North x Northwest

Previous

‘Never done that? The rumours of him causing trouble in Sesbron spread over the sea all the way to the South, it’s ridiculous for Ed to innocently roll his eyes as if he was wronged. Has he really no idea that he has the personality to annoy even those who are minding their own business, or is he just pretending not to know? Of course, from the other party’s perspective, they’re unlucky either way.’

“Are you truly unaware that you’re the type to make enemies easily?”

“No way?”

“Really? One can tell just by observing your behaviour.”

“Me?!”

“…Well, I hated you from the beginning too…”

“…”

Ed obviously pretended not to hear Lil’s muttering and put something in her hand instead. This time, it was a skewer with a fruit she had never seen before, covered in yellow powder and stuck in a row. As Lil chewed its sickeningly sweet flesh she was convinced her mouth was melting from the sweetness added by the honey powder. Lil, who barely managed to swallow it, quickly handed the skewer back to Ed, who casually ate the remaining pieces of fruit.

“Don’t go too far with His Majesty. It will be troublesome if you die.”

“Are you worried about me?”

“Let me rephrase that, don’t forget our lifetime contract.”

No matter how much Lil looked at him, Ed, who placed his palm on his heart to show her how moved he was, looked extremely composed.

‘Does he truly not see the danger in any of those problems? Even though we’re walking side by side now, at times I still don’t know what’s going on in his head and it’s still awkward to ask about the details of the territory because it’s such a personal matter.’

“Liloa, I’m touched.”

“…What do you mean touched?”

Ed’s face fell right in front of her nose and his fingers lifted the brim of her hat. Lil glared at him as he was looking at her.

“Because you’re worried that I might die.”

“That kind of worry can also be expressed to a random passerby on the street.”

Lil slapped his hand that was gently stroking her cheek away.

The look she gave him, warned him to forget whatever he may be planning on a busy street when it was still bright outside, but Ed, who had already come under the brim of her hat, lightly kissed her lips. The taste of the honey-covered fruit entered her mouth again, making Lil shiver in horror.

“Hey!”

Ed, who had been pushed away by Lil, laughed heartily at her reaction. Lil reflexively swung her arms, but if easily dodging her attacks wasn’t enough, Ed lightly caught her fist mid-air and pressed his lips against the back of her hand.

Lil glared at him even more as she cried out.

“Do you want to die!”

“Ack!”

“Come back here!”

Lil ran along the harbour to chase Ed, who began to sprint away from her. It immediately occurred to her that this was exactly what he wanted, but she was so annoyed that she couldn’t brush it off. contemporary romance

The sight of a man being chased by a woman wasn’t very common, so naturally people looked their way. Fortunately, because it was the eve of a major festival, there was so much to see on the streets besides them; a talking parrot, monkeys performing acrobatic tricks, a minstrel singing poetry, and a band playing exotic music that drew cheers from the crowd. So, it wasn’t long before no one showed interest in them anymore.

Ed made his way to an area where there were fewer people and soon enough, he had left the dock and boarded a sailboat. He stepped on the short crossing and disappeared beyond its small hull. Lil also leapt onto the purely white boat quickly.

Ed was waiting for Lil from the deck of the sailboat. Upon reaching him, Lil immediately pushed his shoulder with her whole body weight.

“I told you not to do that!”

“Ack!”

Tumbling backwards while holding on to Lil, Ed fell onto the carpet on the sailboat’s deck. Lil, who fell on top of him, slapped his shoulder and forearm.

“We were outside! That kind of thing! I told you not to do it! I told you!”

“…”

Instead of feeling the slightest bit of pain, Ed simply laughed. His laughter was so lively that even Lil’s body, lying on his chest, was shaking.

‘Obviously… Ed is enjoying every second of it.’

At that moment, Lil began to ponder if she had already found it interesting to play along with his rhythm.

‘Nonsense. There’s no way I’m that childish. My preferences are completely different from Ed’s childish sensibilities.’

Lil shook her head and raised her upper body.

