Theron vs Logan (2)

If Logan Pembroke’s face had crumpled a little more like a piece of paper, it would have been great, but he seemed to have a great deal of patience, having been Selene’s friend for a long time.
“Being cautious? Well, we’ll see the result of that.”
Logan said listlessly and took a sip of his tea.
Theron smiled crookedly to himself.
‘His throat must be dry.’
‘If he had his way, he would probably want to drink all the water from the ducal estate’s fountain.’
As Theron was staring at Logan, their eyes suddenly met.
Tsk.
Logan raised his lips crookedly as if to say, “Don’t be relieved just because you’ve won here.”
At the same time, he fiddled with Selene’s hand that was on the table.
‘…Fiddling?’
The anger in Theron’s chest began to boil again.
“Selene, you’re still wearing those stuffy gloves even in this summer.”
“I’m used to it.”
Yes, Selene certainly looked used to it.
Not used to wearing gloves, but to Logan Pembroke’s skinship.
Selene, who disliked most men, was surprisingly unguarded with Logan Pembroke.
As if he were the air around her, she didn’t even seem to be aware that he was fiddling with her gloves.
“Are you still wearing the one I gifted you before?”
Besides, as if I were not even in the same space, Logan Pembroke was continuing a conversation only with Selene.
“I wear them in turns. Yours must be somewhere in between.”
“Oh, your hair is messy.”
Logan, not minding Selene’s indifferent reply, stood up from his seat and reached for her hair.
It was then that Theron’s patience snapped.
‘I can’t stand to see that black-hearted bastard gently stroking Selene’s hair.’
Theron stood up from his seat and snatched Logan’s hand.
Thump.
Logan raised an eyebrow and looked at Theron.
Theron barely relaxed his hardened jaw and said, “I’ll fix Selene’s hair. There’s no need for you to go to the trouble, Mr. Pembroke.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I’ve been taking care of Selene since we were young.”
“That was when you were young. Even if you’re friends, you could cause a misunderstanding if you’re too close as grown adults.”
“…”
“Especially for a high noble like you, Mr. Pembroke, isn’t dignity important?”
‘The high noble who talked about etiquette probably didn’t know that dignity would be his downfall in such a trivial matter.’
“Yes, Logan. Grandmother used to say that even if you’re close, you should keep your distance if you’re not going to get married.”
On top of that, Selene, who didn’t notice the subtle flow of the conversation at all, was really talking about the dignity of a noble.
Luckily, Selene seemed to have taken his side.
“…Yes, we’re not children anymore.”
Logan finally sat down without being able to fix Selene’s hair.
Theron fixed her messy hair with all his sincerity instead.
However, it seemed that high nobles of the grand ducal family’s level never learned the word ‘give up’ in the first place.
Logan Pembroke was that persistent.
Who would have known.
That he could be so persistent with that elegant behavior and noble face.
“We’re not children anymore, but I’ll probably never forget it for the rest of my life, Selene.”
As Selene gave him a look and reacted, Logan continued in a calm voice.
“Don’t you remember? Because you fell in that garden…”
Logan began his childhood series in earnest.
‘Because she fell, he had to carry her on his back and cross the garden, and so on. He had to give her candy to finally soothe her, and so on.’
But that was just the beginning.
“Is this teacup from Victoria Crest? Although it’s old-fashioned, there’s no place that makes cups as exquisitely as here…”
From stories of the noble world that Theron did not know.
“We used to study together in your bedroom and fall asleep there. Your bed probably smells of me because I slept there so often.”
To Logan Pembroke’s childhood friend series.
Among them, the most annoying was this childhood friend series.
Although they were episodes that would make others misunderstand their relationship, Selene herself did not feel anything strange.
It could be called a kind of brainwashing.
The persistent brainwashing of that persistent man.
However, it seemed that it would be too much to interfere with every little thing, so Theron had been chewing on an innocent lemon peel for several minutes.
