[Trantor – Peptobismol]
<strong>Chapter 9 – Healing Hands</strong>
‘This feels strange…’
Trembling slightly, Julia clenched her eyes shut to stop herself from shivering.
Rustle. Something settled on her body.
Again. And again.
She almost let out a whimper but managed to hold it in.
Just when she thought it was over, a firm hand approached and gently caressed her soft skin.
“Heh heh heh.”
A sinisterugh echoed from the other side.
How did ite to this?
Julia held back her tears.
“Who’s there?”
“…It’s me.”
“What do you want at this hour?”
“I still can’t sleep alone… Please lend me your hand…”
That was two hours ago.
Julia had steeled her resolve and knocked on An’s office door.
It wasn’t because she couldn’t sleep due to those damn voices again.
It wasn’t because she felt at peace near An.
‘This is just to uncover that evil man’s schemes…!’
Last night, when she had slept deeply for over 12 hours, did An really do nothing?
No. What kind of trick had he used topletely eliminate the voices?
She had so many doubts.
There was only one way to uncover them all.
Pretend to sleep next to An and watch what he does with her own eyes.
‘I’m scared, but I have to do this…’
Someone had to do it.
Though frightened, she had to reveal An’s true nature.
If not for herself, then for Charlotte.
With great determination, Julia entered An’s office, where he was busy with paperwork.
“Hey…”
“Just lie down on the sofa or the floor and sleep. I’m busy.”
“…”
Without even looking at her, An dismissed her with a weary tone.
His attitude was as unfriendly as ever.
While his face was hidden by documents, Julia stuck her tongue out at him andy down on the sofa, hugging her pillow.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but her brow furrowed.
‘The voices. I can still hear them…’
Realizing something was off, Julia opened her eyes.
She couldn’t sleep here.
Though the voices had decreased, they weren’t low enough for her to sleep.
She jumped up and walked briskly towards An, and miraculously, the voices disappearedpletely.
“I can only sleep right next to you…”
“Then lie on the desk or something. There’s plenty of space.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Do you expect me to abandon all this work and sit by your bed? If you don’t like it, forget it. The choice is yours.”
“Grr…!”
Ha. Sleep on the desk?
Is that even an option?
There were other alternatives, but An chose not to mention them.
‘Do you expect me to beg to sleep in yourp!?’
His intentions were clear.
The chair An sat on wasrge and spacious.
If she climbed onto hisp and leaned against his chest, there would be enough space.
He was obviously hoping for that.
Does he think I can’t sleep on the desk?
Fuelled by defiance, Julia kicked off her shoes and climbed onto the desk.
“Why not? You told me to sleep on the desk.”
“…”
How about that? Didn’t expect this, did you?
Seeing An’s slightly surprised expression, Julia felt a sense of triumph as sheid down on the desk, hugging her pillow.
The desk wasrge enough for her small frame.
Julia smiled victoriously and closed her eyes.
Three secondster…
‘Something feels wrong!’
Julia realized something was off.
What is this?
Lying on the desk in front of An, like a disy?
The initial satisfaction vanished, reced by an indescribable embarrassment.
‘No, this is good. I came here to see if An does anything suspicious while I’m sleeping. I’ll catch him red-handed tonight.’
Julia closed her eyes tightly and pretended to breathe evenly, as if she had fallen asleep.
This would make An drop his act and reveal his true nature.
Julia waited, fighting off drowsiness.
“Young master, here is this year’s estate management n as requested. But what is this…”
“Don’t mind it. Just think of it as furniture. Also, bring me the transaction records with Holzbern.”
“I was called in the middle of the night, and now you’re giving me more work?”
“…”
“Please don’t ignore me, young master.”
“Yawn. Young master, here are the transaction records with Holzbern up tost month. But I…”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“If it’s nothing, bring me the payroll records for the employees.”
“Do we even have those?”
“If not, make them now.”
“…”
“Young master, I’ve finished the payroll records… Can I go to bed now…?”
“Adjust your sleep pattern to mine.”
“Young master, in case you forgot, I’m a knight, not a secretary.”
“Oh, really? Thanks for reminding me.”
“…”
Why is he like this?
Throughout the night, An only handled documents, doing nothing else.
At some point, Sylvia also started treating Julia like furniture, not even ncing her way.
It’s not that she expected anything different, but…
Beingpletely forgotten and left alone felt strange too.
Was she just a childish nuisance interrupting a busy lord’s work?
