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10 Years Old: Chapter 47 – This is all Gilles’s Fault
TL: Krrizis
Editors: Nahct & Me3
First published on Ainushi
「Do you have a fever, One-cha?」
「….. Huh?」
As Ruby pointed out, I had let out a soft, muffled noise from my throat.
Worried, Ruby intently stared at me and stretched out his hand. “Are you alright?”, he asked as he leaned over, feeling my cheeks by rubbing all over them with the tiny palms of his hands. As I gradually closed my eyes from the permeating coldness, Ruby anxiously cried “One-cha” once more.
….. Ruby misunderstood, my face was just red from embarrassment because I was troubled with Gilles’s behavior yesterday.
Whenever I recalled the scenes, my body would grow hot again. This is hopeless, it is all due to Gilles’s suggestive behavior. That yesterday was surely just a form of lip service.
I mean, I’m still a child and it’s not like I have a bombastic body that men are into; it’s an underdeveloped body. If I was a guy, I wouldn’t choose a child who wasn’t charming like me, I would choose an older woman with more sex appeal. A bewitching woman, someone like Elsa-san. Gilles isn’t a lolicon.
….. Urgh, no, I don’t want to think about it. I get a headache and feel dizzy when I ruminate over it. Anyways, no. Just no. Gilles attends to me with the reverence and affection a servant has for their master. Yup, if it isn’t so, it would be — in many ways — troublesome.
「One-cha, your face is red~ You have a fever~」
「I-I’m fine, it’ll cool down once I’ve washed my face」
Not good, my face feels hot and I can’t think straight. Let’s just calm down for now. If I’m flustered, Ruby will continue to worry, and if I meet Gilles, I’ll definitely be a mess. I’m avoiding him right now, but I’m highly likely to bump into him before noon. Before that happens, I have got to calm down.
Before heading into the bathroom, I stroked Ruby’s head and soothed him seeing as how he seemed worried with his drooping eyebrows. It’s Gilles’s fault that I’m walking sluggishly. It’s also his fault that I kind of have a headache from worrying about things.
Haa~ My sigh spilled out after how awfully feverish I was feeling. Considering the mental state I was in, me feeling this way was simply inevitable.
*******
Worried when she saw me walking unsteadily with my hand against the wall, Maria began to call upon the other maids and butlers to assist me. Still, I had no intentions of explaining the situation to her, so I politely turned her down and walked on by myself.
….. By and by, my fever should settle down, yet why is my face so hot?
「….. Liz-sama?」
Quickly settle down! I slapped my cheeks as the voice of the culprit came soaring from behind me. I bet my back was probably shaking magnificently.
Calm down! Gilles had no ulterior motives yesterday. It was just lip service, lip service.
「I heard from Maria that you’re not feeling too well..…」
His voice steadily drew closer. By the time I realized it, he was already near me. The fact that I didn’t turn away from him had quite a bit to do with my pride.
I chewed on my lips while desperately rousing my foggy brain. I can’t let him know that I’m overwhelmed or let it show on my face.
「Liz-sama ….. Liz-sama?」
A single look was all it took for me to stagger back, losing all strength in my legs. Oh why, why am I so pathetic?
「….. Liz-sama, pardon me」
「….. Eh ..…?」
Staggering, he supported my body that lurched forward and embraced it. As I stiffened, Gilles gently placed the palm of his hand over my eyes, covering them.
Confused that my vision went black, I was about to raise a question….. when I felt faint traces of magic emitting from his palm.
My mind was immediately teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness. Having been put under this spell before, I yielded to it and embraced the drowsiness.
*******
「It seems you have the flu」
Gilles readily declared it when I came to.
「It must have been because you’ve tired yourself out from the recent matters involving the previous master. Weren’t you feeling sick since this morning?」
Well, my physical condition was poor, but that was because I was troubled by the odd things you said. ….. Did my condition worsen because I was troubled? Or did my thoughts clutter from worry because my condition was bad?
Whichever it was, it’s fine. It’s a fact that I was worried about the matter with Gilles.
There was none of yesterday’s suggestiveness from the person himself; he gave me a concerned look and placed his hand on my forehead. Using magic, a slight chill spread across his palm. I closed my eyes from the chilliness and made a sound in my throat.
….. I thought so, the honeyed words yesterday were just my imagination. Look, Gilles is the same as always, attending to me like he normally does.
There was no need for me to be flustered by it or be in a daze.
「At any rate, please get a good rest today」
「….. Ye~s」
If I had understood that sooner, I wouldn’t have been perplexed by his actions beforehand to which whilst feeling the sensation left by his hand, I responded with a dull answer. Yup, Gilles has no interest in little girls. What happened yesterday was simply reverence.
