CHAPTER 55: WHY IS HE CAUTIOUS?

I was getting nervous, chewing on my thumb, and shaking my legs. Was this really a good idea? Damar knew this forest like his backyard, so he surely knew where to hunt for the most squirrels. Fenric is at a loss.

He might be confident but that might not be enough to beat Damar.

However, if we don’t do this, I can’t think of another method to increase Damar’s favorability towards Fenric.

I want my men to get along, dammit.

I don’t look down on either of them and both are strong in my eyes, but for them to get along, Damar has to acknowledge that Fenric is capable.

Should I just go ahead and use that cliche plot of the male lead saving the female lead?

If Damar sees that Fenric saved me, wouldn’t his favorability increase?

But I shook my head.

That ploy can stab two ways. One, Damar will see himself as incompetent and will start trying to make up for his inability to save me when I was in danger. And two... Well, it’s similar to the first. He’ll start feeling insecure and unsure about himself.

I can’t have that happening.

Is the squirrel hunt the only way?

"It’s fine, Arinya," Fenric said and I raised my head to find him stretching, like he was getting ready for a race. "I’ll do my best to win."

"You..." I paused and then sighed. "Don’t get hurt, play?" I said and he gushed at my show of concern.

Then, I turned to Damar who had been staring at me. But as soon as he noticed me turning my head, he turned his gaze to the bushes, as if there was a rare antique buried there.

But he can’t fool me.

I already knew he was watching.

"Damar," I called and he turned his head, looking clueless. Gosh, he can pass off as an A-list actor with those skills.

"Yes, Ari?"

"Don’t overdo it, okay?" I said and beckoned him closer.

His tail slid through the grass and soil and then his body stopped in front of me.

His tail must have great strength for it to carry his body so effortlessly and so quickly too.

"If you get hurt, I’ll be sad." I worry. A lot.

Damar heard this and slightly lowered his head, but his eyes stayed on me.

"Don’t worry, Ari. I won’t get hurt." He said, his gaze softening. "I won’t get hurt."

He looked happy. Secretly happy because he did not dare beam a smile as Fenric would do, or show his teeth.

He simply had a little curve at the corner of his lips.

Why is he cautious?

Does he worry that I’ll get scared if he smiles at me? If he shows his teeth? His fang?

Speaking of smiles, I’m pretty sure I saw him smiling at me last night. It was a smile that... The image of a panting and aroused Damar flashed through my mind, accompanied by the smile that seemed to suck up my insides with excitement... And then my face flushed.

Ah, he did smile. He definitely did.

I rubbed my reddened cheeks and then peeked at him.

He was simply staring at me. He must think I’m weird, suddenly blushing like this.

But then he got closer, his face pressed to the side of my face, as if he was trying to sniff me again.

I get that he likes my scent, but—

"Ari," he called in whispers and something about how he called my name made my insides tingle. "...did you just have dirty and lewd thoughts?" He asked and my eyes widened.

I was taken aback, shocked that he had guessed exactly what I was thinking just from seeing my reaction, and nearly fell backwards.

But he grabbed my hand, keeping me steady while my heart raced.

Damar stared at me with those knowing eyes and a smile I could barely see, but it was definitely there.

"What’s wrong, Ari? Did I startle you?"

Damar, he... He was such a flirt.

How can he act like he didn’t do anything after whispering like that in my ear? It... I flushed, the sound of my heart beating directly into my ear.

This was unfair.

"Am I missing something?" Fenric asked, looking at our positions.

"Well," I said and then looked back at Damar.

He pulled me and I landed in his arms.

"Nothing," Damar said. "She almost fell."

"Really?" Fenric got closer. "Well then, it’s a good thing you caught her."

"Yes, ’I’ was here to catch her." He said and I could feel the venom in his tone.

He was making this a competition again.

"Well then, I’ll say it’s a good thing," Fenric said, but I could see the bulging muscle at the corner of his face.

He knew Damar was provoking him. And while he wanted to act like it didn’t matter since I was safe in the end, he couldn’t help but feel provoked with how the snake was looking at him... Like he was some insignificant ant on the roadside.

"Hah," he let out a sigh, dropping his hand on his face and then raising it. "Shall we start the competition?" He asked. "Let’s not keep long, since Arinya is hungry."

"We should," Damar said, placing me down and I glanced between the two. "Will you give the signal for the start, Ari?"

"Uh, sure." If not me to be the referee then who?

I stood between them but instead of acting like the referee, I reached for both their hands and then pressed them to my chest.

They were taken aback by this sudden action and even blushed, thinking I wanted them to feel my breasts, but that wasn’t it at all.

"I’ll wish you both luck, and that you do not come across anything dangerous," I said with my eyes closed. And then I opened them. "This might be a competition, but my aim is to help you two get along. So, please don’t hurt each other."

My expression was soft and pained. Just thinking about how they might ambush each other troubles me a lot.

"Don’t worry, Arinya," Fenric said, smiling with his full teeth on display again. "I’ll never do anything to upset you."

That’s a relief.

And then I turned to Damar, waiting for his own promise but he looked at me and silently rolled his eyes away.

He couldn’t bring himself to make a promise he felt he might break.

It seemed dangerous to me, but then he turned, changing the expression on his face to something softer,

"I... I will also not do anything to hurt Ari. If that means I have to put up with that cub, then I will follow through."