I May Be A Villainess, But I Won't Live My Life That Way - Chapter 77

“Wow!”

As I led Lara into my room, draped in a towel like a cape, she widened her eyes and exclaimed in admiration. 

Hoping this time it was a genuinely pure expression of awe, I cautiously gauged Lara’s reaction.

“Princess! Your room looks like a princess’s room!”

Lara looked at me with eyes sparkling with admiration. Only then could I relax and breathe a sigh of relief.

“Am I really going to sleep here with you tonight?”

“Yes, that is right.”

“Wow! I’m so excited!”

Lara jumped up and down with excitement, causing the towel Panya had wrapped around her to slip down her body.

Thanks to that, Lara’s fair skin was exposed, and the first thing that caught my eye was her chubby belly, protruding from eating a lot for dinner. Her short arms and legs matched perfectly with her chubby belly, making her look incredibly adorable.

“It’s a princess’s bed!”

With hair still damp, tangled brown hair sticking together, Lara ran towards the bed. Then she leaped onto the white bed, adorned with a lace canopy.

“Wow, it’s so soft!”

There was not a hint of shadow on the child’s face as she beamed with a wide smile. 

Thankfully, it seemed that Lara had no recollection of the kidnapping incident, which, as Ricardo had said, was probably a better outcome.

“Lara, if you don’t dry your hair properly, you might catch a cold.” 

I took a towel from the shelf and approached Lara. Sitting on one side of the bed, I spread the towel.

“Hehe.”

Lara laughed, seemingly amused by my nagging, and shuffled over to my side of the bed, resting her head meekly against mine.

Just as I was about to hand her the towel, I hesitated for a moment. Lara was just a child, unable to dry her own hair.

And the problem was that I, too, was a noblewoman who had never dried her own hair.

“Um…”

I glanced towards the door in a moment of panic. Panya had gone to fetch the pajamas Lara would wear tonight.

It’s okay. We had other maids in the house, and it wasn’t just Panya alone.

“Princess?”

About to call for another maid, I turned my head towards Lara, and our eyes met. With her eyes, she seemed to be saying, “Why aren’t you drying my hair quickly?”

Right. It was just drying hair. It wasn’t that difficult or exhausting.

“Hehe!”

I awkwardly picked up the towel and gently patted Lara’s hair, and she turned her head again. Although her face wasn’t visible, the sound of her happy laughter and humming echoed from Lara.

In response to that pleasant sound, I couldn’t help but smile at myself.

As I gently dried Lara’s hair, her still damp, thin strands touched my hand.

While debating whether to dry it a little more, Lara’s head nodded back and forth without a word.

“Lara?”

“…”

Without a response, Lara’s head swayed to the rhythm of an invisible dance. Once again, a smile involuntarily spread across my face as she danced without music.

***

“Is the treatment all done?”

It was a question that didn’t need asking. Although the faint smell of antiseptic lingered in the guest room where Ricardo was seated, there was no sign of the attending physician.

Instead, what I could see was Ricardo sitting shirtless, with his upper body exposed, and bandages neatly arranged where his injuries were presumed to be.

“Yeah.”

Nevertheless, Ricardo answered my unnecessary question.

“Does it hurt?”

As I approached him and took the seat opposite, his wounds became more apparent. The faint trace of blood seeping through the white bandage was visible. 

“Not really.”

His answer was firm, as if there could be no possibility of pain.

Yet somehow, his response felt more painful to me. There wasn’t anyone in the world who didn’t feel pain.

Gently, I reached out and brushed my fingers against the skin around Ricardo’s wound. I could feel the firm muscles and smooth flesh under my fingertips.

But I couldn’t bring myself to touch the wound directly. I was afraid. I was afraid that I might hurt him and that I might accidentally make the bleeding worse.

I couldn’t help but laugh at my own cowardice.

“That’s strange.”

Ricardo’s hand suddenly appeared, grasping mine. 

“What is?” 

“Your expression.”

“What’s wrong with my expression?” 

Choosing his words carefully, Ricardo closed his mouth and simply looked at me. 

“You look pained.”

At Ricardo’s slow words, I frowned slightly. Surely, it should be him who looks pained, not me.

“And sad.”

“…”

“And… you seem upset.”

Slowly enunciating each word, Ricardo’s hand moved to stroke my face.

“Upset and sad, yes.”

