"If you want her so much, why don't you take her from me yourself?" Holy Priest Gideon challenged Ace with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"What did you say...?" Ace murmured.

"Teehee~☆"

Gideon gave a light, ringing giggle that, although was very bright, sounded oddly eerie.

Something in the back of my mind was telling me that he was planning something...

But, to be honest, I had no idea what he was trying to do.

It was as if though he was just like a child who only wanted to play with his "toys."

And by "toys," I mean everyone around him, including Ace and me.

"You're quite a doormat, my dear Ace. If you don't step up your game, someone might just steal away your precious Cordelia, you know," the Holy Priest sighed before clicking his tongue three times as if he was very disappointed in Ace.

Ace didn't say a single word as he stared at Gideon with a clearly upset look in his eyes.

"Oh, but it's okay if you don't do anything. Men like me would appreciate it very much. Right, Cordelia?" Gideon said before he turned to me and gave me a light squeeze around my waist.

Umm...

"...Huh? Uh...Why would men care...?" I asked.

"Eh?"

"I'm not very popular. The only people I ever talk to are the male leads—uh...I mean, my family, fiance, and friends," I explained with an awkward laugh.

"Is that so...?"

"Yes, I've never been approached by anyone before either...so I think you might have the wrong idea," I smiled politely as I lightly shook away his arms around my waist.

Then, once Gideon's arms were loose enough, I stepped away from him, gave an apologetic bow, and backed away as quickly as I could.

Hmm...

I wonder what gave Gideon the idea that there were hoards of men after me...?

As far as I was concerned, I never made contact with a single boy during my time at Greenwood Academy—except for the twins, Wolfe, Principal PomPom, Lady Clementine, and the teachers...all of whom never expressed a single ounce of interest in me.

"So...if you think that Ace would become jealous just because you have me in your arms, you would be wrong. Ace doesn't think of me that way. The two of us are just lifelong companions," I said with a tiny hint of sadness.

Suddenly, the entire room went completely silent but, since I was a little lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed.

I felt a small pang in my heart.

That's right...Ace and I were just lifelong companions...that's all...

Darn...

Why the heck was I becoming so hurt by the words that came from my own mouth...?

"......Pffft! I heard so many stories about the famed impenetrable fortress, Lady Cyllia, but I thought the rumors were over-exaggerated! I was wrong! They were all under-exaggerated!" Gideon suddenly burst out with laughter.

For some reason, he was laughing as if though he just discovered the funniest, most ironic thing in the world.

He even wheezed a little...!

When he finally calmed down, he rubbed away a few tears from his eyes and looked behind me with a smirk.

"Oh? It looks like someone isn't very happy..." he chuckled.

When I turned around, I was able to see Ace's figure.

It was as if his entire body had been frozen into place.

For a moment, I thought he had turned into a statue, but I was relieved when he finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Cordelia...Can you come here...?" Ace asked a little hesitantly as he opened his arms out a little.

His head was hanging a little low, so I couldn't really see his expression.

"What's wrong, Ace?" I asked as I walked over to him, doing as he asked.

And the moment I stepped into his reach, he gently looped his arms around me, just as Gideon had done before except, instead of hugging me from behind, we were facing each other.

I think I could hear Ace give a small painful sigh.

I wonder why he's acting like this all of a sudden...

"You were really mad earlier...Are you okay?" I asked as I gave him a few slow pats on the back.

"..."

"Ace?"

"...Mmm. Give me a few seconds to calm down," he murmured as he gave me a light squeeze, which caused my heart to skip a beat.

I finally noticed how close we were to one another and his scent was making my mind go a little dizzy.

He smelled really nice...

Like freshly cut grass on a summer day...

It was the smell of the warm sun.

"Are you okay now?" I hurriedly asked after a few moments had passed.

At this rate, my heart was going to explode...!

Because of the way we were standing, I couldn't see the look on his face either but, judging from the few snickers that I heard from Gideon behind me, I assumed it wasn't good.

"...Yes. I'm good now. Thank you, Cordelia," he said as he let go of me.

His expression had returned to a very gentle and sweet smile as if though nothing had happened.

I sighed in relief.

It looked like Ace was back to normal.

"Fu~ It looks like today's job done," Gideon smirked before giving a deep sigh of content.

"What job, your holiness, G-Gideon?" I asked, confused by what the Holy Priest was saying.

