Chapter 60: I’ll Follow Your Wishes

Ｒ&e;a&d; ｏṅ​ ​​K‍a‌t​Ｒ&e;ɑd‍&i;nｇC&a;fｅ

Sugar’s flushed cheeks resembled a ripened fruit.

Her eyes, already captivating, took on an even more enchanting hue under the sunset’s glow.

In the midst of it all, her shyness and flustered demeanor were adorable. Sugar seemed to be aware of the state of her face and quickly covered both cheeks with her hands.

Seeing this, Riley’s heart felt like it was about to burst. The always confident Sugar acting this bashful, it made him want to hug her—

Ahhh—!

While the boy, overwhelmed by the sweet and sour feelings filling his heart, screamed in his mind, Sugar reached out her hands. Playing the role of the older sister, she decides to hug her kind and dependable younger brother first.

“Riley.”

Her small voice snapped Riley out of his strange and embarrassing thoughts. As if entranced, he looked up and Sugar flew toward him like a bullet, wrapping him in a tight embrace.

Then, while stroking his shiny blond hair, she whispers words of gratitude into his ear, like a lullaby, thanking him for thinking of her.

“Sugar…”

Riley doesn’t want to let go. He wants to stay with her, and the thought of parting saddens him. He responds by calling her name.

The words she had kept inside started spilling out. Words untainted by their individual circumstances or disappointments— things he truly wanted to say.

“Thank you, Riley… I… I said what I did because I was thinking of you in my own way. I’m sorry if I upset you. I won’t judge you carelessly anymore.”

“It’s fine… I’m sorry too, for getting angry. And… you don’t need to worry about anything.”

“Of course, I’ll worry about you… but I won’t worry in a way that makes you uncomfortable.”

“…”

‘—I felt lonely thinking about you leaving. I’d be really sad. But I didn’t say it because I thought it might burden you. I didn’t want to interfere with your freedom… I didn’t want that either.’

Riley simply stays silent. He knows how much Sugar cherishes him. He’s come to understand that.

He only lets out one sentence.

“…Wait for me.”

“Yeah… I’ll work hard to get stronger here too. Let’s definitely go to Steele together.”

“Don’t cause trouble while I’m gone.”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“You don’t get hurt either. And don’t go destroying castles under the guise of learning magic.”

Sugar looked away grumbling, “I probably won’t be able to use that level of magic without you…”

“…”

“I’ll feel lonely.”

“…Aren’t I the same?”

“Do you feel lonely without me by your side?”

“Why are you asking something like that…”

Riley gently combed Sugar’s hair with his fingers, chiding her.

Even as they talk, they can hear each other’s heartbeats. Thump-thump, the sounds overlapping as if they’ve become one.

“I just want to hear it. Tell me.”

“…I feel lonely.”

“Hehe…”

Sugar smiles softly, the sound of her laughter tickling Riley, making him lower his head.

Then, a thought occurs to him.

Should he say it or not?

It’s a blow to his pride, but after thinking it over, he decides he has to say it. This is important, after all.

“Hey… I have something I want to say. I wasn’t going to say it, but…”

“What is it?”

He swallows and opens his mouth.

“Don’t… get too close to any other guys. No matter what their position is…”

“Huh?”

No, maybe it’s not important. Honestly, it might not matter at all and it’s none of his business.

But still, just the thought of her hanging out with some other guy in his absence makes his blood boil.

That’s all. Just that. There’s no deeper feeling. She just shouldn’t go around charming anyone. He repeats this to himself as he speaks.

Sugar, not understanding at first, tilts her head before bursting into laughter. She realizes why he’s saying this. His misconceptions and jealousy amuse her.

“Hoo, hehe… Riley… kehehe…”

“What are you laughing at…”

“No, come here.”

Even though she says “come here,” they’re already pressed close together. Without Riley needing to move, Sugar lifts her face slightly and brings her lips close to his ear.

Her breath brushes against him, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine.

Then, she whispers one word.

“Dummy.”

Ian is a woman.

She hides the rest of her words, instead blowing warm, sweet-scented breath into his ear.

Hoo— hoo— The warm, fragrant breeze tickles Riley’s ear.

As if taking revenge for the kiss the boy planted earlier. Unrelenting, yet gentle.

“Ah, uh.”

There’s no time to resist. The warm breath enters his ear, scrambling his brain. The sweet affection flowing from those adorable lips takes control of his body.

The sound of her lips moving teasingly close to his ear, is maddening.

The sound of her tongue lightly flicking the roof of her mouth. The wet friction of her lips parting and closing.

Riley’s body trembles. He hugs Sugar tightly, clenching his fists. He shudders for a long time, his mind numb and unable to do anything.

“Riley.”

“…”

“Riley. Answer me.”

“Why…”

There’s no way he can answer properly. She keeps whispering in his ear.

“Say my name.”

“What…?”

“Huh? Say my name.”

She kept urging him, promising to give him what he wants. Riley’s sanity felt like it was slowly breaking…

But still, a sense of anticipation rises.

“Su… gar…”

“One more time.”

