Robot Protection Zone Chapter 80

Still in my master’s arms, my eyes met his father’s. His father’s eyes widened in surprise upon seeing me.

“…Father.”

My master muttered in a low, displeased voice.

With a short click of his tongue and a grimace, my master turned to leave, trying to get away. But the bodyguards standing beside his father were a little faster, blocking my master’s path.

My master glared at the bodyguards with a hostile expression. His father then approached my master’s side.

“Didi, I heard you were missing… have you returned now?”

“Yes…”

So his father knew I had been gone. And… he must have seen the scandal involving my master and me. Then he would have been able to guess why I had left home.

A feeling of apology surfaced in a corner of my heart. It must have been difficult enough for him that his son was embroiled in a scandal with a mere robot, and his father’s reputation must have been damaged as well. Yet, his gaze towards me was still gentle.

“William, you should have contacted me when you found Didi.”

“Why should I have to tell you that I found Didi, Father?”

“What do you mean, why? Because you asked me to, so I was looking for Didi too.”

“…”

A short silence followed his father’s words.

“I thought it was strange when you, who were searching for Didi every day, suddenly went quiet… So it was because Didi had returned.”

I had been listening to the conversation quietly with my head down, but I unknowingly looked up at my master.

My master… had been looking for me a lot.

I thought he wouldn’t look for me. That’s why I left home without leaving a single word, and even after returning, I deliberately didn’t wonder if my master had looked for me. Because I thought he would have been pleased that a nuisance was gone.

That’s what I believed…

The tender gaze he had when he saw me powered on, and the voice that had urgently whispered “I love you” when I shed tears, kept coming back to me.

No, it can’t be. I tried my best to shake my head and deny it. If I didn’t, I felt like I would really delude myself into thinking my master loved me.

“But… why is Didi dressed like this?”

His father asked, looking at my attire with a puzzled expression. Pajamas and bare feet. It was obviously not an outfit for going out.

Embarrassed, I hunched my shoulders slightly. It was fortunate that there were hardly any people in the hotel lobby since it was late, but I didn’t expect to meet someone I knew. If I had known this would happen, I would have obediently gotten dressed when my master told me to…

Feeling 괜히 awkward, I rubbed my arm with my hand. At that, his father’s gaze fell on the small scratches on the back of my hand. Then it moved to my eyes, which were red and swollen from crying all day, and he asked with pity.

“Didi, would you still not consider coming to our house?”

“Father!”

My master shouted fiercely. His face was so sharp that even I was startled, but his father paid no mind.

“William, bring Didi home next week.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Are you planning on not even showing your face on your parent’s birthday?”

“I’m not go—”

“I’ll go!”

I cut off my master and shouted urgently.

A birthday. It must be his father’s birthday. I had almost passed by without knowing the birthday of one of the few people who had been warm to me.

His father looked at my master as if he were pathetic, then replied to my answer with a gentle smile.

“Would you do that? If William insists on not coming, you can come alone. If you contact me, I will send a driver for you.”

“…”

I smiled shyly and nodded. All the while, I did my best to ignore the murderous glare from my master beside me.

We promised that I would definitely visit his home for his father’s birthday next week and then parted ways. I, still in my master’s arms, waved with a bright expression at his father as he left the hotel.

Together with my master, we took the elevator to the highest floor.

“…”

Ever since I accepted his father’s invitation, I could feel my master’s mood sink noticeably.

I felt sorry for my master, but I was seriously considering leaving his side. However, I wasn’t going far. I was thinking of asking his father to take me in as a domestic robot.

I knew that my master had been caring for me since my return. We hadn’t exchanged many conversations since I came back home, but I could feel it enough just from his gaze and actions.

But separate from those feelings, my resolve to not love my master had not changed.

Whenever I faced my master, my already tattered heart would try to pound. If I continued to stay by his side like this, I would once again be swayed by his whims and be repeatedly hurt. I had to leave his side before that could happen.

It would be best to leave after making sure Eve is repaired. Of course, this would only be possible if his father accepts me, but I felt that his father would willingly take me in.

— The doors are opening.

The elevator stopped with the announcement.

As the doors opened, my master stepped into the quiet hallway. My body swayed slightly with each step he took. The familiar warmth from his secure embrace seeped into me.

After walking down a long corridor, he held a card up to a door, and the room door opened.

As I entered the room in my master’s arms, the first thing that tickled my nose was a savory smell. I reflexively felt my stomach rumble.

Perhaps he saw my nose twitch, because my master chuckled and said.

“I ordered room service.”

My master said so and carefully set me down on the floor.

As soon as I was out of my master’s arms, I put on the slippers placed on one side of the room. They were the disposable slippers commonly provided at hotels, but I was relieved to finally have shoes.

Feeling the soft slippers enveloping my feet, I slowly walked further inside. A large window with a panoramic view of the city’s nightscape, and neatly arranged food on a table, came into view one by one.

Glistening steak, warm soup, freshly boiled pasta, salad, and even fruit.

I hadn’t eaten anything since I woke up in the morning. After hearing the news about Eve, I even felt guilty for feeling hungry, but now that food was in front of me, my stomach was roaring.

I swallowed my saliva without realizing it, and then, seeing my master take a seat first, I sat down opposite him.

“Thank you for the food.”

I picked up my fork first and cut into the steak. The meat was tender and cooked just right. The warm soup was savory, and the pasta, sufficiently infused with cream, filled my mouth with a rich truffle aroma.

As I ate delicious food for the first time in a long while, moving my hands hastily, I suddenly felt a gaze and looked up. My master hadn’t even touched the food and was just quietly sipping from his wine glass.

I hadn’t intended to speak first, but I suddenly became curious and asked.

“Master, why did we come to a hotel?”

He had said it was a date, but the place he brought me to was a hotel.

It was a nice place. The atmosphere was cozy, the view was wonderful, and the food was excellent. But I had expected my master to go somewhere more glamorous and crowded, so it was unexpected.

“Because it’s quiet here. I’m sick of crowded places now.”

Had my master changed too, while I was wandering outside for a long time? Instead of answering, I put a spoonful of soup in my mouth and continued my meal.

After finishing the meal, I washed my tear-stained face and came out. When I came out after thoroughly washing up, the table that had held the food was neatly cleared.

The room was quiet. Outside the window, the lights were going out one by one, and darkness was settling in.

The city I had faced while wandering the streets and the city’s night view from high above felt completely different. When I was wandering the streets, I felt suffocated by the helplessness of not knowing where to go, but now, it just felt endlessly peaceful.

I yawned after gazing at the night view for a while. It was time to sleep. I walked towards the bedroom, slowly looking around the interior.

The old me would have been happy to come to a place like this with my master. The view is nice… and the bed is big…

Wait, bed?

As soon as I entered the room, I saw a huge king-sized bed and paused. It was the size of two beds put together, but there was only one set of covers.

I have to sleep under the same covers as my master? A feeling of refusal reflexively rose from one side of my chest.

‘Come to think of it, there was a large sofa in the living room.’

I planned to sleep on the sofa and was about to escape with just a pillow. But just then, I ran into my master, who was just coming out of the shower.

As I hesitated, hugging a pillow, my master looked at me with a strange expression. I glanced at him cautiously and said.

“Master, I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

“What?”

My master’s brow furrowed.

At that reaction, I almost backed down and said it was nothing. But I didn’t back down and continued firmly.

“There’s only one bed… so that you can sleep comfortably, Master.”

“Ha… you really…”

My master ran a hand through his hair and muttered in a low voice, as if suppressing his anger.