Saving My Bias from Mishaps (7)
“Aisha.”
I shut my eyes.
Yesterday, I gave Agatha a piece of my mind because I believed Hades was on my side.
So, I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous about what he would say to me today.
Perhaps it was because my desire to stay by Abel’s side grew even stronger since yesterday.
If I were to get kicked out now, then I’d never be able to see Abel again.
And so, I thought I’d better say something before it was too late, but as I hurriedly opened my mouth to speak….
“Your Grace!
I….”
“Good job.”
I looked up and saw Hades smiling at me.
His serious expression from earlier was gone without a trace.
I became a little confused.
“Pardon…?”
“And thank you.
Had it not been for you, I would never have known that he was hurt.
Because this silly boy won’t ever tell me anything I might worry about.”
Hades looked at Abel in his arms with a playful frown.
Then he turned his gaze to me again.
“Thank goodness you are here.”
“P-perhaps you haven’t met with the countess yet, so… I have a confession to make.
You see, I went to visit her last night….”
“Yes, I know.”
“Huh?”
‘He knows?’ I thought, bewildered.
I stared at Hades with eyes full of doubt, then decided I should continue with my explanation just in case there was a misunderstanding.
“And I offended her greatly.
I disrespected her and….”
“I said I know.
I told you to be that way.
I told you to do whatever way you want to.”
“Y-yes, you did say that, but….
I should have chosen my words more carefully.
I got so angry that I might have overdone it, and….”
“You did very well.
Do not ever hold your tongue against any who dares to get on your nerves.
You may do so.”
“R-really?”
“Need I remind you?
I am a man of my word.
You may.”
Hades held out his hand at me with a smile.
It seemed like he wanted me to grab it.
I felt a little dazed.
For some reason, I felt that if I took this hand, it would be okay for me to stand alongside these close-bonded father and son; that the three of us might look like a happy family.
After a moment of hesitation, I took Hades’ hand in mine.
And just like before, his hand was surprisingly warm.
“Do whatever your heart desires.
By Abel and my side,” he added, pressing his lips softly against the back of my hand as I got up feeling dazed.
“I will make you a lady who can.”
* * *
This day became the happiest, most peaceful day since I arrived at the duchy.
After lunch, Abel and I went out for a walk.
Then the two of us returned to my room to have some tea together.
Frankly, I wasn’t much of a sweet tooth, but the madeleines, butter cookies, and chocolate I had with Abel were incredibly delicious.
The quality of a meal depends more on who you have it with than the food itself after all, yep.
Because I didn’t want to ruin my good mood, I purposely didn’t ask Hades about how his talk with Agatha ended.
I was so happy throughout the day that I wondered if it was really alright for me to be this happy.
But the real surprise had yet to come.
While we were having tea, Abel told me he had a wish.
I promised him I would listen to him no matter what it was.
And now….
“Lady Heathcliff!
I’m all clean and in my pajamas!”
Abel changed into short-sleeved and roomy pajamas and ran up toward me at full speed as I was sitting on his bed.
“Ack.”
“L-Lady Heathcliff?”
The sudden pain in my heart caused me to grab my chest and curl up on the bed.
Surprised, Abel looked at me nervously, unsure of what to do.
I felt like teasing him a little, so I clutched my chest and pretended I was in pain.
“Uugh….”
“L-Lady Heathcliff!
W-what’s wrong?
Are you hurt?”
“M-my heart….”
“Your heart?!
Oh, umm, h-how is it hurting?
How did it….”
“It thumped….”
“Thumped?
H-hold on!
Wait here.
I’ll summon my father and the doctors right away.
Just give me a minute.
Ah….”
I grabbed Abel’s arm as he hurriedly turned around to leave.
Abel looked back at me, still in a hurry.
“My heart skipped a beat… because you’re just so cute.”
“Wha…?” Abel’s face became dazed, then he realized I was joking and shouted at me, pouting.
“W-what does that even mean?!
I was scared, you know!”
“Aww, I’m sorry.
Did I scare you?
But it’s true that my heart really skipped a beat because of you just now….”
“Sheesh, don’t joke around about such a silly thing!
You really, really scared me just now.”
Abel’s body was finally relieved from tension, and he crawled up his bed and came toward me.
“Please don’t ever get sick.
I need you to stay here for a long, long time.”
“Ah….”
Even though I was just joking, the atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
Still, Abel snuggling into my open arms was so cute.
“Of course.
I don’t want any harm to come upon you either.”
“And, umm….
I’m sure you find me bothersome but thank you for listening to my request.”
I should be the one thanking him, really.
No stan would ever be able to keep their cool if their bias requests to sleep in the same bed together.
I had to restrain myself from blurting out a thousand thank-yous and instead simply smiled at Abel.
“Oh, it’s not bothersome at all.
I would love to.”
“Hehe….”
