When I Finished Playing the Terminally-Ill Villainous Omega C29

Chapter 29

It seemed that, for Locke—who knew nothing about romance—the emotional development of the protagonists in the romance novel had unexpectedly piqued his curiosity.

Now it’s your turn to be the impatient one.

I’d always been the one chasing after him. For once, I wanted him to be the one waiting for me.

“If you’re curious about the relationship between the Barrier Mage and Destruction, then lend me the book. I’ll read it myself and thoroughly analyze their relationship and feelings for you. I may not look like it, but when I worked part-time… I mean, I was incredibly good at giving the servants relationship advice.”

Contrary to my expectation that he’d lend it to me, Locke thought for a moment before giving a different answer.

“This is the only copy in the world.”

If he refused, I wouldn’t even be able to use returning the book as an excuse to see him again.

Plan failed.

Pouting, I lowered my brows.

“How do you know that?”

“I just do. In any case, this isn’t a book you can buy or replace. If someone as careless as you were to damage it or lose it, how exactly would you compensate me?”

“How would I lose it when I practically never leave my room? And how much damage could I possibly do? Even if I did damage it, I’d just pay you back, wouldn’t I?”

“I wouldn’t accept money. This isn’t just an ordinary book…”

Locke abruptly shut his mouth.

“If it’s not an ordinary book, then what is it? Why stop halfway? Now you’ve made me curious.”

“I’ll finish reading it first. If I still don’t have an answer by then… I’ll think about it again.”

“Forget it. It’s not like I’m some idle person who’s going to sit around waiting for your answer.”

Hmph.

He was the one who started asking about the Barrier Mage and love in the first place. If he was just going to back out, he shouldn’t have asked.

Grumbling to myself, I yanked hard at the ribbon around the package. Earlier it hadn’t budged, but now—

Riiip!

—it tore off all at once.

Did I show my disappointment too obviously?

I glanced nervously at Locke before hurriedly tossing aside the ribbon, which now looked more like a rag than a ribbon. Pretending nothing had happened, I opened the box.

Inside were beautifully arranged biscuits, golden-brown with colorful fruit fillings.

I held the box out toward him.

“These are the biscuits I told you about before. They’re delicious. Try one.”

“I’ll have one after you’ve eaten and there’s some left.”

“Don’t tell me… you don’t want to eat together just because I grumbled a little?”

“My hands are dirty.”

I looked at his long, slender fingers.

They were clean enough to look freshly washed, with not even a speck of dirt beneath his nails.

Well, if he said so.

“What flavor do you like?”

“Flavor?”

“The fillings are all different kinds of fruit.”

After a brief pause, Locke answered slowly.

“Do you have… grape?”

Before finishing the question, he cautiously glanced at me.

Without thinking, I leaned over and sniffed the biscuits.

Then my head snapped up.

Narrowing my eyes suspiciously, I looked at him.

“Hey… I knew it! You actually do like grapes, don’t you? You only told me you hated them because you were sulking at me. I knew it from the moment you happily accepted those grapes that servant gave you—”

I immediately clamped my lips shut.

Then I buried my face in the biscuit box.

I might as well wear a sign on my forehead saying “I spied on your confession scene.”

The summer air was warm and humid.

Perhaps because of that, the gaze fixed on me as I frantically searched for a grape-filled biscuit felt even more persistent.

Finally, I found one tucked into the very corner.

“T-This one’s grape. I’m sure of it.”

I held it beneath Locke’s nose.

Lowering his gaze slightly, he focused on its scent.

My heart pounded wildly.

What if he brings up the fact that I was spying…?

Without hesitation, he took a bite.

His eyes never left mine.

So absorbed was I in his unwavering golden gaze that I didn’t notice his lips brush against my fingertips.

The faint warmth startled me enough that I almost dropped the biscuit.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I hurriedly shoved the rest of it into his mouth and quickly curled my hand into a fist.

“So? How is it?”

“I haven’t even chewed yet.”

“Huh? Oh… right. You chew slowly? Sorry, sorry. I got ahead of myself. Go on, chew it. Hurry.”

I laughed awkwardly as I waited for his verdict.

Then Locke quietly murmured,

“Wait.”

He reached a hand toward the top of my head.

Caught completely off guard, I instinctively shrank back, trembling all over.

The trauma from that day still hadn’t disappeared.

“S-Sorry. Back then, I wasn’t trying to spy on your confession…”

Holding my racing heart, my lower lip quivered.

I watched as Locke’s hand slowly closed into a fist above my head.

His eyes seemed to waver ever so slightly.

Then, as though brushing away an insect, he opened his hand and lightly swept it across my hair.

His hand grazing my hair made me unconsciously hold my breath.

A moment later, he silently held out his palm.

Resting there was a tiny crape myrtle blossom.

Only then did the tension drain from my body.

He’d merely brushed away the flower that had landed in my hair.

Relief washed over me, followed by a bitter thought.

When will I finally be able to let go of this fear that rises so instinctively?

I don’t want to be afraid of him anymore.

Carefully, Locke spoke.

“Young Master…”

“…Are you afraid of me?”

The question lingered heavily in the air.

I couldn’t answer immediately.

Because the truth was…

I was afraid of him.

