Side Story Episode 17: Please Answer
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A low voice echoed through the cabin.
“No matter what, lissa.”
As he pinched his still-sleeping wife’s cheek, her slightly swollen lips let out a tiny whine. Above that, a soft laugh was layered.
“You need to see the sea.”
Bending down, Alan slowly kissed her round forehead and gently lifted her from bed with his tender touch.
“You said you wanted to see the sunset.”
“I’m so weak…”
lissa made a sulky face. Alan, guiding her by the hand, led her to the vanity.
“And that’s why I washed you up this morning, with great care.”
“……”
With a perfectly familiar gesture, Alan combed her tousled hair and applied fragrant oil at the end. He ticulously applied lotion to her delicate skin, dotted here and there with red flowers.
When the cold liquid touched the faint bite marks on her neck, lissa flinched slightly. Still, she did not withdraw her arm from him and continued to trust her body to him. Quite comfortably indeed.
It had already been three days of this kind of life. The couple hadn’t once stepped outside the cabin since boarding. They had even gone so far as to ask the crew to bring their als to their room.
lissa was so deeply imrsed in the dreamlike affection Alan provided that she hadn’t even heard the fanfare announcing altis. Alan, too, must have felt the sa way.
After finishing a ticulous massage, Alan brought over a chemise, and she obediently rose and lifted her arms. As he draped the thin fabric over her, a soft rustling sound was heard, accompanied by a giggle.
After planting a kiss on the top of her head, he patted her bottom.
“All done. You look beautiful.”
“Fool.”
Being cared for so attentively by a loved one is not sothing one can simply describe as happiness. lissa felt overwheld by the emotion and hugged him tightly, resting her cheek against his broad chest.
On the table, light foods that Alan had requested were laid out. As he fed her small pieces of fruit one by one, he said,
“Let’s go out tonight.”
It was already late afternoon outside. In this short-seasoned ti, the sunset would co soon.
“Okay.”
lissa chewed thoughtfully, considering how dangerous it would be to leave the house alone with Alan. She lost track of ti.
“I heard there’s a ball tonight.”
As if tending to a baby, Alan now scooped a bit of cake and fed it to her. lissa barely managed to suppress the urge to tell him that he seed like he would make a great father.
“…Is it a masquerade ball?”
“Yes. I heard it when the food was being served.”
“But aren’t you going to eat, Alan? It’s delicious.”
Alan wiped the cream from the corner of lissa’s mouth with his thumb and then casually licked it off.
“Right.”
“Hah.”
lissa let out a weary laugh, reflecting on how the man who used to be so obsessive about cleanliness had beco one who could casually steal food from her mouth. When did he turn into this playful and cheeky man?
Shaking her head, she swallowed the sweet cake and asked eagerly,
“Will there be fireworks too?”
“Yes. Are you going?”
“Definitely!”
Her clear cheeks suddenly flushed with excitent. She was a woman whose emotional depth could not be outdone anywhere.
As Alan rested his chin on his hand, admiring her face slowly, lissa’s expression suddenly grew gloomy.
“What should I do? I didn’t bring a dress…”
“I brought one.”
Alan, who had quickly risen, went back to the wardrobe. His figure, clad only in a loose robe, looked so elegantly composed that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
‘Here I am, it’s been almost a year since we got married.’
At that mont, Alan opened the wardrobe door and pulled out the dress he had prepared. He smiled and revealed an evening dress adorned with tiny jewels that sparkled in the light of the lamp hanging on the wall. It was a delicate lavender color, as if it could summon spring at any mont.
Rarely showing such an expression, Alan twirled the garnt around, and lissa’s gaze followed the fluttering hem in rapt fascination. The fabric, seemingly spun from moonlight, was adorned with delicate snowflake-like floral embroidery that was breathtakingly intricate.
“Wow….”
lissa’s small lips were unable to close. It was only natural that a satisfied smile appeared on Alan’s face.
However, when lissa put on the dress, it was now Alan who had to cover his mouth. If he hadn’t, he would have blurted out a dumbfounded exclamation.
“How do I look?”
lissa asked, nervously turning in place. Alan, who was looking at her blushing cheeks, gently flowing hair, and the elegant drape of the thin fabric around her ankles, forgot to respond.
Feeling the heat rising wherever his gaze fell, lissa asked quietly,
“Um, did you bring the masks?”
“…It should be here.”
Alan, snapping back to reality, opened a mahogany drawer in one corner of the room, revealing two masks: a white owl mask that covered half the face and a black cat mask with ears and whiskers, which looked quite mischievous.
Alan, as if it were obvious, handed the cat mask to lissa.
“Thank you, Alan—”
“No, wait a mont.”
Alan, with a stern expression, put on the black mask in front of his wife and then handed the white mask to lissa.
“Alan is going to be a cat?”
“Yes.”
“It’s cute, but… did you always like this kind of thing?”
“…….”
Her teasing tone was embarrassing, but there was no helping it. After all, he had committed the rudeness of visiting her house on a winter’s day wearing a pure white mask.
