Chapter 767: Felicia's True Feelings?
Chapter 767: Felicia's True Feelings?
“…Is it alright for you to go today?”
“Hm? Why?”
After a brief silence, Vanessa asked the question, her voice tinged with a faint sigh.
Her reaction was a little different from what I’d expected.
“…It is nothing.”
But when it seemed I hadn’t understood right away, Vanessa immediately tried to brush off her own words.
“No, what is it? You can’t just say something like that and make me curious. Huh? What is it? What’s wrong?”
Of course, I wasn’t the type to just let it slide.
After persistently questioning the silent Vanessa, I was finally able to hear the reason for her words.
“…It is about Lady Rachel.”
And that reason was, again, quite unexpected.
It might be partly because I wasn’t used to accepting more women, but I never thought Vanessa—who had shown a jealousy as strong as Sara’s and held onto such feelings longer than anyone—would say something like that.
No. This must be what it means for her to be one of my women.
I think this all the time, but I really am blessed when it comes to women.
Of course, my excellent eye for women plays a big part in that, too.
“…This is why I did not wish to say anything.”
I must have been making a rather pleased expression.
Vanessa muttered as much in a tone that said she wanted to smack me.
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“…So, is it alright?”
Trying to change the subject because she’s embarrassed.
“It’s fine. Even if I just laze around the mansion, I probably won’t see Rachel-nunim until evening anyway. She said she was tired and wanted to rest alone. I’ll be back from the palace by evening, too. So isn’t it more efficient to take care of things I can do in my spare time first?”
“That… Haa. You speak of it as if you are catching up on chores.”
Hearing my words, Vanessa made a face that said she had much more to say, but in the end, she just sighed and left it at that.
Her attitude is a little concerning, though.
“Because it practically is a chore. And for you, isn’t it better this way than me getting all emotional?”
I wonder if Felicia would be dumbfounded if she saw me saying this, after I’d preached to her that sex is best when it’s filled with love.
No. I do genuinely believe that it’s best when filled with love.
But since Felicia and I don’t have that kind of relationship, don’t I need to show this kind of attitude when we’re not having sex, just to maintain that boundary?
“…Understood. I will prepare the carriage.”
Without answering my question, Vanessa spoke again after another short pause.
She always changes the subject like this when she’s at a disadvantage.
“If you’re busy, you can have a maid do it.”
She did disappear right after saying she had things to do earlier.
“Whatever the reason, you are going to the palace to meet the princess. I cannot allow you to go in a humble carriage. It would bring shame not only upon you, Sir Guwon, but upon Lady Diana as well.”
But Vanessa firmly shook her head at my consideration.
Hearing things like this really makes me feel that this is a class-based society.
I tend to live as I please, so I sometimes forget.
Then again, for a class-based society, this world is quite flexible in its thinking.
Or maybe the people I’ve met are just unique? Well, it doesn’t really matter.
The important thing was that Vanessa wasn’t doing this simply because she disliked the idea of a maid driving the carriage I was in.
It would be fine for her to show a little cute jealousy in moments like this.
“You can just have the other maids drive the best carriage, can’t you?”
“Only I drive that carriage.”
Ah, is that so?
It seemed Vanessa took great pride in driving that particular carriage.
I suppose so. It was originally the carriage that symbolized the procession of the supreme Archmage, Diana.
Lately, I’ve been the one riding in it more often, so it’s lost a bit of its luster, but still.
“Or would you prefer another maid to drive?”
Vanessa then added that last part, sending a cold gaze my way.
Kuh. Now this is it. This is the Vanessa I know.
You ask if this is what I call a cute display of jealousy?
It looks cute to me, so there’s no problem.
“No. Not at all.”
“…Then I will prepare the carriage.”
Perhaps finding it strange that I was beaming under her cold stare, Vanessa gave me a slightly odd look before taking her leave.
Alright, then. In the meantime, shall I go pick up Silvia?
“Silvia.”
Although I hadn’t asked Vanessa for her location, finding Silvia on my own was simple.
After the conversation with Rachel-nunim ended, all the girls must have dispersed. That meant there were only two places in the mansion where Silvia was likely to be: her room or the training ground outside.
And this time, Silvia was at the training ground.
“Hyaht!?”
Though instead of swinging a sword, she was sitting in a corner eating something.
When I appeared, Silvia hastily threw what she was eating behind her, grabbed her sword, and pretended she had been swinging it.
“No, it’s fine. You can keep eating.”
Why is she hiding it? Was she embarrassed to be seen eating even out here?
Don’t worry, Silvia. Just from watching you savor your food in the corner during every meal while the rest of us talk, I know very well how much you love to eat.
You’re always so focused on savoring your food that you get flustered whenever someone speaks to you. What’s there to hide now?
If anything, I would have been worried if you weren’t eating well.
You have the most physically demanding job in our party, yet you have the most slender body.
Ah, and I’m not talking about your chest.
“Ah, aht…”
I gently wiped the cream smeared on the corner of her lips with my thumb, which she hadn’t managed to clean in her haste. Silvia’s face turned beet red, and she trembled.
“You shouldn’t be careless with food.”
I picked up the bread she had thrown behind her and said as much, but I knew better than anyone that Silvia wasn’t the type to disrespect food; she had just been flustered.
“I-I’m sowwy…”
Even now, she was looking at the bread she could no longer eat with such a crestfallen expression.
“Want this instead?”
“…N-No, thank you.”
When I offered her a piece of bread I kept in my inventory for meals in the dungeon, Silvia seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally shaking her head.
