Side story 1: The villains’ good neighbor

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On a very clear and sunny day.

“Woof, woof!”

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.

“Mm…Coco, that tickles.”

Translated by: Miss Ruby & Edited by: ShadowDog

I stretched my hand to stroke Coco, still feeling sleepy. However, the thing I touched wasn’t a fluffy head of fur. Coco’s 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.

“Ms. Yuri, it’s morning.”

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.

“Hi, did you sleep well?”

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, Lakis’ name would sell out in the advertisement world.

“Hi…Good morning, Mr. Lakis.”

I blinked and greeted him back as the familiar morning view drove the sleep away.

“Woof!”

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.

“Coco, why do you keep trying to climb on Yuri’s bed?”

“Woof, woof!”

“Ah, right. You’re very hungry?”

“Woof, woof!”

“Alright, I will get you food, so you stay quiet outside.”

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 Lakis’ face froze.

I could tell that he wanted to pull Coco away immediately, but he didn’t know the best way to drag the small puppy and ended up doing nothing.

Seeing him like that, I chuckled a little.

“Coco, come here.”

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 Coco’s soft fur and kiss him all over while calling him adorable.

“I’ll go make you food soon, Coco. Go outside.”

Unlike when Lakis said it earlier, Coco immediately obeyed me and trotted out of the room.

Seeing this scene, Lakis scoffed.

“At times like this, I wonder if it’s really a dog.”

“Our Coco is a little smart.”

Affectionate words naturally left my mouth like every pet owner who loved their pet.

“Maybe I should just be a puppy too from now on.”

Lakis leaned towards me and said in a complaining tone.

“I’m confident I can listen better than Coco and appeal better.”

Lakis jokingly stated and sprinkled light, feathery kisses all over my face like I did to Coco a minute ago.

“I don’t think you’re that different from Coco already.”

I squinted in one eye because it was very ticklish. But I didn’t hate it, so I didn’t move away from Lakis.

“You both enter my house and climb on my bed whenever you want.”

He acted so naturally that I almost forgot about it, but this was originally my house for me alone. However, that distinction didn’t hold much meaning because Lakis came to my house so often.

When he heard me say that, Lakis chuckled and bit my lips playfully.

“And the biting and licking…is the same too.”

At that addition, the blue eyes in front of me curved slightly.

“Then you should call me adorable too.”

“You’re adorable, Lakis.”

“And pat my head.”

“Hmm.”

“Now, kiss me.”

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, I’ve probably…loosened a little more.

“You know what, I think you’re closer to the cat family, not dogs, Mr. Lakis.”

I lifted my arm and wrapped it around Lakis’ neck.

Sometimes, I felt the urge to do the exact opposite of what Lakis wanted. But then again, after looking at Lakis’ face, I didn’t 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.

“Then, what do you think about using this opportunity to bring a cat into your house?”

Lakis asked with a smile, even though we were practically living together already.

I replied while pulling his cheeks.

“I’ll think about it if you’re obedient.”

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.

“Breakfast is already ready. Wash up and come out.”

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.

* * *

“Ms. Yuri, why are you only eating that one? You don’t like the food?”

Please read this on rubymaybetranslations.com. If you are reading anywhere else, this translation is stolen.

“It’s not that. I just want to eat light and go out.”

I was feeling a sense of danger that I might become a sloth at this rate.

Even when I didn’t 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 wasn’t the case.

“To the new side of town?”

“Yeah.”

Lakis nodded his head as if to say he understood.

I looked at him then spoke after pondering over it.

“Mr. Lakis. I think it’ll be better if the workers from the castle stop coming here.”

At that, Lakis looked up again and turned to me. He ‘hmmed’ softly, then he opened his mouth.

“Did someone make you uncomfortable? If you tell me who…”

“No. I feel sorry that they work every day for free.”

But after hearing what I said, Lakis only replied calmly again.

“They have enough time to spare, that’s why they do it. They love to do those kinds of chores so they’re rather excited about it. You don’t have to worry about it.”

My house fairies were, in fact, people who worked in Lakis’ castle. I had only stayed in Lakis’ castle for about two weeks when I was first invited. I was used to being a member of the commoner class so I simply couldn’t get used to Lakis’ 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…

“Then I’ll pay their salary. Since it’s like a business trip of sorts…”

“You live just around the corner. Can’t exactly call it a business trip.”

The very next day, a big house was built right next to Lakis’ 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 couldn’t win against Lakis’ 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 didn’t feel okay using such high-quality personnel for free.

Technically speaking, those people were hired by Lakis. Wasn’t this the same thing as abusing my power by putting them to work because I was his lover?

“You really don’t need to worry about it. I don’t know why you’re so considerate about this.”

But Lakis, the villain boss, looked at me like he was seeing a poor, naïve thing even though my words should be expected from anyone. His gaze seemed to be saying ‘I don’t know if you can get through this tough world when you’re so nice.’

But soon, he smiled and stroked my face as if saying it can’t be helped.

“Alright, I’ll raise their salary depending on how much work they do here. Will that work?”

When I saw Lakis flashing me a beautiful smile, I almost nodded subconsciously but immediately caught myself.

“No, I was saying that I will pay their salary…”

“Let’s stop here; don’t worry about this issue anymore. Hurry up and finish your food before it gets cold. And if you’re going out, you should definitely eat more. Here, say ah.”

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.