episode_0115

Yerika was currently rigid on Loki’s bed, and Loki was also frozen on the bed, holding Yerika’s foot.

“Hiccup!”

-Ringing.

Yerika’s hiccuping sound.

And then.

When he had tickled Yerika earlier, the communicator that had fallen from Yerika’s grasp made a sound, announcing its presence.

Still holding Yerika’s foot, Loki looked down at the lying Yerika.

Her face was severely flushed, even considering her unusually fair skin.

Her unfocused golden eyes stared blankly into space.

On behalf of Yerika, who was already half out of her mind, Loki checked the communicator buzzing on the bed.

And then.

[Father]

After checking the name on the communicator, he felt like he was going to lose his mind.

‘The owner of this communicator is Yerika. And the person Yerika calls Father is…’

Of course, it could only be the Emperor.

What’s there to stupidly think about?

The Emperor is still at the academy.

If the Emperor knew about this situation, it wouldn’t take him a minute to enter my dorm and put a sword to my throat.

-Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing!

Even while he wanted to lose his mind, the communicator consistently kept ringing.

Knowing the caller was the Emperor, the sound of the communicator felt even louder.

‘It must be my imagination.’

If the caller had been Lucas, he could have answered for her, but answering the Emperor’s call somehow felt terrifying.

He had no choice but to open his mouth to speak to Yerika.

“Um… Yerika?”

“Y-yes!”

Yerika bit her tongue once and barely managed to speak in a trembling voice.

Her face was still flushed, and her trembling golden eyes couldn’t look straight at his face, instead gazing blankly into space.

-Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing!

“Ah.”

As if she finally noticed the communicator was ringing, a small gasp escaped Yerika’s lips.

“If I don’t answer, he’ll worry, won’t he?”

“He probably would, wouldn’t he?”

If it were only worry, that would be a relief.

If it’s the Emperor, he might turn the academy upside down just because Yerika didn’t answer the phone.

“Haa… Haa… *Gasp*!”

Yerika took several deep breaths to stop her hiccups and then answered the call.

[Yerika? Why aren’t you answering the phone? Do you know how worried I was? Surely nothing happened, did it?]

Normally, she would have chuckled lightly and said something like, ‘You’re so silly, you’re overprotective.’

But because of Jester-nim right beside her, she couldn’t.

“I, I couldn’t answer because I was out for a bit.”

Yerika’s gaze turned to Loki.

She hadn’t paid attention until now because she was busy taking deep breaths.

‘Why are you still holding my foot, Jester-nim!’

Of course, he wasn’t pressing it firmly like before, but…

After he’d grabbed it once earlier, he hadn’t let go.

[I just finished talking with the Principal-nim. He’s still healthy, you know.]

Hearing the Emperor’s words, Yerika sighed in relief inwardly.

It seemed she had fortunately gotten away with it without being caught. It would have been too embarrassing to be caught in such a state by her father.

“Is that so?”

[Come to think of it, you said you were going to meet that Loki fellow, didn’t you? Did you meet him well? By the way, spending hours doing your makeup or choosing clothes for that fellow who even hides his face, I really liked the way you…]

“Aaah! Ah, Father! More importantly, what did you call about?”

Why are you saying that now, Father!

Yerika rolled her eyes to look at Loki.

‘Did he hear that?’

The annoying Jester-nim had completely turned his head away, looking in the opposite direction.

He must have heard everything…

She wanted to tell him to at least let go of her foot.

Yerika, unable to say so because of the call, couldn’t even stomp her foot as she wished.

[… Yerika, you’re quite different from usual. There’s no problem, is there?]

The Emperor noticed that Yerika was different from usual.

No, anyone, not just the Emperor, would have quickly noticed that Yerika was acting strangely.

“A cat suddenly appeared and startled me, that’s why. When are you planning to return to the imperial palace, Father?”

Yerika tried to play it off as naturally as possible, but…

Loki couldn’t.

Without Loki even realizing it, the hand holding Yerika’s foot tightened.

It wasn’t intentional, but Yerika’s sole was pressed down firmly, just like before.

“Ugh… Please, u-ugh, ahh!”

The same strange moan as before flowed from Yerika’s lips, despite her trying her best to hold it back.

The difference from earlier was that the Emperor was listening.

[… Yerika? What on earth just now, are you okay… ]

“Hiccup!”

Even her renewed hiccups cut off the Emperor’s words.

“I, I’ll contact you… hiccup! …later!”

Yerika, whose mind was already halfway gone, left those words and hastily ended the call.

-Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing!

And the communicator began ringing maniacally.