“You know, if you were feeling lonely when you sleep, you could have asked His Grace to sleep next to you from time to time.”
“Hmm… but father is always busy.”
That was true, but from what I’d seen, Hades would gladly set everything aside and prioritize Abel’s request.
Abel knew that too of course, but he was simply too mature for his age.
“Although today, he….”
“Today?”
“Oh!
It’s nothing.
Hehe….”
“Oh come on, what was that?”
With a playful grin, Abel snuggled deeper into my arms.
I didn’t know before, but Abel loved things like holding hands and hugging.
Every time we held hands, Abel would squeeze my hand as if he were afraid that I would disappear.
I read somewhere that such behavior from a child could be a symptom of emotional deprivation, and my heart ached for him again.
I tightened my grip around Abel’s hand and patted his pillow with my hand.
“Well, it’s getting late.
I guess we should head to bed.
I’ll hold your hands even after you fall asleep, Childe Louvremont.”
“Really?”
“Of course, hop on in….”
Abel quickly lay on the bed.
I lightly brushed his chubby cheek with my hand and pulled up a blanket over him.
It was then that Abel suddenly broke into a smile, and my stanning heart thumped again.
Jeez….
Good luck surviving, heart.
Even though there’s no way I’d ever get used to Abel’s cuteness….
“Mmm….” Suddenly, Abel’s gaze brushed past my wrist as I pulled the blanket over his chest.
His smile faded, and worry replaced the joy on his face.
“Hmm?
What’s wrong?”
“Lady Heathcliff….
About the thing on your wrist….”
“Oh….”
He seemed concerned to see my nexus lying bare in the open, which I usually kept hidden under a handkerchief when I’m outside.
“You have to hide it really well wherever you go out, okay…?”
“Yes, of course.”
“And don’t tell anyone about it.”
“Right.
I won’t,” I answered without hesitation, but Abel still seemed worried.
As we lay facing each other, Abel looked into my eyes and carefully stoked the jewel core on my wrist for a long time.
“Um, Lady Heathcliff.”
“Yes?”
“You’ve told me one of your secrets, so I want to tell you one of mine,” Abel said all of a sudden with determination in his eyes.
Abel’s secret?
As if I wouldn’t know.
As an avid Abel stan, I’d learned all there was to know about Abel, not just from the novel itself but also from reading the author’s social media posts.
These included his height, weight, other physical characteristics, how he was brought up, relationships, and other private details about his life, including when and where he had his first kiss with Deborah.
The secret Abel wanted to tell me had to be about his jewel core.
That was the only possible secret this innocent boy had at this age.
A main character of a novel is, by definition, special.
Naturally, the author bestowed Abel a very special ability.
This ability was almost as unique as me being unable to hide my jewel core.
But that was where the similarity ended.
I was at the epitome of incompetence while Abel was a unique wielder in the empire.
Oh, have I ever talked about Abel’s attribute?
Actually, Abel is….
“Childe Louvremont.”
“Yes!”
“Didn’t His Grace tell you to keep that secret safe from everyone?”
Abel nodded hesitantly.
“He did….”
“Is it really okay for you to tell that secret to just anyone?
You’ll get in trouble with His Grace if you’re caught, right?”
“But you’re not just anyone to me, Lady Heathcliff.”
Oh, I didn’t expect him to retort with what I told him last time.
Gosh, my dear boy’s so smart.
With his cheeks flushed pink, Abel was so loveable and cute saying, “you’re not just anyone to me.” Still, I couldn’t get carried away with happiness and allow him to tell me his secret.
I could remember three instances off the top of my head where Abel’s naivety led to his being backstabbed by bad guys later on.
Abel used to be quite trusting in the novel, and this always led to the most frustrating plot turns one way or another.
In order to prevent Abel from growing up to be so gullible, there was a need for me to properly educate him now.
“Childe Louvremont, I greatly appreciate the trust you have in me, but you mustn’t.
Sadly, this world has more wicked people with dubious motives than those worth trusting.”
“But Lady Heathcliff, you are far from wicked!”
“You’re not wrong, but now is simply not the time.
If you truly wish to tell me your secret, it’s important for the two of us to become closer, don’t you agree?
Let’s see….
I think a year is a good.
So how about next year on your birthday…?”
Because by then, his secret would no longer be a weakness.
“But… you willingly told me a secret….”
“If you insist, I suggest you seek permission from His Grace first.
I’ll happily listen once you have permission from him.”
I knew Hades wouldn’t allow such a thing, being the protective father that he was.
“Oh!
In that case….”
Just as Abel was about to say something, the door flung open, and Hades suddenly appeared, dressed in comfortable pajamas.
…Uhh, what?
He seemed comfortable, like someone who walked into his own room at night to sleep.
However, when I raised myself from the bed in confusion, Hades saw me, and his eyes widened in surprise as well.
“Wait… what?”