Chapter 15
Still in her arms, Belver struggled to get down as they left the training grounds.
They'd reached a spot where other students were starting to pass by.
Everyone passing by this early in the morning gave a startled glance at Belver being carried in a man's arms.
It was too much for Belver to bear.
Every time he felt someone's gaze, his face trembled as if cramping from embarrassment.
But Bellatrix had no intention of putting him down.
Since everyone already mistook them for lovers, she planned to enjoy the misunderstanding.
“Put me down…!”
“Nope. You said you'd let me do whatever I wanted all day today, remember?”
“Ugh…! I'm so embarrassed, I could die!”
“You won't die.”
Bellatrix looked down at Belver, who was adorably patting her chest, tap-tap-tap, as if checking whether she might be hurt.
Perhaps sensing her gaze, he lifted his head and met her eyes.
Just how embarrassed was he? His face was twisted as if he were about to cry, and tears like morning dew were welling in his eyes.
It was obvious that if she poked him, they'd pour down like a monsoon, not dew.
She started feeling genuinely sorry for teasing him any further.
Since they'd reached their destination anyway, she praised her own kindness and put him down.
“There, we're here. I'm so kind, aren't I?”
“Hic…! That was too much! I'm going to get mad!”
“You said you'd let me do anything today, remember?”
“Grr! I'll hate you tomorrow! Groping my body so lewdly like that is indecent!”
“That body's mine, though? More importantly, you were watching me carry you like that?”
“Ugh…!”
“All right, I'll stop. Let's hurry inside. The acting starts now.”
Belver couldn't bring himself to hate her today, even if he wanted to.
He'd promised to let her do whatever she wanted today.
He knew full well that he'd caused a lot of trouble at yesterday's tea party.
So he couldn't complain even if she teased him all day.
All he could do was puff out his cheeks and pretend to sulk.
They'd already agreed that all he had to do to maintain Bellatrix's usual image was speak informally and act arrogant, so there was nothing to worry about.
He just had the feeling he'd forgotten something after doing that.
He thought that after being teased mercilessly all day, he'd end up in a truly miserable state.
So he resolved to hate her tomorrow as much as she'd tormented him today.
Though he had no idea how much he would have to hate her.
Bellatrix gently took Belver's hand as he panicked on his own, and led him inside.
“What is this place?”
“It's a dessert café. They say it's the most famous one at the academy. I've wanted to come here.”
“You like this kind of thing?”
“Wouldn't you like it more than I do, my lady?”
“I don't really care for it.”
Belver really didn't like sweets.
He had to stay away from sweets, and even when he ate them, he hated how they made him shudder from their sweetness.
He hated them so much that whenever he ate something sweet, his whole body trembled and his finely featured, perfectly proportioned face contorted a little.
Just remembering it made his body shiver.
He thought Bellatrix must like sweets.
But she didn't like sweets either.
She'd brought him here simply because Belver looked like someone who'd enjoy sweets.
She only ate sweets to cleanse her palate when she had coffee.
So whom was this dessert café for, anyway?
Both of them thought it was for the other.
In that case, who was it for on the way out?
“We'll have whatever sells the most.”
“Certainly.”
Bellatrix didn't know much about desserts, so she left it to the server.
Since she knew so little, she thought it would be better to try the bestseller than to choose something herself.
She was a little curious, too.
How delicious would the bestseller at the academy's most famous dessert café be?
Could it satisfy even someone like her, who didn't particularly like sweets?
“Wow…!”
Belver saw the chiffon cake covered in a generous layer of whipped cream arrive almost immediately and marveled, eyes wide like a fawn tasting a carrot for the first time.
He didn't know much about desserts, and it was a sight he'd never seen before.
The fluffy-looking cake was generously coated in soft, melting whipped cream, and the whole thing was so pretty.
Even if he didn't like sweets, it was beautiful enough to be a pleasure just to look at.
Bellatrix was surprised, too, by how much more impressive it was than she'd expected.
The cakes she'd seen laid out at banquets hadn't been this beautiful.
“I'm a little excited.”
“It's so pretty… Is it really okay to eat it?”
“It was made to be eaten, so eating it is only polite.”
Belver was terribly sad that he had to eat the cake in front of him.
He had to ruin its perfect shape.
It was like putting a dot on a perfect painting.
He almost wanted to order another one instead.
Of course, if he ordered another one, he'd feel bad about that one too, so he didn't follow through.
Belver's sparkling eyes turned toward Bellatrix.
He was asking her to try it first.
Bellatrix caught his gaze, chuckled, and picked up her fork.
What would the cake taste like?
Belver was so excited that he bounced his foot ever so slightly.
It was so beautiful, it was sure to taste good, too.
Surely good enough to please even him, who didn't like sweets.
“I'll try it.”
“Yes…!”
Bellatrix was curious about the taste, too, so she readily picked up her fork.
