The Hero is Standing in My Way - Chapter 16

 

“Don’t keep saying that I am pretty. I am a man.” Siegfried said, grabbing my hand in the air. He seemed angry somehow.

 

“Ah, yes,”

 

Whenever he looked at me like that, I was forced to answer that way. But I thought to myself: Still, to me, you’re always pretty…….

 

“Don’t even think about it,” he said curtly.

 

“I am free to imagine,” I insisted.

 

“I can’t tolerate it.” Siegfried said, his patience running thin.

 

You’re really too much, I sighed internally. Even when you are angry, your beauty remains the same. Your face is so pretty I have the urge to shout compliments tens of thousands of times.

 

“I told you not to,” he said firmly.

 

Siegfried threatened as if he knew what I was thinking. I rolled my eyes. I told him as it was: “If you’re pretty, you’re pretty.”

 

“Say I am very handsome,” he demanded.

 

“Very hand……?”

 

I blurted out the end of his sentence.

 

It’s a little sudden. If you want to hear such words, I hope you will come back in about 5 years.

 

“Why do you hate saying that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Think about it and say it. You answered too quickly.”

 

“Please let go of my hand.”

 

Wasn’t he the one who said that we should be cautious holding hands?

 

I decided to let Siegfried know that he was holding my hand all this time.

 

“Oh, sorry.”

 

Siegfried hastily let go of my hand. There’s nothing to apologize for.

 

“Your hand is very small.”

 

He looked at my hands and his hands alternately, and now he said as if he had just realized it.

 

Is it? My hand is quite different from Siegfried, but it was the average size for women.

 

“It is natural that men’s hands are larger than women’s hands. What else is big if your hands are also big?”

 

(T/N: LMAO)

 

“…….”

 

I asked without thinking, but Siegfried suddenly closed his lips and sat away from me.

 

His cheeks began to glow red. Siegfried began to wash his face dry as if he had forgotten that I had just applied an ointment on his cheeks.

 

“You’re tall, right? I was saying that since you are growing up, you should eat well.”

 

“I, I don’t want to hear that from the person who bought me snacks. I thought you were saying something weird again.”

 

Siegfried said the correct answer to a mystery that he hadn’t even tried to guess, and he fanned his face while shaking his head for no reason.

 

Suddenly, he was sweating tremendously. I knew it would happen and bought a fan in advance.

 

I was very considerate and not playing around. I approached Siegfried and handed him the fan.

 

“Why is your face so red when you’re already a grown-up? I think you will explode.”

 

By the way, about what Siegfried said earlier. Weird thoughts? I shook my head.

 

Then I saw Siegfried turn around and turn my back on me, looking serious.

 

“What were you thinking?”

 

“I, I don’t know. Let’s go.”

 

Siegfried shook the dust off his pants and quickly got up.

 

The festival was just starting, and he seemed to have no desire to see it any more. When I asked where he wanted to go, he said that he wanted to go back to the mansion right away.

 

★★★

 

At the end of the festival period, a peaceful life came. I got up late and stretched.

 

Ooh. I sipped cool water, making a groaning sound. I drank some alcohol at night because it was the last day of the festival, but I guess I didn’t drink much yesterday.

 

I had a headache that seemed to break my head. I frowned.

 

With only pajamas, I trudged and walked around with my pajamas. Noon’s hot sunlight shone into the bedroom. It was dazzling.

 

“Oh?”

 

I saw Siegfried standing with a wooden sword in one of the gardens. Abbysion was next to him.

 

Abbysion was talking to Siegfried, and Siegfried listened to him and nodded from time to time.

 

At that time, I heard Abbysion’s voice.

 

“Ariel!”

 

I opened the window and waved my hand at Abbysion. He was smiling broadly as if he was happy to find me.

 

In contrast, Siegfried didn’t even look in my direction. It seemed like he was completely immersed in training.

 

“Youuuuuuur Hiiiiiiighnesss!”

 

I put my hands together and shouted.

 

His shoulders trembled. Siegfried slowly turned his head.

 

Siegfried must have heard my voice. However, he looked away even before he made eye contact with me. But why?

 

With my lips pouted, I tapped on the table. I have doubts about why he’s like this but I don’t want to go visit him and ask him.