“It’s fine. Training consumes a lot of stamina, after all. You need to eat a lot.”
Well, since it hadn’t been long since Rachel-nunim returned and said the conversation was over, she probably hadn’t swung her sword even once yet.
Knowing that, but choosing not to say it out loud—what a great guy I am.
“Th-Then… Nom. It’s delicious…”
In the end, Silvia accepted the bread I offered. After glancing around furtively, she finally took a bite, her face lighting up with happiness.
While Silvia ate her bread, I wrapped my arms around her from behind and stroked her head.
Haaah. This is so healing. Because Silvia has incredible focus, she didn’t vibrate as intensely as usual while she was concentrating on savoring the bread.
Instead, it was a feeling that warmed my heart.
This must be what it feels like to feed a pet and stroke it while it eats.
I was quite used to this kind of Silvia Therapy, as she would often vibrate intensely only at first when I held her while she ate, the tremors gradually subsiding as more food entered her mouth.
“U-Um… S-Sir Guwon?”
And as soon as she finished the bread I’d given her, Silvia’s body began to vibrate again.
“Hm?”
“Wh-What brings you here…?”
“Ah, right. That’s it. I’m going to the palace now. You’ll come with me, right, Silvia?”
Phew. I almost forgot and stayed like this until evening.
This Silvia Therapy is a dangerous thing.
“Nehet? T-Today, you mean?”
“Hm? Why? Is it because of Rachel-nunim?”
Hearing my words, Silvia gave me a strange look.
Since I had just gone through the exact same thing with Vanessa, this time I immediately caught on to why Silvia was acting this way.
“Yeees…”
“She said she’s tired and wants to rest until evening. Since I won’t see her until then anyway, I figured I’d go and take care of Felicia’s libido in the meantime.”
“I-Is that so…”
But even after my explanation, Silvia still wore an unconvinced expression.
Come to think of it, Vanessa was the same. And for Silvia to react this way, even though she usually enjoys going to the palace…
Could there be something I don’t know?
“What’s wrong?”
“Het? N-Nothing at all!”
“That’s not the face of someone for whom nothing is wrong. What is it? Tell me.”
Silvia tried to brush it off, but I immediately started rubbing my cheek against hers, pressing her for an answer.
I might let it slide once, but not twice.
My change in attitude was definitely not because Silvia is easier to interrogate than Vanessa.
“Hyauaaahhh…”
And with every rub of my cheek against hers, Silvia visibly began to melt.
“P-Please spare… hyang… Mother… Silvia is going on ahead…”
No. Don’t be willing to die over something so trivial.
Anyone watching would think you were a noble knight choosing death over divulging information under harsh torture.
It didn’t seem like Silvia would spill the beans if I kept this up, so I decided I had to use my head a little.
Of course, I kept rubbing my cheek against hers.
It’s so soft and feels good. The sensation is addicting.
“Ah, could it be that you all talked amongst yourselves and decided to let me and Rachel-nunim be alone together until this evening?”
This would make most of the pieces fit.
Both Vanessa’s and Silvia’s subtle reactions when I said I was going to the palace, and the fact that none of the girls came to find me after their talk with Rachel-nunim ended and just dispersed.
Of course, if that were true, the most important piece of the puzzle wouldn’t fit at all.
“Y-Yes, nehet! That’s wight!”
But Silvia immediately affirmed my words.
…This is tricky. It seems like it could be true, but it also seems like she’s just agreeing to get it over with.
She’s trembling so much I can’t read her expression.
“Really?”
“Yesh!”
Silvia immediately agreed again, even when I asked again out of suspicion.
Hmm. This raises a huge question.
If that’s true, then why on earth did Rachel-nunim throw away a chance to be alone with me?
I’m sure she wanted to be alone with me, too.
No, it’s not just what I want to believe; I’m sure of it.
Just thinking about our conversations yesterday and today, it’s obvious how much she likes me, right?
Her claim of being tired was a little suspicious from the start.
Sure, she said she hadn’t been sleeping well while worrying about our problem, but would that make her tired?
Even though she fainted during sex, her stamina should have recovered thanks to Healing Sex.
And she slept more than enough.
The rapid progress in our relationship over the last two days should have been a good thing, not something to be mentally exhausting.
If there was anything that could be tiring her, the only cause I could think of was the talk about the dungeon I brought up this morning.
She said that now that our relationship had progressed, she had no choice but to pray for my safe return, whether she liked it or not. So maybe she needed time to sort out her feelings about that.
But even with that, questions remain.
If she was going to sort out her thoughts alone in her room, couldn’t she have just refused when the girls suggested letting us be alone until evening?
Did she not want the others to know she was having such worries?
It’s not entirely implausible, but… something still feels off.
Besides, the expression on her face I saw earlier didn’t seem particularly complicated.
I wanted to go back to her room right now and ask what was going on, but if she really did need time to sort through her thoughts, I, who couldn’t say anything more than what I’d already said this morning, would only be a hindrance.
“Hnyaaaa…”
“Whoa! Silvia!”
Lost in thought, I was finally snapped back to reality by the sound of Silvia’s melting voice in my ear.
Oops! Did I rub her cheek for too long? Silvia’s gone limp like a boneless creature!
Anyway, I’ll just have to ask Rachel-nunim what’s going on later this evening.
For now, I need to take Silvia and get to the palace.
I lifted the melted Silvia into my arms and hurried toward the main gate where Vanessa would be waiting.