—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That night.
I was lost in thought.
10,000 times. In this state, achieving it was nearly impossible.
But surely, there must be some means…
“For now, I should sleep. I’m tired.”
I rubbed my gritty eyes. My body was already sickly. If I didn’t take good care of it, I might die when I least expected it.
It was like playing a roguelike game where I was a mob character. There might be a chance of returning, but acting with that negligible chance in mind was absurd.
I was about to extinguish the fire I had created with magic, floating in the air, and cover myself with the blanket. Just as I was almost asleep…
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on my room’s door, made of paulownia wood.
“At this hour…?”
I got up irritably and approached the door.
“Who is it?”
The person who answered my exasperated voice was unexpected.
“Y- Young Master. It’s me.”
Nias’ trembling voice was heard. I felt puzzled as I tried to open the door but paused for a moment and focused my senses. I didn’t feel any killing intent.
“What is it? Last time, you came early in the morning even though I didn’t tell you to, and today you’re a night owl? Are you… okay?”
I looked at Nias and spoke with a slight surprise. Nias was standing there holding a candle, wearing a sleeping cap with white frills on her head. Her eyes were glistening as if she was about to cry at any moment. Perhaps due to the crimson candlelight, the moisture shining in Nias’ eyes looked more vivid.
“I’m sorry for the late hour…”
“I know, but why did you come? So, what’s the matter?”
I asked Nias, opening my mouth, which had been momentarily blocked.
“D- don’t laugh at me.”
“I will laugh. Tell me.”
“Don’t laugh!”
“Ah… You’re annoying. Alright. I won’t laugh. So, what is it?”
Nias hunched her shoulders.
“I had a scary dream…”
“What?!”
I was more surprised than amused. The demon king came running while crying because she had a scary dream and was frightened?
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like a lie. No, it was definitely a lie.
“Okay. Too bad. Sleep well.”
I closed the door again. To be exact, I was about to close it but abruptly stopped. Nias tightly held onto my sleeve as if she wouldn’t let go.
“You’re not letting go?”
“I- I won’t let go.”
She was being stubborn. I got irritated because I wanted to lie in bed immediately as I was tired.
“What do you want to do?!”
“…Can’t we sleep together?”
With her shoulders hunched like a scolded puppy just before getting in trouble, I saw her black eyes staring at me blankly.
Come to think of it, there was a setting where Nias often had nightmares. My heart was moved, but letting Nias into my room… and at night, defenseless, was a bit…
“I’ll be good. I’m good at being quiet. You might not know, Young Master, but I can even hold my breath well!”
Nias spoke quietly and approached me closely. With an expression filled with fear and hesitation, yet also looking at me as if desperately relying on me. Overwhelmed by that strongly pushing force, I inadvertently answered.
“C- come in.”
Nias smiled slightly, her face flushing with joy.
Then, a strong wind blew through the hallway with a whoosh. Perhaps a window was open somewhere. But the candle was extinguished due to the wind. Ting, clang.
A sound of Nias dropping the candle was heard, perhaps startled.
“Ah, the candle…”
“Stay still. I’ll do it.”
“No, it’s my fault for dropping it…”
Bong!
“Ugh…!”
“Eek…!”
While lowering my head to pick up the candle, I bumped into Nias. I felt a momentary dizziness in my head, then it gradually faded away.
“…Hey.”
“I- I’m sorry.”
Fwoosh.
The magically created fire transferred to the candle. As the surroundings brightened, I saw Nias rubbing her head as if in pain.
“You idiot. I can just create fire with magic.”
“Hehe… I’m sorry…”
Seeing Nias laughing awkwardly, I slowly got up with a sigh.
“Anyway, come in.”
I entered the room first, holding the candle. Nias, who followed me closely, looked around while I lay on the bed, then quietly lay on the floor.
“What are you doing?”
“What? I’m trying to… sleep… Did I do something wrong again?”
“Are you a beggar? Why are you sleeping on the floor? The bed is wide, so sleep on top.”
“What?! Me?! But the Young Master shouldn’t sleep on the floor…”
I had no choice but to shout in disbelief.