“…………….”

“…………….”

With tear-filled eyes that looked like they were about to shed a single tear at any moment, Yerika glared at Loki.

She had worked so hard to make excuses…

Loki also knew he had made a mistake, so he avoided her golden eyes staring at him and gazed at the plain wall.

One pattern, two patterns, three patterns.

-Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing! Ringing!

The sound of the communicator seemed to tell him not to lose his mind.

And Yerika’s voice seemed to tell him to regain his senses.

“Jester-nim, first, u-ugh, please let go of my foot.”

Only then did he notice his hand still tightly clutching Yerika’s foot, and he slowly placed Yerika’s foot back onto the bed.

“Um… may I go to the restroom for a moment to take this call?”

“Of course! The restroom is that way!”

.

-Creak, thud.

Yerika, holding the communicator, entered the restroom and then slumped down, leaning her back against the door.

‘What do I do! What do I do! What do I do! What do I do!’

I must be crazy, truly crazy.

I let out embarrassing moans in front of Jester-nim, and twice at that!

‘And why did Father say those things!’

Because of Father, it was revealed that I spent a long time putting on makeup and choosing clothes before meeting Jester-nim.

I had even considered slightly heavier makeup, but Mother said it was important for it to look natural, as if I hadn’t worn any, so I did that.

I tried on several outfits, from comfortable clothes for movement to luxurious dresses for banquets, but since I was meeting him at the academy, I wore my school uniform.

‘But I tried so hard to doll myself up, and Jester-nim isn’t even interested!’

When I moaned earlier, Jester-nim did react, but…

That was clearly a reaction of embarrassment, not excitement.

Earlier, he even untied his tie and slowly approached me just to flick my forehead.

Could it be that he doesn’t feel anything for me at all…?

“No, this isn’t the time for this.”

Yerika tapped her cheeks about twice.

-Ringing! Ringing! Ringing!

Even now, Father is calling on the communicator.

If I keep not answering the phone like this, Father might track the communicator and come here, and then I won’t be able to stay with Jester-nim anymore.

Yerika, who had refused the Emperor’s call, dialed the only person who could stop her father.

The communicator Yerika held displayed this:

[Mother.]

*** * ***

Immediately after Yerika entered the restroom.

After confirming Yerika had entered the restroom, I slumped down, breathing heavily.

“Haa…”

Whether my eyes were open or closed, Yerika’s last appearance while talking to the Emperor wouldn’t leave my mind.

Her slightly bitten lips, trying to suppress a moan. Her trembling eyes, as if knowing she shouldn’t let it out now. But eventually, the strange moan that escaped her lips, unable to be held back.

“Whew…”

Without a poker face right now, my heart pounded like crazy.

Honestly, even if I had a poker face, it wouldn’t have been much different.

‘She just went in, so it’ll take a while for her to come out, right?’

Confirming Yerika was still in the restroom, I took off my mask, which was like an alter ego to me now, and looked in the mirror.

My face was the same as in my previous life, so it wasn’t particularly unfamiliar, but my white hair still felt a little strange.

However, something even more unfamiliar than my white hair appeared in the mirror.

It was my slightly flushed face.

‘It’s not like I’m some adolescent girl…’

It was just a small mistake that happened multiple times.

‘I’ll do anything I can.’

I didn’t know why Yerika’s words from earlier were suddenly coming to mind.

It was just a very ordinary statement about repaying me for the artifact.

‘Then, when Yerika truly said she would do anything she could, did I not harbor even the slightest desire?’

I couldn’t definitively answer the question echoing from deep within my heart.

“Haa…”

The situation before Yerika’s communicator rang,

repeated in my mind as if a recorded video was continuously playing.

Yerika lying on the bed. And I, sitting on the bed, holding Yerika’s foot and looking down at her.

Yerika’s strange moan that escaped in that state.

If the communicator hadn’t rung, I would have…

‘Get it together.’

I resolved to keep my wits about me, put my mask back on, and…

-Thud.

At good timing, Yerika also came out of the restroom.

“How was the call…”

My mouth, which had been trying to speak as casually as possible, froze upon seeing Yerika.

Her golden hair softly gleamed, catching the light from the room’s illumination.

Small water droplets on her face, as if she had just washed it, trailed down her cheeks, chin, and neck.

“…Is there something on my face?”

Due to her intense movements when I tickled her earlier, her shirt and skirt were slightly disheveled.

Her golden eyes, half-closed as if from embarrassment, were gazing directly at me.

And finally, her two fidgeting hands.

Haa… This is really driving me crazy.