Cold -1-
Evening of the day we returned from the capital. After a hearty dinner, I gazed at the young lady lying politely in bed.
With her hands neatly folded over her stomach and a white nightcap on her head, she was counting the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling with her bright, sparkling eyes.
"Star one. Two... Three... I'm hungry." Blink blink.
"You should sleep soon."
"Not sleeping."
"It's late."
"Not sleepy."
The young lady was declaring her firm resolve not to sleep. Her sparkling eyes announced a break with drowsiness, claiming my efforts to put her to bed were insufficient. She turned her head from blankly counting stars to stare straight at me standing there awkwardly.
Staaaare.
"Is there something on my face?"
"You're ugly."
At the young lady's outrageous personal attack, I flicked her white forehead with a light thwack hard enough to make a sound.
"Eek!" Her scream rang out.
Satisfied with the reaction, a smile crept onto my lips. As she rubbed her forehead with her finger, wailing, "I think I grew an extra head!", I let out a sigh and demanded she retract her earlier statement.
"Where in the world is there a butler as handsome as me? Apologize."
"There are tons. So, no apology."
"Heh heh. Your forehead looks especially wide tonight. Plenty of spots to flick—lucky me."
I thrust my finger, loaded for another flick, right in front of her eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut at the menacing gesture and screamed.
"Hieeek! Save me!"
A small smile escaped me as she flailed, frantically pulling the blanket over her face.
"Pft...! Don't turn a good butler into a bad guy."
When she was little, I'd threaten that staying up late would stunt her growth like a yodel to get her to sleep, but now that she knew growth plates were a limited-edition product for teens, that threat no longer worked.
I just want to get her to bed quick.
I had a cold coming on and wanted rest. Uneven sleep isn't good for health, after all. In a drowsy whisper by her ear, I urged her: Go to sleep.
"Aren't you tired? You were nodding off in the carriage."
"Hmnya... That wasn't me."
"Then who was drooling on my shoulder while sleeping?"
"A ghost."
"Keep messing around, and a virgin ghost will visit you in your dreams tonight."
"Hiek."
Apparently ghosts scared her; she scrunched her brow and pulled the blanket over her head. Seeing the outline of her face poking out from under it, a soft pfft of laughter slipped out.
My head had been throbbing since earlier, but watching her adorable antics made me feel like my fever had gone down a bit.
She peeked out from under the blanket and glanced at me.
"But what if I can't sleep?"
"Even if the wardrobe slowly creaks open in the middle of the night and a ghost comes out?"
"That..."
Sweat beading on her forehead, she avoided my eyes. Then, with a bashful little smile, she said shyly,
"Ricardo will catch it, right?"
"Ghosts scare me too."
"Eek... Ricardo's a scaredy-cat."
"Puhaha...! Fine, I'll do my best to catch it. If I fail, you'll have to sleep with me."
"No way. You snore."
"Better than a ghost, isn't it?"
I gave her head a gentle stroke with a small smile. The fluffy strands filling the gaps between my fingers felt so soft, a tender smile formed naturally.
"Ugh... I'm not a dog."
"It's so fluffy, it feels nice."
"Eeeek! Don't...!"
She furrowed her brows and swatted my hand away. Pointing out that Gomtangi was sleeping by the bed—pet the bear instead—she resisted fiercely, but I playfully ruffled her hair anyway.
"Hwe... Shouldn't have worn the cap."
She sighed, gazing pitifully at the nightcap that had fallen to the floor beside the bed.
"Exactly. Time to sleep."
"Hmmm..."
She shook her head stubbornly, refusing. Seemed like the post-meal drowsiness wasn't hitting her for once, and she was enjoying it.
"Not sleepy. I could stay up all day."
"Please spare me that horror."
"Why?"
"Overtime is the evil of society."
"..."
Pouting, she grumbled,
"Is gazing at the world's most beautiful face overtime?"
True to her wicked lady nature, she spouted such shameless words. But with no comeback, I clamped my mouth shut. She was beautiful, after all. Even without the rose-tinted glasses, she was stunningly gorgeous. Her refined beauty, plus the treasure pouch elevating her charm... Sure, her brazen self-praise was annoying, but it was just stating facts, so I conceded.
