The Demon and the Hero - Chapter 9- I won\'t go

After bidding farewell to the Prince, Lenora went back to the eatery and found the manager,

“Excuse me.”

The said manager was startled to find the Hero returning, as he hurriedly got up and asked, “Yes, Lady Hero. Did you forget something?”

Lenora asked, “The chef you hired, Riphez, can you call him?”

The manager was surprised, “Did something happen? Did you not-”

“Tch, just call him.” Her intense gaze made the manager flinch and sweat appeared on his forehead as he hurried toward the kitchen,

“Right away!”

Lenora followed the man toward the kitchen, and while ignoring the curious gazes of others she stood near the same table where he saw her.

She didn’t know what he was thinking but seeing that expression on his face and listening to his words made her heart feel heavy.

Lenora couldn’t remember what she talked with the Prince after that or what he was saying when he boarded the carriage. He even offered her a ride back to her home but she immediately rejected it and said she had some urgent work.

Her ears picked up the loud voice of the manager saying,

“He left?!”

Lenora clenched her fist, and without thinking, she turned around and hurried out of the place.

He left. There was no doubt why he left. However, she couldn’t let him go without telling him what was the actual case…

“But why do I care so much…” She paused in her tracks…suddenly realizing that she was panicking a lot. But why? Who was Riphez to her? They have no relationship and she met him just two days ago.

She has so many people who love her and some of them have confessed to her. She never paid attention to them but why was she so bothered when Riphez misunderstood her?

Because he is good-looking? Was she that shallow?

No, it’s because of his genuine feelings. She has read his mind, and unlike those people who always held some selfish desire to pursue her, Riphez was different.

He was just devoted to who she was and loved her not only because she was the hero. He liked her because she was her.

Riphez loved Lenora.

Yes, this was because of that. She was so bothered and running like crazy and searching for him because she felt guilty of breaking an innocent heart.

“It’s taking too long…” she came to a pause in the middle of the street. Her eyes lit up as she shifted her foot, and instantly, her senses broadened.

[Detection] allows her to use her mana as sound waves, and track those beings who hold anything but mana.

This skill was developed by herself and is now used by many. It allows her to search for demonic beings; however, until now, she only used to search for enemies.

But now, this skill was used to find someone who wasn’t her enemy. Far from it.

“Found him.” A smile bloomed on her face as she sensed him moving toward her mansion.

She leaped on the nearest building and launched into the air. She used [Enhancement] to strengthen her feet and also lighten herself for seamless travel.

Her eyes caught the sight of the familiar youth and she didn’t think twice to land just before him.

“Ah!” He yelped as Lenora suddenly held his shoulders just upon landing.

His widened eyes suddenly turned round as he asked, “W-what are you doing here?”

Lenora couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief that he didn’t immediately leave, as she said, “Where do you think you are going?”

Riphez looked confused, genuinely, as he replied, “H-Home?” He was still slightly flustered by her sudden arrival like this.

Lenora glanced around and found that because of her not-so-smooth landing people had noticed her, and they were about to walk out of their houses.

“Bear with me.” She suddenly grabbed him by his waist and leaped into the air.

Riphez was startled, once again, as he subconsciously clung to her shirt, as he saw himself landing much far away from their initial spot.

It was a public garden, near the city council hall.

She landed near one of the benches. The garden was empty so no one noticed them.

As Lenora landed, she heaved a sigh and looked down at Riphez.

He was still clinging to her, with a soft expression on his face.

The way his fist was pinching her shirt and the way he looked at her with a slight flush on his face made him look adorable.

“If you want, we can talk like this as well.”

Riphez realized that he was clinging to the woman, which was quite a disrespectful act, so he immediately leaped away.

“Sorry…” he apologized, his gaze lingering down.

The blush on his cheeks was more profound.

Lenora was rendered speechless at the moment, as all she could do was gaze at the lovely sight.

Riphez always gave the impression of a small animal who can mewl when petted and bite when teased.

However, she shouldn’t be focusing on that. The reason she came to meet him was,

“Are you leaving?” Suddenly, she asked, making him stop fidgeting.

Riphez knew what she was asking. Back in the eatery, he told the Prince that he was going to quit the bakery. And also that he failed to achieve what he came for.

Riphez’s eyes were drawn to the ground, his shoulders slumped as he remained silent for a few minutes.

“Riphez…are you leaving the Capital?”

Being asked again, Riphez replied, “Yes…after realising where I stand…and facing the reality today…I know that I should return home rather than bothering you with my presence any more.”

Riphez couldn’t adjust to this side of world, and being here, he always had the insecurity of being found out. Although the war was over and the bad Demons were dead now, the animosity between humans and demons still remains.

“So you gave up on me?” Lenora subconsciously read his thoughts and knew that he was serious about going back.

…and that made her unnaturally sad.

Riphez looked up at her in astonishment, before he heard her adding, “I thought you actually loved me…that you had the determination to make me yours.”

Biting her lip, she added, “But I guess, it’s not worth the eff-”

“I can sacrifice anything and everything for you, Lady Lenora. I can continue to work as a servant for the rest of my life, or get scorned by people if they find out about my reality…if that allows me to be near you and see your smile once in a while.”

His feelings were genuine, and to verify that, she didn’t need to read his mind.

However, the reason why Riphez decided to return even though he was so passionate about Lenora was,

“I…don’t have good control over my temper…and when I saw that man….I just felt…so hurt…so devastated that I barely held myself from smashing the glass on his head.”

Lenora’s eyes widened, “You know he is the Prince of this nation, right?”

“It doesn’t matter to me….it’s just a part of me. And I knew you would be disgusted to find this side of me, that’s why I decided to-”

“I won’t…” suddenly Lenora spoke, interrupting the younger one, urging him to look up at her, before, shyly Lenora added,

“If you…don’t like it then I won’t go…on any date with anyone anymore….”

“…” God, he loves this woman.

*****

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Now drop a comment.