109 – Inevitable Circumstances -1-
On the way back home.
The lady, sitting on the ferry No. 1, was nodding off, succumbing to the overwhelming drowsiness. Her head, repeating back and forth like a pendulum of a clock, descended abruptly, and with a vigorous scream of ‘Eek!’ she shivered and looked back.
“Did you call me?”
“No.”
“…Strange. It feels like the demon of drowsiness is pushing down on my head.”
“It’s because of the mood.”
“Hmm.”
The lady nodded, acknowledging the nonsense she had just uttered.
A date with the lady alone.
Watching an entertaining play.
Indulging in luxury at a Western-style restaurant.
They even got into a skirmish with a street beggar, but it seemed like a meaningful time.
The way back to the mansion was as ordinary as always, but the long rows of trees and the faint light from the street lamps made the atmosphere feel more sentimental today.
A bit more beautiful.
Wishing this time could last longer.
The lady’s disheveled white hair, illuminated by the streetlamp, looked particularly beautiful today.
Sitting in a wheelchair, the lady, struggling against drowsiness, gently nodded her head and tapped her cheek with her hand.
“Umm… sleepy.”
“Please take a short nap. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.”
“No. Ricardo said he’d resign from the world if I doze off while driving.”
“I’m driving for you, so it’s okay.”
“Is that so?”
The lady nodded slightly and muttered something about giving chocolate for a substitute driver with a happy smile.
After about ten more minutes of walking, the lady, who had been lulling herself to sleep in the quiet atmosphere, turned her head slightly and looked at me.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“About today’s play. How was it?”
“It was good.”
“Don’t just say that, be more specific. Like if I should give you more chocolates or if there’s a moral lesson about not stealing chocolates.”
“Well… yes. I did think I should reduce the chocolates for the lady’s healthy diet.”
“Ugh…!”
The sulking lady clenched her fist and threatened. Observing her hand, which resembled a bear paw swiping forward, I gently tapped her forehead, saying, “Slow.”
“Ugh!”
I grinned.
“Just kidding.”
Then, in a calm voice, I subtly gave the lady the answer she wanted.
“Well… I thought I should treat the lady well in the future.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t that right?”
“Ugh! What’s that supposed to mean!”
“Hahaha! Just kidding. How about you, Lady?”
The lady turned her head quickly and grumbled. Complaining, ‘Always joking,’ she opened her mouth with a small snort.
“I… I realized I don’t want to be separated from Ricardo.”
Her face flushed hot.
I wondered what I had just heard. I covered the smile that was about to burst out of my mouth with my hand and asked in a trembling voice at the sudden words of the young lady.
“What’s wrong? Are you flirting?”
“Flirting?”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Are you teasing me?”
“No!”
The young lady, clenching her fist and waving her hands, shouted in frustration.
“I said that because I want Ricardo to live a long and healthy life in the future. I only want him to eat a little better, and… the people in the play looked so pitiful. I thought I should be kind if Ricardo is going to live long.”
“Oh… If you show it to me three more times, I will fall for you.”
“That’s not it.”
The young lady, her face flushed, sighed.
“Idiot.”
“You’re a fool.”
“Nitwit.”
“Sea urchin.”
“Hahaha!”
Continuing with a somewhat childish joke, we headed back to the mansion.
The date seemed quite successful.
*
The lady, with half-closed eyes from fatigue, was nodding off in a wheelchair.
To be precise, she was asleep.
“Koo…”
“Guest?”
“Hmm…”
“We’ve arrived. You need to pay.”
“Ricardo will take care of it…”
“Ugh…”
The girl didn’t wake up even when I gently pulled her cheek. I decided to let the fare slide and released her cheek that I had been holding for a long time.
Perhaps it was because it was late at night, the mansion was quiet. The servants who had been bustling around had long since gone home, and the master, Rosanna, and Kyle were nowhere to be seen in the living room.
In the quiet atmosphere that seemed to have no one, I let out a small sigh and carefully lifted the deeply sleeping girl in my arms.
“She’s light.”
How can someone eat so much with such a small body… It’s amazing.
“Ugh… chocolate.”
The sight of the girl deeply asleep, completely isolated from the word ‘worry,’ reminded me of a princess who fainted after eating an apple.
I briefly entertained the thought of waking her with a prince’s kiss, but I decided against it, as I am not a prince.
“Sleep well.”
