Chapter 863: The Reason It Bothers Me
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 863: The Reason It Bothers Me
“Mmmph… Darling…”
At the sweet voice tickling my ear, I suddenly opened my eyes.
I had wondered if I’d be able to sleep at night, having spent the entire previous day sleeping, but in the end, I had fallen into a deep sleep like this.
Just as she had declared, Matilda truly hadn’t allowed me to move my hips even once, and had melted me completely.
Falling asleep in this position must have been the effect of playing like that all night.
“Haaah…”
With another sweet murmur tickling my ear, my face was pulled by Matilda’s arm and buried even deeper into her large chest.
Right. We were currently lying on our sides, facing each other.
And I was curled up, my face buried in Matilda’s chest.
The soft, marshmallow-like sensation against my cheek was so blissful that I wanted to close my eyes and focus more on it, but before that, something caught my eye.
Right before my eyes, was the black trace of the curse covering half of Matilda’s body.
During the intense acts that continued through the night, Matilda had shed all her clothes, and now, only a thin blanket covering her lower body concealed her.
As a result, the trace of the curse covering half of her body also lay exposed in its entirety.
This trace has also faded quite a lot, hasn’t it?
Now, the traces that had wrapped around her arms and legs were completely gone, and only the traces remaining on her torso were left.
Even those, the Apostle’s Seal I had carved below her left breast, had faded enough for its very edge to be slightly visible.
As expected, no matter how much I tried to seize opportunities and do it intermittently during the day, spending one night together like this was much more effective.
Since we’ll be sleeping together regularly from now on, the day Matilda’s Apostle’s Seal is fully revealed might not be far off.
“Ugh… Mmm…”
Carefully, so as not to wake Matilda, I gently caressed the area around the Apostle’s Seal with my fingertips.
Tracing the round curve below Matilda’s left breast.
Perhaps instinctively feeling that her Apostle’s Seal was being touched even in her sleep, Matilda tightened the arm wrapped around my head once more, and let out a sweet murmur.
Watching her, I felt a sudden pang of guilt towards Matilda.
Matilda cherished this Apostle’s Seal so much, yet I, despite swearing to make this seal fully visible and carving it in this very spot, hadn’t actually been all that diligent about the curse removal process.
And yet, Matilda never complained, always putting me first, just like yesterday.
She could at least show a little dissatisfaction, you know?
Like Felicia yesterday.
Of course, Felicia and Matilda’s situations couldn’t be considered the same. No. They were vastly different.
But there were definitely similarities.
For example, yesterday, Felicia probably got so sad seeing my half-hearted attitude.
She must have known I didn’t love her, but as someone cooperating to solve her physical condition, I hadn’t even properly cooperated yesterday, acting as if I’d just carelessly abandoned her.
So, Matilda, who has seen my lack of enthusiasm for curse removal… No. Why am I still thinking about Felicia since yesterday?!
Matilda is right in front of me now! This is the time to focus only on Matilda, isn’t it?!
Alright. Since it’s come to this, let’s move.
Matilda might wake up in the middle, but this is all to remove the curse as quickly as possible. Matilda will surely like it too.
“Mmm… Darling…?”
I tried to sit up, shift into the missionary position, and move my hips, but Matilda opened her eyes before I could.
“What’s wrong? Did you… not get any sleep after all?”
And, as if remembering what I had said yesterday, half-jokingly, half-seriously, she started with that very question.
“No. Thanks to you, I slept soundly. I just woke up myself.”
“Is that so… Then, is something bothering you?”
“No. Of course not. Even if there was, by some chance, just being with you like this would make any worries completely disappear, wouldn’t it?”
“Mmm-hmm… Darling… Ahh…”
As I spoke, gently swaying my hips back and forth, Matilda, perhaps still half-asleep, let out a more sensual hum than usual, then reached out her arms, wrapped them around my neck, and pulled me closer.
She gave me a few light ‘bird kisses’, then gently caressed my cheek with one hand, and made a slightly troubled expression.
Troubled expression, or rather… it seemed she had something to say, but was wondering if she should say it.
But that was only for a moment. Soon, as if she had made up her mind, Matilda looked up at me with a determined expression, staring straight into my eyes.
“Are you bothered by the Princess?”
“Wh-what?! No, no! That can’t be! Why would I…”
“Darling. If you react so vehemently, it’s practically admitting that it’s true.”
…She sometimes points out my actions so sharply, you know?
No. Even if you say it’s because I acted suspiciously just now, being a little flustered, how did she know I was thinking about Felicia in the first place? My response when she asked if something was bothering me earlier was perfect, wasn’t it?!
Perhaps reading the bewildered emotion on my face, Matilda even gave me an answer before I could say anything.
“Because I just had that feeling. Since yesterday.”
“'Just a feeling’?” Does it make sense to guess so precisely, like a psychic, for such a ridiculous reason?!
And since yesterday, no less. No. Well, it’s true that Felicia has been on my mind since yesterday, but…
Damn it. This, that, it’s all Felicia’s fault.
If she was going to act well, she should have kept it up until the end. Why did she have to let out such a sigh just as she was leaving?
That’s a 100% crying pattern right after that.
I’m a human too, how could I completely ignore such a sigh?