「However, I have a feeling I’ve caused you to misunderstand something」
As I was feeling relieved, Gilles softly grumbled while lightly fiddling with the ring that hung from a chain around his neck — our matching magic tools.
….. Hmm? Wasn’t this a magic tool for communication?
「Liz-sama, you’re not in top shape, are you?」
「Ye—Yes?」
「Your guard is down and your thoughts are leaking out」
Huh? As I gasped, Gilles brought his face closer to mine. He stuck his forehead against mine to measure my fever. Since I was lying down, others would see his posture as one where he was kissing me .
Approached at a close range, Gilles’s charming smile was different from usual. His lips that formed an arc shape were gentle but weirdly beautiful to the point that I instinctively forgot to breathe.
Medicine, he laughed during which his breath traced against my skin because he was too close to me. If anything, I couldn’t see that seemingly androgynous beauty as anything but a man at close range.
「….. You still have a fever. Get a good rest」
Weak to his allure, Gilles took my breath away. He switched over to a gentle smile and leisurely traced my cheek with his finger. His emerald eyes filled with affection warmly gazed at me .
「Good night, sweet dreams」
Gilles whispered in a sweet tender voice, a voice I’m sure others had never heard from him before, and quietly pulled away from my forehead.
The moment I exhaled after being overstimulated, unable to respond to the intimacy, I felt Gilles’s lips on the tip of my nose. Chuu. It was a soft feeling that lasted for just a moment, but I felt Gilles’s lips.
「….. Gi–Gi– Gillesh, what are you doing!?」
「Is it be better on your cheeks? If you don’t go to sleep quickly, I’ll do it on your cheeks」
「I’ll sleep right now!」
And when I abruptly lifted the sheets covering my body up to my face and turned away, Gilles made a pleased and stifled sound from his throat before moving off of me.
Once again, good night, he called out in a gentle tone, but I ignored him with all my might because of that nose seizing event. Gilles made his usual faint stifled laugh and left the room.
…..It’s that, Gilles meant it as an act of deep affection. Look, even I kiss Ruby and Father on the cheeks. That, earlier, was just an extension of it. If I don’t regard it as such, I will feel like my head is going to explode again.
….. Gilles doesn’t carry feelings like that. I mean, I’m ten, Gilles is eighteen! There’s an eight year gap. As far as Gilles is concerned, I’m just a shorty. He can’t possibly have sentimental feelings for me.
「….. It’s all your fault」
It’s absolutely Gilles’s fault that my fever rose again and I can’t fall back to sleep. If my fever doesn’t go down when tomorrow comes, I’ll blame it on Gilles. If I hadn’t deliberated Gilles’s superfluous actions, I wouldn’t be so impatient and depressed, and my heart wouldn’t be beating this fast. Gilles’s suggestive behavior was at fault.
Gilles, you idiot!
*******
「Good morning, are you feeling better?」
The next day, it was simply disappointing when I met Gilles. He was smiling at me like usual, his usual manner of smiling gently. It made me look foolish for putting my guard up so soon. It wasn’t an alluring or provocative smile, it was just the usual familiar smile.
「….. My fever has gone down so I feel better now」
「Is that so? That’s a relief」
And whose fault was it that I had a fever? The words nearly flew out of my mouth, but I managed to put a lid on it. It’s not good to vent out my anger. Besides, it’ll be like I’d dug my own grave.
I am trying to stay calm as much as possible while dealing with it, but whenever he draws a little closer, my heart starts beating oddly fast. His face from yesterday and the day before flickered in my mind. ….. Why did you show such an expression to a child?
「Please be mindful of everything next time. Your physical condition, and me」
「….. Eh?」
「Since you purposely decided to act dumb, Liz-sama, you were tempting me to do it」
Gilles stroked the ring that hung on his chain, a faint coquettish smile surfaced his pale lips as he gently caressed my cheek with his other hand. Having seen that I had retreated a step back, he laughed amusingly with narrowed eyes.
….. Right now, I’m in control of myself, so he shouldn’t be able to divulge the voice in my heart. Even yesterday, I had unfastened the ring after that so he shouldn’t have known.
「Oh well, I don’t mind you acting like that for now」
I don’t know what he was going on about, but for some strange reason, there was an unusual feeling running down my spine. I trembled. ….. What can this be? It’s like the feeling of nervousness from being ensnared by the enemy, but it’s not like Gilles is the enemy, yet…..
Feeling something indescribable from the image of Gilles smiling gently, I was unable to detach my stiff body from him.