Novel Full Chapter 1716: The First
Chapter 1716: The First
Villain Ch 1716. The First
A quiet settled between them again—but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. Just… full.
Like the air knew something had shifted. Like the walls were listening.
Kai returned with the tea—delicate porcelain cups, black with subtle silver etched around the rims. He set them down silently, then bowed again before disappearing to prep the meal.
Azura picked up her cup, letting the warmth seep into her fingers. The scent was sharp but soothing—peppermint and something floral, like crushed violet leaves.
She sipped, then glanced at Allen again.
“So…”
He looked over.
She cleared her throat. “Are you gonna pretend that kiss didn’t happen?”
He blinked once. “No.”
She stared at him.
“That’s it?”
He gave a mild shrug, like she’d asked whether or not it was going to rain.
“I told you. It was to silence you.”
Azura narrowed her eyes. “It was a kiss, not a gag order.”
“You looked like you’d spill.”
“I was recovering!”
He sipped his tea like nothing was wrong.
Azura put her cup down a little harder than necessary. “You can’t just kiss someone to shut them up and then walk away like you dropped a memo!”
Allen finally turned to face her fully, gaze dipping lower—lingering, deliberately. “Why not?”
Her heart skipped.
Azura sucked in a breath, heat crawling up her neck. “Because it’s not normal! That’s not how people function!”
“You’re not people,” he said, eyes darkening just a shade. “You’re you.”
She froze.
He didn’t say it like a compliment. He said it like a truth.
Like a claim.
Azura’s chest tightened. The tea suddenly didn’t help.
“…You’re playing with fire,” she muttered.
Allen smirked faintly. “I live in it.”
She looked away, cheeks burning.
Dinner hadn’t even started.
And yet somehow, she already knew—
She wasn’t leaving this estate unchanged.
Her tea cup sat untouched in front of her, the scent of violet mint rising like a spell she couldn’t breathe past.
Across from her, Allen leaned back with that infuriating ease, like this was just another Tuesday. Like he hadn’t just kissed her, whispered something devilish, and walked off like a man immune to consequences.
Azura pressed her fingertips to her thigh under the table to ground herself. It didn’t help. Her pulse was still somewhere between do something stupid and never speak again.
Then he spoke again.
“I know you have feelings for me.”
She blinked.
Her head turned slowly—so slowly—toward him, eyes wide, mouth parting with zero prep for what just left his mouth.
He wasn’t smiling now.
Not smirking either.
His tone was soft. Serious. But somehow still disarming.
“I’ve known,” Allen continued, voice smooth as silk sliding across a blade. “And after tonight… the duel, the kiss, the fact that you now live near the estate…”
She swallowed. Loudly. Her mouth had gone completely dry.
“I want to acknowledge it,” he said.
Azura stared at him. “You… what?”
Allen’s gaze didn’t waver. “You fought me. You lost—beautifully, I’ll add. You guessed right about who I am.”
She sat there, stunned, every word thudding against her chest like a heartbeat in reverse.
“So,” he said, voice dipping lower, “I thought I should give you something.”
She blinked again, caught in the rhythm of this madness.
“Give me something?” she echoed.
“Yes.”
A pause.
She tilted her head. “Allen. I’m rich. Almost as rich as a Goldborne, thank you very much. What exactly were you thinking of giving me?”
Allen smiled—slow and wicked.
“A kiss.”
Azura gawked. “That was the gift?!”
He nodded. “You were blushing.”
“I was stunned!”
“You’re still blushing.”
Her jaw dropped. She covered her face with both hands, heat racing up her neck like wildfire. “Gods, you’re the worst.”
He shrugged. “I’m thoughtful.”
“You’re a menace.”
“You didn’t complain when I did it.”
Azura dropped her hands, narrowing her eyes. “Because I was ambushed. There were no terms. No warning.”
Allen leaned in slightly, his tone silkier than it had any right to be. “Do you want a second one? With terms?”
Her brain absolutely short-circuited. Right there. In front of the cursed dining table.
She stared at him, and he just smiled that infuriating Allen smile—the one that could probably undo a chastity ward if you weren’t paying attention.
“I—no—I mean—” she stammered, flustered and rapidly losing control of the conversation.
He chuckled, low and warm. “See? Still blushing.”
Azura exhaled hard, pushing her hair back, then glaring at him. “If this is what dinner with you is like, I need a five-course distraction before I combust.”
Allen leaned back again, cool and unbothered. “Dinner’s coming.”
She grumbled under her breath, pretending to sip tea to avoid answering.
But in her chest?
Her heart was chaos.
Because he knew.
Because he said it.
And because somehow, with one kiss and one look, Allen Goldborne made her feel seen and cornered all at once.
And maybe…
Maybe that was exactly what she wanted.
And then he said it—calm, steady, like he’d been holding it back until now:
“But I’m happy.”
She blinked. “Happy?”
“Yeah,” Allen nodded, resting one elbow on the table. “Of all people… you’re the first.”
Azura frowned slightly, caught off guard. “First to what?”
He tilted his head, eyes gleaming. “To figure it out. Really figure it out. Not just joke about it, or throw a half-assed theory on a stream. I mean, Elio also guessed once—but he looked unsure. Like he was testing the water.”
Azura raised a brow. “And me?”
Allen leaned forward a little, enough for the space between them to shrink again. “You didn’t test. You were sure. You looked at me and knew.”
Azura felt her throat tighten. That heat behind her ribs flared again—part anxiety, part something else she couldn’t name.
“I didn’t know-know,” she mumbled, suddenly self-conscious. “I just… I recognized something.”
He smirked. “Same thing.”
Azura rolled her eyes and leaned back, trying to gain some ground. “You say that like it’s a compliment.”
“It is,” he said simply. “You see through me. I kinda hate it. But I also don’t.”
And just like that—his voice dropped again. Soft. Honest. Too honest.
“And if someone had to know… I’m glad it’s you.”
Azura looked down at her tea, which had long gone cold. Her reflection shimmered back at her—flushed cheeks, loose strands of hair, and a pair of eyes that weren’t nearly as calm as she wanted them to be.