An Obsessive Man Raised Impurely - Chapter 6

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For the next few days, I suffered from a cold.

1STKISSNOVEL. DO NOT STEAL MY TRANSLATION!

It was said that even dogs wouldn’t catch a summer cold, but here I was with a weak body that was struggling from just a weak drizzle.

Hadelion was worried about me, Lord Grey was worried about me, and all the servants of the family were worried about me.

Hadel, in particular, was stuck by my side throughout it all.

“How are you feeling?”

“Do you have anything else to say?”

“…What?”

“I guess you don’t know how many times you’ve asked me.”

Startled, he scratched the back of his head.

Unlike the first time I saw him, I could see his ears reddening, which were exposed under his neatly combed blonde hair.

“…Oh, did I ask you a lot?”

“Yes. You asked the day before, yesterday, and this morning.”

“I don’t think it’s that often…”

“You asked exactly seventy-five times this week.”

“I… bothered you a little bit.”

“Not a little. A lot.”

What had changed so far was that he was talking more freely now.

He initiated conversation first, even if I didn’t bring anything up.

Sometimes he would fetch me a glass of water and bring me a blanket when I stared out of the window.

Did my withering appearance have that much of an effect on Hadelion?

I thought Grand Duke Grey would think Hadelion was a thorn in his side and kick him out immediately, but his excitement from celebrating my recovery was still ongoing.

That didn’t mean that the two of them were getting along, but still, it was unexpected.

“Grand Duke Grey, and you too. Are you both acting strange only in front of me?’

Hadelion and the Grand Duke were like cogwheels revolving around me as they hovered.

—I’m the only one she’s allowed to touch.

—I’m the only one she’ll pay attention to.

—I’m the only one she’ll speak to.

They were both so alike in the way they were trying to convey this without any words.

‘Of course, the Grand Duke was the kind of man who treated everyone else like they were pests. And in Hadelion’s case, he was rejecting everyone but me.’

Anyway, our daily lives were peaceful.

Hadelion followed me everywhere like a chick, and at some point I wasn’t bothered by it anymore.

So I said it, like it was a habit.

“Then, shall we take a bath together today?”

“…What?”

In other words, it became my daily routine to see him getting flustered like a baby rabbit.

* * *

The bathroom was covered with the hazy steam, and the sun’s rays slanted languidly over the window frame on the wall.

“What’s wrong, Hadelion? Aren’t you going to wash up?”

“That’s…”

Hadelion had been stiff like a stick for half an hour under that sunny spot.

In the end, it seemed to be up to me to come get him.

All the maids lined up along the wall knew how patient I was being.

I sighed.

That’s right. Even a thirsty man could dig a well for water.

These days I noticed that he was being more expressive, and this caught my eye.

“Come on. Let’s wash up.”

I rolled up my sleeves and reached out to him as if I was a real mother trying to bathe her child.

Normally, he would have come to me without hesitation and held my hand, but now he was busy hiding behind the bathtub.

It reminded me of a baby squirrel shaking with fear.

Somehow, this made me want to tease him, but it wasn’t my fault.

It was because Hadelion kept making me think bad things.

“…E-Excuse me……”

“Just call me Lilian.”

“L-Lilian. I’m okay not taking a bath.”

“Well, I’m not fine with it. Come on. Unless you want to see my arm fall off because you won’t take my hand.”

He was still a guy, so the nape of his neck turned red.

It was obvious that it was bothering him because he tried to cover it up by smoothing his hair over it.

But his action stole more attention.

I observed him for a moment, amused.

“Milady, we’ll wash the child.”

“It’s fine, you can leave.”

“You’ve just recovered from your cold. You might overdo it and get sick again, Milady.”

“I know my body well. It’s not going to happen today, so don’t worry about it and go.”

“Milady.”

“There are many other ways to get sick.”

“…Yes?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Do you want to be scolded by my father again?”

When I came out with this threat, the white-faced maids left the bathroom obediently.

They reacted this way because I had been sick with a cold for the past week. That is why Grand Duke Grey was so harsh to all the servants of the castle.

The first person who was always being called was my maid, Jeya.

I heard that she had to be called by Grand Duke Gray so often just to report about my health.

Anyway, the others were gone.

I reached out to him again.

“Come on, Hadelion. Hm? It’s just you and me now. Come on out. I’ll wash up with you.”

“…Together?”

“Why not? Can’t we do that? It’s not a big deal to wash together with a child.”

“That… that’s true, but…”

“Is that why you were just staring at the maids earlier? You wanted to ask them to leave, right?”

“I-It’s not that. Really.”

“Oh, me too. I thought you were going to ask me to get out of here.”

He shook his head and denied it twice, fueling my mirth even more.

I deliberately stared at him and continued. I’d like to experiment with just how red those ears and that nape could be.

“Oh, I see. You were waiting, right? You should have told me earlier.”

“Yes? Wh…at?”

“Taking off the clothes. I don’t know if it’s because you’re a kid, but I guess you’re struggling with it. Come now, I’ll take it off for you.”

My voice echoing in the bathroom reached him.

It was so clear that the small body, half hidden behind the bathtub, shuddered.

Oh, I don’t want to stop here.

I knew that I was teasing him too much.

“Y-y-you can’t!”

“You don’t have to be shy. It’s just the two of us here.”

“Don’t lower your voice like that!”

“Why? That’s just my voice.”

“Is that why you sent the maids away? To make fun of me?”

“Yep, you got me. That’s why I told them to go away. So, come on. I sent them out just for you.”

“You don’t have to do that for me. I can wash by myself…”

“If you don’t want to come to me, I’ll go to you.”

“Wait, w-w-wait! Stop. Don’t come near me!”

Now, his whole body had turned red.

From his nape, which was terribly flushed, turned red to the point where I thought it might explode.

If they saw this, people might think I was about to devour him.

Until the very end, I didn’t want him to know that such vivid reactions amused me to no end.

But then, he seemed to have heard the laughter that I was trying to suppress leaking out of my lips.

His expression visibly changed.

“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in children.”

It was just a brief respite that I was being so mischievous to you.

I’m just being selfish.