Chapter 314: Sweet Moment [2]

"Noah."

A cold voice broke Noah’s focus from a gentle moment. He immediately stopped stroking Ophelia’s head and turned toward the source of the voice.

Ophelia also followed his gaze, toward the familiar voice.

Akari stood a few steps away with her arms crossed beneath her chest. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out, making her look unexpectedly adorable.

But her eyes were cold, very cold.

Noah immediately sensed danger.

"Akari... did something happen?" he asked cautiously. "Ophelia just apologized, so why are you angry?"

The moment he asked that, Akari’s expression became even colder. It was as though his question had somehow made her even more irritated.

Noah’s body stiffened.

’This is new.’

He had seen Akari angry before. It wasn’t exactly unfamiliar to him. Usually, however, she became angry whenever he acted recklessly or refused to listen to her during training.

But this time? Everything had gone smoothly.

Ophelia had apologized.

Noah had forgiven her.

There shouldn’t have been anything left to be angry about. So why was Akari looking at him like that?

Ophelia, meanwhile, looked between her mother and Noah. Then back at her mother. Then at Noah. And suddenly something clicked in her mind. As if she understood what was going on.

Her eyes widened.

"D-Dad..."

Noah frowned.

Ophelia sighed internally.

’Why is he acting so dense? Isn’t he good at reading people?’

She quickly decided that staying here any longer was probably dangerous.

"Well, I think I’ll take my leave for now," she said hurriedly. "We can talk later. For now, you should probably figure out why Mother is angry."

"Huh?"

Noah looked confused.

"There’s no need to call me Dad..."

He paused. "Not yet, at least. Also don’t tell anyone about this."

Ophelia stared at him for a moment. Then she nodded.

"Okay, Noah. See you two later."

With that, she quickly turned on her heels and hurried out of the room. The door closed behind her. She never looked back, not even once.

Silence descended.

Noah slowly turned around.

Akari was still standing there. Her arms remained crossed, while one of her feet tapped repeatedly against the floor.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She looked like someone patiently waiting for an explanation.

Noah swallowed. He had no idea what explanation this woman was expecting from him.

"Wh-what is it, Akari?"

Akari narrowed her eyes.

"Hmph."

Noah became even more nervous.

Finally, she spoke. "You told her not to call you Dad."

"Yes...?"

"That means..." Akari’s cheeks puffed up again. "Are you still interested in my daughter?"

Noah’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

"You still want her, don’t you? You want to marry her." She looked away slightly, her expression filled with irritation. "I mean... you were acting so close to her just now."

Noah stared at her in disbelief. "No, no! Absolutely not!"

He immediately shook his head. "Why would you even think that? I was just being nice to her!"

"Hmph."

Akari turned her head away. "You weren’t."

"What?"

"You looked like a man trying his best to seduce a woman."

"Hey! I wasn’t!" Noah protested immediately.

Akari ignored him and continued looking away.

Noah stared at her.

She wasn’t looking at him. Her cheeks were puffed out. Her arms were crossed. Her foot was tapping impatiently against the floor.

And suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

’Wait...’

A smile slowly spread across his face.

’Could she be jealous?’

It was probably the last thing he would have expected from Akari.

But when he thought about her behavior... It actually made perfect sense.

Noah’s smile widened. He walked toward her.

Akari noticed his approaching footsteps and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

Noah continued walking closer, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.

"So..."

He stopped in front of her.

"My Akari..."

Akari’s eyebrow twitched. She already guess, that Noah was going to something weird.

"...is jealous?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Akari’s composure shattered. Her arms immediately uncrossed as she took a step backward.

"I-I wasn’t jealous!"

She glared at him.

"And why would I be jealous?!"

Noah didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly rushed forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her.

"Ahh!"

Akari gasped in surprise. She could have easily avoided him. In fact, avoiding his embrace would have been effortless.

But after spending so many months with Noah, she had grown accustomed to his hugs. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped instinctively avoiding them.

And this time was no different. She simply allowed him to hold her.

Noah gently rubbed his cheek against hers. "I’m sorry," he whispered. "I didn’t mean to make you jealous. I swear."

"S-shut up!"

Akari’s voice was muffled against him.

"And I’m not jealous!"

Noah chuckled. He could feel her warmth against his body.

Akari was slightly taller than him by a few centimeters, despite Noah already standing over six feet tall.

It didn’t bother him in the slightest.

’I’ll surpass her height eventually.’

He was confident that with time, he would grow even taller as he rank up.

Akari remained pouting for a while, but her expression gradually softened. The irritation slowly disappeared from her face, replaced by a faint blush.

Then, almost unconsciously, her arms moved around him. She gently wrapped them around his body and held him.

Noah smiled. Then he leaned closer and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

Akari’s body stiffened slightly. Her heartbeat quickened. And Noah’s heart wasn’t doing any better.

"Hehe~"

Akari’s lips curved into a small smile.

"That’s enough, Noah. I’m not angry anymore..."

But Noah didn’t release her. Instead, he continued holding her tightly.

"Okay."

He smiled contentedly.

"But let me stay like this for a little longer. I’m happy today."

Akari blinked.

"Happy?"

"Yeah."

Noah’s smile became warmer.

"After all, Ophelia finally apologized to me."

Akari was silent for a moment. Then she softly nodded.

"Hmm... okay."

She didn’t push him away. Instead, she simply remained in his arms, quietly holding him back.

Then suddenly she frowned at a thought resurface her. "But Noah..."

"Hmm?" Noah kept enjoying her hug.

"We... we didn’t clarify to Ophelia that this all was act, to teach her lesson."

Noah’s lips twitched. Then he hug her tightly. "Let her keep believing that for a little while longer."