Chapter 15
Episode 15
"Umm......"
Vivian rubbed her eyes languidly. Bright sunlight streamed in through her eyelids. It seemed to be morning already.
But Vivian didn't feel like getting up. It was warm and cozy inside the blanket.
"I want to sleep more."
"Then do so."
Vivian, who was curling up, suddenly stopped. A very eerie and ominous feeling ran down her spine.
"Sleep more, Vivian. You overdid it last night."
"......"
"I'm still tired too."
A tanned arm wrapped firmly around Vivian's slender waist. This familiar sensation of a steel frame was definitely...
"Aslan?!"
"What."
"W-What is this...!"
Her mind, soaked in sleep, was instantly jolted awake.
The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was Aslan's bare chest.
Vivian quickly lowered her gaze. Fortunately, she was properly dressed. Although she was only wearing a thin negligee, there were no signs of disarray.
'Did I fall asleep as I was last night? No, but I was sitting by the bedside.'
Why was she now trapped in Aslan's arms without any space!
Vivian tried to get up quickly, but it was impossible. Aslan's arms, tightly wrapped around her waist, wouldn't budge no matter how much she twisted.
"Um, your arm, um...!"
If you had any conscience, you wouldn't use a small and precious patient like me as a pillow! Do you know how many times your weight is compared to mine?!
To exaggerate a bit, Aslan's arm thickness was almost the same as her waist thickness.
He had wrapped two of those around her waist, so how could the waist of the person being wrapped be okay!
"My waist feels like it's going to break..."
"That's because you overdid it last night."
"Ugh!"
It's not that, it's because you're squeezing my waist so tightly that it feels like it's going to break!
Just as Vivian, yearning for escape, was struggling to twist her body, she heard a gasp from behind.
Emma, the middle-aged head maid, who received the gazes of both of them at the same time, bowed her head.
"I apologize for interrupting your affectionate time. It's time for the mistress to take her medicine."
That's not it.
"No, you did well. I can't let Vivian skip her medicine. Bring breakfast first."
That's not it!
Emma and Aslan lightly ignored Vivian, who was flailing between them, and finished their conversation.
They were having a very bad misunderstanding. Especially Emma's gaze, which was subtly lowered diagonally, made it clear that she was misunderstanding.
Why can't you look me straight in the eye!
While Vivian covered her face with both hands in despair, their breakfast was already being prepared in the bedroom.
"It's a shame, but I have to get up now."
Aslan lightly picked up Vivian and moved out of the bed.
After putting her down on the sofa, he ordered a servant to bring Vivian's slippers.
"Your feet are small, so your shoes are cute too."
"It's not that I'm small, it's that your hands are big..."
"No, you're small."
Vivian's small, white feet were held in Aslan's grasp. He gently stroked the instep of Vivian's foot, and then put the slippers on her himself.
Then he smiled contentedly.
"Let's eat now."
Aslan ate as much as his huge physique. From the morning, he nonchalantly chewed and swallowed a steak the size of two palms.
He frowned as he watched Vivian stirring her salad.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"I don't have an appetite in the morning."
"Don't you always eat as little as a bird?"
Vivian was about to say that it wasn't that she ate little, but that Aslan ate a lot, but she quickly shut her mouth.
It was because he called a servant with a fierce frown.
"Fire the chef."
"Yes, I understand."
"Aslan?"
"All the chefs in this mansion are hired for you. If they can't satisfy their master, they should be fired."
Vivian quickly grabbed the servant who was about to leave the bedroom.
Not many noble families would accept a chef who had been fired from the Grand Duke's residence. At this rate, their careers would be blown up in the air just because she ate little.
Vivian quickly picked up the soup in front of her.
"Wow, it's so delicious!"
"......"
"You hired a chef with such skill, as expected of Aslan. You're the only one who cares about me, you know?"
Vivian ate diligently. She did her best with the feeling of eating tear-soaked bread.
Aslan's gaze, which had been silently watching her all along, softened again.
"I'm glad you like it."
Vivian protected the careers of the innocent chefs.
＊ ＊ ＊
The mealtime, which she had put her heart and soul into, ended safely.
Aslan, who had watched Vivian swallow the bitter medicine to the end, finally got up from his seat.
He gently stroked his fiancée's hair and smiled.
"Good job. I'll be back at lunchtime, so rest well until then."
"Where are you going?"
"I have things to take care of. Should I not go?"
