Side story 1: The villainsโ good neighbor
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On a very clear and sunny day.
โWoof, woof!โ
The sound of Coco barking woke me up, announcing that it was morning.
Coco jumped onto the bed and licked my face which was sticking out the blanket.
โMm…Coco, that tickles.โ
Translated by: Miss Ruby & Edited by: ShadowDog
I stretched my hand to stroke Coco, still feeling sleepy. However, the thing I touched wasnโt a fluffy head of fur. Cocoโs weight which was pressing down the bed abruptly disappeared. The sound of barking quickly grew distant and, in its place, came the mellow voice of a man.
โMs. Yuri, itโs morning.โ
A soft whisper mixed with the scent of coffee coursed through my ears.
When I opened my eyes fully, a face made radiant under the morning sun greeted me. Lakis was sitting right next to where Coco was a second ago.
โHi, did you sleep well?โ
Lakis gently pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it then he smiled. His smile was clear and refreshing like it belonged in a bed advertisement…or to a model in a makeup ad.
If this was the world that I used to live in, Lakisโ name would sell out in the advertisement world.
โHi…Good morning, Mr. Lakis.โ
I blinked and greeted him back as the familiar morning view drove the sleep away.
โWoof!โ
Coco, who had been brought down from the bed, barked from below.
Lakis lifted the puppy who was trying to climb up the bed again and get to my side. Then he talked to Coco with a smile on his face.
โCoco, why do you keep trying to climb on Yuriโs bed?โ
โWoof, woof!โ
โAh, right. Youโre very hungry?โ
โWoof, woof!โ
โAlright, I will get you food, so you stay quiet outside.โ
His voice sounded amiable, but his tone seemed to exert a strange pressure. However, Coco just shook his tail and ran towards Lakis, let alone obeying what Lakis said, then he began to lick Lakis cheeks and chin.
The smile on Lakisโ face froze.
I could tell that he wanted to pull Coco away immediately, but he didnโt know the best way to drag the small puppy and ended up doing nothing.
Seeing him like that, I chuckled a little.
โCoco, come here.โ
Upon hearing his name, Coco finally let go of Lakis.
I sat up halfway in bed and hugged Coco to myself to greet him good morning. Lakis frowned slightly as he watched me stroke Cocoโs soft fur and kiss him all over while calling him adorable.
โIโll go make you food soon, Coco. Go outside.โ
Unlike when Lakis said it earlier, Coco immediately obeyed me and trotted out of the room.
Seeing this scene, Lakis scoffed.
โAt times like this, I wonder if itโs really a dog.โ
โOur Coco is a little smart.โ
Affectionate words naturally left my mouth like every pet owner who loved their pet.
โMaybe I should just be a puppy too from now on.โ
Lakis leaned towards me and said in a complaining tone.
โIโm confident I can listen better than Coco and appeal better.โ
Lakis jokingly stated and sprinkled light, feathery kisses all over my face like I did to Coco a minute ago.
โI donโt think youโre that different from Coco already.โ
I squinted in one eye because it was very ticklish. But I didnโt hate it, so I didnโt move away from Lakis.
โYou both enter my house and climb on my bed whenever you want.โ
He acted so naturally that I almost forgot about it, but this was originally my house for me alone. However, that distinction didnโt hold much meaning because Lakis came to my house so often.
When he heard me say that, Lakis chuckled and bit my lips playfully.
โAnd the biting and licking…is the same too.โ
At that addition, the blue eyes in front of me curved slightly.
โThen you should call me adorable too.โ
โYouโre adorable, Lakis.โ
โAnd pat my head.โ
โHmm.โ
โNow, kiss me.โ
Lakis confidently requested when I obliged and even patted his head.
In the last six months that I spent in the West, Lakis has gotten more shameless and sly. And as for me, Iโve probably…loosened a little more.
โYou know what, I think youโre closer to the cat family, not dogs, Mr. Lakis.โ
I lifted my arm and wrapped it around Lakisโ neck.
Sometimes, I felt the urge to do the exact opposite of what Lakis wanted. But then again, after looking at Lakisโ face, I didnโt want him to feel disappointed because of my needless stubbornness.
I felt like I was disarmed because he seemed to be telling me he liked me with his entire person without hiding anything. Hmm, when I think about it that way, that behavior was more like a dog than a cat.
โThen, what do you think about using this opportunity to bring a cat into your house?โ
Lakis asked with a smile, even though we were practically living together already.
I replied while pulling his cheeks.
โIโll think about it if youโre obedient.โ
I was thinking of just kissing him a little but Lakis only let me go after I pulled his shirt a few times for him to stop.
โBreakfast is already ready. Wash up and come out.โ
After a while, Lakis tidied up my messy hair while whispering a sweet morning greeting, then he pulled me softly and got me out of the bed.
I put on the soft slippers and let him lead me by hand to the door.
As always, the sunlight that filled the room was dazzlingly bright.
* * *
โMs. Yuri, why are you only eating that one? You donโt like the food?โ
Please read this on rubymaybetranslations.com. If you are reading anywhere else, this translation is stolen.
โItโs not that. I just want to eat light and go out.โ
I was feeling a sense of danger that I might become a sloth at this rate.
Even when I didnโt do anything, there was a bubble bath with my favorite scent prepared for me in the morning and evening and the table was served with food balanced in both taste and nutrition for every meal.
Before I even realized it, my house was cleaned so thoroughly that it sparkled, and no dust could be found. Naturally, even the garden outside the house always looked beautiful and landscaped without me moving a finger. In the afternoon, tea and snacks were prepared and served on a tea table in the garden, or on the sunny terrace, or in a cozy room where I could relax.
