Chapter 76: Greed of the Heart


    ?


    "Riley, why don''t you teach me about love?"


    Teach her about love, she says... Haha, I couldn''t be a more wrong person to ask such a thing.


    "I don''t think you''re asking the right person for that, Lady Rose..." I tried to deflect, feeling increasingly out of my depth.


    "Hmm~? But didn''t you just say you have someone you love? So that means you have experience, right? You know what it means to love and to be loved, and you also know the feeling of it... What better teacher could I possibly have?"


    I wanted to scream that she didn''t understand the full meaning of the words she just said.


    The situation was bing moreplicated and surreal as our conversation veered into unexpected territory.


    ''How the heck did she evene to that conclusion?''


    I took a deep breath, trying topose myself. "Love isn''t something you can just learn from someone else''s experience. It''s deeply personal and unique to each person. My experience won''t necessarily apply to you."


    Rose tilted her head, looking genuinely curious. "But that''s precisely why I want you to teach me. Your perspective and your feelings are what make it real. I want to understand love from your point of view."


    "Love is about more than just feelings, Rose," I said, attempting to rify. "It''s about trust, respect, and understanding. It''s about sharing your life with someone, supporting them, and being supported in return."


    She leaned in closer, her golden eyes locked onto mine. "That''s what I want to learn, Riley. I want to know what it feels like to trust someonepletely, to share my life with them. I want to experience all those things."


    I sighed, feeling the weight of her words.


    "Rose, Love isn''t something that can be taught like a magic spell or abat technique" She smiled softly; her expression more sincere than I had ever seen. "Then let''s start this journey together. Teach me what you know, and I''ll learn the rest on my own."


    As stubborn as ever...


    Rose had always been the type of character to relentlessly pursue anything that piqued her interest, seeing it through to the end with a fervor unmatched by any other.


    Her drive to understand thingspletely and her tenacity in doing so were traits that made her stand out.


    In the game, every time you followed her route, the intensity of her feelings and outbursts upon finally understanding what something truly meant was overwhelming.


    It was a defining characteristic of her storyline. Her emotions were so intense that they overshadowed even Liyana''s deadly yandere tendencies.


    Rose seemed like a character deliberately designed to ensure that the harem end could never be achieved when she was involved.


    But even then, she wasn''t so stubborn that she wouldpletely ignore my points. I''m sure she knows herself that I can''t possibly teach her about love.


    I''m no love expert, and even back in my previous world, my knowledge about love was far below her expectations.


    In this world, my encounters with genuine love have been limited andplicated.


    The only thing that came close was that kiss from Snow, and even that seemed suspicious. And Liyana... well, Liyana had her own version of love for me that I don''t even understand myself.


    It was a love so intense and possessive that it could practically kill me.


    All in all, I was the worst possible teacher for Rose.


    "Rose, I appreciate your curiosity," I began, trying to choose my words carefully. "But I''m really not the best person to teach you about love. My experiences are...plicated, to say the least."


    "But I want YOU to teach me though...?" she insisted, her eyes gleaming with determination. "I''m sorry, Rose, but I can- " I tried to fully deny her request, but she interrupted me again. "Don''t worry, Riley. I know it''s a bit odd, suspicious, and even confusing to ept such a request. I can see theplications it brings, but I promise you I''ll make it worth your while." She grabbed my hand, interlocking her fingers with mine.


    Her touch was soft, yet her grip was firm.


    "I''ll give you anything you ask for in return... You teach me the one thing I''ve always been curious about," she whispered, pulling me closer towards her. The proximity made my heart


    race.


    "It''ll just be our little secret if you want to... so teach me about love, okay-?"


    The moment her soft breath brushed against my ear, I couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly.


    Once again, I had gone ahead and followed her flow without even realizing it. Cheers and loud, surprised mutters surrounded us, and I hadn''t even noticed the girls and some of the couples looking in our direction, going wild.


    Everyone looked at us as if we were celebrities caught in a scandal at a mall. Although, I might just be overthinking this.


    Everything about this situation felt deliberate and nned to pin me down into an absolute "Yes" in my answers-a way topletely disrupt whatever rtionships I had with others. As Rose finally let go of me, she returned to her seat, smiling gently.


    It was at this moment that I quickly realized just how messed up of a situation I was in right


    now.


    [Special Abilities]


    [Crazy Ma]


    [Description: Evil people will have a certain liking to you]


    [Number of people affected: 1-2]


    ''Rose... I thought you weren''t supposed to be that type of person....''


    Looking at her lifeless eyes, which held a strange obsession, my body flinched with an intense


    déjà vu.


    It was a feeling I wholeheartedly wanted to forget and a realization I never knew existed within those bright golden eyes.


    The intensity of her gaze, coupled with the unsettling obsession, sent chills down my spine.


    It was at this very moment that I knew-the lines between what made them a heroine and a viiness were about to blur.


    ...


    Spending time with Riley, Rose felt one overwhelming sensation: ''Comfort.''


    Throughout her life, isted from the harsh world she was born into, Rose had finally found something she could truly put her interest in a color in this world filled with overused and reused theatrics, a world where everything had be bleak and repetitive.


    He was the only one who shone.


    In the grayscale of her existence, Riley stood out as the sole vibrant hue, the only burst of


    color that illuminated her life after the longest time of istion.


    It was a magic she neither understood nor anticipated, a surprise that defied all her


    expectations.


    Every time she heard his calm andposed voice, it soothed her ears. Every time she looked


    at him, a bittersweet taste of rxedfort washed over her.


    Every time she caught the fresh scent he brought with him, it felt like spring had arrived in her


    life.


    Throughout her entire existence, Rose had never felt something like this.