Feeling his fingers exploring my cheek, I answered. As my lips moved, his fingers followed, almost as if chasing after the movement.

“Because you’re hurt.”

“Because you’re worried about me?”

“Yeah. And because you’re not being honest with me.” 

My gaze, which had been fixed on Ricardo’s face, involuntarily dropped down again to his wounds. When I saw the white bandages and the faint trace of blood seeping through, my heart ached.

“Can’t you be honest with me?” 

“About what?” 

“If it hurts, just say so.” 

As if urging me to stop looking, Ricardo’s hand cupped my chin and lifted my head. 

But even as he did so, my eyes were already fixed on his wounds.

The scars from some past wars, the shallow ones he hadn’t explained, and even some new ones I hadn’t seen before. 

As I looked again at the scars on his body, my heart ached once more. And today, knowing that they had added yet another, made it even worse.

“Bianca.”

His voice was tender, as if trying to soothe me.

“I’m fine.”

The words he quietly uttered remained unchanged. ‘I’m fine, not in pain.’

“I’m not fine.”

So I remained unchanged too. I am upset and in pain.

“Why are you smiling?”

He seemed to smile even more when I asked, giving me a soft smile.

“Because I feel good.”

“What makes you feel good?”

“Because you’re worried about me.”

The lips that had been drawing a happy curve suddenly approached slowly and gently met mine.

The sweet sensation started on our lips and slowly spread throughout my body.

It was a very careful and gentle kiss. Ricardo kissed me delicately, as if I were the one who was injured.

“Ask me again.”

After our lips parted, Ricardo was the first to speak.

“Does it hurt?”

His eyes softened at my question.

“Yes. It hurts.”

He answered with a face that didn’t seem to be in pain at all.

“You’re right, Bianca. The wounds hurt and sting.”

With lips full of a happy smile, Ricardo said he was in pain. Watching him accept it so readily, I felt a part of my heart that had been hardening soften.

It was so strange. I saw a reflection of Lara in Ricardo.

They were two completely different people. Not just in gender but also in height and build. 

Thinking of the adorable Lara and the polar opposite figure in Ricardo, it was strange to see a glimpse of Lara in Ricardo.

If I had to find one thing they had in common, it was that they were both people I loved.

“Should I…?”. 

Is that the reason?

Remembering what I had learned from Lara earlier, I found myself asking Ricardo without even realizing it. Ricardo seemed to look at me as if he didn’t understand what I meant; his eyes slightly widened.

Wrapping my hand around his, which still rested on my cheek, I slowly leaned in and bent my waist. Then, I stopped at his waist, where the white bandages were wrapped around his wounds.

“Ho~.”

As I had learned, I blew a small breath onto Ricardo’s wound. However, I wondered if it would have any effect since thick bandages were blocking it.

“Ho~.”

Blowing another breath with a bit more force than before, I noticed Ricardo’s muscles twitching beside the wound.

“Bianca.”

I glanced up at the sound of my name and saw Ricardo’s face, his lips twitching as if he were holding back his laughter.

Seeing his reaction, my face flushed red in an instant. That’s when I realized what I was doing.

I must have been momentarily insane. How could I expect his wound not to hurt after doing something like that?!

Treating a wound meant disinfecting it, applying medicine, and protecting it with bandages to prevent it from reopening or coming into contact with other things. That’s what doctors were for, what pharmacists were for.

At the very least, it would require a priest to heal through divine power or a wizard to create a makeshift remedy with magic to heal the wound and alleviate the pain.

Not this childish behavior.

“Um, what I did just now…”

Oh my goodness! Even logically explaining my actions just now felt insufficient, and I stumbled over my words.

“Bianca.”

As if understanding everything, Ricardo softly called my name. At the same time, he withdrew his hand from mine and, in turn, held mine.

“Can I be honest with you?”

“…Yes.”

It was obvious what he was going to say. Even if she did something like that, he would still say it hurts. Ricardo was an adult, just like me, not a child.

“I feel better now.”

Ricardo’s lips were gently smiling. It wasn’t just his lips. His eyes were also softly curved, smiling as if feeling good.

“Thanks to you, it doesn’t anymore.”

In response to his answer, I felt flustered. Ricardo lightly pulled me into his embrace. In his arms, I quietly smiled.

Yes, I had felt the same way.

For some reason, somehow, the pain was gone like magic.

Thankfully, Lara’s magic worked on Ricardo too.