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Nathan felt around the area where he had a scar for a moment, looking crestfallen. 

Then he murmured quietly.

“I’ll sign the contract.”

Penny brought over the document she had been waiting with.

“You’ve made a good decision. I’ll be expecting non-stop work from you from now on.”

* * *

Nathan promised not to cross the line with me anymore, but he made one exception—when it came to clothes.

I also wouldn’t like if he couldn’t perform to the best of his abilities due to my presence or status. 

But this is going too far.

“Suck it in!”

Is this some kind of torture?

“Oh, I am!”

I was in the middle of trying on a dress for the banquet. 

I was trembling too much. Was I scared? No, I was literally shaking from being suffocated. 

The dress that I had gotten adjusted after taking measurements not too long ago, for some reason, seemed to be all too small. 

First, Penny tightened the dress straps until her face turned red, and then she pushed my bulging fat into the dress with great effort.

I felt like I was going to die. 

Until recently, I didn’t have an ounce of fat on me. When did I gain all this weight?

All the food I had eaten up until now flashed before my eyes like a slideshow. I ate this much and gained this much weight, I did a good job. Bravo to me.

“Can’t you just stop there? My waist is already the size of a fist. If you make it any tighter, it’ll look weird.”

I complained, but Nathan had a face full of discontent. He let out a deep sigh.

“What have you been eating these past few days? It looks like we’ll have to make new clothes at this rate.”

“But it fits when you squeeze it in, right?”

“Yes, very tightly, like a high-end ham.”

Ham…? I imagined a plump, stuffed ham, with fat protruding through the net…

“Isn’t that a bit too much? Don’t you have any room to spare?”

I took a deep breath and pushed my stomach in like I was showing it off.

See, I’m still skinny, right? My stomach is still so flat. I need to gain more weight!

“No, that part is supposed to be a bit loose to make the fit look better.”

Nathan retorted without hesitation.

Ah, I’ll cancel what I said about not caring about status when discussing a dress. Would you rather I treat you bluntly?

“Never mind. My face is pretty anyway. The fit doesn’t matter.”

“The fit doesn’t matter? How important is that! We don’t have time to make alterations. Just lose some weight before the banquet.”

There was nothing wrong with Nathan’s words. All I could do was to just glare at him with all my might.

“Why? Does it bother you? You said you wouldn’t interfere with work-related matters.”

“…I know. But do you know you’re quite something? You’re so stubborn even though you’re so small.”

Both Penny and Nathan looked at me with surprise at my straightforward words. 

Then Nathan burst out laughing.

“I’ll admit to that. I can’t help it. This is how the world made me.”

“Ugh, what was that line? Did you just say this how the world made you?”

“Of course.”

Nathan swept his thin, flowing hair back.

Ugh, seems like I’ll be kicking the futon for a whole 5 years…

* * *

The fact is that I have gained some weight, which has caused Nathan to suffer a little. 

Feeling sorry, I invited him to dinner. 

But soon after, I regretted my decision.

“Are you eating that too?”

Nathan was meddling with wherever my fork went.

“Don’t you know not to meddle when someone’s eating?”

“Yes, I’ve never heard that before. I’ve heard people say not to overindulge and become like a ham at a party, though.”

“Sir Nathan!”

Finally, I shouted out loud. Damn it. 

Nathan’s innocent eyes widened in surprise. Did I shout too loud?

“Well, it’s mealtime now, so can you be a little careful with your words?”

He didn’t answer and lowered his head.

“…I wanted to make Lady Dahlia stand out so I spoke a bit rudely….. but I’m sorry If you feel offended. You’re accommodating even to someone like me who is cursed, but I was so rude…”

Huh? Why are you suddenly apologizing? 

No, what is this sudden change of heart? I feel like a bad person now! 

Seeing Nathan lower his head like that made me feel sorry for him. Bringing up the topic of weight in front of someone eating is a major offense by my standards, but…

I can’t believe the youngest son of a noble family is acting like this. He survived an accident and thinks he’s cursed, so it’s natural for him to be a little twisted…

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