Chapter 64
Taking a bath was such a hassle.
“Ander Bils, strategist.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He was standing at the door, so I spoke up.
“My clothes…?”
“I’ve already instructed Verdin.”
“Oh, then what about my sister’s work…?”
“I was just about to finish that anyway. Would it be alright if I step out for a bit?”
“Yes, I’d appreciate that.”
“Very well.”
The sound of the door closing echoed. Well, it should be fine. He was someone who didn’t even know how to kiss properly—what could go wrong?
So I decided to take a proper shower. I turned on the water, and warm water came out.
Quest! Spring Day Dog II
Francis Patella is feeling a bit upset that ‘Player 2’ spent time with Adrian Russell.
Please choose one of the following options to comfort them! ▼
Option 1: Have dinner together.
Option 2: Spend the evening together.
Option 3: Visit Francis’s office.
Option 4: (Censored) (Auto-execute). ▼
Ah, I can’t go to the office, so it popped up again.
Then Option 2.
▼ You must spend at least one hour with Francis Patella to complete the quest.
Reward: None
Failure: Your right hand weighs 50kg
By now, I was too detached to argue about the game’s unfairness. Mountains are mountains, water is water… Damn it, I want to blow up both mountains and water!
For now, let’s just shower properly! That way, it will count as an hour.
But since it was just a shower, it didn’t even take ten minutes. I washed my hair too—damn it!
“Are you done?”
“Yes. Now it’s your turn, Sir Francis.”
“Oh, yes.”
Even though he hadn’t been able to kiss me before, why was I feeling so uneasy? It was because of my cheeks, flushed bright red. If he tried something weird, I’d just run away. Fifty kilograms… let’s endure it…!
“Hurry and finish.”
“Yes…”
Wash as slowly as possible.
- Thud
The door closed, and he disappeared. I grabbed a towel to roughly dry myself while looking around the room. Even upon a second look, it was clean, though not very organized. The potted plants would be better placed near the window. The clothes were neatly laundered and hung…
“Why hang them by color instead of by season…?”
Most of them were uniforms: summer, winter, etc. One side had casual clothes lined up, and there were even some similar to what I saw Adrian wearing before.
On the desk, there were signs of something hurriedly put away. It looked cleaner than when I first entered.
I wondered if it had been shoved into a drawer, and when I opened the first drawer, it was clearly hastily done. A paper book and a pen with ink not fully dried—its cover was smeared.
I brushed the smudges with my fingertips. It seemed it had just happened. I rubbed the smear between my thumb and forefinger, then opened the book.
To my surprise—it was a diary.
Naturally, I felt conflicted. Reading someone else’s diary is bad—a really, really bad thing. Interfering with someone’s private life too much can even be a crime.
But… I really wanted to read it.
I was curious about what Francis had been thinking, what had happened.
The cover was very worn, and the pages were frayed. It was obvious it had been written in consistently. I opened to a more recent section—it was almost finished, only a few pages left.
- Knock knock
“Sir Francis.”
“Oh! Y-Your Highness!”
Why was he so flustered?
I could hear the water running, and along with it, a slick sound abruptly stopped.
“I found your diary and… I want to read it.”
“Eh?”
“Would that be a problem?”
“Oh, n-no… just a moment… I’ll… show only the parts you can see…”
Perhaps he was embarrassed because I had spoken while he was bathing?
“Ugh…”
There was a squelching sound along with the water—he must have been flustered.
I had no proper clothes to wear, so I had to make do with a towel.
“I’ll borrow some clothes.”
“Oh, yes… Your Highness…”
“And I might lie on the bed too.”
“Y-Yes… th-that’s fine.”
He sounded like he was sighing. Maybe he didn’t want to lend clothes. I’d buy him a few new ones anyway, so borrowing one for now was fine. Verdin would bring clothes shortly, so this temporary solution worked.
- Click
“Your Highness.”
“Oh, you’re out?”
I was lying on the bed, bored and sleepy, my back aching. I really wanted to read the diary, so I waited with it in my hands.
“Ugh… why are you dressed like that…”
I wore something like a white shirt since I had no other option. I planned to cover myself simply, knowing I’d remove it once Verdin brought clothes.
This was probably the only clothing of Francis’s that fit me. Our body types and height differed too much.
“Shall I take it off?”
“Eh? Ah… yes…”
“Hahaha, taking my weird joke seriously again.”
“Ah…”
I lowered my flushed face as water droplets fell.
“Shake your hair and come here. I want to read the diary.”
“Yes.”
He shook his hair like a dog and wiped it with a towel. Except for the towel around his waist, he was almost naked. I thought it wasn’t appropriate to look directly.
“Your Highness?”
Of course, I only thought that, but I kept looking—trouble waiting to happen.
“Uh, so…”
“Yes. You… may observe.”
“Ha, haha… haha…”
I should refuse, tell him I didn’t mean that, but I didn’t. I stayed still.
When his hand touched the towel, I instinctively covered my eyes—but my hands, knowing the truth, didn’t shield my vision. I left the gap wide open.
His wet body was flawless, no extras. Being a knight, unlike Adrian, he had hardened patches and many scars, including burn marks.
“Why are these burns here?”
His hair was wet, dripping onto his back. I moved it aside and brazenly stared.
Francis swallowed and reddened, then licked his lips.
“When a wound is too large for stitching, it’s treated like this.”
“I see.”
“Would you like to touch it?”
“The scars?”
“…Yes.”
I wanted to. I got up slowly and touched the burn on his abs. It felt slightly different from normal skin—slippery, almost shimmering like scales, yet red.
“Ugh…”
“Ah, sorry. Still painful, isn’t it?”
“No, this….”
He covered his mouth with his arm and looked at me. His gray eyes had a hint of blue, more visible as his blush deepened.
Something remained hidden by the towels, but I decided to look away.
“Oh… I heard strange sounds when you showered…”
“D-did you hear?”
“Yes. But what were they? Strange for just washing.”
“Oh, that… well…”
He instinctively removed the towel when I glanced back. I pretended not to see and faced the bed, lying down again.
“I… thought I shouldn’t do… anything improper.”
“I see.”
“I wanted… to release… my strength…”
“Why? Didn’t carrying me wear you out enough?”
“Ah… that was light…”
His stammer was cute, and it made me drop any urge to tease him. I heard the sound of fabric and refrained from looking. He swallowed nervously.
“Am I light?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Light enough to carry all day without problem.”
“What kind of answer is that? Sounds like a polite way of saying heavy.”
Sure, he wasn’t light. No matter how light I was, I’m still a person! But I didn’t mind letting it slide this time.
“Are you fully dressed?”
“Yes.”
I turned to see he was wearing the same white button-up shirt as me.
“And pants?”
“I’ll put them on.”
He hurried to grab pants, looking flustered. I decided to tease him a bit.
“You should put on underwear first.”
“Ah… yes…”
His ears turned bright red, matching his hair—a cute sight.
“If pants are uncomfortable, you can just wear underwear.”
“Ah, yes…!”
Since this was for comfort, no need to be awkward.
He dressed slowly, and I lay face-down on the bed again. The diary with smudged ink was in front of me. Since he would inevitably come over, I split it open, eager to read first.
“Your Highness.”
I shivered, startled by his suddenly close lips. Francis’s bright red face was right in front of me.
