Chapter 13
Shh
“You handle precious books rather carelessly.”
“W-What are you doing here…?”
The words stumbled out before Ariel could stop them. Embarrassment flushed her cheeks red, but more than that, she was shaken by the encounter itself.
She had come here seeking refuge from the endless gossip and noise surrounding her lately.
Yet of all people, she had run into the very man who had thrown her into the center of the storm.
“I had business here.”
“At the library?”
Ariel stared at him suspiciously. A busy businessman visiting a university library on a quiet weekend sounded impossible to believe.
Leonardo merely let out a quiet laugh, clearly amused by her expression. As expected, he showed no intention of elaborating.
Instead, his gaze lowered to the books scattered messily between them. Then, with leisurely grace, he bent one knee to the floor.
He picked up a fallen book, carefully smoothing the crumpled page before brushing dust from the cover with elegant, precise movements.
Ariel found herself staring blankly at him.
Only when he reached for a second book did she hurriedly crouch down as well.
“I’ll pick them up myself.”
“At least allow me to do this much for a lady.”
“Why are you acting like this toward me?”
Leonardo’s hand paused over the remaining books.
Then he slowly lifted his head, their eyes meeting.
“What exactly do you mean, my lady?”
Was he seriously asking that?
Countless accusations rose to the tip of her tongue, but Ariel swallowed them down. The first person to lose composure would lose the battle.
Taking a steadying breath, she forced herself to speak calmly.
“If someone sees us together, the gossip magazines will become even worse.”
High society was practically waiting for the moment the two of them crossed paths again. People enjoyed the sparks, the tension, the icy hostility between them.
And if word spread that the two of them had been alone together at a quiet university on a weekend—
Ariel did not even want to imagine the rumors.
“So you were worrying about something like that?”
His tone sounded as though he were discussing someone else’s problem entirely.
Ariel frowned.
It was not as if only her name was appearing in the papers lately, yet Leonardo remained absurdly calm about the entire affair.
Then again—
A man who appeared in newspapers almost daily probably considered this level of gossip insignificant.
Realizing that she was apparently the only one suffering from it, Ariel narrowed her eyes slightly. If his goal had been to torment the Rosenbergs, then he had succeeded brilliantly.
And yet, after turning her entire life upside down, Leonardo curved his eyes into a soft smile.
The words that followed made Ariel wonder if she had heard incorrectly.
“You still like Gurten literature, I see.”
“…!”
What… did he just say?
Her ears rang faintly as her green eyes trembled.
Leonardo picked up the final book, his long fingers slowly brushing across the cover.
“I suppose your tastes don’t change easily.”
“…”
“Do you still like the legend of the forget-me-not as well?”
“…I didn’t think you would remember.”
“I happen to have a good memory.”
Their gazes tangled deeply together.
For a fleeting moment, Ariel felt as though she had been dragged years into the past, standing once more before that grand piano.
Because the man before her was looking at her with the exact same smile.
The exact same eyes.
“Ahh… darling, no…”
A syrupy voice suddenly slipped between them.
For one rare instant, genuine surprise appeared on Leonardo’s face.
Ariel looked no different.
“You said no one was here.”
“You’re impossible.”
The intimate whispers drifted closer.
Ariel slowly turned toward the sound.
A couple was approaching.
And judging by their intentions, they clearly had no business being inside a respectable library.
Thunk.
The woman’s body hit the bookshelf.
Then obscene sounds filled the quiet air.
Ariel’s mouth fell open.
Good heavens.
What kind of shameless behavior was this in a sacred library of all places?
If the president of Pretons University witnessed this scene, he would probably clutch his chest in despair.
Separated from the couple by only a single bookshelf, Ariel’s mind went completely blank.
The moment Leonardo moved as though to stand, her body reacted before her thoughts could catch up.
“Shh.”
She raised a finger to her lips.
Leonardo met her eyes and frowned, as though silently asking why exactly he had to hide.
Ariel shook her head desperately.
A man who usually seemed willing to do anything just to make her uncomfortable surprisingly did not brush away her hand this time. Though visibly annoyed, he remained still.
Soft moans.
Uneven breathing.
The wet sounds of lips colliding.
