Chapter 519: Different from That First Time
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 519: Different from That First Time
After Leia’s touch had finally healed me completely, we all headed to the dining hall together.
Sara and Leia said they had come to check on me after finishing their swimming practice for the day.
That meant Vanessa had already gone to prepare the meal, so I calculated that it would be ready by the time we got there.
We decided to head over on our own rather than making Vanessa come and get us, but on the way to the dining hall, we ran right into her.
“…Hmm.”
“…What is it?” she asked, sounding slightly irritated as I stared intently at her face.
“Oh, nothing. Just noticed you’re still wearing makeup.”
That was right. For some reason, Vanessa was still in full makeup.
Weren’t you in the bathroom? Shouldn’t it have washed off?
And it wasn’t like she’d just popped in for a moment. She’d been in there since morning, aside from mealtimes.
Plus, I’m pretty sure she was practicing swimming underwater today, wasn’t she?
“When did you… Vanessa, you’re incredibly diligent.”
“Come to think of it, you were wearing it at lunch, too, weren’t you?”
From what Sara and Leia said, it seemed she had definitely washed her makeup off during swim practice. But then she had just as certainly put it back on for lunch.
Something smelled fishy.
I’d thought something was strange when I saw her wearing makeup this morning, but this was beyond strange.
“Vanessa, could it be that someone happened to reprimand you?” Diana asked, her brow furrowing slightly. It seemed she found it suspicious, too.
Normally, seeing a woman in makeup would make one assume she wanted to look good for someone, but that wouldn’t be the case for Vanessa.
She had denied it when I asked her that morning, and besides, Vanessa had been inside the mansion all day.
And I was the only man in the mansion.
Not that I thought for a second she was doing it to look good for me.
After all, when I’d asked her point-blank before, she’d asked if I was in my right mind.
No, even before that, she was apparently wearing makeup during lunchtime, when I was unconscious.
If that was the case, then the reason for her wearing makeup was… After thinking it over, that must have been the conclusion Diana reached.
It made sense. The appearance of a servant can sometimes reflect on the reputation of their master.
That was likely why Vanessa always carried herself so properly.
But thinking back on the maids I’d seen at the palace or the women working at the Arachne clan house, they had certainly paid attention not only to their attire but also to their makeup.
Of course, they didn’t wear anything too flashy or conspicuous, but they did wear subtle makeup in light shades.
Vanessa, who usually went around with a completely bare face, was probably the outlier.
Not that it mattered—Vanessa was prettier without makeup, but this was a different issue.
That’s our Diana. Such sharp reasoning.
“No, nothing of the sort. I simply felt that if I don’t do this from time to time, I’ll be unable to do it when necessary, which would be troublesome. I am merely practicing, as I happened to receive some nice cosmetics as a gift.”
As I was nodding, unable to contain my admiration for Diana’s deductive skills, Vanessa denied Diana’s question without a single change in her expression.
“What? A gift? No way! You were with me all day yesterday, and today you’ve just been swimming at the mansion. Who in the world would have given you a gift?!”
Having been inwardly marveling at Diana’s deduction, I felt a little embarrassed when Vanessa refuted it so cleanly, and I couldn’t help but shout.
“…I received it from a maid,” Vanessa replied, a slightly sour look on her face.
What? A maid?
“Vanessa is quite popular, you know,” Diana whispered to me with a knowing look, as if she’d read my expression.
I mean, I know she’s popular just by looking at her.
But a maid? That’s another woman, isn’t it? She’s popular with other women?
Only then did I realize why Vanessa had made such a sour face.
“I will show you to the dining hall, then.”
Completely ignoring my dumbfounded expression, Vanessa turned and headed for the dining hall.
“Well, it is a workplace composed entirely of women.”
As I watched Vanessa’s retreating back, Diana said—hey, hold on a minute. I’m a man, you know?
Even I, a man, have never once received a gift from the maids, but Vanessa, another woman, is so popular she even gets presents?
Don’t tell me… I’m losing to Vanessa as a man?
No. That can’t be. It’s impossible. When I walk down the street, women turn their heads in droves to look at me.
That’s it. It’s because I’m too handsome, so they find me unapproachable. Or because I’m their master’s man, so they can’t get close. That must be why the maids aren’t making a move.
Right. Of course. That has to be it. Otherwise, there’s no way I’d be losing out to Vanessa, a woman, right?
No, wait a minute. Come to think of it, that time in the bathtub with Vanessa, weren’t there two maids scissoring?
Maybe the maids here just have that kind of preference.
Yes. They’ve been in a women-only environment for so long that their tastes have shifted in that direction. That must be it.
“Hey, guys… I’m popular, right…?”
No matter how much I tried to rationalize it, I couldn’t accept the fact that I’d lost to a woman in the ‘man’ department, so I even asked my girls for confirmation.
“Yes? Hehe. Of course you are.”
“…Are you seriously asking that when you have a date with someone else tomorrow?”
Leia answered with an amused giggle, while Sara replied with a slightly annoyed expression.
But even Sara’s reaction was a great comfort to me right now.
Right. That’s right. All of them—these girls, Rachel—they all seem like they’d have incredibly high standards for men, and they like me. There’s no way I’m less popular than Vanessa!
“Hmm. I do think you’re popular, but who’s to say if you’re more popular than Vanessa?”
“Diana….”
But with a single playful comment from Diana, my mental victory shattered once again.
This girl. She knew exactly what she was doing!
