Only now did Merlin get a proper look at the other person.
Indeed, the man had green hair though not a striking green, but rather a grayish-green and a pair of red eyes that carried a somewhat sinister quality.
Combined, these features looked a bit odd; both grayish-green hair and red eyes were rare traits.
However, it was also possible that the man had used some magical potion to alter his appearance, doing so to conceal his true features.
Such potions weren’t expensive either.
But choosing to go with that look, it seemed a bit unconventional, to say the least. Merlin thought to himself.
That said, aside from that, the man’s face was indeed more striking than most others’. Paired with the grayish-green hair and red eyes, he didn’t give off the rough, thuggish vibe an ordinary person might. Instead, he had the look of an actor from one of those magical projections.
Still, the combination of those two colors lent him an air of wickedness he clearly didn’t seem like a good person at first glance.
And indeed, he wasn’t a good person he was a swindler.
But thinking of his sister’s safety, Merlin put on a slightly shy smile. “Hello.”
After pushing open the bathroom door, Ange tiptoed and dashed forward, swiveling his head to quickly scan his surroundings only to be startled by Merlin’s sudden voice, freezing stiff on the spot.
Wait, how was that handsome guy awake?!
“Damn it!! What do I do now?! This is so awkward, why is he awake? Should I just knock him out and make a run for it?!”
Hearing those words in his mind, Merlin’s mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. He was practically itching to knock the other man out himself and here the guy was, thinking of doing the same to him. Ha.
Ange looked at the handsome man, who had already dressed himself neatly, then glanced down at his own towel-wrapped body. Forcing down the embarrassment, he stiffly pulled out a strained smile. “Haha, hello. What happened yesterday was really just an accident sorry about that.”
“Besides, you didn’t refuse either, handsome. We were in it together, mutual benefit, just a one-night thing let’s leave it at that and never have any further contact!”
Was this voice the man’s true thoughts, or was he deliberately saying it for Merlin to hear?
Merlin studied Ange’s expression but saw no sign that the man knew Merlin could hear his inner voice.
Was his acting just that good?
He didn’t want any connection with him, yet he knew detailed information about his sister?
And what was this “in it together” nonsense? His own body had malfunctioned yesterday too all because he’d been attacked by some unknown mushroom in the forest. Otherwise, he never would have ended up in this mess!
The other man must have been lying in wait for him, how else could it be such a coincidence?
Merlin ground his teeth inwardly, seething, but kept that shy smile on his face. “I, I’m William Amber. Yesterday actually, I fell in love with you at first sight, so…”
Ange watched as Merlin’s entire face flushed red, and his own scalp nearly exploded.
“Amber?! How is he the same surname as me? And William is way too common a name I already know five of them, and now this is the sixth! No wait, love at first sight is way too ridiculous!!”
Merlin’s expression stiffened. Fortunately, he was looking down, so Ang could definitely not see his current expression.
What a coincidence the fake surname he’d made up on the spot actually collided with the other person’s. The other man was also surnamed Amber!
“Should I give a fake name? But judging by the other person’s attire, he seems to be a mage too, since he did use some small magical tricks last night.”
Thinking about those little magical tricks that had been played on him, Ang’s face flushed red. Ahhh, he couldn’t think about all that messy stuff!
Merlin gritted his teeth inwardly. Yesterday he had definitely been addled by those spores from that mushroom thing, or else why would he have used those methods!! It wasn’t his fault he was a smart person who knew how to apply magic flexibly!!
“If we’re both mages, then we’d both be registered with the Mage Association. If we ever accidentally run into each other and they find out I used a fake name with my very distinctive hair and eyes, I’d be really easy to recognize. Wouldn’t that be too awkward?”
What’s so awkward about that? How many people are in this whole kingdom?
Heh, he wasn’t afraid of awkwardness, and besides, the person in front of him was a liar, why would they be afraid of awkwardness?
“And with my talent, I’m definitely going to become a famous mage in the future. If it gets discovered at that point that I used a fake name before, it would be like leaving a stain on my life. I absolutely have to be an idol without any stains!”
What idol without stains? What even is an idol? You’ve already done something deceitful, how could you possibly have no stains? When the other person became a famous mage, Merlin would definitely be the first to go to the newspapers and expose them, ruining their reputation completely!
Even though he was grinding his teeth with rage inside, Merlin still put on a shy expression as he looked at Ang: “I want to formally pursue you now. What happened yesterday was completely an accident. I won’t use that to blackmail you. I want to formally pursue you now!”
