SWNOVELXO Chapter 109
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 109
On the way back home.
The young lady sitting in Fairy Unit 1 was nodding off as sleepiness overtook her, her head bobbing up and down like the pendulum of an alarm clock. Her head, which had been swaying back and forth, suddenly dropped with a big motion, and with a sharp “Eek!” she jolted awake, trembling as she turned around.
“Did you call me?”
“No.”
“…Weird. It feels like the Demon King of Drowsiness is pushing down on my head.”
“It’s just your imagination.”
“Hmm.”
The young lady nodded, acknowledging the nonsense she had just uttered.
A date with just the two of us.
Watching an entertaining play.
Indulging in some luxury at a tailor shop.
Even though we got into a fight with a beggar on the street, it felt like a meaningful time.
The road back to the estate was as uneventful as always, but the long line of roadside trees and the subtle light from the street lamps seemed unusually sentimental today.
They looked a little more beautiful.
I wished this time could last longer.
The young lady’s frazzled white hair, illuminated by the street lamps, seemed especially lovely today.
Sitting in her wheelchair, the young lady shook her head to fight off sleepiness, then lightly tapped her cheeks with her hands.
“Mmm… I’m sleepy.”
“Please rest for a bit. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”
“No. Ricardo said the world would end if I dozed off while driving.”
“It’s fine since I’m the one driving.”
“Is that so?”
The young lady gave a small nod and said she’d pay the driving fee with chocolate, smiling pleasantly.
After walking for about ten more minutes.
The young lady, who had been using the silence as a lullaby to drift off, slightly turned her head to look at me.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“About the play today. What did you think?”
“I enjoyed it.”
“Not like that. Be specific. Something like, ‘I should give you more chocolate,’ or ‘I learned not to take chocolate away.'”
“Hmm… Well, I did think I should reduce your chocolate intake for the sake of your healthy diet.”
“Eeeek…!”
The sulking young lady clenched her fist and made a threatening gesture. Watching her hand, which resembled a teddy bear paw swiping forward, I lightly flicked her forehead with a “Slowpoke” response.
“Ouch!”
Smiling brightly, I said.
“Just kidding.”
Then, in a calm voice, I softly gave the answer the young lady wanted.
“Hmm… I thought I should treat you better from now on.”
“Why?”
“To avoid getting hit?”
“Eeeek! What kind of answer is that!”
“Puhaha! Just kidding. What about you, young lady?”
The young lady sharply turned her head away and grumbled. Muttering, “You’re always joking,” she pouted her lips before letting out a small “Hmm…” and opening her mouth.
“I… thought I never want to be apart from you, Ricardo.”
My face flushed red.
I couldn’t believe what I had just heard. The young lady’s sudden, heartfelt words caught me off guard, and I covered my mouth with my palm to hide the smile creeping up as I asked in a trembling voice.
“What is this? Flirting?”
“Flirting?”
“Are you trying to seduce me?”
“No!”
The young lady, clenching her fists and waving her hands frantically, shouted in exasperation.
“I said it because I want to live a long, healthy life with you, Ricardo. I’ll try to eat less selectively, and… the people in the play were so pitiful. I thought I should be kind if I want you to live a long life.”
“Oh… If you show me that three more times, I might fall for you.”
“That’s not happening.”
The young lady, her face bright red, let out a sigh.
“Idiot.”
“You’re the fool, young lady.”
“Sea anemone.”
“Sea urchin.”
“Puhaha!”
Playing a childish game unbefitting adults, we made our way back to the estate.
The date seemed to have been quite a success.
*
The young lady, her eyes half-closed from exhaustion, was nodding off in her wheelchair.
To be precise, she was already asleep.
“Snore…”
“Young lady?”
“Mmm…”
“We’ve arrived. You need to pay.”
“Ricardo will handle it…”
“Oh, come on…”
Even pulling her cheek didn’t wake her. Deciding to settle the driving fee with a snack later, I gently let go of her cheek, which I had stretched out.
Perhaps because it was late in the evening, the estate was quiet. The bustling servants had long since gone home, and neither the head of the household, Rosanna, nor Kyle were in the living room, likely having retired to bed.
In the silent atmosphere, as if no one was around, I let out a small sigh and carefully lifted the sleeping young lady into my arms.
“She’s so light.”