The fluffy cake was easily cut, as if melting away, and brought to her mouth.
When it reached her mouth, she tasted the rich, nutty flavor of the cake, exquisitely balanced with the sweetness of the whipped cream.
Even she, who found cream-based desserts unpleasantly sweet, liked it.
She was about to tell him honestly how it tasted, but then made a mischievous face.
Belver saw her expression and felt goosebumps ripple over his whole body.
Whenever Bellatrix made that kind of face, it meant she was about to play a trick.
He wished she'd just tell him how the cake tasted.
Belver pleaded with his eyes, silently begging Bellatrix not to do it.
Naturally, Bellatrix casually ignored his gaze, pressed her lips together, and smiled.
It meant she wasn't going to say a word.
“I really hate you….”
Even though he could almost see tears of sorrow welling in Belver's eyes, she held back.
She was incredibly patient.
In the end, Belver picked up his fork with a trembling hand.
To him, this fork looked more ominous than a demonic sword that had slain tens of thousands.
He was so afraid that even the hand holding it was shaking.
Then he finally steeled himself and made up his mind.
It was a parting they'd have to face someday.
Though their meeting had been brief, the chiffon cake must have been happy to meet Belver, too.
It would be rude to the pastry chef who made it if he just kept staring at it.
In the end, he squeezed his eyes shut and cut the cake with the cold fork.
The fork slid into the cake's fluffy interior and soon reached the hard bottom of the plate.
Ting. As the fork chimed against the plate, he squeezed his eyes shut and put the piece he'd cut straight into his mouth.
“Is it good…?”
Belver's eyes flew wide open as he tasted the cake.
He couldn't possibly describe this fantastic taste.
He definitely hated sweets.
But he felt like he could eat as much of this as he wanted.
His happiness at how delicious it was completely devoured the guilt he'd felt about ruining the cake.
“Is it good?”
“Yes…! It's really delicious…!”
Belver answered and started devouring the cake.
Bellatrix was already completely forgotten.
He just wanted to lose himself in this new world he'd experienced for the first time.
He was eating with such a happy, blissful smile that he didn't even notice the warm gazes around him.
Though he seemed to be gobbling it down, he ate with such elegant manners that he looked like a painting.
A beautiful woman happily eating a delicious dessert was a truly perfect picture.
Even Bellatrix was amazed that his posture never faltered.
“Ah….”
Tik. The fork tapped the bottom of the empty plate.
The cold reality vibrating at his fingertips struck him square in the head.
The reality that his happy time was now over.
Belver's face, which had looked as if he were walking through heaven just moments ago, had darkened before he knew it.
His eyes drooped miserably, and his lips sagged, too.
At the same time, he glanced at the cake still left before him.
“Do you want it?”
“…!”
At Bellatrix's question, he nodded so fiercely it seemed to make a whoosh-whoosh sound.
Belver desperately wanted to eat that.
From now on, he liked sweets.
He'd only disliked them because he hadn't tasted anything delicious.
She smiled and obediently handed him the cake.
How could she tease him when he loved it that much?
As someone who cherished Belver, Bellatrix couldn't do that.
“Wow…! I love it…!”
Belver forgot to act and started eating the cake again.
It was a good thing there was no one around who knew Bellatrix or had overheard them talking.
He was far too different from the Bellatrix they knew.
He was even using polite speech.
Bellatrix only smiled, interpreting it as a sign that he liked it that much.
***
“Hmmm-hmm-hmm! That was delicious.”
“Yeah. You really ate well.”
“Don't look at me like that! I was only thinking of the pastry chef's hard work.”
After polishing off the cake and coming down from the afterglow, Belver felt like dying of embarrassment.
He'd thought he didn't like sweets, but he'd liked that cake this much.
He desperately put on a blank expression to hide his embarrassment.
The problem was that his ears were bright red.
With a blank face but bright red ears, it was obvious he was embarrassed.
Belver sent her a resentful look, as if to tell her to stop.
Bellatrix, the target of his gaze, smiled slyly and held out her hand as if telling him to take it.
“Let's head back. I'll call your punishment over after seeing that adorable side of you.”
“Ugh… Please forget it….”
“I absolutely won't. I'll keep feeding you.”
“Why did I do that…?”
“You were cute.”
“Ugh….”
This time, Belver couldn't even bring himself to argue back.
He knew all too well what he must have looked like.
To get completely distracted by something as simple as dessert.
He was ashamed of himself.
And since she was saying that would end his punishment, it felt like he'd lost.
It even felt as though Bellatrix had a bigger heart than he did.
He was utterly frustrated.
He'd spent his whole life as a man, yet he'd been bested by her, who'd lived her whole life as a woman.
There's a story that, that night, a maid whose identity remains unknown witnessed Belver burying his face in a pillow and pounding his bed.