But if I asked, “Why would I be?” there was no way I could explain it.

After all, what kind of sense did it make for a noble to be afraid of his own servant?

Especially when, in this life, he’d never done anything to me.

Absentmindedly picking at the corner of the biscuit box, I finally looked up after a long silence.

Forcing a smile, I answered,

“Why would I ever be afraid of you? What a ridiculous question… haha.”

Just as Locke parted his lips to say something—

faint laughter from nearby servants drifted over.

“Haha, really? Jake actually said that?”

“I’m telling you, he really did!”

Among the people chatting, I recognized the voice of one of Mother’s chamber maids.

This is bad.

If they found out I had been alone with Locke again, they might really send him somewhere far away—somewhere I would never see him again.

Pressing the box of biscuits into Locke’s hands, I quickly got to my feet.

“It looks like Mother’s maid is coming this way. I’d better go.”

“If you go around along the boxwood hedge, no one will see you.”

“Thanks. Oh, right! My sister told me you’re raising a little songbird. Next time I’ll bring some bird feed too. I hope you’ll let me meet the little guy someday.”

Locke tilted his head as though it were the first he’d heard of such a thing.

Then something seemed to click.

“…Ah.”

He covered his mouth with one hand, but he couldn’t hide the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“That bird is rather timid. It’s even afraid of spiders.”

“What? A bird that’s afraid of spiders? Are there animals that are scared of their own food? Haha, that’s so silly.”

For some reason, the corners of Locke’s mouth lifted even higher.

I guess since I’d lived indoors my whole life, I didn’t know there were animals that feared their own prey.

Feeling oddly embarrassed, I cleared my throat.

“Well… I’ll get going.”

Keeping myself hidden behind the tall boxwood hedge, I followed it for quite a while before finally straightening up near the fountain.

Just then, I spotted Locke reclining sideways on a bench, staring at the crape myrtle blossom still resting in his hand.

I thought he’d brushed it away.

Apparently he’d been holding onto it this whole time.

He gazed at the flower for a long moment before lowering his head to breathe in its fragrance.

The faint smile lingering on his lips made my heart tickle so strangely that I felt like I was about to sneeze.

He closed his eyes and savored the scent for quite some time.

Then he opened his book, carefully tucked the flower between its pages, leaned back until he was practically lying across the long bench, and shaded his face from the scattered sunlight with the closed book.

Then—

One eye peeked out from beneath the book.

It was looking directly at me.

Gasp.

He’d noticed me watching him.

My heart felt as though it had dropped all the way into my stomach.

Though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I hurriedly whipped my head away.

In my panic, I didn’t bother looking where I was going.

Thunk!

My forehead slammed straight into one of the fountain’s stone statues.

Covering my now bright-red forehead with one hand, I fled as fast as I could.

This summer feels especially hot.

❖ ❖ ❖

The ball was fast approaching.

This banquet, hosted by the Marquis’s household, was on an entirely different scale from usual.

Their events had always been extravagant, but this time the Marquis’s second son had become a Fourth Circle mage, had already received a summons from the Imperial Palace, and, on top of that, had recently manifested as an Alpha.

It was a double celebration.

Unlike ordinary banquets, which usually lasted half a day—or at most until the following morning—this one would continue for two full nights.

It was the sort of grand affair normally reserved for coronations or weddings.

It made sense.

Their son had proven his extraordinary talent and would be receiving a noble title at such a young age.

Still…

It was a bit excessive.

I’d also overheard Eclat and Ciel mentioning that even the Seventh Prince might attend.

The ball itself—the main event—would take place on the second night, the final evening of the celebration.

After breakfast, I was heading back to my room when Eclat, who had been helping Ciel choose her outfit, rushed into the manor, saying she’d found the perfect accessory to match it.

The moment she spotted me standing on the stairs, she froze in surprise, even stopping the fan she’d been waving.

“Oh my, Cedric! Your forehead is red again. Are you feeling unwell?”

“Ah… I think I have a bit of a fever.”

For some reason, this kept happening whenever I ran into Eclat.

There was no way I could admit I’d been so busy staring blankly at Locke’s face that I’d walked straight into a statue.

So…

I lied again.

“The ball is almost here. Are you sure you’ll be all right? You don’t have to force yourself if you’re not feeling well…”

Eclat was one of the few genuinely kind people in this novel.

I wanted to be nice to her.

Besides, I wasn’t actually sick.

“I’m fine. I was just out in the sun too long. Besides, if not for you, who would help me make my debut in noble society? Believe it or not, I’m really looking forward to the ball.”

“Really? Hearing you say that makes me so happy. Thank you, Cedric!”

She beamed brightly, saying she couldn’t wait to see me dressed in formal attire.

Back in my room, I stared out the window, lost in thought.

Formal attire…

Since the banquet was being hosted by Marquis Albre, who valued etiquette above all else, wearing proper formal clothing was only natural.

Then I suddenly remembered something.

“Oh no.”

There was no way Locke, merely a servant in a noble household, owned clothes suitable for attending such a grand banquet.

Thanks to Eclat, I’d suddenly thought of something I could do for him.

Without hesitation, I called for Howard and asked him to bring the owner of the boutique to the manor.