Side Story Chapter 17: Please Answer Me


    <strong>Side Story Episode 17: Please Answer Me</strong>


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    A low voice echoed through the cabin.


    “No matter what, Melissa.”


    As he pinched his still-sleeping wife’s cheek, her slightly swollen lips let out a tiny whine. Above that, a softugh wasyered.


    “You need to see the sea.”


    Bending down, n 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…”Melissa made a sulky face. n, 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, nbed her tousled hair and applied fragrant oil at the end. He meticulously 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, Melissa flinched slightly. Still, she did not withdraw her arm from him and continued to trust her body to him. Quitefortably 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 meals to their room.


    Melissa was so deeply immersed in the dreamlike affection n provided that she hadn’t even heard the fanfare announcing mealtimes. n, too, must have felt the same way.


    After finishing a meticulous massage, n 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, apanied by a giggle.


    After nting 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 something one can simply describe as happiness. Melissa felt overwhelmed by the emotion and hugged him tightly, resting her cheek against his broad chest.


    On the table, light foods that n had requested wereid out. As he fed her small pieces of fruit one by one, he said,


    “Let’s go out tonight.”


    It was alreadyte afternoon outside. In this short-seasoned time, the sunset woulde soon.


    “Okay.”


    Melissa chewed thoughtfully, considering how dangerous it would be to leave the house alone with n. She lost track of time.


    “I heard there’s a ball tonight.”


    As if tending to a baby, n now scooped a bit of cake and fed it to her. Melissa barely managed to suppress the urge to tell him that he seemed 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, n? It’s delicious.”


    n wiped the cream from the corner of Melissa’s mouth with his thumb and then casually licked it off.


    “Right.”


    “Hah.”


    Melissa let out a wearyugh, reflecting on how the man who used to be so obsessive about cleanliness had be one who could casually steal food from her mouth. When did he turn into this yful 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 excitement. She was a woman whose emotional depth could not be outdone anywhere.


    As n rested his chin on his hand, admiring her face slowly, Melissa’s expression suddenly grew gloomy.


    “What should I do? I didn’t bring a dress…”


    “I brought one.”


    n, who had quickly risen, went back to the wardrobe. His figure, d only in a loose robe, looked so elegantlyposed that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.


    <em>‘Here I am, it’s been almost a year since we got married.’</em>


    At that moment, n 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 themp hanging on the wall. It was a delicatevender color, as if it could summon spring at any moment.


    Rarely showing such an expression, n twirled the garment around, and Melissa’s gaze followed the fluttering hem in rapt fascination. The fabric, seemingly spun from moonlight, was adorned with delicate snowke-like floral embroidery that was breathtakingly intricate.


    “Wow….”


    Melissa’s small lips were unable to close. It was only natural that a satisfied smile appeared on n’s face.


    However, when Melissa put on the dress, it was now n who had to cover his mouth. If he hadn’t, he would have blurted out a dumbfounded exmation.


    “How do I look?”


    Melissa asked, nervously turning in ce. n, 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, Melissa asked quietly,


    “Um, did you bring the masks?”


    “…It should be here.”


    n, 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 ck cat mask with ears and whiskers, which looked quite mischievous.


    n, as if it were obvious, handed the cat mask to Melissa.


    “Thank you, n—”


    “No, wait a moment.”


    n, with a stern expression, put on the ck mask in front of his wife and then handed the white mask to Melissa.


    “n 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 hadmitted 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 Melissa 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 memories from this long-dreamed trip…


    “Meow!”


    However, this reaction was certainly unexpected for him. Such an excited look.


    He covered his eyes with the cat mask.


    “…Melissa, it’s just a mask. We’re not kids or anything,”


    “Meow, do it. Meo~ow.”


    “Ha.”


    “Meow~”


    Swearing that his life had never known such embarrassment, his face turned hot with difort. But he couldn’t disregard Melissa, who was enjoying herself so much.


    As her persistent prodding continued, he eventually leaned close to Melissa’s ear, quickly imitated a cat, and cleared his throat repeatedly. It felt oddly distressing.


    “Huh? I didn’t hear it.”


    The moment Melissa made a shameless and innocent face, n felt a hellish despair.


    “Stop joking, Melissa.”


    “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?”


    “…Meow. Is that enough?”


    Melissa, with eyes sparkling like stars, stomped her feet.


    “Ah! Again, again! This time, a happy cat!”


    She was so excited. What was he to do? n was feeling dizzy.


    “…Melissa. 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 ck mask curved into a beautiful line.


    “Really?”


    “…Ah!”


    As Melissa suddenly flinched and shrank when her ear was bitten, the cat grinnedzily. How audacious.


    “Why? It’s fine, just a cat.”


    “Ah….”


    Melissa’s face turned red in an instant. She was bing 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 embarrassment.


    Melissa twisted her body and struggled to pry therge cat off. Yet, she kept melting 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 moment, the noise outside the door suddenly grew lively and bustling. It sounded like the procession heading to the party.


    The noise anchored Melissa’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.


    “Come on, let’s go!”


    n 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 n stepped onto the deck, hepletely 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 n!”


    “Good evening.”


    n exchanged brief but polite conversation with those who greeted him, not forgetting to introduce Melissa as his wife.


    Melissa had to work hard to greet n’s numerous acquaintances in bothnguages. She became increasingly tired as curious nces kept sticking to her, but it was something she had anticipated.


    She had mentally prepared herself for this when she decided to marry him. Melissa did her best to stay by her husband’s side, hiding her awkward expressions.


    However, her unease grew as most of the women at the ball directed tant flirtations toward n. It was natural for her to recall the victory ball when they first danced together.


    <em>‘Everyone will think it’s strange……. He’s so handsome, and I…….’</em>


    What Melissa overlooked was that n’s feelings weren’t very different from hers.


    Though n used to jokingly call her a fairy for her tendency to talk about dream-like stories, the current Melissa 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 deration to everyone that this woman was his wife.


    However, Melissa’s lovely face, which he nced at subtly, had a strangely mncholic expression. n understood well what this expression meant.


    “Melissa, 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. n, you should look too.”


    “I can’t.”


    Despite the beautiful sunset, n 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?”


    Melissa blushed in disbelief at his soft reproach.


    “What do you mean—”


    “It’s time for you to ept it. That you’re beautiful.”


    Despite her flustered reaction, n 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 times as necessary. For a lifetime if needed.


    Gently brushing her hair away from her face in the breeze, n added,


    “Everyone is looking at you, Melissa. You look so stunning wrapped in the sunset. Didn’t you know?”


    “That’s impossible…”


    “Your attitude makes me more anxious. If I could, I’d gouge out all the men’s eyes here,”


    At that moment, Melissa let out a small hup. After a short sigh, n quickly corrected himself.


    “No, I mean, I’d want to shield you. Please, don’t leave my side. Do you understand?”


    “……”


    “Please answer me.”


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