Chapter 628: Guwon, the Devoted Man
Chapter 628: Guwon, the Devoted Man
“But Mr. Guwon, weren’t you with Ms. Vanessa all day today?”
In response to a question Diana had asked, Leia spoke up, her tone sounding a little odd.
Huh? Wait a second. My angel… did her words just have a little thorn in them?
No. There’s no way my angel would do that. Her voice was as angelic as ever.
And yet, the fact that I heard it that way must be because my conscience is pricking me.
It’s not like anything in particular happened between Vanessa and me today.
I only brought her along so we could use the carriage.
That was all there was to it, but it was also true that I’d been sticking a little too close to Vanessa lately.
Even if she was a target I was still trying to win over, one who hadn't even received an Apostle's Seal yet.
It’s not like I’m the type to stop feeding a fish once I’ve caught it. I can’t just neglect my girls to focus all my attention on winning over Vanessa.
Just because a new woman has entered the picture doesn’t mean my feelings for my girls have weakened in the slightest.
No. If anything, my love for them only grows stronger with each passing day.
It’s because they trust me that they allow me to accept other women in the first place.
Ah, was that a little too cheesy?
Anyway, right. I’ll be a little more careful from now on.
“Come to think of it, Ms. Vanessa came in before you did. Guwon, did you do something again?”
Just as I was having this epiphany thanks to my angel’s words, Sara muttered that from beside me.
You… you acted like you just happened to run into me when I arrived. You were watching the whole time, weren’t you?
And what’s with the “again”? Again. Do I really have the image of someone who’s always causing trouble?
“What?”
I shot Sara a look, and she tilted her head with a prim expression, as if she had no idea why I was staring at her.
“No. It’s nothing. More importantly, I didn’t do anything.”
There was a lot I wanted to say, but in the end, I decided to say nothing.
No, it’s not because I figured she’d just reply, ‘Yes. That’s your image.’ I’m not that much of a troublemaker, am I?
It’s just that I’d already had a round with Sara just a little while ago, and I didn’t feel like bickering again.
The red mark of her palm on my chest is still… oh, it’s already gone. Hah. The life force of this body is truly something else.
No, this isn’t the time for that.
In any case, I shook my head, denying Sara’s insinuation that I’d done something.
Well, I mean, I did do something, technically.
But I had just made that resolution a moment ago.
There was no need to burden my girls by spilling the details of my love life with Vanessa and asking for advice.
I’ll handle things with Vanessa myself. For now, while I’m with my girls, I should focus on them.
“Hehe. Reallyyyy?”
“Of course. All I did was kiss her in the garden.”
I had just been having such commendable thoughts, but for some reason, Leia’s playful smile as she questioned me made me reflexively blurt out the truth.
Not that Leia was probably trying to seriously interrogate me or anything.
Damn it. Even if it’s a white lie, lying while looking my angel straight in the face is just too difficult.
“So you didn’t do ‘nothing’ at all.”
Hearing my answer, Matilda muttered in a dumbfounded tone.
Huh? Is that so? I don’t think it’s something to overreact about.
“It was just a kiss, right? Just a little something as a goodbye greeting. It’s not something to make such a fuss about, is it?”
I said nonchalantly, looking around, but it seemed no one agreed with me.
Diana was even pouting, looking slightly angry.
“Hey. Did I do something that wrong?”
“Why must you look at me when you say that?”
I met Diana’s gaze as I asked, and she replied in a sullen tone.
This felt less like anger and more like she was sulking.
“Because you’re making the most serious face.”
“Hmph! It is merely because I am envious of Vanessa!”
Oh, is that so? Aren’t you embarrassed saying that out loud?
Then again, Diana’s race places special meaning on kisses, and now that I thought about it, I don’t think we’d ever really shared a casual goodbye kiss like that.
Well, to be precise, it’s just that we’ve never been in a situation where we had to say goodbye.
“Don’t pout over something like that. Here.”
“Mmm… Hehehe. I am not pouting. Not in the slightest.”
As I gave her a light kiss on the lips, Diana spoke with a giddy smile.
Yeah, right. Try saying that after you do something about that expression on your face.
Well, if it makes you happy, then I’m satisfied.
“……”
In exchange for cheering Diana up, however, the other girls had now entered a state of slight sulking.
“Sh-should I give everyone one, too?”
“Hmph. No, thanks.”
“Hehe. Yes. Please do.”
“You, right before a meal… It is against etiquette, so please finish it quickly.”
Sensing a crisis, I quickly made the offer, and a variety of answers came back.
Sara, with a prim look, refused.
Leia, with an expression that clearly said ‘of course,’ agreed.
And Matilda, though her expression and tone seemed to object, ultimately agreed as well.
Oh, and for the record, Silvia was in the corner, desperately shaking her head from side to side.
She looked like she’d already been through too much today and absolutely couldn’t handle anything more.
“Wait a minute! Y-you’re all being unfair!”
Sara, the only one who had given a negative answer, looked around and cried out in a fluster.
Well, to be precise, including Silvia, it was two against two. But Silvia’s reaction couldn’t be taken at face value. It didn’t mean she disliked it; it meant she liked it so much she felt like she would die, so in a way, you could count it as a yes.
“Alright, then I’ll just do it with everyone but Sara…”
“Hey!”
“Okay, okay. I’m kidding, just kidding.”
In the end, I gave each and every one of them a light kiss.