Merlin tried his best to widen his eyes. He knew his blue eyes were as clear as a cloudless sky. Many people had said his eyes were beautiful often, just staring blankly at one spot with no expression would be mistaken for deep affection.
After rejecting countless self-important confessors, Merlin had developed a habit of never staring at one place for more than five seconds. But now, Merlin broke that habit.
Ang only felt as if he were being stared at by an enthusiastic puppy. The other man’s clear, transparent blue eyes so pure they were intoxicating were filled to the brim with deep affection for him, making Ang feel his heartbeat suddenly quicken in that moment.
“He’s really handsome, really like a poor little puppy that wants to be petted! But, but isn’t starting a relationship from a one-night stand too cheap?”
Merlin: …Is there something wrong with his approach? It looks like Ang is about to reject him.
Wait, this guy can actually resist his eyes?
It seemed that not everyone could be swept off their feet by beauty though this one was a swindler. Indeed, swindlers had stronger willpower than ordinary people; otherwise, how could they bear to deceive those kind-hearted souls!
“Sorry, but I don’t have any intention of dating right now.” Angel couldn’t help but tighten the only piece of clothing he was wearing the bath towel from the washroom. The other man, fully dressed, was confessing his feelings to him with such passion, while he himself stood there in nothing but a towel. The sheer awkwardness of it made him want to shrivel up, his hairs practically standing on end.
Hearing Angel’s reply, Merlin shot up from his chair, his face twisting into an expression of panic and regret as he strode over to stand before Angel in a few quick steps.
Hmph, he was half a head taller than this swindler. As expected, all swindlers were short!
Though inwardly gloating, Merlin kept that same expression on his face: “But I truly like you. I want to be with you. You can’t just walk out of my life without letting me do anything. At least let me pursue you first, and then you can decide if we’re a good fit, alright?”
Watching Merlin look up at him with a pleading gaze, Angel felt a slight sense of pressure even though the other man was completely in a submissive posture, why did he have to be so tall!
“Why can’t I be this tall!”
Heh, you’re so short because you’ve swindled too many people!
Angel instinctively took a step back. He wasn’t used to being this close to people, especially since they had rolled around in bed together just last night. It made Angel feel uncomfortable all over especially given that he had just come out of the washroom wearing nothing but a bath towel!
“At this rate, I feel like I’m about to stumble into some X-rated territory. I don’t want this to turn into a restricted-rated scene!”
Merlin sneered inwardly, grinding his teeth. What restricted-rated scene? He wouldn’t even touch him! How could he possibly have any intimate contact with this person while sober? This was a swindler, someone who threatened his sister’s safety!
If it weren’t for trying to pry out the source of the other man’s intelligence and catch the dangerous figure hiding beside his sister, Merlin wouldn’t have uttered even a single one of these disgusting words!
But neither of them expected that Angel’s step backward would cause a problem.
Because of what had happened last night, the clothes had been tossed onto the floor. Angel, in his rush to get to the washroom, hadn’t paid any attention to the things on the ground, while Merlin had no desire to touch Angel’s discarded clothes and had only gathered up his own, cleaning them and putting them on.
The explosive event of “love at first sight” had focused both their attention entirely on each other, so neither had noticed the clothes on the floor among them, Angel’s staff.
And behind Angel, who had just walked out of the washroom, lay the staff that had fallen to the ground along with the clothes. As he stepped back, he landed squarely on the irregularly shaped staff.
Then, naturally, Angel’s foot slipped, and his whole body pitched forward, falling.
Merlin’s reflexes were lightning fast. Seeing Angel about to hit the ground, he couldn’t help but burst into gleeful laughter inwardly. Watching a swindler fall always brought him immense satisfaction.
But right now, he was still playing the devoted lover, so Merlin deliberately reached out a beat too slow, pretending to grab the other person just enough to make it look like he was worried without actually catching him.
What Merlin hadn’t expected, though, was that Ange’s reaction speed was lightning-fast and his balance was superb. Just as he was about to fall, he managed to steady himself for a split second and grabbed Merlin’s hand!
The instant their skin touched, Merlin felt goosebumps prickling all over his body. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to fling the man to the ground!
But at the same time, Ange’s voice echoed in Merlin’s mind: “That scared me to death, I almost fell if I’d actually hit the ground, that would’ve been so embarrassing! Wait, what is this? What’s this thing popping into my head? What does it mean I can only survive if I make skin contact with him?”