‘That can’t be it!!!’
An must have a hidden agenda.
He must have used some trick to make sure she could only sleep near him.
He must have set up this situation to do something while she slept…
‘He must have… He has to…’
Julia’s certainty wavered.
Her resolve weakened.
She hade to catch An red-handed.
But even when she peeked through half-closed eyes, An was only focused on the paperwork, showing no interest in her.
Had he truly forgotten her presence, even cing documents on top of her by mistake.
‘This tickles…’
Rustle. Rustle.
The sensation of papers piling up on her caused Julia to twitch and shiver.
Before she knew it, she was covered in a nket of documents.
This crazy man.
How could he forget there’s a person here?
“Oh. Right, this girl was here.”
After a long while, the rustling of papers subsided.
Finally noticing Julia’s presence, An reached out.
‘Finally showing your true colors!’
Julia, who had been fighting off sleep, snapped to attention, her drowsiness vanishing.
Of course, with a young girl lying right in front of him, the notorious An Vermont wouldn’t just do nothing.
I’ll expose your true nature here.
As Julia steeled herself, An’srge hand touched her soft skin.
“Hmph…”
“Oh. This might wake her. I should be gentler.”
Swipe. Swipe. Press. Press.
An’s fingers gently caressed, pressed, and lightly pulled Julia’s cheek.
Like soft, fluffy mochi, her cheek stretched without resistance.
“Heh heh heh…”
An couldn’t suppress augh.
Who could resist smiling while ying with such chubby cheeks?
Unable to resist the addictive sensation, An’s hand kept moving.
Constantly rubbing.
Pressing, pressing.
And stretching.
An continued his work with one hand while ying with Julia’s cheek with the other, unaware that her face was turning red.
‘What is this!!!’
She hade to expose An’s true nature.
She had resolved to uncover whatever he might do to her.
But what was this?
It felt like she had be a stress-relieving toy for him to y with while working.
Julia’s pride crumbled, and she felt aplex sense of shame.
It wasn’t an unpleasant type of shame, but it was embarrassing nheless.
‘It feels like I was the one with the weird thoughts…’
Did I suspect him for no reason?
Was An truly up to nothing?
Even though caressing her cheek while making creepyughter was odd, it wasn’t what she had imagined.
This wasn’t something the evil An Vermont would do.
This wasn’t how someone from the Vermont family, who treated people like objects, would act.
This shouldn’t be happening…
Julia’s world was copsing.
Her pride was crumbling.
What she believed in was falling apart.
The source of her strength, her hatred for An and the hope of escaping by overthrowing him, was disappearing.
If An wasn’t someone to be hated, who should she hate now?
Julia’s mind was in turmoil when An’s soft, somber voice broke the silence.
“You’re blessed. To be able to sleep so peacefully.”
What did that mean?
Was An suffering from insomnia too?
She didn’t know…
Julia couldn’t think anymore.
Sleepiness overwhelmed her.
Her consciousness faded.
‘Mom…’
Entering the world of dreams.
The warmth of a gentle hand.
Just like when she was a child, and her mother would ce a warm hand on her stomach whenever sheined of a tummy ache…
“…Huh?”
“Waking up already? I was just about to wake you.”
“Huh!?”
The feeling on her lower abdomen.
That eerie sensation made Julia’s eyes snap open.
It was as if…
She had ced An’s hand on her stomach and used her other hand to keep it there?
Her embarrassment skyrocketed, and she jerked up reflexively.
“Gah!?”
Thud!
Julia’s body lifted and tumbled to the floor, rolling clumsily.
She looked up to see An calmly organizing documents at the desk.
His arrogant gaze seemed to mock her.
“What a noisy way to wake up. But it’s an effective method.”
“Y-You, bastard…”
He could have caught her!
Grinding her teeth at An’s taunting tone, Julia’s misdirected anger quickly refocused.
He’s not entirely a good person after all!
Maybe not a bad person, but…
He’s definitely a mean one.
At breakfast, Julia silently ate her food.
Charlotte, watching her closely, finally spoke.
“Julia.”
“…”
“Julia, Julia, Julia, Julia!”
“What? Stop it.”
“What’s with the bump on your forehead?”
“Ugh, I don’t know!”
“Why are you snapping at me…”
Wasn’t she less irritabletely since she had been sleeping better?
Charlotte was confused by the sight of an irate Julia.
[Trantor – Peptobismol]