SWNOVELXO Chapter 153
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 153
Another peaceful day in the Young Lady’s room.
“Eeeek..!”
The Young Lady, seated on the bed, was being brushed as a cool breeze swept through.
With her tangled hair being smoothed out by the slow strokes of the brush, the Young Lady furrowed her brows and let out a strange sound.
“Eeeek!”
“Anyone would think I’m abusing a noble.”
“Exactly!”
“That’s not true.”
The Young Lady’s slightly curly hair was naturally fluffy and not easily tamed.
Perhaps it was a passive trait of a noble, but without a servant, her hair would always puff up, requiring the constant attention of the butler.
“Eeeek! Don’t pull!”
“I’m not pulling; it’s your hair that’s coming along.”
“Eeeek!”
The Young Lady’s head kept being tugged along with the brushing.
Watching her head bob back and forth, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
“Hey… I told you not to move!”
“It’s because you’re pulling, Ricardo!”
“That’s why I told you to sit still and hold your ground.”
“No! It’s too bothersome!”
As I endlessly brushed the Young Lady’s hair, soft as a puppy’s fur, a sudden thought crossed my mind—I wanted to play with her hair.
I was bored.
And it seemed like it would be fun.
Though I had no intention of asking for her consent, I decided to at least pretend to be polite and began braiding her hair strand by strand.
“Why did you stop?”
The Young Lady turned her head at the sudden pause in brushing. With a sullen expression, she seemed ready to complain about the interruption, but I responded with a small smile.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
“How about I create an art piece with your hair today?”
“Like a barbarian?”
“No. Not something like a chicken comb, but a style that looks a bit more elegant and refined.”
“Hmm.”
The Young Lady pursed her lips and fell into thought. Having always stuck to her long hair, she wasn’t used to trying new styles.
During her days as Desmond’s villainess, she had her hair styled in elaborate drills by many servants, but she had never tried a commoner’s hairstyle. Now, with an intriguing smile, she nodded, seemingly excited by the idea.
However.
The Young Lady wasn’t particularly fond of such troublesome things.
Gazing out the window, she spoke in a blunt voice.
“There’s no one to see it anyway, so why bother?”
As I brushed aside her hair, which she pouted over with whiny complaints, I replied in a soft voice.
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Who?”
With a smile, I pointed to the most handsome face in the world.
“Me.”
“…Not funny.”
“Sometimes, a change in hairstyle can be refreshing, don’t you think?”
At my attempt to persuade her, the Young Lady slowly nodded. It seemed the idea had piqued her interest after all.
Watching her sit quietly and offer her hair, I smiled at her back figure.
Swish. As I braided her hair to the side, the Young Lady entrusted her hair to me without a word.
Then, she added a hopeful request.
“Make it pretty.”
“Of course.”
“Not like the pineapple hair you did when I was little.”
“…”
At her sharp remark, recalling the joke I had played on her as a child, a chuckle escaped me.
“Understood.”
As the wind blew in through the window, I worked on her hair. Though the breeze made her hair tickle my face, I decided not to close the window, seeing the Young Lady savoring the wind with her mouth slightly open.
The weather was lovely today.
Though it was late winter, the unexpectedly warm breeze lifted our spirits.
After the small hand of the clock moved twice.
A small hand mirror was held up in front of the drowsy Young Lady, who had been nodding off.
“Hmm… huh!”
Seeing her sleepy reflection, the Young Lady wiped the drool from her mouth with her sleeve and shook her head.
“Don’t shake too much. You’ll ruin your hair.”
“Huh?”
“Ta-da…!”
Finally, the Young Lady saw her hair.
Taking the hand mirror I offered, she let out a small “Wow” as she examined her transformed hair.
“It took a while since I’m not used to it. What do you think?”
“Wow…”
“I was tempted to do pineapple hair halfway through, but I managed to resist.”
The Young Lady widened her eyes as she looked at the side of her hair in the mirror. Fascinated by the neatly braided style, she carefully turned her head, making me smile.
“It’s amazing. So pretty.”
“Is it?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
With her long hair lightly braided to the side and flowing down elegantly, the Young Lady’s hairstyle resembled that of an elf from a fantasy novel.
It wasn’t a childish style like Tomboy Pippi’s, but a noble look that made the Young Lady marvel as she turned to check herself in the full-body mirror I had prepared in advance.