“Su…gar…”

“Good, well done. Just one more time.”

“Sugar…”

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar—

Calling her name in this situation felt even more embarrassing. It feels like he’s doing something he shouldn’t but the praise felt good, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. Sugar smiled contentedly, letting out a soft laugh.

“Good boy.”

—Chu.

“My most precious childhood friend. Don’t worry, I’ll follow your wishes.”

As if leaving a mark, she presses her lips to his earlobe.

Finally satisfied, she pulled her face away. Her cheeks still flushed, a triumphant smile spread across her face.

‘Ah, Sugar. You… you’re really…’

Riley grit his teeth as he looked at Sugar’s smug expression.

‘Just you wait.’

He wants to grow up quickly. To blink and suddenly be older, bigger. So he can deal with this cheeky, mischievous girl…

“…”

However for now he suppresses his feelings.

‘It’s embarrassing now, no, no—it’s not that. I’m just letting it slide for now.’

Because if he takes the lead, this girl will just get even more smug. It’s ridiculous how weak he is to her advances.

So, just enjoy the moment, you bold girl.

Unaware of Riley’s thoughts, Sugar just giggles.

She’s happy they made up. She finds the jealous boy adorable, laughing softly and finally feeling like she’s finally set things straight.

However, the memory of what touched her forehead earlier creeps into her mind, and her expression softens.

Her lips twitch absentmindedly.

Her heart feels ticklish. ‘He’s just my childhood friend, so why does my heart feel so strange?’ She closes her mouth, thinking such thoughts.

It was then,

“Hey, you brats! Stop messing around and get down from there!”

No matter how tall the cathedral was, it’s inevitable to be noticed when you’re openly causing a scene on the roof. The knights and priests who had witnessed this behavior on and off let out a collective groan.

What kind of scandalous behavior is this in the place where the Saint rests? That was their justification. It’s not like they were particularly bad at finding love themselves, but they still shed tears of frustration.

The children finally realized what they were doing in such a public place. As if they had made a promise, they jumped up and ran off in a hurry. Their voices, weakly protesting, “It’s not like that…!” faded away.

*****************************8

“You’re following me again?”

About three days had passed since then.

While eating breakfast and bickering with her friend as usual, the priestesses came to visit. Priestesses with their faces veiled, a mark of the direct subordinates of the Saintess.

‘What could it be this time?’

As she pondered, she was dragged toward the spire just like last time. It was quite comfortable, so she relaxed and let the flow take her. It felt like she was being forcibly taken by some magical force.

Unlike Sugar, who had grown somewhat accustomed to this, Riley sighed and muttered, “What now…?”

This time, instead of heading to the Saintess’s large room, they were led to a smaller door.

The door swung open.

“Sugar!”

Short platinum hair and purple eyes. the precious young prince. It was Ian who came running out. Today, it seemed Ian had called for her, not Ione.

“Hey… I heard everything! You went with my sister when she went to buy a gift, right?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Why did you hide it! And you refused to deliver the gift yourself, saying she needed to deliver it herself…”

“That’s also correct.”

“Sugar!”

Ian rushed over and hugged Sugar tightly.

Riley, who was standing nearby, immediately started glaring daggers at Ian.

“You’re amazing…! How did you convince her? The Saintess! How did you even think of that? No, first of all, thank you! Because of you, my sister and I… my sister and I…”

Ian, unable to continue, hugged Sugar again.

Riley’s expression quickly turned to one of shock.

“I thought it was better not to say anything… but now that you know, there’s nothing I can do.”

Sugar smiled awkwardly. Then she gently pulled away. It’s not a big deal between ‘same-sex’ friends, but her childhood friend, who doesn’t know the truth, wouldn’t like it.

That’s right, same-sex.

Having realized Ian’s true gender, Sugar speculated about why she was dressed as a boy.

The protective power passed down maternally to daughters. Female descendants are essentially the city itself, they have no choice but to be bound to it for life.

On the other hand, male descendants don’t have any special powers so depending on the situation, it might be possible for them to leave the city.

Therefore, Ione must have made a decision for her ‘younger sister.’ For her freedom.

Let’s raise her younger sister as a boy and when she becomes an adult, send her outside the city to gain true freedom.

Until then, keep her hidden from others. She’s still a child so it would be difficult for her to behave properly, so she’s kept in the tower.

This is what Sugar had deduced. She hasn’t asked directly, so she doesn’t know the details; she just combined what she already knew with the current situation.

In the original story, this flow was the same but just before becoming an adult, Ian’s patience exploded leading to an incident where she stole a sacred artifact.

There was no child like Sugar back then.

Ione wouldn’t have given Ian a gift, and Ian wouldn’t have known her sister’s feelings.

“I thought you were just a strange kid. But you… you… really… I’m glad I became friends with you.”

So now, maybe it’s okay to hope for a slightly different future.

Like how she reached out to the boy who would become a future antagonist and changed his fate.

As she vaguely thought this, Ian reached out for a handshake. Well, it was less of a request and more of a grab.

Still, Sugar smiled softly and accepted it.