“I won’t stay with you. Let’s enjoy the festival separately.”

Just when Lil was about to get up, Ed wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down. Lil fell back with him, and they once more landed on the wool carpet, both still panting as a result of their running.

Between breathing heavily and smiling brightly, Ed’s mouth appeared to be very busy.

“But you can enjoy the festival from here, too…”

“…”

Ed gathered Lil’s flowing hair and tucked it behind her ear. Lil frowned, but Ed imitated her expression before raising his eyebrows to make her laugh. Although Lil tried to keep herself from laughing by wrinkling her face, she couldn’t overcome it and before she knew it, she was laughing too.

‘It’s not funny at all, but I can’t help but laugh… And strangely, I don’t hate it…’

Ed, who noticed that Lil had finally loosened up, drew his face closer to hers and spoke in a whisper even though the surroundings were already quiet.

“…There’s no one else around.”

Lil suddenly raised her head and looked left and right. True enough, the harbour was quiet. There were only screeching seagulls wandering around the nearby piles. The rest of the crowds and merchant ships participating in the festivities were bustling on the main dock opposite from them.

She also noticed that their sailboat was actually drifting towards the sea. Lowering her eyes, she found that the sailboat’s rigging came loose from the dock pilings. She couldn’t tell when they were released, but nonetheless, she and Ed were steadily moving away from people’s eyes.

Ed took his hat off and slowly sneaked his upper body closer to hers. His tongue suddenly licking her ear made her feel drowsy. Annoyed by his intention to catch her off guard, she raised her head and bit his earlobe in return. Nipping it for a while, his muscular shoulders eventually started to tremble and a moan escaped his lips. Lil felt satisfied and she pushed his body back down again. After all, the sight of the man lying carelessly with his hair tousled caught her fancy. With the blazing sun causing his face to frown, Ed lowered his gaze, but when their eyes caught one another again, Lil’s heat rose for no reason. However, she wasn’t the only one getting excited. She felt something hard rising from his body as she was sitting on top of him. Lil knew it would be dangerous for them to continue like this, so she went on to grab his cheeks, pressing his lips together.

“Who naughtily ran away after stealing a kiss from my lips in broad daylight*?”

Ed playfully rolled his eyes and answered cheekily.

“…Me?”

“Yes, you. You’re so cocky.”

Lil bit his bulging lower lip.

The only soft parts on Ed’s body were his earlobes and lips, so Lil naturally became obsessed with them. While she pressed their lips together and sucked slowly, Ed took her hand, which was still holding his cheek, and lowered it. After he intertwined their fingers for a short moment, his hands moved towards her waist.

His fingertips hadn’t even touched Lil yet when she already flinched and trembled.

Ed, whose lips had been bitten, spoke in a low voice.

“Why?”

Lil replied, twisting her waist a little.

“I thought it would tickle.”

“No way.”

“…”

Ed started laughing right in front of her.

“I didn’t mean to tickle you like this.”

“..!”

As he spoke, he grabbed her waist with both hands. Lil was startled and struggled, but when Ed started to tickle her more persistently, she tried to escape by rolling onto her side.

“…Does it tickle that much?”

“Aaaahhh!”

Lil, who was stamping her feet and screaming, eventually grabbed his shoulder with one hand and threw a punch.

“Yikes!”

Ed narrowly avoided her fist by turning his head. But as a result, Lil could take advantage of the loosening hand gestures and attempted a counterattack. She moved her wiggling fingers up and down his side, but Ed remained motionless in his half-lying position.

“It’s a shame. I can tolerate your tickles…”

“Oh yeah?”

“..?”

The calm expression on his face signalled a challenge. Raising an eyebrow, Lil lowered her hand to his pants and asked coldly.

“Then how about here?”

Footnote:

Broad daylight: maybe some of you were as confused as we were about the sun still shining when it was said they would go out at night. It’s safe to say that they went to the festival before dinner time (let’s say 5pm) and that it’s a sunny summer night, meaning it will remain bright outside for quite a while. 🙂

done.co