Why Are you Obsessed Even Though you're Dead ?

Chapter 25

“When I opened my eyes again, it wasn’t my bed.’’

‘Laches’s bedroom….’

I know where this is, It was the very bedroom I entered last time to treat Laches’s wounds.

‘Looks like I didn’t die.’

I was somewhat startled, wondering if I had bled out from my wounds and died of anemia, causing time to rewind… but fortunately, it didn’t seem to be the case.

‘But why am I lying here?’

As soon as I opened my eyes, I checked the window. It was already dark outside.

‘…I should have brought Cream and Cheese rice,  I should have taken them for a walk. Didn’t I keep them waiting?’

Oddly enough, as soon as I opened my eyes, thoughts of Cream and Cheese came to mind. Being responsible for lives is like this, huh?

It was a strangely new feeling.

As I shifted my gaze, I saw Laches reading a book by the bedside.

The book he was reading was the one from that guardian family that fell off the desk last time. Judging by the number of pages turned, it seemed like he was reading it intermittently.

‘’…It feels really strange having someone next to me.”

When I was sick, it was always the doctor who tended to my bed.

Father, Dettor, and Delia were not there either. The nanny who raised me changed several times, so there was no chance to develop any attachment.

It was always strange to see this man by my side.

Then the pupils of Laches, who was reading a book, turned towards me beyond the book. Startled, the man closed the book that he was reading as our eyes met.

He didn’t seem surprised, as if he already knew I had woken up.

“You woke up without saying anything.”

“…I just woke up,  But why am I lying in the Duke’s bed?”

“I was ignorant,  I thought it would be nice to warm up this small room,  I didn’t expect it to become dry.”

“I didn’t think about it either. …But why did I ask why I’m lying here?”

“There was no suitable place,  If I sent you back to that room, you might spill blood and faint again, or you might get cold without a fire. So, I brought you to my bedroom.”

Even so, isn’t it too much to bring a maid to the bedroom for such a trivial reason?

When I tried to sit up, Laches hurriedly approached and stopped me.

“Stay lying down.”

“Even so, it doesn’t seem like the right place for me to lie down.”

“If you’re sick…!”

Laches stopped himself from saying something and just sighed heavily instead.

If he’s talking about a sick person, could he be referring to me?

“…..Just in case, I want to mention that I’m fine.”

“I’m the weakest person I’ve ever seen.”

“What kind of people have you seen?”

“They weren’t the type to calmly call a doctor even when bleeding.”

“Well…..”

It’s really not a big deal.

But now that I think about it from Laches perspective, someone who doesn’t know who I am might be shocked by what happened.

“…I’m sorry for surprising you.”

As I apologized sincerely, Laches  stiff expression softened slightly.

“Do you have any other symptoms? Any pain anywhere…?”

“No, I don’t.”

After sleeping deeply in a warm place and waking up, my sore throat and frequent sneezing seemed to have improved a lot.

“Okay. …I thought you wouldn’t talk about it.”

Muttering softly, Laches  ran his hand through his hair. What did he mean by not talking about it? I didn’t understand.

He must have bitten his lip tightly as his jaw tensed, Laches  who had sunk like an embarrassed shadow, spoke quietly.

“I asked you what you would do if you could go back to the past and choose whether to save or kill Reprentia.”

Why bring that up again all of a sudden…?

“At that time, I couldn’t make a choice yet, so I said I didn’t know.”

“Yes,  That’s right.”

“If I were to go back to that time again, I would save Reprentia.”

This answer was different from the vague one before,  Laches answered with a confident tone as he looked straight into my eyes.

“I would.”

He reached out and held my hand,  The tight grip felt like it was holding me in place.

“No matter what I have to do, even if I have to imprison someone in a place where no one will come, I will definitely… save her.”

For a moment, Laches  pupils seemed to flicker with a hint of madness, I felt a chill run down my spine as his grip tightened on my shoulder. Then, Laches  stopped speaking and neatly suppressed the emerging madness.

“…I will save her,  No matter what happens, I will definitely, absolutely save her. That’s my choice.”

It was a reassurance repeated several times, as if to put my mind at ease.

Still, how comforting your short words of promising to save me are,  Do you know that?

“…It was just a casual conversation at home,  You didn’t have to answer so seriously.”

I laughed.

If this man was originally the one who was going to kill me… If that’s really the case, could I not die in this life since he changed his mind?

“So, lie down.”

He ordered firmly.

“Since you treated me last time, this time, I’ll treat you.”

“I only put on ointment without even bandaging last time.”

“I’ll say I’m rewarding your loyalty for thinking of me highly.”

Laches covered me with a blanket up to my chin, meaning not to get up shortly after waking up.

“What happened to Cream and Cheese?”

“I passed the message to Tom,  He came back saying they had dinner well and went for a walk very well. He was amazed to see Tom tame two animals in such a short time.”

