Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: As Expected, Dia Loves Ganeghan!!!!! (5)
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Ganeghan.
Ganeghan was there.
It was the man Dia had been desperately searching for.
Even though she had wanted to see him so badly, and had carefully organized in her mind all the things she wanted to say and do upon reuniting, the moment she actually saw Ganeghan, nothing came to mind.
Everything in the room froze, and only the tears streaming down the young lady's cheek kept flowing steadily.
And the first action the man took was to let out a deep sigh.
"I heard the maids cleaned, so why on earth is the floor in this state?"
Only after saying that did Ganeghan seem to notice the rag near Dia's knee.
Meeting her trembling eyes head-on, Ganeghan asked calmly.
"Did you do this yourself, Young Lady? That's a different story then. You did a decent job, all things considered."
"Wha... wha...? Why... did you... come back..?"
The voice of her own self, yelling at him never to appear before her again, still lingered vividly in her ears.
Even her sister had declared she would deny Dia any chance to see Ganeghan before leaving the room.
So, naturally, she hadn't dared to hope.
Ganeghan picked up the bucket without responding to Dia's words at all.
"The water's filthy. You kept mopping with this? I see. Well, you couldn't leave the room, so no choice. Hold on a moment."
Ganeghan muttered that and headed out of the room.
It was a bit annoying how carefully he opened and closed the door, as if some monster lurked outside.
But anyway, such things weren't important.
The important fact was that Ganeghan was right there in front of Dia, moving about.
She ran through various possibilities in her head, but none seemed plausible.
Did he really come back? Could she see him from now on?
...Or was this just a farewell visit?
"No!"
Like a seizure, Dia convulsed and shouted without thinking.
But it happened just as Ganeghan, who had fetched fresh water in the bucket, reentered the room.
An invisible question mark floated above Ganeghan's head, which bore his usual sharp expression. He tilted his head.
"...Pardon?"
Dia flinched in surprise and shook her head. She even sprang up from where she had been slumped on the floor.
"No, uh. It's nothing! That wasn't said to you!"
"If you don't like it, just say so. I can call a maid."
"No! Don't go!"
Dia's small hands grabbed Ganeghan's hand tightly. It was her way of gripping with all her might, as if vowing never to let go again.
It was sincere.
"Don't go.... Okay?"
She didn't want him to leave. And at the same time, she was curious why he had returned.
She wanted to hear Ganeghan's answer. What he was thinking, how he saw her now. There were so many questions.
"You told me to leave before."
"Ah... That was..."
Ganeghan's casual remark hit her painfully.
It was selfish and belated, but she wondered if every word she had spat had hurt him too. She prayed it wasn't so.
"...That was....."
Tears welled up instantly in the young lady's eyes, frozen stiff with tension.
Ganeghan had no idea why she was like this, but Dia was terribly anxious. Afraid he might say he was leaving right now.
If he got angry instead, that would be a relief.
"Never mind. Come here."
"Uh, okay?"
Ganeghan lightly embraced Dia from behind.
With their builds and heights so different, it naturally looked like he was enveloping her.
In that position, he placed his hand over hers, gripped the rag, and dipped it into the bucket.
The newly fetched water was cool and clear.
He lifted it, saturated with water, and squeezed Dia's hand tightly. Her hand naturally wrung out the rag.
"You won't often have to clean yourself, Young Lady. But until you can communicate with the servants again, it'll happen pretty frequently."
The doctor had her poke the rag, now damp but not dripping, with her fingers.
"This level of wetness is ideal. Otherwise, the floor turns into a lake in no time. It's fine if my room floods, but not yours. You might slip."
Then he pressed her hand down firmly, rubbing the floor a bit harder.
"And when mopping, do it with force like this. Otherwise, it'll be the same mess I saw when I came in. Just smearing dirty water around."
Dia was utterly bewildered by Ganeghan's nonchalant attitude as he taught her how to mop.
He neither got angry nor bid farewell. His sharp jawline merely gleamed in the sunlight streaming through the window.
