episode_0010

After receiving the necklace as a gift, Lily never took it off, not even when bathing or sleeping.

Although it contained various simple spells to prevent rusting and skin irritation, she reassured me that it was fine whenever I asked if it might be uncomfortable.

Thanks to the necklace, one issue was resolved. Or at least, I thought it would be.

It was the bathroom problem.

Strangely, it was fine during the day when the sun was up, but dawn posed a challenge.

In the morning, knowing I was home made it bearable even if the bathroom was somewhat far away. However, once the sun set and night fell, I hesitated to go alone.

At night, Lily never wanted to leave my side.

It seemed like she was particularly afraid of the darkness. So, when Lily woke me up in the early hours, I smiled and accompanied her to the bathroom.

“Amelia, are you there?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’m here. Hmmm~ La la~.”

Although we kept the doors closed between us, Lily always checked if I was there. Each time, I reassured her with a humming tune to calm her mind.

Up to this point, everything was fine. The problem arose when I needed to use the bathroom.

The first time I cautiously got up to go to the bathroom in the early hours, Lily woke up.

“Oh… Amelia? Where are you going?”

“Lily, please go back to sleep. I just need to use the bathroom for a moment.”

“You’re lying. You’re trying to escape. You’re trying to abandon me.”

“No, really, I just want to use the bathroom.”

“Take me with you…”

Unable to resist Lily’s tired, teary-eyed plea, I held her hand and went to the bathroom.

I let go of her hand at the bathroom entrance and went in. It was incredibly quiet, probably because it was dawn. The sound of me taking off my pajamas seemed deafening, and I could hear all of Lily’s movements outside the bathroom door.

“Amelia, are you there?”

“Yes, yes!”

What should I do? I managed to sit on the toilet after undressing, but if I go now, it will surely make too much noise. Even when I was a man, I never let anyone hear me in the bathroom…

Thinking of a solution, I found something good. I turned on the tap at the sink next to me forcefully.

-Splish-splash-splash.

“Amelia, what’s that sound?”

“I, um, it’s too embarrassing, so I turned on the water a bit.”

“Oh… I see.”

‘But why does Lily’s voice sound so close? Must be my imagination, right?’

At least with this amount of noise, my sounds will definitely be muffled.

-Gurgle.

Thankfully, I resolved the issue without any problems. Perhaps hearing the water sound relaxed me, and everything went smoothly.

From then on, Lily said she wanted to drink water before bed. I brought her a cup of water and watched her tiny throat gulp it down, smiling.

“I can’t finish it all.”

“It’s okay. I’ll drink the rest.”

After Lily left some water in the cup, I drank it all and placed the cup on the table.

Eventually, that day we woke up in the early hours to go to the bathroom together.

While giving Lily water before bed, I thought maybe warm milk would help her sleep better, so I asked her about it. She agreed, so we decided to have milk instead of water.

Sometimes, if Lily couldn’t finish her milk, I drank it. Of course, that day we still had to go to the bathroom in the early hours.

Feeling sorry for waking Lily up every time I got up, I couldn’t leave the milk unfinished… It was quite a dilemma.

After gifting Lily the necklace and that night, I woke up to a rustling sound and saw Lily getting up from bed.

Then, she left the room.

Surprising. It was the first time. Lily always used to wake me up if she had to leave the room in the early hours. But this time, she went out alone.

A significant development. Perhaps it was all thanks to the necklace.

The early morning silence made the distant sound of water flowing audible. Finally, Lily ventured to the bathroom alone in the early hours for the first time.

In my heart, I praised Lily’s growth and drifted back to sleep.

Then one day, I woke up in the early hours because of the bathroom. I carefully got up so as not to wake Lily from her slumber. Fortunately, perhaps due to the necklace, Lily did not wake up.

The issue was the door. It creaked when opened, likely due to its aging wooden structure.

-Creak.

“Amelia?”

Ah, Lily had finally woken up. Should I oil her in the morning?

“Where are you going?”

“I need to use the bathroom. You stay asleep since you have your necklace on.”

“No, I’ll come with you.”

“…Alright.”

What’s this… She’s at the point where she can go to the bathroom alone now… Could it be that if she goes alone, she can’t run away because I’m asleep, but if I get up and go, there’s a chance she might flee?

As usual, I resolved the situation by turning on the tap at the sink with the strongest flow.

==

I couldn’t remember when it was. When I opened my eyes, it was dawn. All I could see was the darkness illuminated by moonlight.

I quickly turned to the side. A huge chest loomed before me.

“Phew…”

My body, which had been cooling down, returned to normal. In truth, falling asleep was always frightening. Every time I slept, I had to witness Amelia being executed in a gruesome manner.

That’s why I grew to dislike the night. But as long as Amelia was there, the darkness posed no problem.

