Chapter 17: Chapter 16

Episode 16

Translator: missme

“Sister?”

Ash lifts himself from the desk.

Then, with his long legs, he quickly came and moved the tray in my hand to his own hand before I could say anything.

“What brought you here?”

“…..”

There was no time to say what was on my hand.

Ash was holding it but didn’t even look at the tray.

He seemed to have just taken it e as if it were a habit.

I had a slight cough and opened my mouth.

“I’m here to give you that. It’s honey water so……..”

“Honey water?”

Ash, who belatedly gave a good look on the tray, said briefly “So this is from Besi.”

“Yes.”

I didn’t ask how he knew.

Everyone in the mansion already knew that Besi was considering honey water as a cure for fatigue or a cure for all diseases.

“It must be inconvenient for you, coming here personally.”

Ash said so, putting the tray down anywhere on the nearest table.

The uninterested honey water has become a little shabby.

Soon Ash dragged me a chair so that I could sit down, I hesitated a little and sat there.

‘It’s…’

As I sat down, I glanced sideways through the room.

‘…..it’s looked the way it used to be.’

The view of the bedroom coming into sight was familiar.

There was not much difference compared to what remained in memory.

The furniture changed little by little, but the layout was still the same, decorating the room.

If my memory was not wrong, paintings of sculptures and walls remained unchanged.

Wallpapers and curtains were the same as before.

‘No, this is too similar.’

Is this okay? That’s from long time ago.

On the one hand, I was comfortable but flustered.

I knew that Ash wasn’t interested in decorating and renovating the place.

However, I did not expect his room to be so neglected.

Should I say, “Isn’t that too much of a problem?” Or should I say, “I’m glad that I feel comfortable in this place?”

In any case, it was true that the tension in the room was somewhat relieved thanks to the similar scenery of the room.

Although it was a long time ago, rather than in my head, I felt in my skin that here was a place that I used to visit often.

I didn’t come into the place where I couldn’t get in the first place, but I still wonder why I was nervous… Well, that’s okay because I’m going to go now.

While thinking about that, Ash sat opposite and opened his mouth.

“How are you feeling?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s alright. I’m fine, my body feels light. Maybe because I slept soundly.”

“It’s relieved then.”

After such retort, Ash looked at me quietly.

It was as if he was at least checking if the word “alright” was true.

I endured static glances in the feeling of being examined, and soon felt a little awkward, so I changed my words.

“And you?”

He looked at me as if he was saying ‘what do you mean by that?’.

“I thought you’d be sleeping. I heard you stayed up all night…..”

I wanted to ask if you are not tired. I peeped into Ash’s face.

Ash, who didn’t sleep a wink all night, didn’t get that kind of looks just by looking at his face.

There was no sign of fatigue or emaciation.

But not being obvious on the outside would not necessarily be synonymous with not feeling tired.

“Why were you working?”

I turned around and asked, and the answer came out right away.

“It’ll bother the butler if I work in the office.”

No, that wasn’t the thing I curious about.

But why does it make sense? I almost nodded.

Our valiant butler was surprisingly unobtrusive when he nagged. Even the villain psychopath couldn’t avoid his nagging.

It was fortunate that the butler was competent. That’s why he’s still alive.

“I’m not tired enough to sleep.”

Ash’s answer followed.

I was silent for a moment. This was the right answer to the question, but somehow it was more difficult to accept than what I had heard before.

You’re not tired? But you didn’t sleep at all…

Then Ash suddenly reached out.

“…..?”

The tip of his finger touched my hair.

I inadvertently held my breath at the mysterious contact.

The touch was relaxed and soft. Ash opened his mouth.

“Outside.”

“…”

“It looks like there’s a lot of wind outside.”

I realized what the word meant only a moment later after Ash had taken his hand.

Ash tidied up my hair.

I patted my hair again in a daze. Was my hair that messed up?

But there was no wind, no, I never went outside…

Thinking so, it suddenly occurred to me that I had just scratched my hair as I climbed the stairs.

‘Heok.’

Wa, wait. And then I came all the way here?

‘…….!’

Embarrassment surged in. I wandered around looking for a place to put my eyes where it was obvious that the pupil earthquake would have occurred even if I didn’t

Bes, Bessi must have been really busy.

She saw me with that hairstyle and just left.

And so did Sir Davery. This man is really nothing but a guard. He should have just let me know.

“The weather is……Ehm. Yeah, it’s kind of like that.”

I coughed again. Yeah, let’s blame the weather.

