of answering her, Louis looked at her like a blank canvas.

‘Did you not understand the question?’

Juliana tilted her head. But the words that soon came out made Juliana regret the question she had brought up.

“Julie, why did you disappear without a word? I looked for you.”

Louis stared at her with resentful eyes!

‘It feels like I’ve committed a great sin.’

Juliana’s heart fluttered when she saw Louis sadly lowering his eyes.

Really, truly, undeniably.

Dangerous.

‘By the way, you looked for me?’

Since she disappeared, yeah naturally, but it still sounded odd when Louis said he had looked for her. Should she say that his persistence was warm enough to touch her?

After Juliana swallowed her gulp, she opened her chapped lips.

“The Grand Duke once said that,”

“……”

“If I remembered our first meeting, you’ll tell me everything I want to know.”

“Yes I did.”

“I think I know what the answer is.”

Juliana spoke in a roundabout way and looked up at him. Louis stared at her with a serene expression on his face.

“Do you think you figured it out?”

He leaned loosely on the carriage couch and asked in a low, cave-like voice.

Juliana nodded her head, trying not to notice the sweet voice hitting her ear.

“Three years ago.”

“……”

“Have you ever visited? The Magical Arena.”

It was okay to be mistaken. She just wanted to check. Juliana moistened her dry lips with her tongue before continuing her words.

“We met each other then, right?”

How many minutes did the eye contact last, as if they were fighting each other? Louis closed his eyes languidly.

“We did.”

He spat out the words indifferently and opened his eyes again. His monotonous, numb gaze swept over her. Juliana was out of breath. She wanted to avoid his gaze, but her thoughts stopped and she didn’t know what to do.

“You remembered.”

Louis smiled languidly and held her hair in his hand.

Juliana didn’t know what expression she was making at the man she was staring at. She felt weird.

“You sprayed me.”

She knew it was, but she hadn’t expected.

“He, he… the Grand Duke himself was in the audience?”

Juliana, whose face had wrinkled, started using honorifics again. Louise laughed.

“The meeting that soaked my whole body wet.”

“…..”

“… you had forgotten. But it is deeply engraved in my mind.”

Juliana stared blankly at Louis’ series of movements, sticking out his tongue and moistening his lower lip. At the same time his eyes fold into half moons.

Thump thump.

Juliana’s heart pounded.

‘That’s weird?’

Juliana felt her pounding heart and tilted her head. She was worried about her heartbeat, which suddenly became irregular.

“What’s wrong, Julie?”

“Oh, nothing. I think I need to see a doctor for arrhythmia……”

“Really? Why?”

“Sometimes my heart beats fast.”

“So Julie is like that too. I often do too.”

Juliana’s eyes widened at Louis, who calmly spoke.

Louis’ expression was calm. Juliana thought that what they were experiencing might be a natural phenomenon.

His indifferent attitude put Juliana’s worries down a bit.

‘Huh. I guess it wasn’t something to worry about.’

Juliana calmed her beating heart and faced him resolutely.

“Now tell me.”

As promised, she remembered her first meeting with him. Juliana wondered if he had really brought her here with the intention of retaliating for the water splash.

The time had come for her to hear the whole truth from him now.

Juliana quietly waited for him to answer all her questions.