Episode 5. Was the reaction always this intense?
Episode 5. Was the reaction always this intense?
'.....Why isn't she leaving and just staring at me from there?!'
My breath caught in my throat, but I instinctively bit my lip hard, swallowing the scream that threatened to escape.
It felt as if every hair on my body was standing on end and the blood flowing through my veins was freezing cold.
'F-Fuck.....'
I had swung my head to loosen my stiff neck, only for my gaze to lock directly with Vivian-ssi's.
It was a split second, but it meant my pupils had focused precisely on her pink eyes.
'No way, she didn't notice my sight has returned, did she?!'
My heart hammered so violently it felt like it would burst through my ribs.
Yet, my survival instinct remained strangely calm in the face of this desperate crisis.
'No, she can't be sure yet.'
One saving grace was that although the lamp for guests was lit in the room, it wasn't very bright.
I unfocused my pupils again, letting them go hazy, and plastered the blank expression unique to the blind back onto my face.
"......The wind is quite cold. Is there a draft coming through the door crack?"
I tilted my head toward the empty air and muttered to myself.
Even so, Vivian-ssi said nothing.
She merely remained standing in the darkness with her arms crossed, watching me.
'Could it be..... she really suspects my sight is back and is watching me like that? Because I acted too skillfully during the treatment earlier?'
Cold sweat poured down my spine like rain.
My grand plan to pack my bags and flee in the middle of the night was shattered before it could even begin.
'For now..... let's act naturally.'
With stumbling steps, I made my way toward the cramped kitchen area.
Even though I could see perfectly fine, I didn't forget to purposely bump my shin slightly against the corner of a chair.
"Agh!"
With a short groan, I fumbled over the sink and found the rock-hard black bread and a water bottle.
Pretending not to see while preparing a meal was a far greater ordeal than I had thought.
'This should be enough to fool her, right? Please just leave!'
The hard bread I forced down my throat tasted like sand, completely devoid of flavor.
After finishing the meal in a state of extreme tension that felt like it would give me indigestion, I walked to the center of the room and muttered quietly to myself once more.
"Huu..... Since there are no more guests, should I turn off the lamp? It's the same darkness to me whether it's on or off anyway."
With that natural monologue, I blew out the dimly burning lamp.
However, thanks to the pale moonlight streaming through the window, the outlines of the room were still clearly visible to my eyes.
"I'm tired, I should sleep now."
Had I ever talked to myself this much?
Stretching, I directed my steps toward the bed.
I fumbled around to find the blanket, lay down, and pulled the duvet right over my head.
'She'll leave now, right? There's no reason to stay in someone else's house when they've turned off the lights and gone to sleep.'
Had about thirty minutes passed like that?
I peeked through a gap in the blanket.
"........!"
By the window, in the narrow space where the moonlight fell at an angle.
Vivian-ssi was still standing there as if nailed to the spot, staring at me under the blanket.
'Crazy..... Why isn't she leaving! Why!'
My body trembled with fear.
According to my original plan, I should have escaped these dreadful back alleys by now.
But because Vivian-ssi was blocking the doorway and watching me, my escape plan was turning to dust.
'Fuck, fine. Let's see who wins.'
An hour passed, then two.
During that time, I had to massage my legs, which felt like they were cramping, fighting an endless battle against time.
What on earth did Vivian-ssi want to confirm from me?
Did she plan to watch me all night to see if I was truly blind?
It was just when a grueling three hours of eternity had passed.
Finally, Vivian-ssi's body, which had been standing like a frozen statue by the doorway, moved slightly.
".......?"
The sound of Vivian-ssi's soft leather boots stepping on the wooden floor echoed with chilling clarity in the room.
Her footsteps headed precisely toward the bed where I lay.
'She didn't notice my sight is back and is coming to kill me, did she?'
I clenched my fists under the blanket.
If Vivian-ssi drew her sword, I had to kick off the blanket immediately, stand up, and fight back.
Even though I didn't know swordsmanship, a sudden counterattack would at least buy me enough time to run away.