 

Because of my hangover, I just wanted to roll around in bed all day in my pajamas.

 

“Ariel! Come down if you’re bored!”

 

Abbysion shouted to me when I got up and stretched.

 

I shook my head and put my hands together on my cheek, pretending to sleep. Abbysion raised his thumb as if he knew it.

 

While the maids cleared the dishes, I returned to bed. When I laid down on the blanket, I fell asleep. Suddenly I fell into a deep slumber.

 

Knock. Knock.

 

“I am sleeping!”

 

I opened my mouth and said, yawning.

 

I hated getting up because I had already become one with my bed.

 

I closed my eyes again, rubbing my cheeks against the pillow I was hugging.

 

Knock. Knock. Knock.

 

“Sleeping!”

 

I shouted with irritation.

 

Who the hell interferes with my sweet honey-tasting naps?

 

Still, if I left it as it is, whoever it was would go back, so I act like frowning my eyes while sleeping.

 

Fortunately, the person outside calmed down.

 

Knock! Knock! Knock!

 

…… He’s not calming down! As I didn’t answer, the knock became faster and faster.

 

I kicked up the blanket. The only person who would visit me at this time would be Abbysion.

 

However, if I told Abbysion that I am sleeping, he would go back quietly. So who the hell are you?

 

“I told you I was sleeping!”

 

“…… How does a sleeping person speak?”

 

The voice from outside the door made my eyes wide. I got up in a hurry, dragged my slippers on, walked over and opened the door.

 

Outside, Siegfried was standing wearing a white shirt with some grass stains.

 

He looked awkward as he lowered the hand that had been knocking on the door.

 

“Ah…… Your Highness. So the one who kept knocking on my door……?”

 

“Yes, it’s me.”

 

I got quite embarrassed. I woke up to see what kind of person was knocking. Unexpectedly, it was Siegfried.

 

I didn’t say anything, just staring at Siegfried. What could be the reason he came looking for me?

 

“…… Why didn’t you come before?”

 

“Yes? Earlier?”

 

I shook my head. Maybe because I slept for so long, my head was blank.

 

So I couldn’t understand what he was talking about. I just wanted to send Siegfried away and go back to bed.

 

“Earlier…… When Sir Abbysion was there. Weren’t you looking for me?”

 

“Ah yes. I did.”

 

“Sir Abbysion told you to come down.”

 

“And I said I would sleep more.”

 

“When did you say that? I didn’t hear it.”

 

Siegfried spoke with great urgency. Then, he opened his eyes wide, surprised at my words. His red mouth hardened slightly.

 

I only blinked.

 

“I didn’t hear that. You didn’t say that.”

 

Siegfried once again put weight on his words. I had to use my brain to recall the situation earlier.

 

Otherwise, Siegfried seemed to be angry. Look at you now, aren’t you looking really serious?

 

“Oh, that’s right. Not with words, but with gestures like this.”

 

I brought my hands to my face and made a cool sound through my mouth.

 

Then Siegfried’s lips opened slightly. His face was stained with embarrassment.

 

“I, I don’t even know how many hours have passed…….”

 

He didn’t talk and shut his mouth firmly. On behalf of Siegfried, I spit out a thought that came to my mind.

 

“But what brings Your Highness to my room? You swore that you would never come.”

 

“I never swore.”

 

“I think you did it roughly…….”

 

“And I haven’t even taken a step into your room.”

 

“Aha.”

 

It was funny that he came to my room acting all innocent. He had some sense of playfulness.

 

I quickly grabbed Siegfried’s hand. And surprised, he pulled his big hand before he showed any reaction.

 

A wide eyed face came into view. Suddenly he was standing in my room.

 

“Oh, you have come in. You’ve properly entered then.”

 

“H-how can you do this rude and obvious thing……!”

 

From the hand held to me to the neck exposed through his shirt and the tips of his ears. Siegfried’s skin was very red.

 

It’s not just the color, isn’t it really like when one is feeling very hot?

 

Siegfried’s skin burned to the point of such doubts.

 

“H-how! To me! I have never even stepped into a woman’s room!”

 

Siegfried was running wild compared to how small the issue was.

 

It was just a light joke, but his reaction was much stronger than expected.

 

When I held his wrist at the festival, he wasn’t so upset, so I thought our relationship was better, but not at all.