How could such a small body eat so much… It’s fascinating.
“Mmm… chocolate.”
The young lady, who seemed to have severed all ties with the word “worry,” looked like a princess who had fainted after eating an apple.
I briefly wondered if a prince’s kiss could wake her, but since I wasn’t a prince, I decided against it.
“She sleeps so soundly.”
Once the young lady fell asleep, she was not easily awakened. She slept so deeply that she wouldn’t notice even if someone carried her away, snoring all the while.
Having had a busy day, the young lady’s drool was soaking my sleeve.
“Snore…”
Looking at the young lady’s face, I whispered softly.
“Good night.”
My footsteps up the stairs were as quiet as could be. I lifted my toes to avoid making any sound, moving as carefully as if handling fragile glass artwork, worried that the young lady might wake.
Slowly climbing the stairs, I eventually arrived at the young lady’s room door.
[The Most Beautiful ‘Olivia’s Room’]
-If you wake me, I’ll bite.
-If you’re noisy, I’ll curse.
-If you understand, scram.
Seeing the terrifying sign the young lady had written during her adolescence hanging on the door, a small chuckle escaped me.
“Oh, how scary. Don’t you think so?”
“Mmm… hungry.”
“I see.”
-Creak.
After carefully opening the door.
I gently laid the young lady down on the soft bed.
The pink curtains and bed.
Though she seemed far from someone who would like cute things, the villainess actually had a hobby of collecting adorable items like pink decorations and teddy bears.
If there was only one flaw.
It would be the teddy bear biting the arm of a figure that hardly qualifies as “cute” or the crocodile doll baring its ferocious teeth.
Still, it was undeniable that she liked cute things. Smiling faintly, I moved the Young Lady’s attachment doll to the corner of the bed and carefully laid her down.
A brief moment passed as I admired the Young Lady’s face, snoring softly.
As her gentle, rhythmic breaths filled the room, I cautiously sat at the edge of her bed and brushed her hair aside.
“Please tone down the flirting. My heart can’t take it.”
“You said we’d live together for a long time, but are you planning to kill me with a heart attack?”
“Honestly…”
With a bitter eye smile, I placed my hand on the Young Lady’s leg and burned through my circuits.
“You’re such a fool.”
[Using ‘Rehabilitation’s Touch’ on a ‘Dark Magic-contaminated target’ consumes 1% of Vitality.]
Vitality used: 6%
Remaining Vitality: 94%
[-If it falls below 90%, the vitality consumption triples.]
Along with the cold warning, the metallic scent of blood lingered at the edge of my lips. I tried my best not to spit out the red liquid rising in my throat, but the racking coughs and the searing pain in my chest forced me to cover my mouth with my hand.
“Cough… cough…!”
No matter how many times I experienced it, I never got used to it.
It felt like my life was being chipped away bit by bit.
Though there were no direct physical side effects, the pain felt as if something fundamental was twisting inside me, and I let out a deep sigh.
“Ha… damn…”
Even so, I didn’t mind.
Like the theatrical boy who could only watch, protecting her was the only thing I could do to repay the life she saved when I was young.
And because I could indulge in shy flirting over my unrequited love.
Exhaling a trembling breath, I endured the pain in my chest and smiled.
Someday.
Someday, I believed I would walk alongside the Young Lady, and that this cowardly self of mine would muster the courage. With that hope, I smiled.
Just as the uncontrollable pain spread through my body and a faint groan escaped my lips.
-Creak.
The tightly shut door to the Young Lady’s room opened, and the familiar figure of a man began to appear through the gap.
Though dressed in pajamas, the intense aura emanating from him was overwhelming.
I had thought he would be asleep.
I couldn’t lift my head, knowing this was the result of my carelessness. If I had been just a bit more cautious, if I had locked the door, I could have avoided this situation…
But it was already too late for regrets.
Spitting blood.
And the sight of my hand resting on the Young Lady’s leg—it looked strange even to me.
The man spoke to me in a low voice, his expression one of disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
The icy voice sent chills down my spine.
My coughing turned into a raspy wheeze, and the man’s expression grew colder as he watched.
Looking at him, I muttered.
“Ah… I’m in trouble.”
The next head of the family, Desmond’s successor, who had once warned me not to act recklessly.
Kyle.
He was glaring at me with a fierce expression.
“Remove your hand immediately.”