"Oh...it wasn't much, my dear Cordelia. I simply...wanted to spark a fire today, that's all," he said with a grin as if though he were thinking of an inside joke to himself.

"A fire...?! What? Where?!" I widened my eyes in horror.

Who in their right mind would light a fire inside of a house...?!

Was he insane...?!

As I was panicking, I didn't even notice Ace's face moving closer to mine.

"...Don't worry, Cordelia. There's no fire," Ace said with a deep whisper into my ear.

The unexpected, sudden feeling of his hot breath against my ear and nape was like lightning and it completely shocked me, causing me to inadvertently stumble away from him.

W-What was that?!

"Well then, since it is getting quite late, I will be returning to my room. Just like we planned, I will see you again tomorrow for our...sweet tea party, my dear Cordelia," Gideon smiled.

"O-Oh, yes. Please allow me the honor of escorting you back-"

"There's no need. I can walk just fine on my own two legs, you see," he interrupted me with a smile as he wriggled his toes a little.

As he looked down at his feet, he gave another humorous smile as if he was thinking about another inside joke.

I wonder...what in the world is going through this dude's head??

And with that, he left after closing the door behind him and I was left deeply confused at what had just happened.

The Holy Priest is like a storm—he comes and goes whenever and wherever he pleases.

"Ah...Sorry about that, Ace. I had no idea the Holy Priest would come to visit us..." I sighed the moment I was sure that Gideon was gone.

"..."

"Ace...?"

Since Ace wasn't responding at all, I was starting to worry that something was wrong with him.

"Helloooo...? Ace?" I called out as I stepped in front of him.

Standing on the very tips of my toes, I reached my hand out to check whether he had a fever or not.

And, the moment I touched his forehead I immediately flinched and backed away as if though my hand was scalded.

His head was so hot that it almost felt like his skin was burning.

"Ace!! You have a fever!! Why didn't you tell me?!" I asked loudly as I tried to drag him to the bed so that he could lay down and rest.

But he didn't even budge an inch.

"...Cordelia," he murmured in a very deep voice that, even though I didn't hear often, seemed to suit him very well.

"What is it, Ace?? Wait. No, let's talk about this later. Stay here. I'm going to go see if I can find a doctor for you real quick," I said quickly as I immediately turned away from him.

Before I could take even a single step away from him though, he reached his long, thin fingers and wrapped them around my wrist.

"Don't worry...I'm not sick," he said as he stopped me from running away.

"Huh?? Don't even try to lie to me!! You're burning up right now!" I shouted as I tried to pull myself away from his grip but, unfortunately, he absolutely refused to let me go.

"Don't go...please...?" he asked me with a somewhat pitiful voice.

At the sound of his pleading, I immediately stopped fighting back and stood still as if I had completely lost the ability to resist him.

Ah...

I must be stupid.

He's probably dying from fever right now but I'm not finding him help...all because he asked me not to leave him.

"I'm not sick. I promise..." Ace said as he bent down to my level.

With his finger, he gestured me to bring my ear closer to his lips so that he could tell me something.

"...What's wrong...?" I mumbled with a little irritation as I leaned my ear toward him.

"...Can I sleep with you tonight?" he whispered in a deep, husky voice that erupted shivers all over my body.

W-W-W-W-W-W-WHAAAAAT?!

I was so shocked that I stumbled to the ground in surprise.

Without even needing a mirror, I knew that my face was definitely a shade of very deep red.

"E-E-Excuse me....?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" I yelled as I cupped my hands to both sides of my face, trying to hide the horrible blush on my face.

"What's wrong, Cordelia...? Did I say something weird?" he asked me as he knelt down by my side.

It was hard to tell whether he knew exactly what he was saying or whether he was actually clueless.

"Ah...Um...Well...I think...that type of stuff...should be reserved for the person you like..." I stuttered as I scooted away from him a little.

"Do you not like me...?" he asked me as he stared directly into my eyes—as if he were trying to read my mind somehow.

"N-No...! It's not like I don't like you..." I mumbled.

"Oh...good. Because I like you too, Cordelia," Ace finally smiled as he pulled me into his chest and leaned his head onto my shoulder.

At this, my heart began to pound so fast and hard that I was left almost breathless.

S-Shoot...I almost thought that he was confessing to me for a moment.

"Cordelia..." he murmured into my ear.

His breath was so hot that it was scary.

"W-What is it...?!?!?" I squeaked in surprise.

"Please...I want to sleep with you tonight...Is that okay?" he asked me once more.