I shouldn’t have let her win last night! Just you wait!
“Silvia! Matilda!”
“Hyaah!”
“Wh-What is it, so suddenly?!”
The moment I entered the dining hall, I rushed at Silvia, grabbing her, and then approached Matilda.
Caught by my completely unexpected ambush, Silvia couldn’t even think of escaping and was trapped in my grasp, where she began to tremble in my arms.
Yes. This trembling. This is the proof of my popularity.
“Matilda.”
“Y-Yes….”
As I whispered Matilda’s name in a serious voice, her startled expression began to melt into a dazed one.
Yes! There’s no way I’m not popular…!
“Will you cut it out?!”
“Gah!”
Finally, Sara, who couldn’t watch any longer, pinched my side, forcibly putting an end to my commotion.
*
“It still hurts. Leia, rub it a little more.”
After we finished our meal, Leia and I returned to my room.
As I whined to Leia while rubbing the spot where Sara had pinched me, she gave my side a light swat with her tail and shot me a glare.
“You’re already healed. And you were in the wrong earlier, Guwon. Sara is already on edge as it is. You shouldn’t provoke her.”
I guess asking her to keep rubbing me after she’d already healed me was asking too much.
No, wait. The usual Leia would have done it.
It seemed Leia felt quite sorry for Sara.
Well, I suppose so. She’s in the position of having to follow my date from a distance. I’d probably be annoyed, too, if I were her.
On top of that, the guy she’s following was shamelessly hitting on other women just to confirm his own popularity… Yep. I brought this on myself.
It must have been bad if Sara, who had looked at my back with an incredibly apologetic expression earlier, had laid a hand on me again.
If it hadn’t been for that, it definitely wouldn’t have ended with just a pinch.
“But Guwon, are you really going to be okay?” Leia asked, her expression turning quite serious as I was reflecting on my actions.
“Hm? What about?”
“What do you mean, what about? I’m talking about Sara. If you’d like, I can switch places with her for tonight.”
Leia must have felt truly sorry for Sara to make such an offer herself.
Honestly, my angel is just too kind-hearted.
But there’s no need to go that far.
“No, it’s fine. I want to be with you tonight, Leia.”
“…Are you really, really sure?”
“Yeah. Besides, I think it’s better for Sara to get upset during the day tomorrow and then let me make it up to her at night, rather than spending tonight together only to feel bad tomorrow.”
I explained my reasoning to Leia as she asked for confirmation once more.
Of course, I conveniently left out the part where I thought I could placate her surprisingly easily, thanks to her particular fetish.
Well, it’s not like I plan on going all the way with Rachel anyway, so I don’t even know if Sara’s special fetish will be triggered.
“…That… might be true.”
Finally convinced by my answer, Leia nodded and murmured in agreement.
“Besides, it’s not just Sara I need to soothe.”
“Kyaa!”
I wrapped my arms around Leia’s waist, lifted her up, and fell onto the bed with her.
“You’re still a little upset too, aren’t you, Leia?”
“I… as long as you keep being the way you are now, Guwon… as long as you don’t start neglecting me….”
Leia shook her head gently as I spoke, our faces just inches apart.
I couldn’t imagine Leia ever lying to me, so what she was thinking right now was probably the truth.
But sometimes, people don’t accurately grasp their own emotions.
There was likely a faint sense of anxiety or impatience lingering in a corner of Leia’s heart.
I could tell from the way she’d been subtly taking Sara’s side since that conversation, and how her reaction when I was being clingy was slightly different from usual.
“I don’t plan on smoothing this over with just one night, but I’ll spend the whole night making you feel that I’ll never, ever neglect you.”
“Oh, Guwon… you’re so naughty… Mmh.”
Even as she said that, Leia accepted my kiss.
A simple kiss wasn’t enough to trigger her Gumiho state anymore, but did it still arouse her, even just a little?
Or had my sudden decision to accept Rachel as a partner amplified Leia’s sense of crisis, making her feel she needed to be a little more proactive herself?
As we kissed, Leia’s breathing felt a little rougher than usual.
Speaking of the Gumiho… I’m sure she maintained her tails and glowing eyes while remaining perfectly lucid before.
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t figure out the exact cause, but I did have a hint.
Back then, I had used my skills for the first time in a while.
If I used my skills today, would Leia be able to maintain her tails and glowing eyes while staying completely lucid again?
“Leia, is it okay if I use my skills?”
“…Huh? Guwon, you don’t have to go that far. Just being held by you like this is enough for me….”
When I asked for her permission, Leia shook her head with a troubled smile.
She seemed to think I was planning to use my skills just to please her, as a way of showing I was giving it my all.
“No, it’s not like that. Actually…”
I explained my hypothesis to Leia.
How, last time, she had said her essence was completely filled while under the effect of my skills, yet her tails and glowing eyes had remained. And how we might be able to recreate that state by using my skills again.
“…Is that really true?”
Hearing my words, Leia’s eyes went wide with genuine surprise, and she clung to me.
“Yeah.”
“Yes! Please do it!” she exclaimed forcefully as I nodded with conviction.
Lately, her Gumiho traits hadn’t been causing her any trouble, but it seemed Leia still wanted to gain complete control over her Gumiho state.
I suppose even if it’s not a problem, not being able to control your own body is unsettling…
“If I can freely control my Gumiho state, I’m sure I can be of more help to you, Guwon… and someday, maybe even have a child….”
No. I was wrong. She was simply an angel.