For reference, the lemon had already been in his black tea, as Selene had instructed.
It seemed sugar had also been added, as it tasted sweet.
‘Why did they put lemon and sugar in black tea?’
Theron glared at Logan and Selene, who were in their own world, with him sitting in front of them like a scarecrow.
Selene was actually answering Logan’s words minimally, but he, who was surprisingly thick-skinned, did not seem to care at all.
But crisis is also an opportunity.
Theron, who had been silently listening to their conversation, thought that he might be able to put a complete shackle on him with that show-off of Logan’s.
‘Yes…’
‘Why didn’t I think of that sooner?’
Theron, who had swallowed the tattered lemon peel in his mouth, straightened his back.
“Watching you, it seems you care for Selene very much, Mr. Pembroke.”
As Theron, who had been quiet, stepped up, Logan, while looking somewhat wary, raised the corners of his mouth leisurely.
“Because we’ve spent so many years together.”
“Honestly, when I heard about you from Selene, Mr. Pembroke, I suspected that you might have a one-sided love for Selene.”
As he hit the mark, Logan’s smile slowly faded.
“But now that I see you, I’m relieved that you just look like you’re cherishing a friend. I’m also sorry for the unnecessary misunderstanding.”
“Yes, Theron. You finally admit it. Logan has no feelings for me.”
Admirably, Selene chimed in on her own.
Selene probably had no idea and was just thinking it was a relief that his misunderstanding had been cleared up.
“Yes. I’m sorry. I’m a conservative, so I was stuck in the old-fashioned notion that a clean friendship cannot exist between grown adults. Now that I see it, I know you’re really ‘friends’.”
“…”
“Since it has come to this, may I call you Logan? Since you’ve taken care of Selene like an ‘older brother’ since she was young, you’re no different from an older brother to me.”
‘Although he had no intention of treating him as an older brother.’
‘He would never bow his head to that bastard, even if he died.’
“…Do as you please. A title is not important, whatever it may be.”
“Yes, then I’ll call you Logan from now on.”
Theron replied brazenly.
‘He didn’t want to call him by his first name either, but since they wouldn’t be seeing each other after today, it didn’t matter what he called him for now.’
Theron, who had regained his peace of mind, lifted his teacup.
It seemed he could finally enjoy the fresh scent of the lemon inside.
Theron, who had taken a sip of his black tea, prepared to deliver the final blow.
“Ah, just in case, I hope you’re not offended that I suspected your feelings, Logan. In fact, there was someone around me who had been hiding their feelings of love for decades while pretending to be a friend, and had recently confessed.”
In fact, there was no such person around Theron, but he believed that there would be a similar case somewhere.
Selene, who was admirable in many ways today, showed interest.
“So what happened?”
“Of course, he got brutally rejected. The woman seemed to be very shocked. It’s understandable. How surprised would she be to find out that he had been hiding his lewd feelings while pretending to be a friend? To deceive someone you like for so long is no different from being a scoundrel.”
“…”
Logan said nothing.
But every single word right now must have been piercing his chest mercilessly.
Theron had no intention of stopping there.
He was determined to show Logan Pembroke who the perfect victor of today was.
Theron asked with a sweet smile.
“Selene, what do you think?”
Selene’s pretty brow furrowed slightly.
“…I don’t really want to imagine it.”
Her answer was short and clear.
But it was also the most perfect answer.
Theron felt like he wanted to stroke Selene’s hair.
‘Ah, of course, I have to confirm the kill.’
“Do you have a different opinion, Logan?”
Logan coughed, as if he hadn’t imagined he would be so cruel.
Logan, whose expression was clearly composed with effort, averted his gaze and let out his voice.
“Not really…”
The corner of Theron’s mouth rose crookedly.
‘Yes, that’s all he could probably say.’
Theron, who had given Logan Pembroke a big blow, foresaw that he would be able to stretch out his legs and sleep soundly for the first time in a long time today.