Chapter 207: Leia’s Feelings
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 207: Leia’s Feelings
I shouted Leia’s name and tried to open the door, but it was firmly locked and wouldn’t budge.
“L-Leia? Sister Leia? My angel? I’m here. Could you please open the door for a moment?”
But no matter how many times I knocked, no answer came from inside the room.
…Does this mean she doesn’t even want to see my face?
I’m screwed. My angel must be seriously pissed.
“Is Leia really in there? Maybe she’s not here at all?”
I knew I was reaping what I sowed, but now that it was happening, I just wanted to run from reality.
“At the very least, no one saw Lady Leia leave the mansion.”
But a cold voice cut off my attempt at escapism from right behind me.
I don’t know when she followed me, but Vanessa was standing silently behind me.
I’m sure I sprinted all the way here, so how can she be standing there without being even slightly out of breath?
Just what kind of stat bonuses does the Butler job get?
“This seems more serious than I thought.”
Diana, who had arrived a little later, said as she approached from down the hall, looking at me.
“Can’t you open this somehow?”
“Of course I can. But is it really okay to just barge in?”
“Ugh… She’ll be angry, of course. But it’s better than just standing here. Open it.”
“Hmm. Very well.”
At a nod from Diana, Vanessa pulled a bundle of keys from her pocket.
It was a key ring so large it seemed impossible to fit in the pocket of Vanessa’s form-fitting butler uniform.
That uniform… Don’t tell me the pocket is some kind of spatial pouch.
As expected of an Archmage’s butler. I wonder how many enchantments are slathered on that uniform.
In any case, Vanessa unlocked the door with a key and then took a step back.
She must have heard the key turning, but there was still no reaction from inside the room.
“Just… I’ll go in alone. Diana, you don’t have to come in and apologize with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
With Leia this angry, having Diana—the main culprit—go in with me would probably just make things worse.
It would be better for me to go in first and have Diana apologize on her own later.
Trying his best to calm his pounding heart, Guwon carefully opened the door.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he couldn’t immediately see Leia.
Did she actually run away from home? And Vanessa just didn’t see her?
But as he looked more closely, he realized that wasn’t the case.
He could see a pair of golden, triangular ears peeking out from the top of the bed’s duvet.
She was under the thick, fluffy duvet, so even her voluptuous figure wasn’t visible.
Is… Is she sleeping?
But as I got closer, I saw her ears twitch.
Of course not.
“Um… Leia?”
But Leia still didn’t respond.
Huddled under the covers with only her ears barely visible, it seemed Leia was determined to ignore me completely.
I walked up to the head of the bed, but Leia remained face down, her head buried in a pillow, not even glancing in my direction.
“I’m so sorry!”
I dropped to my knees right then and there with a thud and begged for forgiveness.
Trying to make excuses about Diana dragging me away was pointless; in the end, I was the one who made the choice.
It was all my fault, so excuses were useless. All I could do was beg for her forgiveness.
Perhaps startled by how loudly I’d dropped to my knees, the part of the duvet where I presumed Leia’s butt was lifted slightly before settling back down.
“I’m so sorry! After making that promise…!”
“…A promise.”
Her voice was muffled because her face was buried in the pillow, but it sounded like Leia was trying to say something.
So I stopped my apology for a moment and listened for her voice.
“The promise… I believed… you would keep it. I kept… waiting…”
Gah. Every single word was a dagger twisting in my heart.
Those words alone made me feel so guilty I wanted to kill myself for breaking my promise, and the heart-wrenching sorrow in her voice only amplified the effect.
“Ugh… I’m, I’m sor…”
“…You’re a liar, Guwon.”
Just as I was about to apologize again, Leia turned her head slightly, delivering the final blow as she looked at me with one eye.
Her eye was bloodshot, as if she’d been crying all night, and it had more than enough power to finish me off.
“Ugh. L- hic, Leia. I’m so, so sorry. I-I wasn’t thinking…”
The guilt I had been subconsciously ignoring exploded the moment I saw her bloodshot eye, and to my shame, tears started to fall.
This isn’t right. It’s not about being unmanly or anything like that.
I’m the one who did everything wrong, so what right do I have to cry so shamelessly? This is the most pathetic display imaginable.
I bit my lower lip hard, trying to stop the tears, but once the floodgates opened, they refused to close.
“G-Guwon?! Are you crying right now?!”
As I suddenly started bawling, it seemed my angelic Sister Leia couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Just moments ago she had been refusing to even look at me, but now she shot upright in surprise and stared in my direction.
Both of Leia’s revealed eyes were completely bloodshot, and the pillow her face had been buried in was visibly darker and soaked with tears.
The sight made my guilt explode even further, and my own tears burst forth with renewed vigor.
“I’m sorry, Leia. I’m sorry for being so thoughtless. I’m sorry for being an idiot.”
I ignored my lower lip, which I’d bitten so hard it was bleeding, and continued to apologize.
“W-wait. Calm down, Guwon. It’s okay. It’s okay, so please don’t cry…”
“No, it’s not okay. I’m so sorry. But I don’t even know how to properly apologize. I’m sorry for being such a fool.”
It was obvious to anyone that Leia was only acting this way out of pity.
This whole situation was just me, the scumbag, trying to escape the consequences by provoking the kind Leia’s sympathy.
I couldn’t let that happen. I wouldn’t deny that I’m a scumbag, but I didn’t want to be one in a moment like this.