She moved her hand following his guidance, but sadly, she couldn't focus on it at all.
In the end, a single tear fell from Dia's eye. And Ganeghan didn't miss it.
Ganeghan halted his hand abruptly.
"You're just a young lady, huh. Hate cleaning that much?"
"No.. No. It's not that..."
Unthinkingly, Dia brought her hand to her eye to wipe the tear.
Ganeghan grabbed her arm with a sharp tsk.
"That's the rag you were just using on the floor! Better not to wipe at all!"
Then he gently dabbed the tear with his sleeve.
"Or you could ask someone else to do it like this."
"Why.... Why did you come back?"
"Because I was worried."
"Worried...? About me...?"
"Yes. Worried about you, Young Lady. Makes sense, right? The cleaning I assigned turned into a disaster, and you don't look well either."
Ganeghan slowly combed through Dia's messy hair, which had been tousled by Abera.
Dia could only stare in shock.
She met Ganeghan's eyes once, then shyly lowered her head, gazing at the innocent rag. Her disheveled hair and dirt-stained clothes suddenly felt embarrassing.
"I... said such awful things to you. Even hurt you..."
"That's true."
"D-Don't tell me this is the last time and you're leaving again?"
Dia urgently asked at Ganeghan's firm, calm reply.
She didn't hate this situation at all. She was just anxious, not knowing how long it would last.
"Why.. no answer? Can't you... just answer?"
What if he really was leaving? Forever? Her tone mixed with unintended hurt.
"I'm teaching you this because I'll be staying a while."
Really?
Really?
It was an answer that instantly dissolved the resentment and fear gripping her heart.
"Even after... I acted so badly? Really?"
"You seem aware you behaved poorly."
"Ah...... Sorry."
The young lady, who had unconsciously gripped Ganeghan's clothes, quietly let go.
Suddenly, she felt she had no right to hold on.
Yet Ganeghan continued calmly.
"...Because you grabbed my hand back then."
"Huh?"
The sudden words thoroughly flustered Dia.
Her eyes naturally turned to Ganeghan's sharp gaze.
"You begged to live. Said you'd live differently. You grabbed my hand. So I only remembered that. No matter what else you said."
"Ugh...."
The anxiety Dia had been harboring alone melted away completely at those words.
The melted feelings manifested as tears. Even though she had just vowed not to cry again.
Dia ended up crying once more.
"Why are you suddenly crying like this? And your replies are a bit off from usual too."
"Sniff, snurf. Waaahhh..."
"Keep crying and I'll leave again. I'm already scared of the backlash if word spreads I made the young lady cry."
"Wh-who's crying... Waaahhh..."
As if to hide her crying face, Dia buried herself into Ganeghan's broad chest.
Ganeghan gently patted the back of the small form nestled in his arms and parted his lips.
"Looks like you're crying."
"Snurf, sniff. No! Waaahhh...."
"So, why did you hate me so much?"
"Because... Because you! Sniff, you did weird stuff with my sister first..."
Only then did Ganeghan understand.
Why Dia had reacted so sensitively.
So that's why. It was almost cute, so a small smile graced Ganeghan's face.
"You were jealous."
"N-No! Just stay quiet!"
"Then tell me to leave..."
"No! Absolutely not! Stay here. Right here..."
Please stay here. Chanting that inwardly, Dia kept burrowing into Ganeghan's chest like a mole. She cut him off every time he tried to speak.
There was no reason not to indulge that wish.
In the end, they stayed like that for quite a while.
Until the young lady fell asleep, breathing softly.
Ganeghan carefully brushed aside her bangs to check on the sleeping Dia.
She's asleep. Her face was so delicate and peaceful. Surely no nightmares.
"Falling asleep like this means no point in keeping the door closed."
The man muttered amid the tranquility.
It was a nap for the Menesil Family, somewhat sudden for everyone.
"Ganeghan... Hm... nya."
Even the young lady's sleep-talk was nothing but the doctor's name.