“I didn’t tame them… Cream and Cheese are smart,  Thank you for taking care of them. I was worried if they were skipping dinner.”

Laches lay on the bed, chin in hand, quietly watching me.

“Do you always talk more about those dogs than usual?”

“I’m sorry…”

“I’m not blaming you, I just said it because it’s nice to hear. I’m considering bringing them here.”

“I guess… I feel responsible for them.”

“I feel like that when I see you.”

“Huh?”

With an incredulous look, Laches was very serious.

“Am I being treated like a dog right now? Well, if it’s Cream and Cheese, it feels good… but still, being treated like a dog… Is it right to enjoy it? But if it’s Cream and Cheese…”

Lost in endless dilemma, Laches changed the subject.

“I couldn’t change your clothes,  I could have called someone else to do it… but I thought you wouldn’t like being known.”

Peeking under the blanket, I was still wearing the bloody maid uniform. However, my hands and face were neatly wiped clean of blood.

“Then did the Duke personally wipe the blood off your hands and face?”

“Of course,  Who else would do it if not me?”

It was a natural answer,  It was strange that the man thought naturally of his master who sincerely wiped the blood off the maid’s hands and face.

“Thank you.”

I felt like I had apologized too much, so I thanked instead.

While apologizing, Laches’ face, which had been dull all along, brightened up as if a chandelier had brought light to it.

“It’s nothing.”

He replied briefly, but I could see a very slight upward curve in the corners of his mouth.

When I brought Cream, I remembered and felt his thoughts, but he was a man who seemed very different from his cold words and actions. In a sense, an easy-to-understand man, and in another sense, an utterly incomprehensible man.

A man who can easily hide the degree of madness that shows on his face.

“And perhaps the man who holds my lifeline.”

After that, my room was moved from the original one to a larger one. The distance between the fireplace and the bed was sufficient, and the room had large windows for good ventilation.

It was obvious that I was being treated specially. Not only that, but every meal came with plenty of expensive green leaves from the north.

“You came in without even an interview with Master Hyanjang when you first arrived….”

“And the recommendation letter is a recommendation letter, but Master Gongjak immediately approved it….”

“Perhaps it’s because of Master Gongjak’s favor…?”

As a result, whispers about Laches  and me grew louder.

But it was different from before.

“Do we have anyone who works as hard as Leah? Leah deserves the treatment she’s getting.”

There was Selly who took my side, and also…

“Do you guys have no sense of loyalty? Why do you have to badmouth someone so eagerly?”

“Yeah,  And what if Leah  receives Master’s favor? You would like it if you received Master’s favor too,  Is that a problem?”

“If you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous,  Don’t badmouth people with all sorts of excuses.”

“And you, weren’t you the one who almost got kicked out for talking back to Master last time? You don’t seem to be in a position to badmouth Leah.”

The maids who rescued me when I was scolded by Delia before were staunchly on my side.

“You… Have you seen those half-wild dogs? Do you know how much muscle pain I suffered when I tried to tame just one? But this one walks around with a big dog and even a little puppy alone, Can you do that? Master must favor her because of that.”

“J-just a dog?”

“Just a dog? Then you do it, If you think you can do better than Lea, ask for a room of the same size from Master and ask him to let you take care of the wild animals.”

Moreover, even Tom, who is bigger than a mountain, took my side, and the murmurs quickly disappeared.

My table, which I always ate alone at, was now filled with colleagues who worked together with me.

It was a strange feeling that I had never felt before, but it was reassuring and pleasant.

Moreover, after finishing the meal, I went to see Cream and Cheese waiting for me. The two dogs always wagged their tails enthusiastically whenever they saw me, and the warmth here was so comforting that I almost forgot this was the North.

“Cream,  I want to keep living like this here, sis.”

Instead of combing Cream’s fur, I buried my face in it,  Cream wrapped me up as if she knew everything about me.

I want to keep living like this. In this life, I didn’t want to go back or lose everything, no matter what happened.

“Cream,  Today  we’re going to have hunting training,  You just have to fetch it when I throw the ball. Got it?”

I learned from watching Tom do it, but… I’m not sure if it’ll work out.

Tom said it’s okay since it’s the first time, although he asked Master for a training ground.

“Arf!”

Cream barked loudly as if she was confident,  I held the training ball borrowed awkwardly.

“Should I throw it…?”

“I, the signalman, threw the ball.

Swish.

“Huh…?”

I definitely threw the ball forward, but it flew over the densely landscaped trees in the garden.

“Thunk.”

It seemed like Creamy, who was looking at me, was asking if he should fetch it.

“Wait here with Cheese,  I’ll go get it.”

After patting Creamy’s head, I headed towards where the ball had flown.

Fortunately, the ball wasn’t far away. As I stooped to pick it up from the ground, I felt someone’s presence right beside me.

“Huh?”

I turned my head towards the sensation,  Then I heard a whispering voice from behind the gardener.