You! Don’t Press that Button! - Chap 53

The first debut at the social gathering, which lasted for several days, ended quite successfully. Fortunately, Asmil didn’t show up at the party venue after the first day. It was a relief not to have to see that sly and annoying face until the end.

After the social gathering where I had dressed up nicely and maintained proper posture ended, life at the duke’s mansion resumed, and I returned to my usual self. I transformed into human form and enjoyed leisurely time rolling around in my room.

“Urp.”

A small burp escaped my mouth after enjoying a delightful lunch. Basking in the peaceful atmosphere, I sprawled out on the bed in a spread-eagle position, feeling the warm sunlight. Through the slightly open window, gentle wind sounds and birds chirping could be heard.

It was truly a good life. A life without worries. This abundance brought peace to my mind while making my body lazy. I twitched my eyebrow and slowly lifted the eyelids covering my black pupils.

“I’m not getting round, am I?”

I raised my limp hand and placed it on my belly. Then I gently rubbed the soft flesh. It wasn’t protruding, but I could feel a squishy texture under my palm. Hmm. I narrowed my eyes and moved my hand from my belly to feel my chest area. It was flat, of course. Karhan’s chest was all bumpy though.

The sensation of touching Karhan’s chest when I had pressed my face against his shoulder before came back to me. Unlike his very three-dimensional body, mine was flatness itself. Is it okay to be like this when we’re both human? I let out a groan and pouted my lips.

I had become extremely lazy since coming to this world. Before, I was often busy with part-time jobs, studying, or paying attention to something. But this world gave me no anxiety whatsoever, so most of my daily routine consisted of ‘loafing around’.

In danger of becoming a round ball, I abruptly got up. Should I try exercising? This spacious mansion also had a training ground for knights to practice. Of course, there might be knights who need to use it at this time, so I planned to just take a quick look.

Before leaving the room, I checked my appearance in the mirror. I made sure to dress thoroughly to hide my wings and tidied up my messy hair. My white hair was in disarray from rolling around.

After finishing preparations and stepping out into the hallway, I saw the dedicated servant guarding outside the door. Seeing my face after a long time, the servant looked at me with questioning eyes. I must have looked suspicious coming out. I smiled broadly and started walking.

As I walked down the long corridor, I saw busy servants diligently doing their work here and there. Some were carrying laundry, while others were moving large boxes. As I strolled down the corridor observing people, I suddenly heard chattering voices.

“Wasn’t that knight we saw earlier super handsome?”

“Yeah, yeah! Ah~ I want to touch those arms. Should we stop by the training ground later and give him a handkerchief or something?”

“I’ll go with you. I want to keep looking at handsome men.”

The passing servants burst into laughter. It seemed there were knights using the training ground. Well, since I’ve come out anyway, I might as well take a look.

As I got closer to the training ground, the sound of exercising knights’ breathing grew louder. Their rough panting heated up the air. Careful not to disturb them, I tiptoed quietly. Then I peeked my head out to look inside.

Several wooden dummies stood on the hard dirt floor. It looked like there might be something interesting further in, but I held back, not wanting to disturb the intense training atmosphere. As I was secretly peeking like a thief, someone suddenly pushed me from behind.

“Oof!”

Being a fragile baby bird who never exercised, I fell ungracefully to the ground from the light push. Like a delicate protagonist in a drama, I fell with my legs neatly together.

I frowned as my knees quickly started to sting. I couldn’t suppress the rising indignation. Did someone just bully me…?

“Uwaah…”

“Oh… S-sorry. I didn’t think you’d fall like that.”

The person who knocked me down apologized in a flustered voice. A healthy-looking hand was extended in front of me.

Although the other person apologized, it seemed like they had pushed me on purpose, and I became very displeased. My mood plummeted instantly, and I stuck out my lower lip. Thinking I might as well look at their smug face, I raised my head.

“Oh.”

My eyes and mouth opened wide at the unexpected figure etched in my vision. Good heavens. My mouth gaped open and closed for a moment before I uttered a name that was unfamiliar yet familiar after a long time.

“…Doel?”

“Hello.”

Doel smiled, his eyes curving prettily. Then he raised one hand and waved it gently in greeting.

“Doel!”

Surprised to see an unexpected person, I shouted loudly once again. I could feel the people training around us looking our way, but I had no time to care about that.

Goodness. Why is Doel here? Has he finished all his work? Despite my open mouth, the words I wanted to say seemed trapped behind an invisible glass wall and couldn’t come out.

As I stood there blankly with my mouth hanging open, Doel scrunched his eyes and burst out laughing. He extended his outstretched hand further and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me to my feet. Kindly, he even bent down and gently patted the dirt off my knees. Seemingly satisfied once I was relatively clean, Doel stopped his hand movements and looked at me.

