chapter_0056

56 – Noah’s Holiday (2)

56 – Noah’s Holiday (2)

The inside of Karan Theater was filled with many people who had come to watch the play.

Noah guided Calix to the most expensive and best-viewing central VIP seat that he had reserved in advance.

This central VIP seat had another feature: it was a couple’s seat.

“This is the seat, Lord Calts.”

“Noah… this seat feels a bit unusual compared to the others.”

“It’s just your imagination!”

Calix felt a bit strange about the seat being so close together compared to the others.

However, having never sat in a couple’s seat in his past life, he thought it was just his imagination and sat down.

Behind them, Lana and Azel quietly entered and took their seats, and shortly after, the dark curtain fell, signaling the start of the play.

“The Monster of Dawn” unfolded as an incident occurred when an adventurer, cursed by the Curse of the Dungeon, was given shelter for the night.

“Um… I have nowhere to stay, but could you let me sleep here for just one night?”

“Yes… yes, please use the guest room.”

The adventurer bore a hideous black tattoo on his face due to the curse.

However, the protagonist’s family, adhering to the customs of hospitality, allowed him to stay in the guest room for the night.

With a realistic stage, heartfelt acting, and a touch of magic effects, a sense of horror gradually enveloped the audience, but Noah felt bored.

“Watching this after witnessing real wars is quite dull.”

Having experienced true terror from witnessing several wars, Noah found the play utterly unfrightening.

Instead, his eyes were fixed on Calix’s hand.

“My lord, I want to hold your hand.”

One of Noah’s goals for their date today was to hold Calix’s hand.

Noah loved romance novels.

In those novels, couples naturally held hands while watching such horror plays.

So, he had prepared to watch the play with his lord, but since it wasn’t scary at all, he thought there would be no opportunity to hold hands.

“My lord…”

“………”

Calix was watching the play with a serious expression.

He seemed to be enjoying the play, and Noah thought he shouldn’t disturb Calix’s appreciation.

And at that moment, Calix was…

“Good thoughts, good thoughts, it’s not scary. Phew, that’s not scary. That’s fake…”

Desperately trying to blur his focus, he was struggling not to look at the frightening scenes.

If he screamed while watching the play, it would be a disgrace to the lord, so Calix was trying hard to hold back any screams.

Meanwhile, the play continued.

The next day after the adventurer had stayed, he had mysteriously disappeared, and the family thought he had left in the middle of the night.

However, strange occurrences began to happen in the house from that day on.

In the middle of the night, dogs and pigs started making noises,

and the doors in the house suddenly began to open.

Even when they locked the doors, thinking it was just the wind, the occurrences continued.

Then came the day when the daughter, Nora, said she was scared because there was a monster under her bed.

The parents thought it was a joke, but their daughter cried too much, and the father decided to check for himself.

So, the father, sweating coldly, gradually bent down to look under his daughter’s bed.

Tense music played, and everyone imagined what might be under the bed, trembling in fear as the father looked underneath.

Then…

“What? There’s nothing here.”

There was nothing under the bed.

The father felt relieved, and the audience watching also felt reassured.

And…

“Daughter! There’s nothing under the bed. So don’t worry…”

The father looked at his daughter with relief.

But then, the daughter had mysteriously disappeared, and from behind, the adventurer, transformed into a grotesque black monster, was staring at the father with a hideous grin.

Only the distant voice of the daughter could be heard.

“Dad! I’m in the bathroom, did you call me?”

“……”

Swoosh—whoosh—!

With the daughter’s voice as the cue, the black monster lunged at the father in an instant, and a red light burst forth in the theater.

Accompanied by music that startled the audience, the red light caused screams to erupt.

“Ahhh!!!”

“Yikes!”

Seeing that, Calix was also startled, but he managed to hold back his surprise.

As he thought he could endure until the next scary scene, something suddenly exploded from behind.

“Moonlight!”

Bang—!

“Ahhh!!!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected shock, green light, and screams from behind, Calix was genuinely startled.

So, he reflexively grabbed Noah’s hand.

Crack—!

“Ahhh!!!”

Noah, who had not been scared at all by the frightening scenes, was taken aback more than ever in her life at that moment.

Calix’s hand was large and warm, and he held Noah’s hand tightly.

