The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me Chapter 226 - Side Story Chapter 16

Yurtha appeared in my dream.

And that lunatic destroyed my house. As if that wasn’t enough…

“Noona, were you seriously farming potatoes like this?”

Looking at my potatoes…

“The size is quite large and firm. Judging by the shine of the skin and the starch density, they would even be good enough to supply to the imperial palace. You must have controlled the water perfectly—these grew very fluffy.”

He evaluated my potatoes like some kind of farming expert. Listening to him, I did feel a little proud.

“That’s why I’m jealous.”

But just like always, things between Yurtha and me never ended well.

With a bright smile, he burned down my vegetable garden.

This lunatic!

You crazy bastard!

Why do you think I walked for over thirty hours?!

Why do you think my joints almost broke from the effort?!

My potatoes…!

Do you know how hard I worked to grow those potatoes…!

Well… Richard did about half of it, but still…

“Ugh….”

I was so sad that even in my dream, tears slipped out.

A cold hand brushed across my cheek.

The cool sensation felt nice.

“…Does it hurt a lot?”

“Mmm….”

My heart hurts. My heart.

I still wasn’t fully awake yet.

“Richard….”

At that moment, the hand touching my cheek stopped.

What are we going to do about our potatoes…?

Yurtha burned them.

I even walked thirty hours to buy that heating artifact…

“Sniff….”

It felt so unfair. So unfair.

At that moment—

My shoulder was suddenly yanked roughly.

My body was dragged forward, and I woke up instantly.

Bright red eyes were staring at me.

At such a close distance that I couldn’t even avoid them.

The air in the room froze in an instant.

“Are you crying because you want to see that bastard?”

“…Yurtha?”

Only then did the events of last night come back to me.

I had met Yurtha again after two years.

It was the worst reunion imaginable.

“I’m glad it seems you’re conscious now.”

Well, of course I’m conscious if you drag a sleeping person like that.

I hurriedly looked around.

Where am I?

Yurtha didn’t drag me somewhere else.

The first thing I noticed was the low ceiling and the old wooden walls.

The small table beside the bed, the half-empty cup of water, the clothes leaning against the wall, and the belongings scattered around carelessly…

It was just my room.

Thank goodness….

Did Yurtha stay here after I collapsed?

He definitely tried to take me away…

“Ugh.”

“Are you alright?”

My vision spun again.

It seemed I had pushed myself too hard last night.

“…What are you planning to do with me?”

I couldn’t understand what Yurtha was thinking at all.

“I have no intention of doing anything to a sick noona.”

“….”

Watching Yurtha carefully, I slowly lay back down on the bed.

How long until Richard gets here?

…Probably three days.

Even at the fastest.

“I should sleep again. So… leave.”

…Until Richard returns, I should pretend to be sick and buy as much time as possible.

 

 

 

*****

 

 

 

 

There was no need to pretend.

Once my fever rose, it wouldn’t go down, and I kept groaning in pain.

Yurtha stayed by my side the entire time.

“It’s medicine. Take it.”

It seemed he had searched the house while I was asleep.

…Whatever.

I decided to stop thinking about it.

Because honestly, this whole situation was already ruined.

At least one fortunate thing was that Yurtha truly didn’t force me out of the cabin while I was sick.

If he had really done that…

I probably would’ve died from exhaustion.

I slept the entire day.

So much that I couldn’t even tell how much time had passed.

The only way I could vaguely feel the time passing was when Yurtha brought food.

“Please eat, noona.”

Yeah. Like this.

I guessed about two days had passed.

Still half-dazed, I barely managed to sit up against the bed when he brought a small table and placed it over the bed.

Wasn’t this in the storage room…?

When did he figure out where everything in the house was?

I looked at the food on the table.

It was porridge.

Why is there so much broccoli…?

I absolutely didn’t want to eat it.

But at that moment, Yurtha picked up a spoon and scooped the porridge.

I looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression.

“I can eat on my own now. You don’t have to feed me.”

Even after I recovered, I would still have to pretend to be sick for a while.

If he kept doing this every meal, it would be torture.

I snatched the spoon from Yurtha’s hand.

Ah… this tastes awful.

The vegetables in porridge are supposed to be sliced thinly.

But these were all cut into big chunks.

With a gloomy expression, I swallowed the porridge.

Well… maybe it was impressive enough that a noble young master was cooking at all.

After finishing the meal, Yurtha tried to take the plate away.

“Thanks, Yurtha….”

I was thinking I should take the medicine and go back to sleep when Yurtha looked down at me with a surprised face.

Only then did I realize.

It was extremely rare for me to thank Yurtha.

Actually… had I ever even said it before?

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“….”

Yurtha froze again.

He stood there stiffly, holding the table he was about to move.

…In the past, I wouldn’t have said something like that.

Instead, I probably would have thought he was being disgusting after coming here to drag me away.

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“…Yes, noona.”

Yurtha left the room.

Before falling asleep, I thought to myself.

We had been ruining each other for far too long.

Could this cycle ever really be broken?

 

 

****

 

 

 

At dawn.

I woke up from sleep.

“…Water.”

I was thirsty.

I got up and opened the door, stepping outside the room.

“Ah….”

The moment I took a step, a sharp pain shot through my foot.

I sat down at the table for a moment and lifted my knee.

As expected, the blister had burst and my foot was a mess.

…I’ll put medicine on it later.

But the cabin was quiet.

Come to think of it…

Was this the first time I had left the room in two days?

“…Yurtha?”

Just in case, I called his name.

Yurtha wasn’t in the cabin.

Did he go out for a moment?

This could be a chance to escape…

…Not really.

There was nowhere to hide in this ruined land.

And I didn’t have the stamina anyway—I’d be caught soon.

Besides, I couldn’t even walk properly with this foot.

The best option was still to hold out until Richard arrived.

I let out a sigh.

If Yurtha took me away before that…

Then I’ll just have to wait for a chance to escape after leaving this land.

Escaping while still inside this cursed territory was impossible.

So for now, I should just quietly drink some water and go back to the room…

It was right when I drank the water from the table.

A forgotten memory suddenly came back.

My potatoes!

Why did I even buy that heating artifact?!

I hurried toward the door.

My blistered foot hurt, but I was desperate.

My luggage was still there.

I opened the bag.

Inside were the heating artifact and…

My precious books.

Quietly, I pushed the books into a place where Yurtha wouldn’t see them.

Then I grabbed the artifact and left the cabin.

Potatoes, I’m coming!

 

 

****

 

 

 

The cabin had been built right on top of complete ruins.

Just in case, I looked around the area.

But nothing unusual stood out.

Only an ancient ruined temple that looked like it had been built hundreds of years ago.

< Thank you, Yurtha. >

Again.

That gentle voice tried to take over his mind.

Rose was probably just trying to deceive him again.

And yet, whenever she showed even a hint of kindness, his heart would still stir.

Even after being fooled so many times.

Now he had to admit it.

He would probably spend his entire life being fooled by Rose.

Even knowing that her kindness would melt on his tongue like candy.

After staring at the pitch-black sky where not a single star shone, he turned his steps.

Toward the cabin where Rose was sleeping.

But when he stepped inside—

There wasn’t even the sound of breathing.

He let out a hollow laugh.

See?

She’s gone.

She had run away again.