CH 57

Chapter 57 – Confession (4)

March 20th, 2023

“I just like you, that’s all.”

Marie said, slowly leaning back and quietly taking a seat as she spoke. Then, she smiled as if nothing had happened. It was a smile so beautiful that words couldn’t do it justice.

Meanwhile, I blinked for about five seconds, still unsure of what was happening, and then found myself unconsciously touching my lips. If Marie’s bold action earlier had been my imagination, then the sensation I felt on my lips now would be false.

However, this feeling was not a figment of my imagination. The soft, fleeting sensation on my lips lingered vividly in my mind.

‘So… did Marie just… kiss me?’

Not a deep kiss, but a simple peck also known as a bird kiss?

I couldn’t say a word in the face of a reality that was hard to believe. Then, Marie looked at my face and opened her mouth with a slightly embarrassed tone.

“How was it?”

“… …”

“Whatever you say, this is my answer.”

Oh, seeing her say those words, it’s not a delusion.

We really had a light kiss.

Marie really likes me.

…Oh my God.

Flare-

After three rational judgments, a soundless scream burst out. At the same time, my face started to burn in less than a second.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet Marie’s eyes, so I hung my head low. Thanks to that… well, my mind was so tangled up that I couldn’t think straight.

‘Really? For real? Is this a true story?’

Only those thoughts were swirling in my head. I couldn’t think of anything else.

No matter how much I tried to deny it, the fact that Marie had given me a peck was undeniable. A kiss is an act that goes beyond just being friends of the opposite sex and is something that lovers would do.

We haven’t even officially started dating yet, so I was too embarrassed to handle her being so bold. I had a girlfriend in my past life, but I always took the lead, and there was never a case where the girl took the initiative.

‘I’m getting dizzy…’

Is it because of the heat that’s risen up to my head? Even though I haven’t been drinking, my head feels slightly dizzy.

I’ve seen people feel dizzy because of high blood pressure, and this feels exactly like that. The difference is that they have a chronic illness, while mine is temporary.

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa.”

I tried to take deep breaths to calm down the fiery heat that had risen up like a flame. Every time I exhaled, it felt like the heat that had risen to my face was leaving my body.

For some reason, it was much more intense than when I touched Cecily’s chest. Maybe it’s because I have some rational affection for Marie. Moreover, the emotion I was feeling now was closer to a pure “heart” rather than a lascivious “desire.”

“Phew…”

By taking one last long breath, I was able to barely steady my pounding heart. Of course, the heat wasn’t completely gone, but my cognitive processes had returned to normal.

I then slowly lifted my head and looked at Marie, who was sitting across from me. She seemed to be busy wriggling around, perhaps trying to figure out what she had done wrong.

“…Marie.”

“Uh. Uh-huh.”

When I called her name, she responded with a voice full of cuteness. She took the “flower cup” pose and looked straight at me.

My heart was about to give out again, but I managed to hold it together. I took a deep breath and asked her in a slightly trembling voice.

“Do you know what your actions mean right now?”

“I know, so what?”

“… …”

“Do you want me to do it again?”

Marie didn’t say anything and moved her body to stand up quietly. She seemed to want to do it again if given the chance.

But I quickly reached out my hand to stop her. It’s not that I don’t trust Marie, but I have a strong feeling that if we do it again here, it won’t end “lightly”.

It’s not that I’m not interested in beautiful women like Marie, but I’m just an ordinary man who likes pretty girls. I’m not a pervert, to be clear.

Marie, who was tossing and turning with her hair in one hand as if she was embarrassed, giggled. In my heart, I wanted to grab those cute cheeks and stretch them out.

“ha…”

“Hehehe.”

The “confession” I was going to make today was not a confession in this sense at all. I just wanted to let Marie know that I was the author of Xenon’s Biography, and our relationship would be something to think about later.

However, now everything is completely reversed. The hand I gave to Marie at the restaurant entrance, called a snowball, has turned into a huge snowball and come back to me.

But does that make me feel bad? Absolutely not.

Thanks to Marie’s courageous actions, all hesitation disappeared from my mind.

If I am really going to be by Marie’s side, I will become a man who is suitable for her. And I can be that man.

No, I already had the qualifications for it a long time ago.

“…Marie.”