“It’s true that I was a little bothered, but it’s not in the way you’re thinking. Really. It’s true. Believe me. With you right in front of me, and in this situation, how could I…”
“It’s alright. It’s really alright.”
Gently caressing my cheek as I frantically made excuses, Matilda calmly soothed me.
Under the perfect touch of the Cardinal, I also decided it was better to calm my mind first, rather than just blurting out words with my thoughts still jumbled.
And once my mind had calmed a little, I was able to think thoughts I hadn’t been able to before.
Now that I think about it. Matilda said she had that feeling about me since yesterday.
And when we parted ways yesterday, the others seemed to have said something to Matilda like ‘please take care of him'… Then, could it be?
“Mmm… Darling?”
“Yes?”
Before those thoughts could continue, Matilda called out to me again, with a hint of hesitation.
It seemed she had confirmed from my expression that I had calmed down somewhat.
“I am a faithful servant of the Goddess who encourages and blesses love between people… No. That’s not it.”
Outwardly, Matilda seemed infinitely calm in her Cardinal mode, but in truth, her mind seemed just as complicated.
Of course. The man she loved had been thinking of another woman, even if only for a brief moment, while being intimate with her.
It was a miracle she hadn’t slapped me.
“As a woman who loves you, I believe your happiness is the most important thing.”
But perhaps it wasn’t for nothing that she had risen to the position of Cardinal at her age, Matilda quickly collected her thoughts and said that.
Though I had no idea why she was suddenly saying this.
I thought she was talking about Felicia, but now it’s about my happiness?
No. Wait a minute. What did she say when she cut herself off earlier?
The Goddess who blesses love… Wait. Does she think I love Felicia?
Hey. I just told you! It’s really not like that!
“So, if you truly feel that way, I think it’s alright.”
“No, Matilda. It’s really not like that. Think about it. Of course, you weren’t there then, but you must have heard roughly what happened. How I first met her. Her image is so bad that I’ll truly never develop such feelings for her in my entire life…”
“Darling.”
To emphasize my point, I even added a slight exaggeration… No. Come to think of it, maybe it wasn’t an exaggeration? Anyway, I said that.
But cutting me off, Matilda called my name again, as if admonishing me.
“Wh-why?”
“Isn’t it too cruel to entrust me with the role of awakening your feelings for someone else that you’re trying to ignore? Isn’t that too harsh?”
“……”
So, Matilda, you’re trying to say this?
That because of preconceptions from our first meeting, or feelings of guilt towards my other women, I’m just trying hard to ignore it, but deep down, I already have feelings for Felicia?
“Matilda. If you say it like that, you’ve practically already fulfilled that role, haven’t you? You’re always like that…”
Normally, whenever she’s bored, she just gets all lovey-dovey and clings to me, but whenever it’s important, she gives me direction like this, showing me what I should do next.
Doesn’t she know too well when to truly shine and when not to?
“Because I, too… have been in a similar position.”
Ah, I see. Of course, Matilda herself stepped forward, and acted in a similar way to now, so her feelings bore fruit relatively quickly, but it’s not like there wasn’t a time when she hid her feelings for me and just pined away by my side.
“Even so. Was it really okay for you to say something like that?”
“I suppose so. I might regret it later. But it’s alright.”
“It’s not alright. Really…”
At Matilda’s utterly kind answer, I felt an indescribable emotion.
Seriously, all my girls, every single one of them is just too kind. What would they have done if they’d met some other bad guy instead of me?
Oh, am I the bad guy?
“It’s alright. Because I’m going to interfere from now on.”
While I was feeling touched like that, Matilda, as if it wasn’t over yet, suddenly added that.
What? Interfere? After encouraging me this much, what could she possibly say now…
“Darling. As I said before, if you truly feel that way, I think it’s best for you to act according to your feelings. I’ll even support you. But before you act on it, please think once more if that feeling of yours is truly love.”
“What do you mean by that? Think if it’s truly love?”
“Because you and the Princess are in very similar situations. As bodies blessed by the Goddess, but as a trade-off, always engulfed by sexual desire…”
“Hey. Wait a minute. That makes me sound like Felicia, someone who’ll suffer if they can’t periodically release their sexual urges. Of course, I sometimes think my libido has gotten stronger since becoming a Saint, and it seems to get worse as I level up, and there have been times when I’ve suddenly sought sex even in the middle of a serious conversation, but…”
Uh, huh? Wait a minute. Huh? Wait a minute. No way, really? Is it really like that?
No. But when I was shipwrecked, I didn’t do it for quite a long time, but I was fine… Now that I think about it, I did it with Elder Sister Rachel the moment I was rescued.
And after that, I even did it with Sara and Diana simultaneously that night. Of course, the situation just happened to unfold that way, but considering that was the first and last time I awkwardly did it with two at once…
Is it true? Was it really because of the Saint job?
No. Then, did everyone roughly figure it out?
“Darling, that’s not what’s important right now. No matter what you’re like, we will love you. And unlike the Princess, you can always resolve it, can’t you?”
Indeed. Even if we’re both in a situation where our bodies periodically heat up due to the Goddess, Felicia, being a woman, and I, being a man, are different.
This world is fundamentally one where it’s easier to find high-level women than high-level men, so it’s easy to find a satisfying partner, and most importantly, unlike men who have a limit on how many times they can do it, women have no such limit.