I wanted to earn her forgiveness by properly soothing her heart, not by exploiting her pity.
So I refuted Leia’s words and kept apologizing.
But as I apologized, no matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t come up with any way to earn her forgiveness.
On top of that, my tear ducts showed no sign of drying up.
“G-Guwon. It’s okay. It really is. Please don’t cry.”
Leia got off the bed, pulled my face into her chest, and held me, comforting me.
But the kinder she was, the stronger my guilt became, and the tears only flowed harder.
My guilt was so overwhelming that even with my cheek being smothered by Leia’s breasts, I didn’t feel a shred of happiness. Normally, I would’ve been ecstatic.
“I’m sorry. I’m a bastard who deserves to die.”
“No, you’re not. You’re the person I like the most, you know?”
Leia said in a calm voice, holding my face and gently stroking my back.
Why is Leia so hopelessly angelic?
I’m the one who did something wrong, so why is she the one comforting me?
It seemed like this situation would continue as long as I didn’t stop crying.
First, I need to take a deep breath and stop crying. A proper apology can come after that.
But even as I took deep breaths and tried to compose myself, the tears just wouldn’t stop.
I’m not usually the type to cry so much. It’s strange how the tears keep coming.
“Are you feeling a little calmer now?”
After I finally stopped crying, having sobbed in Leia’s arms for a long while, she gently stroked me and spoke in that same angelic voice.
“…Yeah. Sorry for making such a pathetic scene.”
“No. It was my first time seeing that side of you, Guwon. It was a little cute.”
Ughhh. Why are you so angelic! You’re a real angel, aren’t you?! You can actually bring out your wings, right?!
At this rate, it felt like the fact that I broke my promise might just get glossed over.
But I couldn’t let that happen.
Even a scumbag has to draw the line somewhere.
This was something I needed to properly apologize for and be forgiven for.
At the very least, I wasn’t such a scumbag that I could see the redness around Leia’s eyes and be happy to just let it slide.
“I’m truly sorry for breaking my promise.”
I pulled away from her embrace slightly to face her, bowed my head deeply, and apologized again in earnest.
“…It’s okay. To be honest, when you didn’t come back, I started thinking all sorts of things. Was I being abandoned? Was it just pity when you said you liked me? Maybe you like Sara and Diana more than someone like me, who you met later…”
“Th-That’s not true! It’s not like that! Absolutely not! Liking someone more or less than someone else! Who am I to do that?! And pity, of all things! It’s definitely not that!”
The guilt from knowing I’d made Leia think such things surged, and I almost started crying again, but I managed to hold it back this time, perhaps because my tear ducts had run dry.
“Yes. Seeing you cry made me realize that wasn’t true. So it’s okay.”
“But if you forgive me that easily, I won’t be able to accept it. I want to take responsibility for making you cry, somehow. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“…Huh? Oh… I see. In that case, maybe a ring, like Sara’s…”
“No, I can’t do that.”
“Wh-What?!”
Not expecting to be rejected, Leia’s face fell into a slight pout.
That’s not what I meant, so please don’t cry, my angel.
Leia made that request because she hasn’t seen that Diana is also wearing a ring.
I took the ring I’d bought for Leia out of my inventory and held it out to her as I explained why I’d refused.
“I was already planning to give you this ring, so it doesn’t count as compensation. Ask for something else.”
“G-Guwon…!”
But Leia paid no attention to my request for another demand, her face filled with emotion as she gazed at the ring.
“Is there nothing else you want besides this?”
“W-Well, even if you say that…”
“I made you cry all night. I can’t accept letting this go with just this after making you feel that way. Please. Isn’t there something I can do for you?”
“Then… Then please stay with me all day, just like you did with Diana.”
“B-But, just that…!”
“It’s not ‘just that.’ I’m happiest when I’m with you, Guwon. Having you with me is the greatest reward I could ask for.”
“L-Leiaaa!”
Leia was so angelic that my tear ducts burst open all over again.
I abandoned a girl who’s happy just to be with me for a whole day. Just what kind of scumbag am I?
I hugged Leia tightly and, like an idiot, let the tears stream down my face again.
“I’m so sorry, Leia. To think I did this to someone as kind as you…!”
“I mean it. If you neglect me again, I’ll keep holding this over your head, so be prepared. You’d better be careful from now on.”
Leia flinched in surprise when I suddenly hugged her, but she quickly hugged me back and spoke in a slightly playful tone.
“Yeah. I’ll be really good to you from now on.”
“Hehe. Now then, Guwon. Pucker up.”
H-Huh? If we kiss here, she’ll turn into a Gumiho, won’t she? No, does it matter? I’m supposed to be with Leia all day today anyway. What’s wrong with her turning into a Gumiho in the middle of the day?
I immediately pulled back and puckered my lips as she’d asked, but a kiss wasn’t what Leia had in mind.
Her gently glowing fingers lightly caressed my lips.
I felt a slight sting, followed by a ticklish sensation as my lips began to heal.
Ah, right. It was bleeding earlier.
I glanced down and saw that some of the blood from my lip had gotten on Leia’s chest.
“Hehe. Did you think I was going to kiss you? Not yet. This is a rare day where I get to have you all to myself, and I don’t want to spend it while I’m not in my right mind. Please be patient for just a little longer.”
As she spoke, she continued to gently stroke my lips, as if she wanted to kiss me just as badly.