“Why~”

Marie replied with a cute voice while maintaining her flower cup pose.

I looked at her spreading the happiness virus everywhere and lowered my head.

“Puheh…”

I wonder if I’ve been infected by the happiness virus she’s emitting. I suddenly burst into a small laughter.

It wasn’t just an ordinary laugh. It was a laugh full of happiness and sincerity.

If I were to choose a moment when I laughed so freely after being reborn, it was when I was with my family, but now that kind of laughter is coming out. That’s how much my feelings are soaring like crazy right now.

“I’m really going crazy. Heheh…”

“Why do you say that you’re going crazy?”

“Don’t ask. Hahaha…”

This is bad. I have to say something, but just looking at Marie’s face makes me automatically burst into foolish laughter.

Even when I had my first girlfriend in my past life, I didn’t act like this. I don’t even know why I’m acting like this.

“Ugh…”

Fortunately, I was able to stop laughing soon after. At the same time, my restless heart and burning face calmed down mostly.

Then, I lifted my head and faced Marie directly. Marie was staring at me without any change in her expression as she paced around the room.

Now I really have to say it. But, unlike before, I’m surprised that I’m much less nervous.

“Marie. I told you that there’s something I want to say to you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Before I say that, could you take a look at this first?”

I handed Marie an envelope with the manuscript inside. She already had an idea of what it was, as I had mentioned it before, and smiled as she took the envelope and pulled out the contents inside.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Revealing a secret to someone directly with my own mouth is even more nerve-wracking than just having the tension eased.

Especially since the secret I’m revealing will have a huge impact on Marie as well.

“… …”

As Marie read the manuscript, her previously upturned mouth gradually turned down. She looked at me with a sidelong glance, which I expected, but her reaction was still hard to believe.

While Marie skimmed through the manuscript, my lips became dry and I nervously licked them. This was the first time that one minute and one second felt so long.

“Sigh…”

How much time has passed like this? Marie quickly scanned through the manuscript and then let out a sigh as she lowered the manuscript slightly.

It was a peculiar sigh, somehow relieved yet doubtful at the same time.

For a while, she kept her gaze fixed on the manuscript before raising her head and facing me squarely. There was a hint of suspicion in her blue eyes.

“No wonder Cecily was so interested in you… It’s because of this, right?”

“Cecily noona?”

“Yeah. She told me when you left last time that you and she shared a secret. Since then, I’ve been suspicious, but I never thought it would be something like this.”

Marie spoke vaguely and looked back at the manuscript, indicating that it was hard to believe.

“Do you really believe it?”

“To be honest, it’s hard to believe. As you know, people in the world suspect that the author of Xenon’s Biography is an old wise sage. Not someone like you who is not even 20 years old. Your father is a famous Red Lion, so others would probably think the same way, right?”

Marie was right. When Leort sent someone to track me down, he deduced that my father was the author of Xenon’s Biography, not me.

But Marie is absolutely convinced that I am the author of Xenon’s Biography. I was a little skeptical.

Why did she decide that I was the author of Xenon’s Biography?

“Do you really believe that I am the author?”

“If you hadn’t shown this to me, I wouldn’t have believed it. Your handwriting is exactly the same as this, and looking at the paper that’s about to discolor, you can tell that it was written a long time ago.”

“Did you ever consider that I might have copied it onto discolored paper?”

“Well, if you were impersonating, you could have done that, but look at the ink. It’s about to discolor just like the paper. If the ink and paper were different together, that would be one thing, but if the ink is the same, someone with a good eye would quickly recognize that it’s not a fake.”

“Oh…”

I was impressed with something I hadn’t even known.

Marie blushed a little at my admiration and cleared her throat. Then, she flicked through the manuscript and said in a scolding voice

“By the way, don’t you manage it properly? Do you know how much value this holds?”

“Well… I don’t really know.”

“Exactly. That’s why you’re managing it like this. It’s worth more than a national treasure. When it’s put up for auction, there’ll be a battle between countries, not just wealthy people fighting over it.”

“Really?”

I had thought that only the wealthy would be bidding for it, but to think that it would become a matter of national importance was beyond my imagination. It was only valuable because it was mine, but I didn’t know the value of a first edition.

Marie looked at me with an expression of “What am I going to do with this guy?” It seemed like a helpless situation.

