22 – Control
Thomas, with a face full of annoyance, repelled the troupe of Prince Taylor.
‘Surely, his annoyance is because of me.’
Betty’s thoughts are gradually turning to self-deprecation.
The feeling of betrayal by deception.
Moreover, the factor behind her deception was her appearance.
It must be contemptible.
The deep sigh that accompanied his annoyance was all because of her.
Without a doubt, she would be rejected again.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Betty was engulfed in immense fear.
It was different from the small, piercing pain she always felt each time she was rejected.
An indescribable unease and fear. It felt as though it was triggering her survival instinct.
If he rejects her. No, if he abandons her. She feels like she will fall apart.
Tears well up and her body trembles.
He is approaching her.
The moment his foot stops, she fears the words that will come from his mouth.
She doesn’t care about any insults she might hear. Those things don’t scare her at all.
But the single anticipated phrase drives Betty to the edge of terror.
The squirming power is now almost out of control.
A whirlwind of power starts to swirl around Betty’s body.
But she didn’t even realize that.
Thomas, who walks up to her nose and stops.
“S-sorry. Sorry. S-sorry. Sorry. Sorry…”
All he could do was to apologize over and over.
His expression was complicated and delicate.
She wished he would rather scold her with contemptuous eyes.
She would gladly accept any humiliation and contempt.
“Don’t leave me… Please, don’t abandon me…”
She carefully grabs the hem of his shirt and pleads.
If she doesn’t do that, it seems like he will soon turn his body and leave her.
Now the tears start to roll down her chin and fall to the floor.
Thomas’s hair blows fiercely.
“Whoa!”
“Ah!”
Dismayed shouts came from here and there, but none of them reached Betty’s ears.
Thomas’s hand raises.
Betty clenches her eyes shut.
Alright, hit me instead.
Betty brace herself for the blow that will come to her head.
But in the next moment,
A large hand landing lightly ‘tuk’ on her head.
– Swoosh Swoosh.
And then she felt a gentle caress.
Cautiously, she opened her eyes and saw the smiling face of Tom, who looked at her intently.
——————
“It’s starting again.”
This time, it wasn’t a feeling shot directly from someone,
but a whirlwind began swirling around her body.
“How could she have lived like this until now…”
The question lurked. If those mood swings caused this much impact, how on earth did she handle school life?
I slowly approached her, careful not to provoke her.
I felt like a zookeeper approaching a beast with food.
The whirlwind was getting bigger.
The attention of the park had been focused on us from the beginning, but now the wind was slowly starting to affect them.
I barely reached her, a mere distance from touch and stopped, feeling the strong wind hitting my face directly.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry…”
She was uttering ‘sorry’ incessantly.
I could guess what she was sorry about.
‘Is she feeling guilty for hiding her appearance?’
Why would she have done that?
As I thought while getting slapped by the wind, I soon came to a conclusion.
‘Her appearance isn’t considered the epitome of beauty in this world.’
Considering the mild expression, recalling what the Anderson family said when she was summoned, she might have been treated quite brutally.
‘How could that be?’
I couldn’t help being shocked by the vision of the men of this world.
Her red hair was charming, and she was a beauty with a mixed racial feel, an eternal youth.
As a woman, her body style was excellent. If I dare to say it bluntly… she had a childbirth type body.
Above all, when looking down, her feet were not visible.
It’s covered by splendid things!!
‘When I think about it….’
There was also a part where the women’s aesthetic perspective on men was slightly off.
Surely, pretty boys have also been universally popular in the original world.
But a petite and small man, worth protecting, was not a universally popular factor.
It was then that I understood everything.
‘I can’t believe amidst all this I was entertaining identical thoughts… am I an idiot…’
Probably, the woman I saw at the clothing store might be Beatrice Tayler herself.
‘Come to think of it, the Duke was also acting strange at that time,’
His demeanor when I asked if he had a younger sister.
He had glanced at me with eyes that seemed to be asking what nonsense I was speaking.
There were also others, quite a few points of speculation appear.
I couldn’t have predicted any of these at that time, but now, I am capable of making cool-headed speculations.
‘A cold wind is good for clearing one’s thoughts,’
After clearing my thoughts, I looked down at her.
“Don’t abandon me… please, don’t abandon me…”
She weakly reaches out and holds onto my sleeve.
She begs with streams of tears pouring down her face.
The range affected by the gust of wind is gradually widening. It gets to the point that even breathing becomes difficult.
“Woah!”
“Ahh!”
A person who spills coffee due to the abrupt gust of wind,
A person whose hat flies off.