'Let's aim for the moment Vivian-ssi draws her sword.'
Vivian-ssi's presence stopped right beside the bed.
Then, I felt her face slowly approaching my ear.
A sweet yet strangely musky scent of sweat mixed with the fragrance of expensive perfume.
I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter.
"......Good night."
What flowed from Vivian-ssi's lips was not a threat filled with chilling murderous intent, nor was it a blade.
Leaving only that incomprehensible remark, she slowly straightened up.
Then, she walked back to the door, turned the handle soundlessly, and quietly slipped out.
Click—
I held my breath until the door closed and the sound of Vivian-ssi's footsteps completely vanished.
A perfect silence finally descended.
Only then did I kick off the blanket and sit up abruptly.
"Haaah! Haa..... Huu....!"
My blocked airway cleared, and rough breaths burst out.
'Vivian-ssi..... what on earth is your identity.....?'
The next morning.
Because I had abandoned my escape and stayed awake all night, I looked like a complete mess.
But sadly, no rest was given to a physical therapist.
"Aaaah......! Ian-nim, th-there is...... Haang♥"
From early morning, another noble lady was lying on my shabby bed, letting out lewd groans.
Ignoring it, I kept my gaze fixed on the empty air and firmly pressed down on the smooth thigh beneath my palm.
"This area hurts a lot, doesn't it?"
"Y-Yes..... right there.....♥"
"Please bear with it a little longer. It's because the muscles are very knotted."
"H-Hng━♥"
The guest was Catherine Roswell.
She was a lady of House Roswell, the territory where I currently resided.
Even though I had read the original novel five times, the character named Catherine never appeared in the novel.
'Well, even if she's a fellow extra, she's a noble, so she must have a better life than me.'
I stole a glance at Catherine's face as she lay on the bed with her head turned.
Her blemish-free, clear, translucent skin and delicate features were the epitome of the classic 'pure and fragile' look that instinctively made one want to protect her.
It felt as if she were a pure saint who did nothing but pray in a temple.
'She's a good customer to me.'
Among the many noble guests who came after hearing rumors, she was the most polite.
Whenever she received treatment, Catherine always asked after my well-being warmly, and when the treatment was over, she paid double the prescribed fee.
She was truly a VIP among VIPs, like light and salt to me.
'Let's just focus on making money.'
My mental state was in tatters due to the immense tension from last night.
Gritting my teeth, I gently worked to release the fascia of Catherine's thigh.
"Haaang.....♥ Ah, ah, Ian-nim..... it's too go— no, it feels so refreshing.....♥"
But Catherine's reaction today was unusually intense.
She usually let out strange groans during treatment, but today it felt exceptionally severe.
Every time I pressed the knotted acupoint deep inside her inner thigh, her waist arched, and sticky, panting moans filled the room.
'.....Was the reaction always this intense?'
An obscene groan that contrasted so sharply with her image of a pure and fragile saint.
Since I was relying solely on the sensation in my fingertips while keeping my gaze in the air to act blind, there was no way to check what kind of expression Catherine was making.
Rustle─.
It was then.
A strange friction sound came from the upper part of the bed.
The movement was far too rhythmic to be just tossing and turning from the pain of the treatment.
'What is it? Is she uncomfortable somewhere?'
I slightly lowered my gaze from the empty air and turned my head toward Catherine, where the sound was coming from.
And at that moment, I flinched involuntarily.
".......?!"
Catherine's face was flushed red, slick with pleasure and sweat, and her hazy, unfocused eyes wandered in the air.
If it were just that, it wouldn't be particularly surprising.
Since Vivian-ssi had been the same yesterday.
'What surprised me was the current position of Catherine's hand......'
Panting heavily, Catherine was frantically massaging her own voluptuous breasts through the collar of her loosely disheveled treatment robe.
Right in front of a blind therapist, she was displaying her obscene and perverted secret hobby right in the center of my field of vision without hesitation.
'Was there seriously not a single normal customer in my clinic.....?'