“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”

Doel’s mouth opened wide in a smile. For a moment, I stared blankly at that bright face before suddenly coming to my senses and clenching my fist. Then I swung it squarely at his toned stomach. Faced with my fierce punch, Doel raised both arms awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

“Y-you bastard! You deserve a beating!”

You should have told me I wasn’t old before you left! Me! Huh? How embarrassing! Huh? You should have done that! I’m still so ashamed thinking about how I spoke to Karhan thinking I was an old person! I gritted my teeth and pounded Doel’s firm stomach repeatedly.

Take that! I clenched my fist and hit his stomach hard, but Doel just squinted one eye and chuckled as if he couldn’t help it. If you’re sorry, you should at least pretend it hurts…!

As I had felt when grabbing Asmil’s hair, my strength really seems to be nothing more or less than that of a baby bird. With a face that showed no sign of being affected, Doel lowered both hands and caught my arms.

Suddenly restrained, I had no choice but to stop hitting. Doel grasped my wrists with a gentle yet firm touch. Forced to stop by his large hands, I glared at Doel with a dissatisfied expression. He was smiling with his eyebrows slightly curved. Don’t smile, I might get attached.

As I was seething inside, Doel, oblivious to my feelings, tightened his grip and pulled me. My body suddenly lurched forward, and I lost my balance with a yelp.

The shameless Doel slipped his hands under my armpits. Then he lifted me up as an adult would a child. My legs dangled in the air as I was suddenly lifted.

“I’d like to hear how you’ve been doing.”

Doel smiled, stretching the corners of his mouth wide. His eyes curved into pretty crescents. His handsome face, like a well-drawn picture, doused the flames of anger burning in my heart. Completely cooled down, I let my legs dangle and narrowed my eyes as I looked at Doel. Perhaps due to the open training ground, a gentle breeze blew, ruffling Doel’s black hair.

“I’ve been doing well. …What about you? Did you take care of all the things you needed to resolve?”

I asked sulkily, puffing my cheeks slightly. Doel seemed unperturbed by my grumpy expression and continued smiling. He tilted his head slightly and opened his mouth.

“Well… Not exactly as I thought, but it’s been resolved.”

It wasn’t a satisfying answer, but it seemed things had been settled one way or another. Seeing that I had calmed down, Doel gently set me down on the ground.

If he’s finished his personal business, does that mean he can start dating Karhan soon? He will soon, right? I tried to recall when they had officially started dating in the book. But the contents of a book I had read long ago were no longer in my memory. I wasn’t even sure if I had read that far.

Lost in thought, my eyes rolled around. Doel didn’t bring up another topic first, so we stood quietly facing each other. Suddenly, I sensed a presence behind me.

Doel’s gaze shifted behind me, and I turned around to look at the person approaching. It was the servants who had passed by earlier talking about some knight. They hesitated for a moment before handing something to Doel.

“Um, this…”

They held out a neat handkerchief embroidered in white and something wrapped in colorful packaging.

“We saw you earlier in the training ground. You were training hard, so please have this while you work.”

It seems the contents were food. As I pondered what exactly this situation was, a red warning light in my head started blaring loudly.

Oh no! This is them taking a liking to Doel. To think the person these people were talking about as they passed by was Doel. No way! This guy already has someone!

Anxious, I gnawed on my lips. Doel smiled awkwardly at the gifts the two servants were offering and reached out to accept them.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Y-yes, yes!”

They must have come just to deliver the gifts, as they quickly turned around and ran off. I stared blankly at their retreating figures before hurriedly looking up at Doel. When our eyes met, he made a questioning sound. With trembling hands, I pointed at the beautifully wrapped food and handkerchief.

“Th-that…!”

“This?”

“Yes! That… Are you going to eat it?”

“Well… Since I received it, I should eat it, shouldn’t I?”

Doel stared blankly at the items in his hand before pulling the string that was sealing the package. As the string came undone with a rustle, the wrapping paper opened up.

“Cookies?”

Inside were cookies as pretty as the packaging. As I sniffed, I could smell a sweet and nutty aroma. It was a scent that couldn’t possibly taste bad. Doel took out one piece and popped it into his mouth. After chewing for a bit, he nodded slowly.

“It’s delicious.”

He reached in again and took out another piece. My gaze followed unconsciously as Doel moved his hand teasingly before bringing the cookie close to my mouth. Then he pecked at my lips with it, leaving me no choice but to open my mouth.

As I chewed on the bite-sized cookie, a sweet taste spread in my mouth. I opened my eyes wide, savoring the flavor.

“It’s delicious!”

As my eyes filled with delight, I heard chuckling beside me. Doel took out another cookie and put it in my mouth. He teased me now and then by pretending to give it to me and then pulling back, which earned him a few punishments, but overall, Doel diligently played the role of a mother bird. After repeating this feeding process, we soon found that the cookies were all gone.

“My, that was tasty.”

In the end, I had devoured all the cookies that the servant had given Doel to eat.