Chapter : 604

Naomi walked over immediately. She smiled a very bright, proud smile. She carefully picked Risa up from the floor. She held the sleeping girl gently in her arms.

"You did a fantastic job, Ken," Naomi praised him warmly. Her green eyes sparked with true friendship. "You calmed her down perfectly. You are really good with her. I am going to carry her upstairs to her bed. She needs a long rest."

"Make sure she gets a soft blanket," Ken reminded lazily. He popped another gummy worm into his mouth.

"I will," Naomi chuckled softly. She turned around and carried Risa up the wooden stairs. Laxmi and Zinia followed her to make sure the healer was completely safe. Luna remained asleep on the floating sofa.

Sayma stayed in the living room.

The intelligent Vice-Captain stood near the dining table. She looked at Ken. He still sat on the floor. He chewed his candy loudly. His shirt was completely untucked. He looked like an absolute mess.

But Sayma did not see a messy slacker.

Sayma remembered their fake date in the Inner City. She remembered how he protected her from the splashing carriage water. She remembered how he defended her against her arrogant sister, Zaima. She watched him just now. She watched him walk fearlessly through a toxic jungle to comfort a crying girl.

Sayma felt a sudden, intense flutter in her chest. Her heart beat a little bit faster. Her cheeks turned a very bright, vibrant shade of pink.

She realized her fake romance was not totally fake anymore. She actually liked him. She genuinely liked his goofy, lazy, incredibly kind personality. He made her feel completely safe. He did not demand perfection from her. He just let her be herself.

Sayma took a slow, deep breath. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dark blue uniform. She walked over to Ken. She stood right in front of him.

"Ken," Sayma began softly. Her polite voice trembled just a tiny bit. She pushed her glasses up nervously.

Ken looked up at her. He blinked his sleepy dark eyes. "Hey, Sayma. Do you want a gummy worm? I only have the yellow ones left. They taste like sour lemons."

Sayma shook her head gently. She offered a very warm, incredibly sincere smile.

"I do not want a candy, Ken," Sayma said quietly. She clasped her hands together in front of her. "I want to tell you something very important. I want to talk about our arrangement. The fake date we went on."

Ken tilted his head to the side. He slouched his shoulders. "Did your parents send another letter? Do we need to go eat more free steaks? Because I am totally available for free steaks. Steaks are fantastic."

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"No, my parents did not write," Sayma corrected softly. Her blush deepened. She looked directly into his eyes. "I just wanted to say... I truly enjoyed our time together. You are incredibly kind, Ken. You pretend to be a lazy fool. But you have a very wonderful heart."

Sayma took a tiny step closer. Her dark eyes shined with absolute, genuine emotion.

"I realize we started this as a tactical lie to avoid an arranged marriage," Sayma confessed beautifully. Her voice was full of real affection. "But my feelings have shifted. I find myself genuinely drawn to you. I have developed very real, very true feelings for you, Ken."

The living room went completely silent.

It was a flawless, heartfelt romantic confession. It was incredibly sweet and totally sincere. Any normal guy in the Belmontia Empire would have been absolutely thrilled. Any normal guy would have smiled and held her hand.

Ken Eliot stared at her. He stopped chewing his candy.

Internal panic instantly exploded inside Ken’s brain.

"Oh no," Ken screamed silently in his mind. "This is terrible! This is a complete disaster! A romance arc is officially starting! Romance arcs require so much emotional energy! You have to remember anniversaries! You have to buy expensive flowers! You have to go on long, boring walks on the beach! It is a massive amount of cardio and mental stress!"

Ken absolutely hated drama. He wanted a simple, lazy life. He needed to avoid this romantic subplot immediately. He needed to deflect her confession with a flawless, completely ridiculous joke.

Ken stood up from the floor. He dusted off his pants. He gave Sayma the absolute biggest, goofiest, most oblivious smile he could possibly manage.

"That sounds absolutely great, Sayma!" Ken announced cheerfully. He completely ignored her romantic tone. He clapped his hands together. "Speaking of real feelings, I have a very real, incredibly passionate feeling in my stomach right now. I feel a massive, undeniable connection to dessert."

Sayma blinked her dark eyes. She looked completely confused. "Dessert?"

"Yes!" Ken nodded enthusiastically. He pointed a lazy finger toward the kitchen. "I am deeply, romantically in love with cake. Cake never asks me to do cardio. Cake is always sweet. Do we have any chocolate cake left in the fridge? Because I am ready to make a serious commitment to a slice of cake right now."

Sayma stared at him. Her jaw dropped open just a tiny fraction of an inch. She had just poured her heart out, and he was talking about baked goods.

Ken did not wait for her to answer. He turned around instantly. He shuffled toward the kitchen as fast as his lazy legs could carry him. He dragged his shoes loudly. Scuff. Scuff. Scuff.

"I am going to check the fridge!" Ken yelled over his shoulder. "If Laxmi ate the last slice of cake, I am going to be heartbroken! Wish me luck on my culinary quest!"

Ken disappeared into the kitchen. The door swung shut behind him.

Sayma stood alone in the living room. She pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her bright blush slowly faded away. She let out a long, polite, incredibly exasperated sigh.

She was not angry. She just shook her head. She knew exactly what he was doing. He was avoiding the conversation. He was hiding behind his goofy jokes.

"You are completely ridiculous, Ken Eliot," Sayma murmured softly to herself. A small, fond smile returned to her lips. She picked up her notebook from the table. "But I am a very patient tactician. I can wait."

The romantic crisis was successfully averted for today. Ken happily opened the refrigerator, entirely relieved that he dodged the emotional drama. His lazy, peaceful slacker life was safe once again, and he was totally ready to eat a very large piece of chocolate cake.

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Sayma walked into the strategy room. She held a thick, yellow folder in her hands. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her dark eyes looked very serious. She walked straight to the large wooden table. She placed the folder down. The paper slapped loudly against the wood.