TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 115
Olivia, who had lost her senses at the sudden appearance of the Blue Window, barely managed to regain her composure at the faint sound of Ricardo’s feverish groan.
“Haa… Haa…”
Ricardo’s raspy breathing, as if he were in great pain, reached Olivia’s ears faintly.
Olivia was flustered, unable to do anything.
Panicking, she shook her head and alternated glances at her trembling hands.
“That…”
Olivia was scared.
Because Ricardo, who had always shown a healthy appearance, was in pain. The ominous words of the Blue Window were frightening, but what scared her more was the fact that Ricardo was suffering.
He always greeted her with a lively smile.
Even when he stumbled and fell, he would joke with a calm smile, “Hmm. It seems my head is harder than the stone.” Seeing Ricardo sick was unfamiliar to her.
It wasn’t the hallucination shown by the Blue Window, but the reality of Ricardo being in pain that Olivia was witnessing for the first time.
Ricardo always smiled and hated showing any sign of weakness. That’s why she was even more flustered and scared.
What should she do?
What should she start with to make Ricardo feel better? She knew nothing about it.
Olivia had always been the one receiving care, and as a noble, she had never thought about taking care of someone else. So, her mind felt like a blank paper.
“W-what should I do?”
For Olivia, the realm of caregiving was like an unknown world. That made it even scarier, and her mind felt as if it had burned white.
With trembling hands, Olivia climbed onto the Bed Ricardo is Lying On, letting out small grunts.
It seemed impossibly high for her to climb on her own, but she felt she could only be at ease if she could see Ricardo’s face.
Even though there was nothing she could do, Olivia thought that just seeing Ricardo’s face might ease her trembling feelings a little, so she gripped the bed sheet tightly.
“Eeeek…! Climb up!”
The sheet was slippery.
No matter how tightly she gritted her teeth and tried, the slippery sheet easily slipped out of Olivia’s grasp.
The old sheet, unable to bear her weight, tore apart, and once, Olivia’s lack of strength caused her to fall back down.
After repeated failures, small scratches began to appear on Olivia’s hands. They weren’t deep enough to bleed, but they stung when touched by water.
If it were the usual Olivia, she would have whined, saying, ‘My pretty fingers are ruined,’ and thrown a fit, but now, such trivial wounds didn’t matter at all.
“Climb up…!”
After about five minutes of repeatedly trying to climb the bed, Olivia’s body finally began to rise onto the Bed Ricardo is Lying On.
Her body was covered in sweat.
She was hot and annoyed.
But the thought of finally being able to see Ricardo’s face brought a small smile to Olivia’s lips.
“Haa… Haa… I made it up.”
Olivia wiped the beads of sweat forming on her forehead with her sleeve and looked at Ricardo, who was lying on the bed.
“Ricardo… Are you asleep?”
“Haa… Haa…”
“Ugh…”
Ricardo looked unwell.
His flawless white skin was flushed, and his breathing sounded rough, as if he were holding a hot iron bead in his mouth.
The sharp sound of his breathing echoed in Olivia’s ears, causing her to shrink her shoulders. She whispered softly into Ricardo’s ear.
“Ricardo, are you in pain?”
“…”
“You shouldn’t be in pain….”
Olivia pondered deeply, clutching her head.
‘What should I do now…?’
Though she had climbed up, she hadn’t made any concrete plans about what to do next.
Olivia furrowed her brow and recalled the past. She repeatedly thought about her memories, wondering, ‘What did Ricardo do for me in times like this?’
“When I was sick…”
Hesitating, Olivia brought her hand to Ricardo’s forehead.
When she caught a cold, the first thing Ricardo always did was place his hand on her forehead. Thinking of the clumsy memory left in her mind, Olivia muttered to herself.
“I’ll check your fever.”
Slowly… As Olivia’s small and delicate palm touched Ricardo’s forehead.
“Ah… It’s hot.”
Olivia quickly withdrew her hand.
It was too hot.
Ricardo’s forehead was burning so fiercely, like grabbing the handle of a hot pot, that Olivia instinctively pulled her hand away.
An awkward silence passed for a moment.
Even though she was the only one unscathed in the room, Olivia felt terribly embarrassed by her clumsy actions and lowered her head, whining.
