"I like you."
Link's eyes widened the instant those words were uttered.
The girl's eyes reflected his dismayed cheeks in the moonlight, and her stunning features, tinged with subtle affection, caused him to hold his breath.
The love and adoration contained in the bright pupils of the young girl was enough to mesmerize any male.
Link closed his eyes. He took several deep breaths before finally regaining his usual composure.
Link opened his eyes and spoke softly as he looked levelly into those regal eyes.
"Oh."
The response, so brief as to feel perfunctory, caused Villette's velvety embroidered brow to furrow, and made her repeat the confession that would make any young man or woman blush.
"I said, I like you."
"Well, I like you too."
Link replied indifferently, his heart that had become flustered by the sudden confession just now was now completely calmed down. It was as if he was answering a standard answer without any emotion.
"No, you're lying. You don't like me."
Villette moved closer to Link's face, the distance between them shortening to the point where they could even touch the tips of each other's noses. She stared into Link's eyes, which were slightly averted from hers and said in a tone that sounded like she was stating a fact.
"No, no, no, you don't understand. I like you a lot, really. Who would hate having a succubus girlfriend?"
Link's attitude slowly changed, and he was like an actor on stage trying his best to show off his smile, vocally reciting words that spoke of good fortune and happiness.
"I'm loving my life right now, being able to enjoy immense pleasure every day, being able to enjoy the bodies of the very best girls at will."
The more he talked, the more excited he became, so much so that his lower body began to perk up once more, allowing Villette to feel the hot sensations coming from under her belly.
"And I don't even need to care about working part-time or making money anymore. It feels so great to be adopted by my master. Compared to now, my previous life in the human world was a piece of shit, I love you mas-"
Slap--
"Lies."
Villette withdrew the hand that had slapped Link, and the gaze that gazed at him was like that of a disinterested spectator who had seen through the clown's comical faΓ§ade and became bored.
"You don't like me."
Villette stared at Link, who seemed terrified by her. The shivering, as in fear of his master's displeasure, only made her cringe.
"You don't like succubi either. You hate the Academy even more. You don't like it here at all."
Her tone grew colder and colder with each word.
"This is not a Loyalty Test."
And Link's terrified, downtrodden expression disappeared completely at Villette's last words.
His attitude changed all of a sudden, panic and fear turned into indifference and hostility. His upper body sat up from the bed as if to push Villette's body backward, even if Villette's torso came even closer to his chest as a result.
Link, who was a little over half a head taller since he was sitting upright now, looked down into Villette's eyes and questioned coldly.
"Why did you say you liked me?"
Villette looked straight into his interrogative eyes and answered without a hint of avoidance.
"Because I love you."
Link snickered, hanging on to a fake smile as if he was being provocative, and asked rhetorically.
"What does a succubus know about love?"
"We are the embodiment of desire, of course we know what love is."
Villette didn't seem to pick up on Link's mockery and replied in a serious manner.
Link felt a twinge of displeasure at Villette's reaction. He thought about mocking Villette some more, but under her penetrating eyes that didn't have a single trace of concealment or deception, he finally just sighed.
"Why?"
"Because I love you."