Once the girl was in bed, she didn’t wake up easily. She was in such a deep sleep that she wouldn’t even notice if someone carried her, and she was snoring softly.
On top of a busy day, the drool from the girl’s mouth was dampening my sleeve.
“Koo…”
I whispered softly as I looked at the girl’s face.
“Good night.”
The footsteps climbing the stairs were overwhelmingly quiet. Lifting my heels to make no sound, I moved cautiously as if handling delicate glass crafts, afraid that even the slightest noise might wake the young lady.
Slowly ascending the stairs, I found myself standing in front of the young lady’s door.
[The most beautiful room in the world, ‘Olivia’s’ room]
– Wake her up, and suffer the consequences.
– Make noise, and face the wrath.
– Got it? Then scram.
Seeing the stern signs she had put up during her adolescence, a small chuckle escaped me.
“Ah, it’s scary, isn’t it?”
“Hmm… I’m hungry.”
“I see.”
– Grrr.
Carefully opening the door and stepping inside, I gently laid the young lady on the soft bed.
Pink curtains and a bed.
Despite her distant and villainous appearance, she had a hobby of collecting cute things like pink-colored items and teddy bears.
However, there was one small flaw.
Among the cute dolls, there was a teddy bear holding onto the arm of someone who seemed rather daunting, and a crocodile doll baring its teeth fiercely.
Still, it was an undeniable fact that she loved cute things, so with a small smile, I tidied up her beloved dolls in a corner of the bed and carefully laid her down.
As I gazed at the young lady’s sleeping face for a moment, her even breathing filled the room. I sat down by her bed, gently brushing her hair.
“Please flutter appropriately. My heart won’t last.”
“Are you planning to kill me with heart failure while living together for a long time?”
“Really….”
With a bitter smile, I placed my hand on the lady’s leg and ignited the circuit.
“You’re a fool.”
[Using ‘Rehabilitation Touch’ on a target contaminated with black magic consumes ‘1% of vitality.’]
Vitality used: 6%
Remaining vitality: 94%
[If it drops below -90%, the consumption of vitality will triple.]
With a cold warning, I sensed the scent of acrid blood on my lips. Despite my best efforts not to spit out the red liquid overflowing my throat, I had no choice but to cover my mouth as I coughed, feeling like my chest was about to burst.
“Cough… cough…!”
No matter how many times I did it, I couldn’t get used to it.
It felt like life was getting a little shorter.
There were no direct side effects on my body, but I let out a deep sigh, feeling like something fundamental was twisting with the pain.
“Haah… darn it…”
Yet still, I was happy.
It was something I could do for the lady, like a repayment for saving my life when I was young, just watching over her like a boy in a play.
Because I could have shy flutterings for an unrequited love.
As I smiled through the painful breaths, someday.
Someday, I thought, I would be able to walk with the lady, and with that hope of being able to muster up the courage, like a coward, I smiled.
The unbearable pain spread throughout my body, and just as a small groan was about to escape my lips.
*Squeak.*
The tightly shut door of the lady’s room opened, and the familiar figure of a man began to appear through the crack.
Despite being in his nightclothes, the fierce aura emanating from him was intense.
I was sure he would be asleep.
I couldn’t lift my head from the consequence of my careless mistake. If only I had been a little more cautious, if I had locked the door, I could have avoided this situation…
It was already too late for regrets.
Spitting blood.
The sight of the lady’s legs being touched by his hand was strange even to me.
The man, facing my confusion, spoke in a low voice.
“What are you doing?”
As his icy voice reached my ears, chills ran down my spine.
The coughing turned into a metallic sound, transforming into a rough breathing, and his expression turned even colder as he watched it happen.
I mumbled as I looked at the man.
“Oh… this is bad.”
Kai, the next head of the Desmund family who had warned me not to fool around before.
He was looking at me with a fierce expression.
“Get your hand off her right now.”
🍿🍿🍿
Wow so many death flags have been raised in the past few chapters I really hope Ricardo gets a happy ending. He has done so much for the lady and the people around him and in the end I hope he is rewarded for all his hard work. God I hope the play wasn’t a hint that this will end with Olivia being cursed but realizing Ricardo loved her in his final moments.
But so far ricardo have no romantic feelings towards fmc, he’s only grateful to her
no it actually says he does bro
Yes, and the play really spell it out for him you will die in the end