It seems dangerous to let it continue any longer.
What to do?
I cautiously raise my hand.
She tightly closes her eyes.
Did she think I was about to hit her?
‘How does one even live to have such a high level of victim mentality,’
I felt sorry for her.
Slowly, I put down my hand and placed it on her head.
I stroked her hair.
She looked up at me, I tried my best to flash a kind smile.
“It’s okay. It’s okay…”
Including the dialogue that was seemingly stuck onto the page as an afterthought.
I don’t know what’s okay either. Usually, one finds peace in simply covering up the awkwardness and repeatedly implying that everything’s fine.
She blankly looked up at me for a moment,
and then, adding to her shedding tears, they flowed down like a waterfall.
“Ohhhhh!!! Waaa!!!”
Suddenly, she started crying out loud and dragged me into her embrace.
“Whoa!”
When our bodies fully molded together, I could feel the intensity of her magic power.
This power was a mix of all types of emotions.
Anxiety, fear, loneliness, anger and so on, all the negative feelings.
However, layered overtop of that, I felt relief, joy, and goodwill.
The problem is that even these positive feelings become the same if they are uncontrolled.
Her emotions that poured out like an explosion were on the brink of causing a magic explosion.
‘It’s going to be big…!’
As if to mock the past tempest, something bigger was on its way.
Considering the current situation, it felt like the cafe tables could hover.
“Betty, calm down…”
Being so close to her, it was hard for me to articulate my words.
‘Please, please calm down…!’
That was when changes started to occur.
“Huh?”
Could it be that my desperate prayers were working?
She slowly started to calm down.
‘No… This isn’t it…’
Something clicked. It wasn’t because of my prayer.
Experimentally, I reflected my will onto her magical power as I did in magic class.
‘Yes, that’s it.’
Suddenly, a new concept sprang to mind.
It was about considering her as a magic crystal or a magic bracelet.
I painted an image in my mind of controlling her magical power and breathed will into it.
‘Hmm…’
I felt a slight resistance.
As expected, because she was a human, she didn’t become like a flexible sphere of energy or a bracelet.
I wondered if there was a way to eliminate the resistance.
‘It’s a bit of a stretch, but I have no choice.’
I wrapped one arm around her back, which was pressed against me, and hugged her tightly. With my other hand, I stroked her head again.
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Then, I whispered in her ear.
“Accept me.”
Betty flinched and her ears turned red. However, the corners of her mouth went up at the same time.
‘Is this okay…?’
My face flushed as well, but I couldn’t help it.
Still, it was effective.
The resistance was definitely weakening, and it gradually became weaker.
I carefully increased the size of the will.
‘Just a little bit, just a little bit more…’
When I pushed the will a little too far, the resistance inevitably grew stronger.
I carefully increased my influence, looking for the right balance between the two.
And finally…
‘Got it.’
I succeeded in bringing most of her mana under my control.
I reined in her mana back into her body, and the surroundings became quiet.
Everyone stared at the two of us, their hair disheveled and their faces pale.
I quickly took my hands off Betty, but she was still clinging to me like a cicada.
“B-Betty? That’s enough…”
The customers and even the staff of the cafe looked at us as if to say, “What the hell are you doing?”
“Ha, hahahaha…”
I could only awkwardly scratch the back of my head.
———————-
After that, we left the cafe and sat side by side on a bench in a nearby park.
Of course, I apologized to the staff and customers one by one.
Around that time, Betty came back to her senses and helped me apologize and made amends.
I asked the café staff to contact the Anderson family separately.
‘Do I have to go through this again?’
I will continue to meet her, and even if we get married, we have to share a bed life together.
It would be very difficult if I had to experience this every time her emotions intensify.
‘Still, you managed to control it, didn’t you?’
I didn’t understand how it was possible at all.
Still, it was the only hope.
‘But…’
To control her, there is one penalty…
‘Is it a reward for me?’
I have to stay close to her.
Whether it’s a crystal ball or a bracelet, in order to use the magic power of a magical object as I wish, I need to make physical contact.
Her magic power is so immense that to control it, most of our bodies have to be in close contact.
‘Do I have to hug her every time there’s an emergency?’
‘She is silent…’
I thought maybe I should offer some sort of explanation, but she just sat on the bench with her head bowed and shoulders hunched, not saying a word.
“Um… Betty?”
“Hmm?”
She was surprised at my voice and quickly looked at me.
‘What should I say…’
Most of it has been figured out, but I still need to verify…
I gathered up courage and opened my mouth.