Laiyinmute looked somewhat blankly at Raphael’s back as she busied herself in the kitchen.
They had been living as usual these days, but Laiyinmute could sense that Raphael seemed to be keeping a greater distance from him.
The more he thought about it, the more exhausted he felt.
He covered his face and collapsed onto the sofa.
“Sigh…”
He sighed, somewhat confused about what he was doing.
In the kitchen, Raphael heard his voice and turned her head inquisitively for a moment, then turned back to continue handling the ingredients in her hands.
She had no interest in whatever Laiyinmute said, nor did she care to listen.
Staring at the steaming soup in the pot, her hand unconsciously touched her own lips.
She vaguely remembered the sensation from that day—her lip had been bitten, and though the wound had disappeared, Raphael always felt it was still there.
A restlessness welled up in her heart.
She quietly comforted herself.
‘Just treat it like being bitten by a dog… being bitten by a dog, mm, that’s it.’
Raphael seemed to have reconciled with herself, and her gloomy mood eased considerably.
She picked up a ladle, took a sip of the broth, and tasted it.
The flavor was just right.
She put on gloves, carried the pot of meat soup to the table, then filled two bowls of rice and placed them on the table.
She glanced at Laiyinmute’s face—in her eyes now, it looked more and more like a red-furred dog.
Imagining this, she couldn’t help but let out a snicker.
“Hm?”
Laiyinmute looked over with confusion.
Raphael immediately cooled her expression and spoke in a flat tone.
“Time to eat, Master.”
Laiyinmute scratched his head, a little dazed.
He thought he had just heard Raphael laugh, but when he turned around, all he saw was still that cold, indifferent expression.
Raphael didn’t wait for Laiyinmute to sit down first; she took her usual seat and began eating.
Laiyinmute wasn’t annoyed.
He simply sat across from Raphael, hesitating.
He looked at Raphael’s lips.
In that moment of impulse, he had been ruthless with that spot.
In the end, they only separated when breathing became difficult and Raphael slapped his back hard.
The moment he kissed her, he felt a strawberry fragrance flow into his nostrils through the joining of their lips.
He was all too familiar with that scent—it was the juice he always kept at home.
At first, he tried to push his tongue into Raphael’s mouth, but found the door tightly shut.
He intensified his assault and finally forced it open.
His heart itched—he really wanted to do it again.
Raphael noticed Laiyinmute’s burning gaze, which made her uncomfortable.
Her silver teeth clenched tightly, and the pace of her eating slowed.
She couldn’t eat anymore.
A sense of fear crept into her heart.
She felt that Laiyinmute was still thinking about that kind of thing from that day.
But the way he was thinking—it was very likely the kind of thinking that wanted to do it again.
Raphael watched him warily.
Her silver teeth clenched beneath her lips.
She knew clearly that if she let that happen a few more times, she probably wouldn’t resist anymore.
And once she stopped resisting, what would come next?
She dreaded that Laiyinmute would only become more excessive.
From this moment on, no matter what, she absolutely had to avoid anything like that happening again.
Seeing Raphael’s reaction, Laiyinmute realized his intentions were a bit too obvious.
The top priority was to stabilize Raphael; otherwise, he was truly afraid she would run away.
Even though Laiyinmute could catch her, it would still take some effort.
He didn’t know what he would do to punish her if something like that actually happened—whether it would be as he had said in the heat of the moment, or even worse.
He was losing his grip on himself.
Since when had his personality become so hard for even himself to understand?
When exactly was it?
Hesitating, he kept his eyes fixed on Raphael, never leaving her body.
He leaned forward slightly.
Then he moved—fast, so fast that Raphael couldn’t react.
One of her small hands was caught in his grasp.
Raphael’s body trembled.
She resignedly closed her eyes, that panic surging back into her heart.
She waited uneasily.
But for a long time, the hand that held hers made no further move.
She opened one eye suspiciously and saw Laiyinmute holding back a laugh as he looked at her.
Seeing the girl in front of him open her eyes, Laiyinmute adjusted his expression a little.
He spoke seriously.
“I’m sorry, Raphael. Last time… it was my fault. It won’t happen again. Don’t leave me, okay?”
Raphael saw that Laiyinmute had been holding back a laugh one second and then turned so serious the next.
The corner of her mouth twitched.
If she hadn’t seen that infuriating smile just now, she might have actually believed him.
But since Laiyinmute was her master after all, she couldn’t refuse to give him an out.
She put on a panicked expression and used her other hand to grasp the large hand holding hers.
Stammering, she spoke.
“Master… you don’t need to apologize. Raphael won’t leave you—never, ever.”
She forced out a single tear to make herself appear pitiful.
Only Raphael knew how fake those words were.
The poor Sword Saint could only be kept in the dark and ruthlessly deceived by Raphael.
Hearing Raphael’s words paired with that pitiful expression, Laiyinmute’s heart clenched, and a wave of regret washed over him.
If it weren’t for him, how could Raphael have become like this?
He cursed himself inwardly for being a real scumbag, doing something like that to such a cute little maid.
His expression softened involuntarily.
He stood up, walked behind Raphael, and hugged her.
Feeling that broad embrace, Raphael’s small face unconsciously flushed red.
Though she hated this feeling, she decided she had to endure it for the sake of her future escape plan.
Laiyinmute buried his head in the crook of her neck and spoke in a muffled voice.
“Then it’s settled—don’t hate me, and never leave your master, okay? Otherwise, I really won’t be able to control myself.”
Toward the end, his words carried a hint of excitement that even he hadn’t noticed.
Raphael, of course, didn’t notice it either.
She just hoped this hug would end quickly.
She hadn’t finished eating yet, and her stomach was still empty.
She gently patted the arm that enveloped her.
She spoke softly.
“Let’s eat first, Master. Raphael doesn’t hate you, and she’ll never leave you.”
Laiyinmute reluctantly let go of the arm holding Raphael.
She smelled nice and felt soft, making him reluctant to let go.
If he had to choose a partner, Laiyinmute would unhesitatingly pick the Demon girl in front of him.
She could cook, clean house, and now she even showed consideration for him.
Most importantly, she was beautiful, had long white hair, and her little feet were very soft.
She was practically Laiyinmute’s ideal choice.
Laiyinmute thought happily to himself, while Raphael buried her head in her rice, thinking about escape.
At the same table, the two were thinking about completely different things.
In this subtle atmosphere, it took them quite a while to finish the sumptuous meal.
Of course, most of it was handled by Laiyinmute.
Raphael only ate a little—her appetite had always been very small.