    In her colorless world, Riley seemed like an exception, an abnormality that defied all the rules she hade to know.


    His presence slowly carved out a special ce in her maiden heart, making him extraordinary


    to her.


    Riley was bing a beacon of light in her otherwise monotonous life, a source offort and fascination she had never known before.


    That was why she wanted to know more about him. She wanted to learn everything she could


    about Riley, to understand what made him so special.


    Why was he the only exception in her colorless world? What was the reason behind this maic pull she felt towards him? Was there even a meaning behind it all?


    Questions swirled in her mind.


    All her life, she had been called a genius, capable of solving and understanding anything with


    just a whim, a touch, or a sight.


    Yet, looking at Riley and the mysteries he brought into her life was like staring at an


    unsolvable, mystical form.


    He was more enigmatic than any form of magic she had ever encountered.


    Understanding the concepts behind celestial magic seemed easierpared to


    comprehending him.


    Riley was an enigma, a puzzle she couldn''t piece together no matter how hard she tried.


    This challenge, this inability to decipher him, only heightened her curiosity and fascination.


    He was a mystery she was determined to unravel, aplex equation she waspelled to


    solve.


    The more she thought about him, the more she realized that Riley was not just a person in her life but a profound conundrum that brought color and meaning to her otherwise monochromatic existence.


    Rose was ustomed to everything falling into ce, to understanding and mastering any


    challenge with ease.


    Yet Riley defied this pattern.


    He was an anomaly, a singrity in her perfectly logical world.


    This was what drew her to him, what made her desperate to know every facet of his being.


    The more she delved into her thoughts, the clearer it became: Riley was not just another


    person to her.


    He was the key to unlocking a new dimension of her life, one filled with emotion, intrigue, and perhaps even the answer to her most sought-after question...


    She was sure that he was the key to almost everything she could have asked for a mystery to solve her own mystery. Getting closer to her key was essential, right? Building a connection with someone of importance was necessary to draw them closer to you, but that would require time and a lot of


    effort.


    Patience, something she had in abundance when it came to mastering magic, was not


    something she extended to real-life pursuits.


    Her entire life, she had always been someone who got what she wanted. After all, she was


    destined for greatness.


    Conversations with Riley solidified one thing in her mind: "He''ll be mine in the end."


    It was a cold-hearted fact she epted.


    Riley was not just a passing interest or a fleeting curiosity, Afterall the signs thrown at her


    there was now way that was the case.


    He was a challenge, a goal, and she was determined to achieve it. She saw him as a puzzle


    that, once solved, would bring her a deeper understanding of herself and the world around


    her.


    She couldn''t afford the luxury of time, nor did she want to. She had to act decisively,


    employing every bit of her charm, intelligence, and persistence to make him hers.


    As she pondered this, a new resolve formed within her.


    She would break through his barriers, learn his secrets, and make him see that she was the one


    he should be with.


    No matter the obstacles, she was determined to seed.


    "So, you have a fiancée, hmm~"


    Upon learning a truth about him, something tugged inside her an annoyance that she did


    not know, an annoyance that she didn''t expect to happen.


    It was an intriguing thought about him that she found somewhat distasteful, something that


    bothered her even though it wasn''t supposed to.


    Her actions towards Riley so far had been to find out the truth about him, so there was no


    need to be annoyed.


    That was basically the reality of things.


    Her reasons for getting closer to him weren''t of that nature, so why was she perplexed and


    annoyed right now?


    The thought crept up inside her every time she looked at his face, an annoying scene brewing


    up in her mind.


    "Do you prefer tea or coffee?"


    "Tea."


    "Do you like to read?"


    "Yes."


    "Are you a morning person?"


    "Sometimes?"


    "Do you enjoy sports?"


    "Not particrly." "How about physical activities?"


    "Yes, I tend to train every morning."


    "Do you think you''ll be a good husband?"


    "P-probably?"


    Asking all sorts of questions to learn more about him and distract herself, she tried to ignore


    the tugging feeling, inside her.


    But even that thought didn''t seem to let go.


    It was a conscious question that lingered in her mind, one she couldn''t quite fathom:


    ''Why am I annoyed?''


    ''Why do I care?''


    She doesn''t even see Riley in that way, and yet, for some reason, hearing him talk lovingly


    about his mysterious fiancée pricked something inside her, like a lovely rose in a garden minding its business, suddenly plucked by a passing gardener and discarded.


    She didn''t know why she felt this way, nor did she have any justification for it, but she


    couldn''t shake the feeling.


    Minutes passed, their conversation continuing to unfold, and Rose finally found the reason


    behind her unease.


    ''I see...'' she murmured softly to herself. It was only after looking at the colorful person in


    front of her onest time that she realized why she was so irked by the fact that he had someone he liked, someone he loved, and someone he was betrothed to.


    As Rose sat there, grappling with her newfound emotions and understanding, only one conclusion emerged in her mind to solve the predicament she was facing.


    ''If I can''t have him... I''ll just have to make him mine, right?''


    ''Easy!''


    It wasn''t the first time she had contemted such a notion. Throughout her childhood, Rose had possessed the ability to acquire whatever she desired.


    Whether it was from her sisters, her peers, or anyone else, she had a knack for obtaining what


    she set her sights on.


    It was a skill she had honed and enjoyed, even in the past, where she would assert her


    dominance over situations and bend them to her will.


    Although there were other ways to learn about Riley and integrate herself into his life without causing amotion, that wasn''t what she wanted right now. She wanted him-all of his colors and mysteries-solely for herself. "It''ll just be our little secret if you want to... so teach me about love, okay-?"


    In her mind, if she could make him hers, all the confusion and annoyance she felt would


    dissipate.