“Uh… Uh… Sorry?”
Olivia whispered a small apology to Ricardo, who didn’t respond. She hoped he would understand that it was because she was startled.
It was her first time taking care of someone.
And it was Ricardo’s fault for being sick.
So.
She hoped he would understand, Olivia muttered softly.
Olivia, with a bitter smile at her helpless self, gently patted Ricardo’s head.
Ricardo’s trembling hair.
Even though it wasn’t cared for, it was incredibly soft. So soft that she wanted to keep stroking it.
Ricardo had always been the one stroking her head. Stroking Ricardo’s hair for the first time didn’t feel too bad.
Rather, it felt nice, like stroking a fluffy Teddy Bear.
The warmth of Ricardo’s fever reached her fingertips.
And Ricardo’s feverish groans weighed heavily on Olivia’s heart.
“Why… are you in pain?”
You promised to tell me if you were in pain.
Olivia was angry at the foolish Stubbornness of her Butler, who didn’t keep his Promise.
She had always grumbled and gotten angry, but since he was her one and only Butler and a precious Friend who was always by her side, Olivia clenched her fist at Ricardo’s foolishness in breaking his Promise.
“Why are you so foolish…”
I’ve done nothing for you.
I’ve only ever received.
I’ve only ever scolded you.
Her voice began to tremble uncontrollably.
Perhaps because her Emotions were heightened.
Or maybe because seeing Ricardo in pain made her upset, but her voice kept trembling foolishly.
Olivia didn’t understand why Ricardo treated someone as foolish as her so kindly, and she felt annoyed at herself for taking his care for granted.
She had never once questioned the reason behind Ricardo’s devotion.
Since childhood, she had taken his continuous devotion for granted, and Olivia felt pathetic about herself.
She gave nothing.
She only received.
She only caused trouble.
That’s why she was angry at her pathetic self.
And…
The story shown by the Blue Window terrified her.
She didn’t know how she would appear.
If it were her Past Self…
If it were her Past Self, who took Ricardo’s devotion for granted…
Of course, even now, she shamelessly took his devotion for granted, but back then, she had been colder to him than she was now. She feared what terrible things her Past Self might have done to Ricardo, who was in pain.
The most terrifying Future.
And the mistake she most wanted to avoid.
If it were her Past Self….
She would have surely abandoned Ricardo in a cruel manner.
Knowing well that her Past Self wouldn’t have even done something as simple as placing a hand on the forehead of someone sick, Olivia felt frightened.
“Ricardo…”
Olivia looked at Ricardo.
“Don’t be sick. We were supposed to play today.”
Ricardo’s face, which always greeted her with a Bright Smile, seemed unusually fragile today.
Even his faint breathing.
Even his sweat-drenched body.
So Olivia decided to do what made her feel the happiest when she was sick.
Since Nursing was difficult for her and something she had never done before, she decided to give Ricardo a Gift of the joyful memory she remembered.
Tears welled up in Olivia’s eyes as she spoke in a trembling voice.
“I’ll…”
Olivia hugged Ricardo tightly.
She held Ricardo so close that her heart felt like it might burst.
“…hug you.”
When her heart ached after being rejected by Mikhail, the warm hug Ricardo gave her had made Olivia feel better.
Shameless Olivia shyly returned the affection she had received from Ricardo.
“Get well soon….”
-Thump… Thump…
About ten minutes passed as the sound of their Heartbeats filled the Silence of the room.
Suddenly, Olivia, who had dozed off, felt a familiar Gentle Touch on her head.
Slowly. A Gentle Touch tidying Olivia’s disheveled Hair. Rubbing her eyes, Olivia lifted her head at the familiar sensation.
It resonated.
The Gentle Voice she always heard.
“Young Lady. This kind of Flirting hurts the Butler’s Heart, you know.”
Ricardo, with a weak smile, spoke jokingly.
“Are you trying to kill me with Cardiac Arrest?”
The moment Olivia’s eyes met Ricardo’s, a Clear Notification rang in her ears.
-Ding!
[Nursing that satisfies Ricardo. (1/1)]
Olivia couldn’t lift her head.
Because she was dumbfounded.
And because she felt sorry.
She couldn’t lift her head.
“Really…”
What a Fool.