The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me Chapter 213 - Side Story Chapter 3

Since it had been a long time since I went to the village, I wanted to wear something pretty.

I took out the dress I had bought a year ago and left in the corner. But…

‘…Huh.’

Strangely, the buttons on the back wouldn’t fasten well.

It was loose when I bought it, so why is this happening? Did it shrink in the wardrobe?

…Of course that couldn’t be.

…I gained weight!

Come to think of it, Richard has been feeding me very well lately.

…But could weight really stick on this easily?

“Rose, are you ready?”

Richard’s voice came from outside the door.

“Just a moment… ah!”

With a short cry, the door suddenly burst open.

“Rose, what hap—!”

The air fell silent.

Because the button had come undone, the dress had slipped down below my shoulder. I could clearly feel the cold air touching my skin.

Richard stopped where he stood and couldn’t say anything for a while.

Heat slowly spread across his face.

“…It’s nothing.”

I hurriedly pulled the dress back up and said,

“…The button slipped from my hand.”

The hook scratched my hand, which startled me. I mumbled while turning my gaze away.

‘When we get to the village, I should buy clothes first…’

I really liked this dress, but I didn’t expect it to stop fitting like this.

“Were you worried?”

The answer came a moment late.

“…Yes. I’m glad nothing happened.”

He quickly turned his head. As if trying to escape, he pressed his hand against the wall beside the door.

“…I’m sorry for coming in without permission, Rose. I’ll be go—”

“Wait.”

I called him.

“Could you fasten the buttons for me? I can’t reach them well. The dress seems… a little smaller.”

Holding the front of the dress tightly with both hands, I turned my back to him. The buttons were on the back, so I couldn’t reach them.

“Richard?”

“…Rose.”

There was hesitation in his voice when he said my name.

Is it awkward for him?

“If it makes you uncomfortable—”

“No.”

A cold hand approached from behind.

His fingertips holding the hook and button were unusually careful. As the hook caught, the fabric slowly tightened.

“…The road will be cold.”

Richard’s voice came low from behind my back.

The moment his hand moved away, the thickest coat was placed over my shoulders.

“Dress warmly.”

Now that I think about it, the weather had gotten quite chilly around this time.

“Thank you, Richard.”

While living together, he always took care of my health.

So this time as well, without thinking much, I simply followed what he said.

“Shall we go?”

“….”

“Richard?”

He stood still, his brows slightly furrowed, looking like someone holding something back.

What’s wrong with him?

“…I’ll stay here for a moment. You go first.”

…But this is my room?

I was a little confused, but I nodded and quietly left the room.

…Because he somehow looked like he was in pain.

‘Maybe I should’ve asked if he was sick?’

I waited quietly for Richard to come out.

But even after a long time passed, he didn’t come out of the room.

 

 

****

 

 

 

The Territory of Piet.

It was one of the lands bordering the cursed land.

Whenever the corruption of the curse spread, it wasn’t rare for healthy fields to dry out overnight, or for crops ready to harvest to rot from the roots.

So farming in Piet was always unstable.

However, there were things that only appeared because of the cursed land’s influence.

Strange plants and bloodstones.

Things rarely seen in normal territories were periodically discovered here.

Ironically, they became Piet’s main source of income.

That was why Richard and I often went down to the Territory of Piet.

To obtain the things we needed for daily life.

There was only one problem.

“Haa…”

From the cursed land to Piet territory, we had to walk for an entire day.

By the time we reached the checkpoint, I was completely exhausted.

I was about to collapse onto the ground, but Richard caught me.

“Rose, are you alright?”

“…Uh… ah?”

“Oh dear.”

I was so tired that I even lost the ability to speak properly.

“Lean on me.”

My legs were trembling, so I really had to. Richard wrapped his arm around my waist and supported my body.

“With stamina like this…”

Richard muttered worriedly, but I felt wronged.

…You’re the strong one.

Even though Richard had carried all the luggage, not a single drop of sweat appeared on his smooth skin.

He’s a monster.

“Hey. Show me your identification.”

The guard at the gate lazily waved his hand and began the inspection.

There was more looseness than tension in the motion of his fingers, and when he approached, I could smell faint alcohol.

“Here it is.”

Richard skillfully took out an identification plate from his clothes and handed it over.

“Laurel and Hark.”

For reference, Laurel was me, and Hark was Richard.

Of course, they were fake identities.

‘Where on earth does he get things like this?’

It was amazing.

…Isn’t this man supposed to be living cut off from the world?

But this happened so often that it was tiring to question him every time.

“What’s your relationship?”

“We’re married.”

“Oh? Newlyweds?”

“Yes.”

Richard answered immediately.

“How long have you known each other?”

…Why is he asking such trivial things?

“Three years.”

“Three years? That’s not newlyweds. Shouldn’t you be sick of each other by now?”

The guard spoke rudely without hesitation and grinned as if amused. He still looked half drunk, which made it unpleasant.

“Ah, right. You’re villagers from the territory next to Piet. What brings you here?”

“We came to Piet to buy supplies for winter preparation.”

“Really? Sounds suspicious. You don’t have another purpose, do you?”

The inspection dragged on strangely.

The guard’s intention was obvious.

Realizing this, Richard took out a small pouch from his clothes.

A clinking sound came from inside.

The guard eagerly took the pouch and grinned.

“You may pass.”

Richard led me quickly past the checkpoint.

“A corrupt guard.”

Piet was poor and corrupt. Things like this happened quite often.

“Anyway, we passed safely, so it’s fine. Let’s just do what we came here to do—”

The moment I stepped inside the territory, I stopped speaking.

The scenery of Piet looked clearly different from usual.

There were many soldiers stationed throughout the streets.

Too many, in fact.

…My eyes instinctively moved to their uniforms.

The crest on their clothes was very familiar.

Evantes.

…They were Arjen’s soldiers.

Territories bordering the cursed land were designated by imperial law as “Border Territories.”

Even the Imperial Knights struggled to manage this land, so the control had already been placed in the hands of the Evantes family for years.

Because the only family capable of suppressing the corruption and safely distributing bloodstones was essentially Evantes.

‘Right, originally it was just management…’

“Because of the war.”

As if reading my thoughts, Richard spoke quietly.

His gaze swept over Arjen’s soldiers placed throughout the streets.

“With war against the Western Continent approaching, they’ve stationed troops under the excuse of protecting the bloodstone mines in the rear.”

Arjen’s soldiers were here, in Piet.

For a while, we would need to be more careful with our actions.

So that word wouldn’t reach Arjen’s ears…

“The atmosphere is uneasy, Rose.”

“I think so too. We should be careful for a while.”

But Richard was looking at me.

He seemed like he had something to say.

“How about we stay together today?”

For reference, whenever we arrived at Piet territory before, we usually moved separately.

Because I had my own errands.

‘But…’

Just like Richard said, with Evantes soldiers everywhere, it might be better to stay together.

At that moment, Richard’s hand lightly brushed the back of my hand as if tempting me.

“If your identity were exposed and you were captured by them… I would go mad with grief.”

Hmm?