“Clyde, let me go. Please.”
“Why?”
“Why, you ask? I’ve told you before.”
“You don’t want me to touch you?”
“…….”
I couldn’t answer at that moment.
Was it because his embrace was so comforting that it was impossible for me to reflexively lie?
Clyde brought his hand up towards my chest.
“Your heart is racing like crazy.”
“…….”
And he gently brushed his hand against my cheek.
“Your face is hot too.”
“Well, that’s… because I’m surprised. You suddenly did this.”
“Then why did you touch me earlier?”
“I wanted to see if your senses had come back.”
“But it seemed like you were lingering for quite a while.”
“L-Lingering…!”
“It’s okay, you can touch me more. Anywhere, as much as you want.”
Clyde held my hand and pressed it against his chest. I could feel the firm muscles rising and falling with his breath.
“Oh my…,”
My head was getting so hot that I felt like I would lose my mind any moment now.
“That, that’s enough. Clyde.”
“What?”
“What you’re doing, all of it.”
“Why? I’m just holding you still?”
“Nonsense. How is this just holding still?”
“Everything I want to do to you right now, I’m not doing any of it and I’m just enduring.”
“…….”
My voice felt choked as if my throat was parched.
I couldn’t muster the courage to ask what exactly Clyde wanted to do to me. I was too afraid to know.
Clyde brushed his hand against my cheek again. The touch of his fingertips against my ear sent shivers down my spine, such a sensitive sensation.
“Ugh….”
Unintentionally, I let out a sound and quickly covered my mouth..
Each touch felt unbelievably intense, as if I couldn’t trust my senses, as if I were a character in an adult-rated romance novel.
“Look at this. You’re clearly not just staying still.”
“Come on. This much is fine.”
“It’s not fine. It’s not. I’ve been saying it since earlier…!”
“I think I deserve a reward.”
“Reward? What reward?”
“I’ve been holding back so much. Enduring the pain and difficulty of transforming into a woman, obediently listening to you. So, you should reward me.”
“…….”
Clyde kissed my forehead. Then he moved to my eyebrows, and then to my cheek.
His lips were soft yet so hot, like he was stamping his mark on my body.
“C-Clyde… huff!”
The moment Clyde’s lips touched the delicate skin of my neck, I pushed him away in shock.
“Enough, really! Stop now!”
“…No?”
“Yeah. That’s it. No more rewards or anything. Absolutely not!”
I shouted, almost in anger, making a declaration. I couldn’t leave things as they were, not knowing what might happen if I did.
The baffling thing was that Clyde’s touch didn’t feel unpleasant at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Which made it even more dangerous.
Clyde’s expression softened slightly.
Even though it was an expression that didn’t match his physique or appearance at all, it somehow looked cute for a moment. I couldn’t believe I found it cute.
“Alright, I get it. I’ll really just hold you still now. Is that okay?”
“…Can you promise not to do anything more than that?”
“Yes. I promise.”
I let out a sigh.
“Good. Don’t do anything.”
As if waiting for those words, Clyde pulled me close firmly.
It was strange how, despite the overwhelming pressure, I didn’t feel uncomfortable or dislike it.
‘Maybe I’m already getting used to it…’
Feeling Clyde’s touch gently patting my head as if I were precious, I let out another small sigh.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In the afternoon, a woman in her 30s or 40s arrived at the mansion.
She was a nurse hired by Aslan. As expected from Aslan, everything was handled swiftly.
But I had to send the nurse away with a regrettable explanation, “I’m sorry you’ve come all this way, but the patient’s condition has improved so much that he doesn’t need someone to help him.”
It was an inevitable decision. Aslan only knew that Clyde was a woman, and naturally assumed a nurse would be needed for that reason.
Since I had to return to the investigation team from tomorrow onwards, I couldn’t keep casting transformation spells on Clyde indefinitely.
When I suggested finding someone else to help, Clyde shook his head.
“It’s okay, there’s no need for that.”
“But you still can’t see, right? How are you going to live on your own when I’m not here? You won’t even be able to cook or eat properly.”
“My body is fine even if I don’t eat for a few days. You know that.”
“But, Clyde.”
“If you go tomorrow, it’s not like you’ll never come back. You’ll come back on your next day off, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but still…”
“It’s enough to eat the food you bring when you come. So don’t worry.”