He hadn’t intended it that way, but now he understood how anxious lissa had been because of that incident.
Even if he had been forgiven, he didn’t want to bring it up again. He wanted to leave her with only beautiful and shining mories from this long-dread trip…
“ow!”
However, this reaction was certainly unexpected for him. Such an excited look.
He covered his eyes with the cat mask.
“…lissa, it’s just a mask. We’re not kids or anything,”
“ow, do it. o~ow.”
“Ha.”
“ow~”
Swearing that his life had never known such embarrassnt, his face turned hot with discomfort. But he couldn’t disregard lissa, who was enjoying herself so much.
As her persistent prodding continued, he eventually leaned close to lissa’s ear, quickly imitated a cat, and cleared his throat repeatedly. It felt oddly distressing.
“Huh? I didn’t hear it.”
The mont lissa made a shaless and innocent face, Alan felt a hellish despair.
“Stop joking, lissa.”
“But it was as quiet as a whisper. So why whisper? It’s just the two of us.”
“Ugh….”
“Are you embarrassed? You are, aren’t you?”
“…ow. Is that enough?”
lissa, with eyes sparkling like stars, stomped her feet.
“Ah! Again, again! This ti, a happy cat!”
She was so excited. What was he to do? Alan was feeling dizzy.
“…lissa. What if you get bitten? You’re being like a wild cat,”
“It’s fine, just a cat. It’s not like I’m a tiger.”
At that, the red lips beneath the black mask curved into a beautiful line.
“Really?”
“…Ah!”
As lissa suddenly flinched and shrank when her ear was bitten, the cat grinned lazily. How audacious.
“Why? It’s fine, just a cat.”
“Ah….”
lissa’s face turned red in an instant. She was becoming increasingly flushed from being nibbled on the neck like an animal with newly grown teeth.
“I-I said we should go…!”
The boat party was sure to be crowded. If there were any marks left on her body, it would be a terrible embarrassnt.
lissa twisted her body and struggled to pry the large cat off. Yet, she kept lting helplessly from his lips and tongue.
“The ball, ah….”
This was serious. At this rate, they might not even make it out of the room before nightfall.
At that mont, the noise outside the door suddenly grew lively and bustling. It sounded like the procession heading to the party.
The noise anchored lissa’s fading awareness.
“It looks like it’s about to start!”
Her body, half-lying on the bed, sprang up. Still dazed, she grabbed her husband’s wrist with surprising determination.
“Co on, let’s go!”
Alan chuckled at how cute she was. Then, he allowed himself to be led by her fragile hand, as if he were truly her cat.
* * *
As expected, as soon as Alan stepped onto the deck, he completely captured the attention of the crowd. After all, there was no way such a unique presence could be concealed by just a cat mask.
“Why, if it isn’t Sir Alan!”
“Good evening.”
Alan exchanged brief but polite conversation with those who greeted him, not forgetting to introduce lissa as his wife.
lissa had to work hard to greet Alan’s nurous acquaintances in both languages. She beca increasingly tired as curious glances kept sticking to her, but it was sothing she had anticipated.
She had ntally prepared herself for this when she decided to marry him. lissa did her best to stay by her husband’s side, hiding her awkward expressions.
However, her unease grew as most of the won at the ball directed blatant flirtations toward Alan. It was natural for her to recall the victory ball when they first danced together.
‘Everyone will think it’s strange……. He’s so handso, and I…….’
What lissa overlooked was that Alan’s feelings weren’t very different from hers.
Though Alan used to jokingly call her a fairy for her tendency to talk about dream-like stories, the current lissa sparkled enough to make one believe she was a fairy pretending to be human.
The fact that he kept his waist tight to avoid being swept away by the huge crowd was undoubtedly considerate, but it was also a clear declaration to everyone that this woman was his wife.
However, lissa’s lovely face, which he glanced at subtly, had a strangely lancholic expression. Alan understood well what this expression ant.
“lissa, lift your head.”
He knew exactly what to do in such situations.
“You should look at the sunset you love.”
“……Right. It’s so beautiful. Alan, you should look too.”
“I can’t.”
Despite the beautiful sunset, Alan gently held his quietly distressed wife’s shoulders.
“Because of you, I don’t even notice the scenery. How will you make up for that?”
lissa blushed in disbelief at his soft reproach.
“What do you an—”
“It’s ti for you to accept it. That you’re beautiful.”
Despite her flustered reaction, Alan was serious. The problem was that he was wearing a cat mask…
Still, if she forgot this simple truth often, he was willing to remind her as many tis as necessary. For a lifeti if needed.
Gently brushing her hair away from her face in the breeze, Alan added,
“Everyone is looking at you, lissa. You look so stunning wrapped in the sunset. Didn’t you know?”
“That’s impossible…”
“Your attitude makes more anxious. If I could, I’d gouge out all the n’s eyes here,”
At that mont, lissa let out a small hiccup. After a short sigh, Alan quickly corrected himself.
“No, I an, I’d want to shield you. Please, don’t leave my side. Do you understand?”
“……”
“Please answer .”
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