Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 390

I was a pretty macho kind of person.

No one would believe it just by looking at my half-fairy appearance.

But I placed great importance on the things a man ought to do. Things like taking responsibility, or challenging oneself. Obligations, in other words.

To me, masculinity meant survival and a sense of duty.

It was the same when it came to marriage.

When a man and a woman formed a household and got married, the man’s role was to be the head of the family.

The idea that the man protected the wife and children, serving as a dependable fence for them—that kind of stereotype was embedded in my mind.

Maybe it was because I’d never had a household of my own that I ended up idealizing those things as the way things should be.

In that sense, a proposal—courtship—was like a man’s challenge, something grand and decisive.

Even if there were no fancy events or glamorous rings, the man saying to the woman, “Marry me,” with lifelong resolve—something like that. That’s why Ayra’s actions were quite shocking to me.

“This is the traditional courtship dance of House Tarantella.”

Ayra began to spin in circles around me.

Finally, every stocking that had been clinging to her legs slipped off.

Walking barefoot across the stone floor of the fortress, light and graceful, her white, dainty feet mesmerized onlookers. People began to gather around, curious.

━What the hell is that?

━No clue. I don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t get to see something like this every day.

Queen Ayra’s awkward dance moves.

They had a way of drawing eyes. The problem was, Ayra was stripping off her clothes one by one.

Now, all that remained on her body were her top and bottom layers—and presumably the undergarments beneath them. As the buttons of her blouse came undone one by one, I felt the blood rush to my head.

“Ayra-nim, people are watching...!”

“This dance doesn’t stop until you give me your permission.”

Ayra’s attitude was firm. But I couldn’t make sense of it.

We were already legally recognized as a married couple. Did she really need to dance like this to court me?

Still, I could tell one thing for sure. I had to stop her somehow. At this rate, she’d end up exposing all that white skin of hers in front of everyone.

Of course, if a captivating woman like her was my lover and wife, I’d want to boast about it anywhere. But there had to be limits.

“All right, Ayra-nim. Please, stop for now.”

I grabbed her shoulders and brought her to a halt. Her face, flushed deep red with sweat and emotion, looked up at me as she asked,

“So I can take that as your acceptance?”

“What’s there to accept—we’re already married.”

“That’s true. But this is a bit different. To be honest, I never intended for anyone to win the tournament. Even if someone did, I had no intention of continuing married life.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd at Ayra’s confession. I was just as shocked.

“Then... you’re saying you lied, Ayra-nim?”

“...Teo. I don’t know what kind of person you think I am, but I do lie.”

It seemed like her explanation was going to be a long one. But I didn’t know what other shocking truths she might reveal next, so I decided I had to defuse the situation first.

“Let’s get out of here.”

There were too many eyes on us here.

So I picked up all the clothing Ayra had scattered and draped around, then held onto her shoulder and fled with her into one of the fortress’s less populated corridors.

As we were escaping, Ayra spoke.

“Then I’ll just have to show you the rest of the dance later, when it’s just the two of us.”

“...Was that really a traditional dance?”

“Yes. They said it’s never failed once.”

Well, yeah. If you’re proposing with a dance like that, there’s no way it could fail. I didn’t know what the remaining moves were, but I found myself slightly looking forward to it.

We turned a corner and arrived in a quiet hallway. A gloomy corridor bathed in the eerie glow of sunset. In that yellow-red light, Ayra’s white thighs shimmered faintly.

Only then did I realize she was walking barefoot without even her shoes on.

“Let’s start by getting you dressed.”

I helped her put on the stockings that still held her body heat, and slipped her shoes back onto her feet. Ayra didn’t resist my touch—she let me do it silently.

A noble woman entrusting her body to me like this—it felt rather wonderful. It gave me this strange sense of responsibility, like I had to take good care of her and make her even more beautiful.

Then, once she was fully dressed again, Ayra said,

“They say a man dressing a woman is proof of love. Lust undresses, but love clothes you—something like that.”

“Is that an actual saying?”

It sounded rather plausible. I felt like I might’ve heard something like that somewhere before, too.

“But it’s not just that. I like dressing you, Ayra-nim—but I like undressing you just as much.”

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. I’d just blurted out something that could be considered sexual harassment. But when I cautiously glanced over at her, Ayra’s face was glowing red—she actually looked... pretty happy.

Her expressions had become so much more colorful these days. As I was marveling at that, I suddenly heard a voice in the distance calling out to us.

It was Elga.

“Hey, Teo. That girl Mirna was looking for you. Said something about finding an imp or whatever.”

That thought led me to another: how did Ayra get along with the other women? What did she think of Mirna, Narmee, or Professor Stella? _{ƒгeewёbnovel.com}