‘I knew this would come in handy. Good call on preparing it.’
“It’s really pretty.”
“Right?”
“Yeah.”
Watching the Young Lady use the large mirror to check the back of her hair, I felt a sense of accomplishment.
It was something I had always wanted to try, and I was glad she liked it.
Though it was a shame she was wearing her beloved, tattered pajamas, the natural look suited her.
After admiring her hair for a while, the Young Lady turned to me with a bright smile.
“Am I pretty?”
“Yes.”
“How pretty?”
“The most beautiful in the world.”
“This much!?”
“No.”
I made a larger circle with my hands than the one she had drawn.
“This much.”
“Hehe…!”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Just. Because I feel good.”
The Young Lady, giggling with a flushed face, hid under the blanket, shaking her head shyly.
Then, with a chuckle, she said, “I know I’m pretty,” in a delightfully villainous tone, making me burst into laughter.
After laughing for a while, the Young Lady grabbed my sleeve and pulled me toward the bed.
“Come here, Ricardo!”
“Me?”
“Yes! I’ll make you look pretty!”
“No, thank you. I already look handsome without doing anything.”
“Eeeek! Come here!”
“I refuse.”
“Why!”
“Because I’m afraid of entrusting my hair to the destructive hands of the Young Lady.”
“Gasp!”
Shocked by my honest and straightforward answer, the Young Lady snorted and vehemently denied it.
“No way! Do you know how skilled I am with my hands?”
“Do you not remember folding a paper crane into a Medusa last time?”
“I don’t remember.”
“…”
As if such an insult was nothing to her, the Villainess began tugging on my sleeve.
Faced with the Young Lady’s stubbornness, which suggested she’d sulk all day if I didn’t let her touch my hair, I reluctantly moved closer, following her hand.
-Softly…
The Young Lady, staring intently at me, couldn’t hide the twitching corners of her lips as her imagination ran wild.
She seemed to be planning how to ruin my hair in the most creative way possible.
Letting down the hair I had tied up on one side, I leaned toward her.
“I’ll leave it to you.”
“Hehehe… Okay.”
“Don’t laugh.”
“I’m not laughing.”
Seeing the Young Lady’s serious expression as she focused on her “art,” I let out a sigh of resignation and closed my eyes.
Swoosh. Feeling the gentle touch of her hands on my hair brought a sense of calm, and I began to imagine what kind of “masterpiece” she would create.
A chicken comb.
A topknot.
Slicked-back hair?
It was impossible to predict what kind of masterpiece the talentless Young Lady would produce.
I figured it would be better for my mental health not to have high expectations. If it turned out less disastrous than expected, I’d feel pleasantly surprised.
Biting my lower lip, I watched the Young Lady concentrating and barely held back my laughter.
Just as my eyelids began to droop under the weight of drowsiness…
“Done!”
At the triumphant declaration of the Young Lady, I shook off my sleepiness and looked at her.
“How is it?”
Holding up a hand mirror, her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she showed me her work. Like a novice painter unveiling their first masterpiece, her expression was a mix of nervousness and excitement. I looked up slowly, trying to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out.
And then.
“What is this!”
I burst into laughter at the bizarre creation—a ponytail sticking straight up toward the sky.
“Why!”
The Young Lady shouted, defending her “masterpiece.” Her ridiculous argument that tying my hair with a rubber band to make it “cute” wasn’t a problem only made me laugh harder. Pointing at the absurd ponytail sticking out from the top of my head, I replied with a face flushed red.
“What is this! I’m not a ten-year-old kid!”
“It’s pretty! It’s cute!”
“Do you know how old I am? This looks ridiculous on me!”
“Eeeek! Look closely!”
The Young Lady held out the hand mirror and said,
“Isn’t it pretty?”
“No. I look like an alien with antennas.”
“No, you don’t!”
After a while, as she continued to argue about her creation, the Young Lady finally let out an honest “Pfft” and started laughing.
“Snrk!”
“Did you just laugh?”
“Pffft!!”
“Huh? You laughed.”
“Kyaaaa, hehehe… Hihihi!”
“I said, don’t laugh!”
“Ricardo with antennas…! Haha, it’s just too funny!”
“Ugh. Sigh…”
Unable to resist each other’s ridiculousness, we both burst into laughter, unable to stop smiling even as we ate dinner.
“Antennas.”
“Stop laughing!”