Because of this, at first, I even thought there was an unknown house fairy living in my house. But sure enough, that wasnโt the case.
โTo the new side of town?โ
โYeah.โ
Lakis nodded his head as if to say he understood.
I looked at him then spoke after pondering over it.
โMr. Lakis. I think itโll be better if the workers from the castle stop coming here.โ
At that, Lakis looked up again and turned to me. He โhmmed’ softly, then he opened his mouth.
โDid someone make you uncomfortable? If you tell me who…โ
โNo. I feel sorry that they work every day for free.โ
But after hearing what I said, Lakis only replied calmly again.
โThey have enough time to spare, thatโs why they do it. They love to do those kinds of chores so theyโre rather excited about it. You donโt have to worry about it.โ
My house fairies were, in fact, people who worked in Lakisโ castle. I had only stayed in Lakisโ castle for about two weeks when I was first invited. I was used to being a member of the commoner class so I simply couldnโt get used to Lakisโ castle.
Of course, the room Lakis prepared for me was great but either way, the root of the problem was that grand castle. Because of it, I felt like I was spending time in a luxurious hotel every day rather than staying in an actual home. So eventually, I informed Lakis that I wanted to leave his castle and go to my own house.
As to what happened as a result…
โThen Iโll pay their salary. Since itโs like a business trip of sorts…โ
โYou live just around the corner. Canโt exactly call it a business trip.โ
The very next day, a big house was built right next to Lakisโ castle. A two-story house with enough space to raise a puppy. The back had a trail for taking walks in the woods and the front was a nature-friendly environment with a clear lake and green fields.
Lakis built the perfect house of my dream as if he had entered my head and saw it himself.
Honestly, I was dumbfounded at first, but I eventually went to stay in the house because I couldnโt win against Lakisโ persuasion to live in the house for at least one month.
And in the end, I was still living here till today.
Lakis came in and out of my house whenever he had the chance, so it became a little confusing as to whether we were living together or separately. The people who worked in his castle even followed him here every day to take care of my daily needs.
Maybe they noticed I felt a little burdened while I was staying in the castle because this time, they did their work while staying out of sight like some mythical snail bride.
But I had to wonder, was that group of people anxious with strangers or something? They kept making mistakes in front of me when they met my eyes but after they hid, they were surprisingly competent.
As a result, I gradually got used to the daily routine of doing nothing. But that said, I didnโt feel okay using such high-quality personnel for free.
Technically speaking, those people were hired by Lakis. Wasnโt this the same thing as abusing my power by putting them to work because I was his lover?
โYou really donโt need to worry about it. I donโt know why youโre so considerate about this.โ
But Lakis, the villain boss, looked at me like he was seeing a poor, naรฏve thing even though my words should be expected from anyone. His gaze seemed to be saying โI donโt know if you can get through this tough world when youโre so nice.โ
But soon, he smiled and stroked my face as if saying it canโt be helped.
โAlright, Iโll raise their salary depending on how much work they do here. Will that work?โ
When I saw Lakis flashing me a beautiful smile, I almost nodded subconsciously but immediately caught myself.
โNo, I was saying that I will pay their salary…โ
โLetโs stop here; donโt worry about this issue anymore. Hurry up and finish your food before it gets cold. And if youโre going out, you should definitely eat more. Here, say ah.โ
I opened my mouth to say more but the food he wanted to hand-feed me arrived at my mouth. I frowned and chewed the food in my mouth.
I wanted to contend with Lakis a little further but the smile on his face as he looked at me was so sweet and as he wiped the sauce off my lips, the words that had climbed up my throat went back down.
This was also another dazzling morning scene that was no different from usual.
Translator’s Corner:
**Sorry if the translation notations were off. I noticed aggregator sites have been cutting that part off. Also, forgot to post yesterday. My bad.
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Aww, come on, they should live together and get married already!
Thanks for the chapter, Miss Ruby, it was very sweet.
Yeah I think so too… but it seems like our fl like to take things easy so we are the ones who naturally suffer a lot ๐
Omgg thank you so much ms Ruby and finally some fluffy moments ive been waiting for :)))
Kyaaa get married already!! ๐ and thank you so much Ruby-nim๐
Oho? Lover is it? When did they confirmed it?
Sometime around 6 months ago I believe… When else? XD
OMG spoiled to uselessness and sheโs slowly giving up the fight because of his beauty trap ๐ฅฐ๐ Open her mouth and sheโs fed, raise her arm and sheโs dressed โฅ๏ธ
Thanks for the chapter โฃ๏ธ
Finally some romantic ๐๐๐๐
CUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTE
Now that we got fluff, I want some steam ๐
Yeah, yeah, fluff is like appetizer. We need the main course and a dessert (read a kid) if possible.
Wow, well this sure is quite the change of pace
Before we would get a lot of action and now we just got fed dog food
With a shovel at that
Not that I’m complaining
Thank you for the translation miss Ruby!!
My heart agh
I expected a setup for another volume while reading this chapter. Makes me think the author wanted to leave the story open for a sequel. There are three unexplored cities, North, South and West. Three male supporting characters that are still single. Furthermore the events occured earlier than the novel timeline. So logically there should be three more volumes.
Those poor castle staff, the west does not have it easy
Lol, after reading previous chapter, i think there is a chance mc got her appearance from selena.. this mean lakis will actually like selena, if she is alive? I am glad yuri inherited the appearance or instead we will be reading romeo juliet version mutant.. lol