Chapter 174 Chapter 174
“Then maybe it’s Maxwell?” she asked. That sounded simple enough. It was basically a cuter version of his name.
“No,” he hissed like a bristling cat. He acted like she had attacked his pride and dignity with this, and she found it somewhat amusing.
“Aww, then what about tiger?”
His jaw dropped. “What? What kind of name is that? We’re not in the zoo.”
“Maxwell? Or just Max?” she asked, leaning forward in her chair. This had to be it… It had to be. Sadly, she was disappointed.
“No, that’s so boring you wouldn’t actually use it.”
“You’re right,” she mumbled, staring at the ceiling as she pondered it. “Oh, I know. It must be Maxwell.”
“No.” he said much too quickly, his surprised gaze giving him away.
“Yes, your expression said it all,” she chirped. “I got it. Maxwell, it is.” As soon as those words left her mouth, she was overwhelmed by another memory.
“I can’t believe this is the same person who blushed over cotton candy,” Valerie mumbled. She was curled up in bed, lying in his arms.
“Huh, what did you just say?”
“Nothing,” she giggled and playfully tugged at his braid. “I think it’s time to get up now. We can’t stay in bed all day, Maxwell.”
“Is that your favorite new nickname now?” he grumbled, not looking too happy about it.
“Yes, or do you prefer Maxwell?”
“No!”
“Maxwell, it is,” she smiled. He already opened his mouth to throw a fit, but seeing how happy she was, he closed it and swallowed his complaints.
When she returned to the present, she felt a bit dizzy, and she saw that he no longer stood at the counter but next to her chair. Concern brimmed in his eyes, but it melted away when she glanced at him.
“You spaced out suddenly. Did you remember something?”
She mulled over what she had learned, and there was one thing that stood out to her. With her lips forming a smirk, she giggled. “Yes, I did. Apparently, cotton candy makes you blush?”
The change of emotions on his features was entertaining to watch. At first, he was appalled, then in denial, and at last, he looked annoyed. “It does not.” he growled. “I have no idea why you would believe something so atrocious.”
“I’m sure that it happened.” she persisted, and he got very upset about it.
“Listen, I am a powerful demo—” he began, but cut himself off.
She laughed, hiding her lips behind her hand. “What was that? Were you about to tell me that you are a powerful demon?” she said sarcastically, lowering her tone to imitate his voice. “That’s ridiculous, Maxwell. It’s even more ridiculous than the cotton candy thing. Men are so strange.”
He opened his mouth to counter, but then closed it and changed his mind. “Yeah, I was just joking around,” he said with a sigh. “Why don’t we leave soon? The amusement park won’t stay open forever.”
She agreed with that and left the kitchen to get ready, putting on warm clothes since it was a cold November day. The sky was cloudy, and perhaps it would rain later on.
While she was busy, Maxwell tried to find out where Mochi had scurried off to. Valerie did not see the small demon since she likely wouldn’t take it well. A glowing translucent cat wasn’t exactly normal. When he didn’t find it in the entire flat, he assumed that it was somewhere outside.
The only thing that slightly worried him now was that Valerie might see certain supernatural beings when they left the house. So far, nothing of the sort had happened, and he would make sure it stayed that way. He would need to steer her away from them—and scare the smaller demons off with his magic. It was risky, but sooner or later, they would have to leave the house; there was no way around it.
He didn’t want to break the fragile trust he had managed to build between them. Her finding out about demons and the like wouldn’t bode well for either of them.
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The amusement park wasn’t as crowded as last time, which was probably due to the cool weather. It was only the start of November, but the Halloween decorations had already been replaced by Christmas decorations. Since Valerie liked this season, she was excited to see it.
Maxwell, on the other hand, was unimpressed and didn’t grace the plastic snowmen with his attention. Valerie noticed that he was distracted and looked around a lot as if he was searching for something. He had been doing it ever since they had left her flat, but she didn’t know why. Maybe he always acted like this? It wasn’t like she remembered…
Her attention was soon captured by her colorful surroundings. She forgot about Maxwell’s strange behavior and instead focused on the large rollercoasters towering over the smaller attractions. People’s excited screams mixed with the cheerful music in the park. She was giddy like a child, didn’t know where to go first, and her joy didn’t stay unnoticed for long.
“You’re happy today,” Maxwell commented amusedly. “Why don’t you pick a ride now?”
“I would, but it’s so hard to choose.” They stopped on a large square surrounded by several buildings that housed either souvenir shops or attractions. Each looked interesting to her, and that didn’t make her decision easier. Her eyes moved over the haunted house and got stuck on something behind it.
“Oh, do you see the boat swing over there?” she said and pointed at a large ship nearby. “That is fun.”
When he failed to answer, she questioningly glanced at him, only to see him scowling at it. His glare was so hot it wouldn’t have surprised her if it had melted the entire boat swing.
“Maxwell?” she asked, tugging at his sleeve.
“Not that,” he hissed.
“Is this about your fear of rollercoasters?” she prodded carefully, knitting her brows. She wouldn’t make fun of him since she understood that not everybody liked them, but still… a boat swing wasn’t that much of a deal. Maybe you would get a bit dizzy, but that was it.
“I never said I was scared of these things,” he said, hissing the last word like a curse.
“But if they make you uncomfortable, you don’t have to…”
“No, I am perfectly fine, and I will join you,” he insisted stubbornly, though his gaze darkened considerably the closer they got to the boat swing. “As if I was scared,” he snorted.