In the suffocating silence of the library, every sound felt unbearably vivid.
Watching Ariel’s face grow redder by the second, Leonardo suddenly became aware of the heat rising slowly through his own body.
Was the library always this warm?
He had the sudden urge to loosen his tie, but the impulse vanished the moment his gaze drifted downward.
This woman—
She was far more embarrassed than he had realized.
Her flushed skin extended from her throat all the way to the faint curve of her chest.
Leonardo’s throat bobbed sharply.
He quickly forced his gaze back upward, only to find himself repeatedly drawn lower again as though by a magnet.
How long are we supposed to stay like this?
Swallowing down a strange, burning thirst, he silently watched the restless woman beside him.
Ariel could not properly meet his eyes. Instead, her gaze hovered awkwardly somewhere near his jaw.
And apparently even that was too embarrassing for her, because moments later she turned her head away completely.
For an instant, Leonardo felt an overwhelming urge to grab her chin and force her to look at him again.
But then he noticed the delicate line of her profile.
The vivid red of her ears.
And he decided to leave her alone.
They were… adorable.
The passionate lovers showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. At one point, the woman whined that “there” was off-limits.
Were they seriously planning to undress in the library?
At this point, hiding almost felt rude.
Leonardo lightly tapped the back of Ariel’s hand, which was still clutching his sleeve.
Startled, she immediately let go.
Using his eyes, he gestured toward the exit.
Let’s leave.
That was clearly what he meant.
Yet Ariel looked utterly horrified and shook her head again.
Well.
He supposed there was nothing to be done.
Leonardo had no idea why he was indulging this ridiculous situation so obediently, but somehow it felt natural to comply.
Carefully setting the books back down, he shifted into a more comfortable position. The rustle of fabric sounded softly in the air, though the couple outside seemed far too absorbed in each other to notice.
Then again, the noises they were making were considerably louder.
He even suggested that Ariel lean against the bookshelf and sit more comfortably, but she refused once again.
She looked like a statue frozen in place, fully determined not to move until the lovers disappeared.
Time passed strangely after that.
Too fast.
Too slow.
Impossible to tell.
Leonardo stared up at the high ceiling in detached resignation, then at the large windows occupying the far end of the library, before eventually letting his gaze settle once more on the woman crouched neatly beside him.
Judging by the sounds, at least the situation did not seem likely to escalate to actual undressing.
What exactly are we doing?
The absurdity of it should have irritated him.
Instead, Leonardo found the situation oddly pleasant.
A self-mocking laugh echoed quietly inside his mind.
The lovers finally disappeared when the clock tower rang twice in the afternoon.
“Haa…”
The moment the troublesome couple vanished, Ariel released the breath she had been holding and collapsed weakly onto the floor.
Leonardo immediately snorted in amusement.
“So you have a hobby of voyeurism. That’s rather shocking.”
“Are you insulting me right now?”
“Of course not. I was merely wondering whether I should protect your honor by keeping this secret.”
Watching her glare sharply at him, Leonardo let out another quiet laugh.
He had assumed she was merely a perfectly raised noble lady.
But she had grown into someone unexpectedly entertaining.
“Now explain something to me,” he said lazily. “Why exactly did we have to hide?”
“You really have to ask? I already told you—if people saw me with the Duke of Devonshire, rumors would spread again.”
“Could things possibly become worse than they already are?”
“Of course they could! The two of us alone together at the library on a weekend? That’s incredibly suspicious!”
Unable to contain her irritation any longer, Ariel jumped to her feet.
If she spent one more second with this infuriating man, she truly felt she might collapse from frustration.
She strode toward the exit furiously, only to suddenly feel wronged.
Why should I be the one leaving?
I haven’t even read a single book!
Thinking about how Leonardo had ruined her peaceful escape only made her angrier. The sound of his calm footsteps following behind her was enough to push her irritation even further.
“Stop following me. And why were you even here in the first place when you’re supposedly so busy?”
She spun around to demand an answer, but before he could reply, she turned back toward the entrance again.
Just as she reached for the door—
“You should leave about ten minutes after I—”
Clunk.
“…leave?”
Confusion spread across Ariel’s face.
The library door was locked.