“You think I’ll sleep on the floor?!”
“I- I’m sorry!”
Nias let out a whimper, hunching her shoulders.
I drew about a quarter of the bed with my hand. Still, it was a considerable space since the bed was huge.
“You take this narrow side. I’ll take this wide side.”
“…But is it really okay for me to sleep on Young Master’s bed?”
“If anyone says anything, I’ll tell them I told you to. Sleep.”
I lay down on the bed and covered myself with the blanket. If I still didn’t feel any killing intent, it meant it was a safe situation.
Behind my back, I heard the bustling sound of Nias hesitantly climbing onto the bed.
Soon, silence descended, and quiet breathing resounded.
I slowly evened out my breathing and pretended to sleep. Even though I had ended up on the same bed as Nias, I hadn’t let go of my guard.
After some time, there was a rustling movement from Nias’ side. As I thought, she was going to… use the night to…
However, what I had expected didn’t happen.
Nias had somehow snuggled up close behind my back. As if she didn’t think there was a boundary line from the beginning.
“…It’s warm.”
Nias muttered. The small girl’s body was trembling slightly, making soft breathing sounds.
“If I sleep like this… I feel like I’ll have nightmares again. I’m sorry. You must hate it, Young Master.”
Nias spoke in a small voice, almost whispering, like the sound of a gentle breeze. She probably wasn’t saying it, thinking I would hear her, so I continued pretending to sleep.
“I keep having nightmares. Scary dreams… Dreams of being alone. Hated, disliked… Dreams of people driving me out and me living alone. And then… Father torments me. Saying everything went wrong because of me… Because of me… It seems like everyone hates me.”
Nias’ breath touched my back hotly. The anguish pent up in Nias’ heart was slowly being spilled out, one by one.
Maybe she wanted someone to listen to her. Maybe she wanted someone to understand her.
Because Nias had never felt human warmth, both when she was the demon king and after being reborn.
“…But Young Master is a bit different. I feel like you’re not tormenting me because you hate me. It’s strange. Why… is that?”
Nias was confused.
“Because of that strange feeling, I think I’m gradually changing. I don’t know if I like you or not, Young Master. That… scares me so much.”
I felt a tingling sensation. Nias, who had been sincerely pouring out her story, harbored killing intent towards me.
“Even now… it’s like that. I shouldn’t feel this way.”
The energy of Nias’ curse slowly began to ripple. She was hesitating now, but it seemed she would soon decide.
If I intervened with magic or let her know I was awake, she would stop, but I couldn’t do that now. I had just heard her hidden thoughts. It might even backfire.
If the direct approach didn’t work, it was time to take a gamble.
I turned around and tightly embraced Nias, who was behind me.
“Eek!”
Nias let out a slight surprised sound.
A warm and petite body. A sweet scent tickled my nose, perhaps because she had washed her hair before bed. Nias squirmed and started a timid resistance, but I didn’t let go.
What Nias liked wasn’t ‘dropping and picking up.’ She just wanted the person who liked her to torment her. So, if I liked Nias, that would be enough.
“Nias… you idiot…”
I muttered like that as if I was sleep-talking.
At the same time, the mana of Nias, who had been casting a curse, gradually began to disperse.
Nias’ hand touched my cheek. Nias, gently brushing my bangs, answered in a small voice.
“Yes. Young Master.”
My eyes were closed, but she was probably smiling. Somehow, I wanted to see Nias’ foolishly smiling face, but unfortunately, I had no choice but to endure.
*Ding!*
It seemed I had discovered the final secret.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
It was the next morning.
I must have fallen asleep without realizing it, as I slowly opened my eyes.
“Hey. Nias. It’s morning now. Hurry up and get lost… Huh? What?”
But the space beside me was empty. There was no lingering warmth that would have been evidence of Nias’ presence.
At first, I thought she had gone to wash up, but Nias didn’t appear with her usual beaming smile. Not in the morning, nor at lunchtime.
And eventually, I realized that Nias had gone missing.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