Calming my momentarily startled heart by touching Amelia’s body, I realized why I had woken up.

“I need to pee.”

As I got up from bed to open the door to go to the bathroom,

An endless darkness awaited me.

The windows were all covered by curtains. Not a single ray of moonlight entered through the tightly closed doors.

It felt like looking at my past path. A path devoid of any hope.

My heart began to race. It pounded fiercely, causing my body to warm up, yet paradoxically, my body was growing colder than ever.

I couldn’t bring myself to step out of the room. I realized that if I left, I would lose my mind.

Was the annex always like this…?

Just a few steps were enough to reach the bathroom, but I simply couldn’t muster the courage.

-Scratch, scratch.

“Eek…!”

Unconsciously, I scratched between my fingers. I quickly withdrew my hand. Even if it was because of Amelia, I decided not to scratch anymore.

-Thud.

My legs gave way, and I fell. This was getting ridiculous. I turned around and looked at Amelia sleeping.

Moonlight illuminated the sleeping Amelia, making her look like a goddess. How is it that only moonlight shines on Amelia?

As if on cue, my heart began to beat normally again, and my body regained its original temperature.

I reluctantly woke Amelia up.

“Amelia, Amelia.”

“Umm… Lily?”

“As expected, it’s Amelia. Even waking up, she radiates such beauty.”

Her eyes slowly opened, and seeing Amelia rubbing her own eyes, Lily confirmed Amelia’s well-being once again, but now was not the time for such thoughts.

“Bathroom.”

“Oh… the bathroom! Yes!”

Fortunately, Amelia quickly grasped my intention, took my hand, and got up from the bed.

Facing the door once again.

-Creak.

The door opened, and darkness reappeared before us. Despite Amelia’s presence, my feet froze once more.

I just couldn’t bring myself to step into that darkness.

Noticing my hesitation, Amelia knelt down and looked at me.

“Are you scared?”

“Yes…”

I honestly admitted. Despite being desperate to pee, the darkness instilled fear in me.

“Don’t worry.”

Amelia let go of my hand and walked into the darkness.

“Amelia!”

I reached out urgently, but Amelia disappeared into the darkness.

“Ah, Amelia?”

-Whoosh!

In an instant, I was engulfed in fear at the sight of Amelia vanishing into the impenetrable darkness where nothing could be seen.

As the curtains rustled, moonlight streamed into the corridor, illuminating it suddenly.

In the center stood Amelia, smiling brightly.

She looked like an angel descending from the heavens, with her radiant presence.

“How is it? Much brighter, right?”

“Yeah…!”

With just one action from Amelia, the darkness that had tried to swallow me whole vanished, leaving only Amelia before my eyes.

Indeed, Amelia was remarkable. Extraordinary. Superior to me.

And I love her.

Thankfully, I managed to maintain adult composure and make it to the bathroom without wetting myself.

After resolving the bathroom issue and returning to bed, we embraced each other and fell asleep. That day, Amelia’s warmth felt even more comforting.

One day, I woke up to the sensation of Amelia I was holding disappearing.

Opening my eyes slightly, I saw Amelia trying to get up from the bed.

“Am… Amelia? Where are you going?”

“Lily, please go back to sleep. I’m just going to the bathroom for a moment.”

Oh, the bathroom. Just a quick trip to the bathroom?

Recently, I had gone to the bathroom with Amelia. That means…

“You’re lying. You’re trying to escape. You’re trying to leave me.”

I subtly concealed my true feelings and changed the subject.

In truth, it was a bit embarrassing to share a bathroom with Amelia, no matter how motherly she was.

“No, really, I just want to go to the bathroom.”

If that’s the case, then I should also go.

“Let’s go together…”

In the end, Amelia couldn’t refuse my request and went to the bathroom with me. Amelia let go of my hand at the entrance to the bathroom.

“Amelia, are you there?”

[Yes, yes!]

-Swish. Swish.

I heard the sound of Amelia undressing. I had seen her during baths before, but hearing only the sound this time sparked my imagination, leaving me feeling strangely intrigued.

-Splish splash.

Suddenly, I was startled by the loud sound of water.

“Amelia, what’s that sound?”

“I, um, it was too embarrassing, so I turned on the water a bit.”

I never knew such a method existed…! Even though it was embarrassing, I just did it, but Amelia was considerate. I had the right to hear it too.

Thinking that if I listened closely, I might be able to hear, I leaned my ear against the bathroom door.

“Okay…? Got it.”

Amidst the loud water sounds, I could hear the gentle trickle of water.

It was amazing.

After Amelia finished in the bathroom, we held hands and returned together.

Since then, I deliberately created situations where Amelia would have a drink before bed.

I decided to occasionally employ this tactic since doing it frequently might lead to her not drinking at all or catching on.