Then, she let out another deep sigh and spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

“Did I tell you earlier today? You are the author of Xenon’s Biography, which means we can proudly declare ourselves as a nation that has the author of Xenon’s Biography! It’s not just being a culture giant, but a being that transcends giants. Originally, culture is the unique characteristic of a country, but you became the characteristic itself. It may be dangerous depending on what you do.”

“…Is it that dangerous?”

“It can be dangerous depending on what you do.”

Marie gave me serious advice. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly and said.

“As expected.”

“Isaac.”

“Yes?”

“You heard my answer earlier, but I’m not worried about you revealing secrets. But this is a slightly different issue. I’m worried that you might write with impure intentions. Changing the perception of demons is an achievement that no one has ever accomplished, but do you remember the scene in the early part of Volume 8 of Xenon’s Biography, where the noble revealed his dark side?”

The scene that had caused some controversy was mentioned by Marie. As she was also a noble, and a member of the Duke’s family, she had to be concerned about it.

I leaned forward, realizing what she wanted to say. I could confidently say that her worries were unnecessary.

“Marie.”

“Yes, tell me.”

“I have absolutely no intention of writing with that kind of intention. I just want my readers to enjoy my writing.”

That’s why I had been avoiding the situation until now. As I always said, I was just an ordinary web novel writer in my past life.

It is a job far removed from politics, and I only wrote for people’s enjoyment. And because people enjoy it, I plan to keep writing consistently.

As Marie said, I have no intention of writing with a specific purpose. Even I didn’t expect the demons’ perception to be completely turned upside down, and as popularity increases, the weight on my shoulders increases.

I just want to write, and people’s positive reactions to my writing are good enough for me.

“If my writing causes harm to the world, I will never write again. And if someone forces me to write with ill intentions, I will cut off my hand.”

“… …”

“I don’t know if you will believe me, but please believe that I am sincere. I am satisfied as long as people enjoy my writing.”

It feels relieving to lay all my worries in my heart out. I told my family about it, but it was because they were family and could understand. This is the first time I have talked to someone else about it.

Although I didn’t realize it, it also means that I trust Marie. Maybe the kiss we shared earlier could have been a catalyst for trust.

“…I see.”

Marie slowly nodded her head as she listened to me. Then she made a strange expression and asked me.

“I guess you trust me since you’re telling me this?”

“… Maybe?”

“What’s with the ‘maybe’? It’s either true or not. You’re not very honest about these things.”

“Ha ha.”

I couldn’t help but laugh when Marie started grumbling. Marie, who had been giving me sharp looks, also chuckled at my laughter, perhaps feeling better.

“At least I feel good. You’re the person I trust most after my family. Does anyone else know this fact? I think Cecily knows, but what about Rina?”

“No, Rina thinks of my father as a writer, not me. Leort also thinks the same way.”

“What? What does that mean? Why do both of them know instead of just Rina?”

“Well, that’s because…”

I explained to Marie what had happened at the time. I was worried that Marie, who already had negative feelings towards Rina, might get worse as I continued to explain.

As my explanation continued and the details became more apparent, Marie’s expression became increasingly hostile. It almost makes me feel scared.

“That woman… How could she do that to someone who’s just minding their own business…”

“Well, at least everything’s been resolved, so don’t worry too much. If what you’re saying is true, those people won’t bother me recklessly.”

“Maybe that’s true. But you still need to be careful. Understand?”

“I got it.”

“Oh, and there’s one thing I want to request from you…”

“What is it?”

“That’s…”

As I looked puzzled at the word “request,” Marie began to hesitate. She seemed embarrassed to speak, fidgeting with her white hair, tinged with a blue hue, and avoiding my gaze.

Judging from her slightly reddened face, it seemed she was hesitant to say something she found embarrassing. The more she hesitated, the more my curiosity grew.

Since Marie was not the type to make strange requests like others, I wondered why she was acting like this. As I was lost in thought, Marie cleared her throat and quietly opened her mouth.

“Um… can I have your autograph… since you’re the author of Xenon’s Biography… I thought it would be okay to ask for one…”

“…?”

I blinked in silence, and Marie foolishly grinned.

“Hehehe…”

It was cute.

Translators note:

Marie is officially the best girl.

The second chapter from Baron Neckbeard.