“…….”
In the end, I had no choice but to follow Clyde’s suggestion.
In fact, considering the current situation, it was safer to do so.
I went out and bought some food that could be preserved for a long time. I organized it and left it near Clyde’s bed where he could find it easily.
“It might be tough for a while, but hang in there. Your senses have already started coming back, so the remaining ones will come back soon too.”
I said, taking Clyde’s hand.
“I’ll be back in five days, then. Take care of yourself.”
“Okay. Ruby. You too.”
I walked away from Clyde’s house with firm steps.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
After that, my days fell into a relatively monotonous routine.
Five out of seven days were spent excavating artifacts at the archaeological site, and during the two days off, I spent time with Clyde.
I explained to Aslan that he had sent his nurse away because he had regained most of his senses and didn’t want her to be a bother.
Aslan didn’t seem to doubt my words. He didn’t say much about me visiting Clyde on my days off either.
It seemed my unfounded scolding of Aslan had been quite shocking to him at the time.
After that incident, Aslan seemed strangely cautious in front of me, and it definitely wasn’t due to his mood.
Whenever I saw him like that, I felt a deep sense of guilt that I couldn’t express.
I really wanted to clear up the misunderstanding as soon as possible.
But in reality, that was what allowed me to freely meet Clyde.
For the sake of Clyde’s safety, it was better to maintain this current situation.
Clyde’s senses, which seemed like they would return at any moment, surprisingly didn’t recover as time went on.
While his sense of smell and taste returned, his sight showed no signs of improvement.
Clyde said he couldn’t even see a vague shape in front of him, just darkness.
I even tried using curse detection spells again, thinking that maybe the curse wasn’t completely lifted, but I found nothing.
I asked Viscount Doanne as well, and he asserted that the curse had been completely removed.
“Then why hasn’t his vision returned yet?”
“I don’t know. As I said before, it’s a complete mystery whether the lost senses will return or not, so I don’t know what to do….”
“…….”
When I fell silent with a slight frown, Viscount Doanne hurriedly tried to comfort me.
“Still, don’t worry too much. Since the other senses have returned to their original state, there’s always a possibility that his sight will recover.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
I had no choice but to trust Viscount Doanne words for now and wait patiently.
‘If this were Trachen, I would have delved into all the books in the Royal Library and found a solution, even if I had to read them all…’
If Clyde’s sight hadn’t been restored by the time I returned to the capital, I vowed to find a way.
Then one day, I made peanut pumpkin pie after a long time and brought it to Clyde.
When I made it for him last time, his lukewarm reaction disappointed me inwardly. But now I realized that at that time, Clyde had already lost his sense of taste.
“That’s right. There’s no way someone could eat my pumpkin pie and remain indifferent.”
I put even more effort into baking the pie than last time.
Thanks to that, I was quite satisfied with the result. It was a taste that I thought about saving to share with Cecil; it was that delicious.
I watched Clyde chew and swallow the pie with anticipation.
“How is it?”
“…It’s delicious.”
“What? Is that all you’re going to say?”
“No, it’s really delicious. I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t realize a pie could be made this delicious.”
His response wasn’t as exaggerated as Cecil’s, but looking at his expression, it seemed like he wasn’t entirely disinterested.
I smiled proudly.
“So, are you admitting to my skills now? You used to completely disregard the pies I made before. It’s not like you couldn’t eat them, you just reacted so indifferently.”
“…I did?”
“Yeah. Do you know how frustrated that made me? It was the first thing I’d ever worked hard to make that I knew you’d like, and your reaction was a total disaster. That’s why I honed my skills for seven years to get better.”
“…….”
Clyde was silent for a moment with an unreadable expression. He slowly extended his hand and pulled me closer.
“Do you want another piece?”
“No. You.”
“Huh?”
“Ruby, you.”
“…….”
At the time I was taken aback and lost my words, Clyde found a way to reach me and pull me closer.
“C-Clyde.”
“So you were thinking about me too.”
“Huh? Well, yeah, of course….”
“I wasn’t the only one. I wasn’t the only one thinking about you.”
“…….”
His slightly tender voice made my heart swell with emotion.
I gazed at Clyde quietly.
aww <3
Girl admit it already