It was just a light peck where the tips of our lips barely touched, but everyone seemed satisfied with that.
Well, as Matilda said, it was right before dinner, even if we hadn’t touched the food yet.
Oh, and for the record, I had to catch Silvia, who was trying to run away in the corner, and do it by force. I mean, it would be sad to leave her out, right?
Hm? You think forcing her is sadder? Haha. No way. She’s only like that because she enjoys it.
Anyway, with that, the topic of Vanessa somehow faded away, and the atmosphere with everyone became sweet and lovey-dovey.
Hah. A man like me. How am I so good at changing the mood?
I curse my own brilliant mind…
“So, what will you do about Vanessa in the end?”
Damn it, Diana. You still remembered that? You just have to have a good memory.
Then again, Diana was the one who gave me permission to accept Vanessa in the first place, so it was only natural for her to be concerned.
I went to all this trouble to create a lovey-dovey mood with you all. Did you really have to bring up another woman’s name and ruin it?
“What do you mean, what will I do? Is there something I need to do?”
“What are you talking about? It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
I had tried to give a vague answer and move on, but this time it was Matilda who spoke as if I’d said something absurd.
She was in total pink mode just a moment ago when I kissed her. Did it wear off already?
Did it take me too long to catch and kiss Silvia?
“What do you mean?”
“Do you really not know? Think about it. You said you kissed her in the garden, right?”
“Yeah. So?”
“Then there must have been other maids around, correct?”
“Well… yeah, there were a few.”
We were definitely seen, to the point that they even cheered when they saw us kiss.
Ah, wait a minute. Does that mean Vanessa reacted that way because she was embarrassed?
I finally understood the reason for Vanessa’s behavior.
Phew. So she wasn’t angry after all.
“It seems you’ve finally realized. Yes. From Ms. Vanessa’s perspective, she had that happen to her in front of her subordinates while on duty. If I were at the Holy See, in front of the other priests, and you… ahh… th-that…”
Seeing my expression, Matilda spoke as if to say, ‘Now you get it,’ but she trailed off, eventually covering her face with both hands and shaking her head in embarrassment.
Hey. I’m grateful you explained why Vanessa reacted that way, but maybe you should stop entering pink mode from your own delusions?
Her curse is definitely weakening by the day, so why does that pink mode of hers show no signs of getting better?
Well, it’s fun to watch, so I don’t really mind it either way.
“Anyway, I get it. I’ll apologize to Vanessa myself. More importantly, how about we talk about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yeah. It’s about time we went back to the dungeon.”
“Whaaat?!”
The moment I said that, Leia shot up, startled.
She leaned forward to look me straight in the face, clasping my hands in hers.
With Leia acting like this, I found it hard to look her directly in the eyes.
But… her chest right in front of me… her chest… Damn it. This is a man’s instinct.
“Mr. Guwon. You can’t. Please rest a little longer. Okay?”
Oops. Come to think of it, I’m still supposed to be recovering.
I’d been running around outside as much as I wanted these past few days, so I’d completely forgotten again.
In any case, hearing my angel’s voice, so full of concern, I felt an unconscious urge to nod.
Tonight is Leia’s turn. Which means, my resting a little longer doesn’t really benefit her. She’s doing this purely out of concern for me.
Knowing that made me want to do as she said even more.
But I lifted my head, forced my gaze away from her cleavage and to her eyes, and slowly shook my head.
“Don’t worry, Leia. I have my reasons for doing this.”
“Are you going to say it’s no big deal again?”
I spoke gently, and Leia replied in a slightly pouting voice.
This kind of reaction is new. And cute. Even more so since she’s doing it because she’s worried about me.
“That, too, but… let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that I really did develop some kind of trauma from the dungeon. In that case, I think it would be better to go back as soon as possible.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that?”
“I don’t know the details since I just heard it somewhere, but they say this kind of thing gets harder to overcome the more time passes.”
“Hmm.”
As I said that, Diana, beside me, nodded as if she understood what I was getting at.
Well, she was the one who watched in real-time how the Dragonians’ trauma worsened over the years.
“So I’d rather face the dungeon again as early as possible and overcome the trauma.”
“B-but…”
She seemed to understand my point, but she couldn’t help but worry.
With that expression on her face, Leia’s eyes trembled with anxiety.
This time, I took her hands in mine, stroking them reassuringly as I continued to speak.
“There’s really nothing to worry about. If I did develop trauma, it would be from the loneliness of being left alone in the dungeon. But now, I’m with all of you, right? As long as I’m with you, I have nothing to worry about. As long as you’re by my side, I can overcome anything. In fact, with you guys around, any trauma would be completely wiped out without a trace by the distracting thoughts I’d have… Keoheok…”
I was reassuring Leia with a serious voice, planning to finish with a little joke.
I thought it was a perfect speech, but something—or someone—interrupted my perfect delivery.
“This idiot always has to ruin it at the end. It was touching up until the middle.”
“Hehe. But that’s what’s good about Mr. Guwon, isn’t it?”
Fortunately, just hearing that much seemed to ease Leia’s anxiety. She finally smiled gently and said that to Sara.
“Leia, you spoil Guwon too much. If you say things like that…”
“As expected of Leia! You really get me… Aaargh! Hey! Pinching a spot that’s already been pinched is against the rules, isn’t it?!”
“See what I mean?”
“Hehe.”