"No? You have to go, what are you talking about? There's an old saying that those who don't work shouldn't eat."
Vivian ignored the outcry of her conscience. She was rich, so it was okay.
Of course, Aslan was even richer, but she decided not to worry about that.
"More than that, Aslan, can I ask you a favor?"
"Anything."
Originally, she was going to read the room and say it later. But now Aslan seemed to be in a very good mood. She had a feeling that there was no better opportunity than now.
"I want to visit my father. At Eleonora's mansion..."
"Why."
Aslan's voice, which had been as soft as melting honey, froze at once.
"Don't tell me you're going back?"
"It's not that..."
"They're people you have no connection with anymore. They're not worth your attention."
"But my sister is back, I can't help but care."
She had been pondering ever since receiving Duchess Eleonora's letter from the South.
Finally, the original heroine had appeared.
The person who was 'imprinted' on the Demon Hand-ified Aslan, and the only person who stayed by his side while Aslan was consumed by the power of the devil and went mad.
The existence that would determine the flow of this world had finally appeared.
'I feel so sorry for collapsing the cave to save my own life.'
Thanks to that, the opportunity for Aslan and the heroine to meet for the first time was shattered.
'So I have to make them meet in another way. The two of them will definitely recognize each other at first sight!'
In other words, the main point of her plan was to arrange their fateful meeting.
In fact, she wasn't just doing it out of a sense of service, but also because it would be easier for her to escape if the two of them hit it off.
Instead of Aslan's colleagues, she could easily coax the easygoing heroine and get the cure.
"Sister? She's just a half-blooded relative anyway."
"Still, as family, I have a duty..."
"I can't accept that reason, Vivian."
But Aslan's thoughts seemed very different from hers. His golden eyes gleamed fiercely, as if surrounding a fleeing prey.
Vivian quickly continued to make it clear that she had no intention of running away.
"I want to go with you! I can't do it without you!"
"What?"
"I caused such a big accident and came out, didn't I? Thanks to that, the family was turned upside down..."
Aslan tilted his chin as if listening intently. It was an opportunity when he was listening.
"But if I go in with you in front, I don't think I'll be scolded. So I need a shield... No, not a shield, but a reliable..."
Vivian glanced up. Then she threw out a line with all her heart.
"Fiancé."
Vivian succeeded in getting Aslan's approval.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, Aslan and Vivian visited the Eleonora Duke's residence.
The servants, who had been contacted in advance, warmly welcomed the two people getting out of the carriage.
"Greetings to His Highness the Second Prince."
"Young Lady, how much have you suffered in other lands?"
Vivian, who had gotten out of the carriage with a nervous heart, cheered inwardly. She had caused a major accident and ran away from home, but no one scolded her or made her feel uncomfortable.
'Is this the power of authority? I like this?'
Vivian looked up at Aslan with proud eyes. Then, as if he had noticed, he met her gaze.
"You don't look well. How about resting?"
"It's just a little movement in the carriage, it's not hard. It's just that you look cool today."
When she lived in the mansion, people were never this kind.
Even when she had difficulty breathing due to a seizure and shook the rope, no one came, and even when she went to find them herself, they stayed far away and only said a few words.
Thanks to that, it was easy to escape the mansion.
She was caught quickly, though...
"More than that, where is my sister? Can I see her right away?"
"Lady Iris is resting in her bedroom. Every night, she shares the affection she couldn't share with the Duke, so she goes to bed late."
"I see. It's a shame, but I'll wait a bit..."
"I can't wake her up right now, so I ask for your understanding. I hope Vivian will understand Iris's pitiful situation, who fell asleep longing for her father."
Because the servant's voice suddenly became louder, the surrounding gazes were focused on Vivian. It was a situation where anyone who heard it would misunderstand that she was demanding to wake her up right away and was being rejected.
The servant's clear gaze turned to Aslan. The other servants were the same. It was as if they were expecting his reaction.
Just as the atmosphere was getting more and more heated.
"Insolent."
"Yes?"
"Suddenly shouting at a patient who is already weak. It's so annoying to my ears, is this the level of Eleonora?"
"Th-That is..."
"I'm asking if you've been taking care of Vivian at this terrible level until now."
The pressure that Aslan was emitting was truly terrifying. The servant, who was directly hit by his glare, couldn't even breathe and bowed his head.
"You were trying to take Vivian away after doing this?"
"I-I'm sorry. I'm still lacking..."
"There's no need for lacking servants to exist."