Noah froze in surprise, and Calix also froze, sweating coldly.

Was it because they were so startled? Neither of them could hear the voices coming from behind.

“What are you doing, Azel? Do you plan to blow up the theater?”

“But… it was really scary. Lana…”

Fortunately, the audience thought it was a special effect of the play, and the theater staff believed that a new direction had been introduced that they were unaware of, so the play continued.

For the entire hour until the play ended, Calix and Noah remained stiffly holding hands.

After the play ended, the two did not speak a word until they had dinner together at an Imperial-style upscale restaurant that Noah had reserved.

Noah was surprised because they were holding hands, and Calix needed time to calm his racing heart after seeing something frightening.

As they finished their meal and walked through the darkened streets of Karan, they finally opened their mouths again.

“Noah, is your hand okay?”

“It’s, it’s fine, Lord Calts.”

Having held it for an hour, Noah’s hand was red.

Calix was worried about that, but Noah seemed perfectly fine.

“I’m sorry. I was so startled that I…”

“It’s okay! I’m totally fine! Please don’t apologize.”

“Uh… okay, I understand.”

Calix was left speechless by Noah’s insistence that she was fine.

Was she really okay? Or was she saying that because he was a lord? He felt a bit worried.

And again, they walked in silence for a while.

As they walked together, Noah looked at Calix.

At first, it was curiosity.

Curiosity about the young lord who was impervious to flattery drew Noah closer to him.

Then came respect.

She saw in Calix the ideal emperor from fairy tales who would risk his life to save a child.

So, she thought that if he became an emperor, there would be no one else who would suffer the same pain as her mother.

And now, she was certain that she…

“What am I to you, Lord Calts?”

Buzz—

Noah used her Blessing.

It was a question she had wanted to ask many times before.

But she had never been able to.

What if… what if Calix saw her in black and white and said he didn’t like her? She wouldn’t be able to bear it.

But now, she felt like she could ask.

Now, she felt like she could see what she wanted.

At Noah’s words, Calix looked at her and replied.

“You are a precious existence, like family.”

As he said that, Calix did not lose his color.

In this black-and-white world, he had been disappointed by countless people.

As if to comfort that part of himself, Calix looked at her with his warm colors.

However…

“Lana, Sharen, and Azel are also precious existences.”

‘…Did he just mention the names of other women here!?’

Even at the moment he mentioned other women’s names, Calix’s colors did not fade.

Noah felt a bit deflated, but she still smiled.

“They are all too much for me.”

It was a fascinating relationship.

Around the lord, there were truly diverse people.

Even if they met as enemies, it wouldn’t be strange at all, but the lord embraced them all without discrimination, and before long, they became more like family than family.

She thought that one should not trust human relationships.

In that colorless world she lived in, he had effortlessly gifted her a dazzling world.

Because of that lord, she decided to serve him.

Because of that lord, she fell in love with him.

“I look forward to working with you in the future, Noah.”

It was a dreamlike scene.

With the moonlight behind him, the lord truly resembled a prince from a fairy tale.

She was not a princess, but she still wanted to be by the lord’s side.

“Yes, please trust me a lot in the future. My lord, my eyes are accurate.”

In truth, Noah wanted to go as far as kissing, just like in romance novels.

But she thought that wanting anything more would be too greedy.

At that moment, she thought she had received enough reward for today and was satisfied when…

“…This is really frustrating.”

Whoosh—!

Suddenly, a stone flew from somewhere and hit Noah’s shoe.

“Caw!”

“Noah!”

As Noah lost her balance and was about to fall, Calix caught her.

Wrapping his hand around her waist, he pulled her into his embrace, and naturally, Noah was drawn into Calix’s arms.

“My… my lord…”

“Noah…”

They found themselves in a position that was very conducive to kissing, facing each other.

Blushing deeply, Noah naturally closed her eyes.

Calix understood.

If he backed away now, he would be failing as a man and would also be rude to a woman.

Confirming that there was no one around, Calix leaned closer to Noah.

And…

Smooch—

That day, for the first time, Calix kissed a woman.

And watching from a distance, Lana and Azel exchanged a light high-five.

A word from the author (author’s note)

??: But what do we gain by helping like this?

??: Considering the lord’s personality, we might get to have a date like that next time.

??: Indeed!