Was he being serious?!

No...

Maybe he was just being delirious from fever...

He was burning up after all.

"Y-You're sick right now, Ace! Let me go get you a doctor," I said quickly as I pulled myself away from him and stood up.

"No...Don't go. Please...I'm not sick," he said as he grabbed my hand.

"You're clearly not in the right state of mind right now, so don't even try to joke with me!" I exclaimed as I tried to escape his grasp to no avail.

If he keeps this up, I might get the wrong idea!!

"I'm really not sick, Cordelia. Please believe me...dragons don't get sick easily," he explained as he kept me tied to him.

"I don't believe you!"

"...Is it because you don't want to sleep with me...? Is that why...?"

"W-What-"

"Please...I'll get better if you're with me...A doctor won't be able to help me at all..." Ace murmured as an indescribable emotion flashed on his face.

"..."

"Please..." he asked once more but, this time, in a much deeper and husky tone.

I blushed, unable to resist him.

His voice was too hot...!

"F-F-Fine...just...go lay down first..." I mumbled.

It was impossible to hide the embarrassment I felt.

Ace...was acting strange.

Of course, he was as gentle as always but...for some reason, I still felt like something was off.

Was he still upset about something maybe?

"No, you have to lay down with me," he said seriously as a small pout appeared on his handsome face.

Aghhhhhhhhh!!!

I don't know how much more of this that my heart can take!!!

"Okay! Fine!" I shouted as I finally gave up.

Let's just do what he asks for now...

With my hand intertwined with his, I led him to my bed and he happily followed as if he were an innocent child following his mother.

But I knew...

This man wasn't innocent at all!!

There's no way that he wasn't doing this all on purpose, right??

With a little hesitation, I laid him down on the bed first before turning off the lights, walking to the other side of the bed, and laying down as well.

I sighed.

Ace gave a small, cute chuckle as he watched my reaction.

When I turned my head to him, I realized that his face was only an inch from mine.

W-Woah!!

He wrapped his hands around me gently, as if he were holding a fragile piece of glass, and smiled happily.

"W-What is it...??" I stuttered as I tried to figure out what his intentions were.

Don't tell me...

He wasn't actually planning on doing anything to me tonight...right?!

"I'm happy..." he murmured.

"W-Why?"

"We used to sleep with each other all the time when you were still young...I missed this feeling a lot..." he said with a very sweet smile.

Well...to be honest, I did too...but for some reason, it felt different now.

When we were children, I didn't really think about it too much but, now that we're older...I finally realized...

...isn't this a little naughty...?!

I blushed as I imagined all the times I fell asleep with Ace in my arms.

But no matter how I looked at it, Ace and I have been acting like this for years now...!

So why am I only thinking these things now...??

"R-Right..." I nodded my head.

"Good night, Cordelia," he whispered.

"Y-You too, Ace. Good night," I also said.

For some reason, although my heart was just pounding a million times per second, my body completely calmed the moment I heard him whisper to me good night.

It was as if his voice was a spell.

And I, who was completely bewitched by him, immediately grew drowsy.

I blinked a few times as I tried to focus on the blinding sight of Ace's fluttering, long eyelashes, and his lips, which smiled softly as I struggled to not fall asleep.

But, as time passed, I couldn't help but close my eyes and let sleep whisk me away.

What a weird day...

What if...all of this was just a dream...?

Yes...maybe this was all a dream...

One big, sweet dream...

"I'm not going to hold myself back anymore, okay? Prepare yourself, Cordelia..."

The feeling of a light kiss on my forehead was the last thing I felt before I completely fell asleep.

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A/N: That's all for today's chapter! Hahaha~ This entire chapter was honestly just Ace acting jealous, to be honest~ Well, only time will tell how their romance will develop!

Hmm...normally I have a lot of things to say every week when I update, but for some reason, this week, I don't have a lot to say! This week has honestly been very uneventful for me~

Although, I did get an 'A' on my AP World History unit exam today! Woohoo~ My worst subject has always been history, so I was a little surprised~ Hahaha~

Also, let me conduct a fun little poll!

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~Question: Do you think this entire chapter was a dream or not?~

A) Yes, duh! Love is impossible!

B) No, of course not! The ship will sail!

~Tell me what you guys think it'll be~

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Alright, thanks, again, to all of my readers/voters/commenters for always supporting me! You guys have always been so sweet~

Stay safe!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2517