The wind was really strong. It was a strong wind.

I stared at the amber honey water with shame.

Then I realized something and immediately turned my head back.

“Wait. Ash, you!”

As soon as I realized, I was so nervous that I forgot it.

Staring straight at him, I said

“Why are you lying?”

“Lie?”

“You said you’re not tired, but you’re tired. You speak slower than usual.”

Ash had a habit. Should I call it his habit? or his characteristic?

When his body feels tired, his speaking speed slows down than usual.

Even if it slows down, it’s not easy to notice because it’s actually at a fine level.

But I’ve seen Ash do this many times when we were a kid.

I could be sure. I was still a master at distinguishing the difference.

I can’t believe his body grew up so rapidly that he still had the same habits as he did when he was a kid.

Ash seemed to pause at my point and soon closed his eyes slowly and opened.

“How did you know? I thought you wouldn’t know.”

“I would know when I hear, why wouldn’t I know?”

“Everyone else wouldn’t know.”

Ash smiled lightly. While I was briefly distracted by an unknown laugh, his words continued.

“I didn’t lie. It’s not that I’m not tired at all, but I’m not that tired.”

“But… you said you didn’t sleep all night.”

“It’s all right. Are you worried?”

asked Ash. It’s a question I can answer, but it’s hardened as if I had been ambushed.

Was I worried?

“…he…he…..of course, I’m worried. You’re my family.”

I don’t know if it’s because I’m worried or if it’s because I’m sorry, but it’s true that something is tangled in my mind.

But the back of the horse was all fours. I thought I shouldn’t have put it on.

You don’t have a family.

After I spat out the answer, Ash didn’t say much.

When Ash didn’t open his mouth, there was naturally silence.

Time went by, with only eyes on him.

The bright yellow eyes stayed still. It was as deep as a lake as ever and as calm as a waveless surface.

In the meantime, there seemed to be some sort of disturbance.

……..what was he thinking?

Maybe he’s just thinking about something else.

Somehow there was a strange tension. The air seemed to have stopped awkwardly. Or flowing very slowly, as if it had stopped.

I felt my mouth was drying up, so I forced myself to swallow the saliva that didn’t gather well. Even the slightest flickering of the eye was conscious.

Then Ash picked up the honey water that he had put near the table. Then he took it in one gulp. The turtleneck moved a few times and the glass was clear.

I blinked my eyes and broke the silence.

“……are you thirsty?”

“Well.”

With the honey water emptied so quickly, Ash gave a vague answer.

Ash tilted his head slightly as he put down the empty glass.

“There are times like that.”

“…..”

“Sometimes when I’m thirsty.”

……did he have a cold?

It’s the case if I got cold. There are symptoms of sudden thirst. I was kind of like that.

But the problem here was that as far as I know, Ash has never had a cold since he was kid. Whether he was born with a natural constitution, petty illness was the next word that was far from Ash after morality.

I’ve got a decent family in my mouth.

“Because I didn’t sleep. I’m thirsty because I’m tired.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

He said he wasn’t tired enough to sleep, but his body must have a different opinion. Ash was a step faster in trying to put it that way.

“Sister.”

“Huh?”

“Agrita Grace.”

I flinched weakly. The name that came out of nowhere somehow felt more strange than usual. I didn’t know it would happen because it was the first time I heard it through Ash’s voice.

Ash continued.

“Do you like her?”

“……huh?”

“Do you want me to make her your doll?”

It took me a while to recognize what I heard. Soon I shook my head.

“No!”

“Why?”

“Why?”

“It’s convenient. If I make it into a doll, there’s no reason she would fall into the pond because it doesn’t move freely.”

“……”

“And sister wouldn’t have to jump in.”

Wait, hold on. Am I being scolded for jumping into the pond?

Then Ash leaned forward. The natural clearance was reduced because of the opposite position.

He stopped moving.

His golden eyes, which looked much closer than before, reflected me like a mirror.

Ash spoke slowly.

“I like everything sister does. I don’t mean to interrupt anything.”

“……”

“Instead, when something happens to sister, I can’t let the rest go.”.”

“……”

“That’s all you need to know.”

If I get hurt, I’ll take over for someone else. Ash’s voice was low and quiet.

There is no empty word in Ash’s dictionary. I blinked at his ‘not warning’ warning and asked carefully after swallowing my dry saliva.

“Who’s the rest?”

The answer flowed like a whisper, but without hesitation.

“Everyone except my sister.”