But.
"I'm handsome too. Handsome enough to live off my looks."
"Pfft."
"What's with that laugh? It's offensive."
With a wicked smile, she covered her mouth. Hoho, her eyes curving like crescent moons, she shook her head.
"Ricardo, drawing lines on a pumpkin doesn't make it a watermelon."
"Where'd you pick up such fancy vocabulary?"
"In 'Father-in-Law, You Can't Do This!', the conquered daughter-in-law said that to the abandoned mother-in-law."
"...?"
"What? It's a wholesome philosophy book."
"...?"
After the birthday incident this year, I'd thoroughly censored her books, but some indecent content lingered in her favorites. Shaking my head, I pulled the golden book from her bedside table.
"Confiscated."
Her face fell in despair as she spread her arms wide and shook her head.
"No...! It's my mentor!"
"You don't need such a seductive mentor."
"Eeeek... Taking back what you gave is the worst thing in the world—it said so."
"You learned that from this book too?"
"Yeah."
"Okay. Burn it."
Clenching her fists, she let out a dejected sigh.
"Don't burn it... It's precious."
"You have other books."
"You gave me this one."
Whoa... that's cheating. Her sweet whisper and fidgeting fingers with that pitiful look made a smile slip out despite myself.
"No... sigh."
My fever was already rising from the cold, but hearing her shy confession made my head burn like it might explode. Reminded me of my past life, sighing Hawa... I couldn't help the idiotic grin tugging at my lips.
"Fine. But you sleep now."
"Mhm."
"Promise."
"I promise."
True to her word, she squeezed her eyes shut and lay down, pouting like she was sulking as she rolled over.
"Are you mad?"
"Dunno."
"Don't sulk. I'm good at sulking too."
"Hmph!"
Seeming ready to broadcast her sulk to the neighborhood, she huffed indignantly. To soothe her, I sat gently on the bed's edge and whispered,
"Tomorrow, I'll give you a tour of the mansion."
"I'm sulking."
"You'll be amazed at the remodeled place. I even made a room full of things you'd like."
"What is it?"
Grinning mischievously, I sealed my lips.
"Secret."
"Ugh..."
"Sleep now, or it's a tour in a week."
"Unfair."
"Ugly people are unfair by nature."
"Eee... True enough. Forgiven."
Now in the mood to talk, her curious expression made me smile as I slowly stroked her hair.
"Then I'll head out."
"Yeah. Night."
"Sweet dreams, miss."
As I stood with an up you go, she suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
Yank.
I halted at her touch.
"Ricardo."
"Yes?"
Half-hiding her eyes under the blanket, she said,
"You're not sick anywhere, right?"
"Huh?"
"Your face is super red."
I touched my burning cheek, forcing a nonchalant expression. It'll be fine after sleep. Don't worry.
"Must be from seeing the world's most beautiful lady."
She giggled at my playful reply but asked again, seriously.
"For real, you're not sick?"
"My eyes hurt a bit."
"Why?"
"Your halo's too bright."
"Heehee..."
Beaming happily, she waved me off.
"Don't get sick."
"I don't picky-eat like you, so I'm always healthy."
"Eeeek!"
"Sweet dreams."
After turning off the room's lights, I trudged to my room, pressing my burning forehead.
"Dizzy."
It'll be better after sleep, I thought, dragging my heavy steps.
And so, the next morning dawned.
Olivia, as always, blew her wake-up fanfare into the air. Hoping Ricardo, sleeping in the next room, would come quickly. And to satisfy her curiosity about today's breakfast menu.
Basking in the morning sunlight, she grinned happily and shouted at the mansion's ceiling.
AIR RAID ALERT!!!
Her booming voice echoed blankly through the mansion. About a minute, and Ricardo will open the door, she thought, hiding her twitching lips as she stared at the door.
When's he coming...?
One minute passed.
Three minutes.
Ten minutes.
The door stayed shut.
Panicking, Olivia muttered,
"Huh?"
No one came to see her.