Chapter 36
I was so startled that I didn’t even realize Kid had moved in close beside me; my mouth just opened and closed wordlessly.
“Ah… n-no. I just can’t see anything….”
“You’ve got terribly bad eyesight.”
I rolled my eyes and somehow sensed that Kid was in an unusually elevated mood. However, I couldn’t be certain what exactly was making him feel good, so I held my tongue.
Whether I liked it or not, I had been facing Kid for nearly two weeks now, so even if he was unpredictable, I had at least come to vaguely sense his mood. I wasn’t particularly pleased with this growing familiarity.
‘Still… it doesn’t seem like he’s received anything from the blackmailer yet.’
As the hand under my chin began to feel uncomfortable, Kid suddenly curved his lips into a grin.
“Not going to greet me like yesterday? Or can’t you? I don’t see any additional flowers.”
The way his eyes curved mockingly was irritating. Strangely enough, even with the added variable of the mysterious blackmailer, I felt less afraid than yesterday.
“You said you’d try. Did you two have a lovers’ quarrel, ma’am?”
As if urging me to answer quickly, Kid tapped the underside of my chin with his index finger. Even so, he remained someone I feared, so I hurriedly spoke.
“Well… today Se-niel gave me a ticket to a piano recital and asked me to go with him this week. So I thought flowers wouldn’t be necessary…”
After saying it, I felt a slight regret that I should have just brought flowers as usual. Since I didn’t know what criteria counted as “success” in the blackmailer’s strange demand to make Se-niel pursue me, I finished speaking and then cautiously watched Kid’s reaction.
The corners of his lips, which had been slightly raised, dropped a little. He lifted an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Good for you.”
The warmth beneath my chin disappeared. Kid withdrew his hand and silently observed me. The atmosphere, different from before, felt tense.
Only then did I realize why he had felt somewhat less intimidating moments ago. The usual killing intent he carried around was absent.
Kid stood still in front of me, silently watching. His gaze was piercing, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Even though I had said things were fine, it didn’t seem to satisfy him.
‘Say something… anything.’
Kid being silent like this was when I felt most afraid. It was like being a captain on a fog-covered endless sea.
Holding my breath, I gripped the blanket tightly. Was he angry because I hadn’t added that I would try harder? Or was Kid’s standard that Se-niel should have been the one to ask me out first? Had I unknowingly thrown myself into death without understanding that?
As the silence dragged on, I timidly tried to say that I would try harder to persuade him.
Suddenly, the spot beside my bed dipped.
The culprit who had invaded my space casually snatched my blanket.
Half of the blanket that had wrapped around me like a cocoon was gone. I watched the entire act of this effortless theft unfold right in front of me.
‘W-what is he doing…?’
Before I could process the situation, Kid used his arm as a pillow, stretched out his legs, and lay down naturally on the bed. My eyes nearly popped out in shock.
Even though I knew better than anyone that Kid and common sense could never coexist, this was something I truly could not understand.
Was he tired from standing too long? Or did the bed suddenly look very comfortable to him?
Watching him even close his eyes, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. He just lay down next to me like that? Why?
His overly calm demeanor made me even wonder if I was the strange one. Still, I felt a strange relief that he hadn’t taken my pillow. Even while my reason labeled him as completely insane, somewhere in my mind I could feel that I had grown used to such madness.
‘Is he… sleeping? Hey, are you sleeping?’
Despite the absurdity of the situation, Kid continued trying to sleep. It seemed that unless I kicked him out, he intended to stay here.
I desperately wanted to wrap him in the blanket and roll him off the bed. But the only thing I could realistically do was scoot to the edge of the bed and try to subtly drive him away with words.
“Are you planning to sleep here…? It might be uncomfortable here. This environment isn’t suitable for someone like you, Kid. It could affect your health and mood…”
“Stop worrying about me and go to sleep quietly. Oh, right—Lady Se-niel’s wife needed to be put to sleep before she could sleep, didn’t she?”
Why is his mind jumping there?
Kid half-opened his eyes and smirked.
My survival instincts screamed a warning.
“No! I can sleep on my own, so don’t worry about me. Please rest comfortably!”
I shook my head vigorously, insisting that I was a capable adult who could sleep alone.
Kid, who had been lying facing me, turned his body slightly. When our eyes met, he wordlessly tapped the space beside him, gesturing for me to come over.
I was reminded of when I had slept on Kid’s lap. I had thought that would be a one-time thing, but it seemed I had introduced him to a new bad habit.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I tried to persuade him.
“You must be tired and it’s troublesome to put me to sleep, so I’ll just sleep here on my own—”
Tap, tap. The sound of the mattress being tapped cut me off. Kid tilted his chin, silently urging me to lie down. The absence of any threat was somehow even more frightening. Instinctively realizing I shouldn’t resist further, I slowly crawled into his arms.
‘Is he trying to torture me to death?’
I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to bear watching what I was doing. I couldn’t understand why Kid had developed an interest in this new form of torment. Not that I had any intention of understanding.
Kid wrapped an arm around my back. For a moment, I flinched, thinking a knife might be driven into my back.
Contrary to my fears, his touch was gentle as he patted my back.
It seemed he intended to keep patting me until I fell asleep. His hand didn’t stop.
There was no urging me to sleep, no silent threats—but it was still uncomfortable.
And yet, perhaps because I had already shared the bed with him multiple times without incident, my guard had begun to erode.
Somewhere deep inside, a corner of my feelings associated his presence with the warmth of a mother, a sense of comfort I shouldn’t have been feeling.
‘Have I finally lost my mind?’
Feeling comfort in the arms of the very enemy I should be most wary of…
With my eyes tightly shut, my other senses sharpened. Unpleasantly, I could hear Kid’s heartbeat and smell his scent.
Between discomfort and comfort, my exhausted body began to grow drowsy.
My thoroughly fried brain came up with the absurd thought that Kid’s touch felt like he was comforting me for having endured a hard day.
I knew very well that wasn’t true—and could never be true. I didn’t want comfort from Kid in the first place. He was the one who ruined my life, so why would I accept comfort from him?
Even knowing all of that, my weakened mind drifted toward that faint warmth.
Wow. I’ve really gone crazy.
My consciousness, still somewhat lucid, began to drift away from reality.
Just before falling asleep, I made a faint protest in my mind:
‘…I don’t want Kid’s so-called hug therapy…!’
But it had little effect.
I had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Without the curtains drawn, the morning sunlight streamed through the window and struck my face. I turned my body to avoid the light, but something blocked me. I tried to push it away with my eyes still closed, but it wouldn’t budge.
Annoyed at being held in place, I finally opened my eyes.
“……”
I wasn’t the only one awake.
The person in front of me looked groggy, as if just waking up. His unfocused eyes looked at me dully.
The promise the “good boy” had made yesterday came faintly to mind. He had said he would be helpful to me, his eyes shining so brightly…
Before Se-niel could become properly flustered, I awkwardly smiled and greeted him.
“Good morning.”
