I Live With My Villain Uncle Chapter 6

My body was suddenly lifted off the ground, and in the blink of an eye, I found myself buried against Uncle’s nape, held tightly in his arms.

“Are you crazy?”

“U-Uncle.”

“Damn it, don’t you know how dangerous this is?! Do you want to get trampled to death by a horse?”

At his thunderous scolding, I shook my head vigorously while still held in Uncle’s arms.

“N-No. I was worried the horse was hurt and that Uncle might get hurt……”

The truth was, I was so startled that my heart was pounding wildly, as though it might burst right out of my body, and sweat was pouring down my face.

At the same time, I was surprised by how incredibly safe I felt despite being held by the most dangerous and terrifying person I knew—Uncle.

“…….”

I barely managed to collect myself and looked at Uncle again.

His face had become even more fierce, as if he were about to start shouting at me again at any moment.

“U-Uncle, I’m sorry.”

I didn’t know the horse would get angry like that, either.

It felt like I had been scolded by the horse and then scolded twice over by Uncle, and tears were beginning to well up in my eyes.

“Put Gunter back and check him.”

Uncle ordered the stable keeper, then abruptly turned around while carrying me.

“Yes, Master. Goodness, it looks like the young lady was quite frightened.”

I could see the stable keeper’s warm, kindly face over Uncle’s shoulder.

I gave him a quick nod, careful not to let Uncle notice.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t properly introduced myself to the stable keeper, either.

We had only just met, so next time, I would definitely thank him.

I stayed quiet for a while, watching Uncle carefully as he strode somewhere, before finally opening my mouth.

“Uncle, I’m sorry.”

Uncle stopped walking and stood there stiffly.

Afraid that I might get scolded again, I bit my lip tightly.

“Look.”

Uncle suddenly reached out and grabbed my chin roughly, moving it from side to side as he examined me.

“…….”

My head snapped right and left along with Uncle’s hand.

O-Oh, I’m dizzy.

“Are you hurt?”

“Mhm.”

“This is exactly why I said I wouldn’t take responsibility……!”

Uncle shouted, then stopped himself with a groan and roughly pushed his hair back.

His golden eyes looked so fierce that I wisely lowered my gaze.

Uncle started striding forward again.

Still, at least he had only gotten angry. He hadn’t thrown me aside or done anything terrible like that.

I stayed perfectly still in his arms, holding my breath.

My heart was still pounding.

‘I thought I was going to get trampled by a horse. But at least I saved Uncle!’

 

***

 

This is going to drive me insane.

Cassel thought as he carried Aika along.

The fact that she was afraid of him yet clung tightly to his clothes without letting go.

The fact that she had been looking for him constantly over the past few days, regardless of the time.

The fact that, as if he had attached a drum to her body, he could feel her heart pounding rapidly the entire time he carried her.

The fact that she chattered endlessly, constantly calling for him.

Cassel already had a short fuse, and all of it was scraping against his nerves.

Annoying. Troublesome. Irritating.

Yes, if he were being honest, he simply wasn’t confident that he could take responsibility for her.

In Cassel’s eyes, the child was as fragile as a candle that could go out at any moment.

She was too small, too weak, as though even the slightest ripple could sweep her away.

Moreover, Cassel was remarkably objective when it came to himself.

He was not someone who could take responsibility for a being like her.

And he had far too many enemies.

He wasn’t the type to willingly sacrifice himself for someone else like his sister had.

Hadn’t he ultimately failed to protect his sister, whose entire world had been her child, and watched her leave this world before him?

Keeping Aika with him wouldn’t do anything but make things worse. There was no way he could have a positive influence on her.

“Uncle, I’m sorry.”

Watching her apologize with her tiny mouth mumbling the words made his insides churn unpleasantly.

“Look.”

Cassel frowned as deeply as he could and grabbed the child’s cheeks, checking carefully for any injuries.

Thankfully, her pale cheeks, puffed up like white bread, didn’t seem to have even a single scratch.

He felt his anger rising again.

She should have just stayed glued to the old man and grown up like a greenhouse flower. Why had she crawled out of such a comfortable place?

Her legs were shorter than a horse’s, yet she had reached out toward it without a second thought. Was she out of her mind, wanting to die?

Cassel barely managed to let out a sigh before pulling himself together.

This was exactly why he couldn’t do this.

If he let this continue, it was obvious that nothing but troublesome problems would arise.

What else could happen except having two good-for-nothing troublemakers in the family?

‘That absolutely cannot happen!’

Therefore, he would never allow himself to grow attached to her.

Cassel intended to get Aika out of his sight as soon as possible.

If this happened a few more times, she would eventually become exhausted on her own and throw a tantrum about wanting to go back.

Cassel quickly headed toward Aika’s room and set her down on the bed as though tossing her there.

“Ah!”

Aika, dropped onto the bed like a doll, quickly righted herself and grabbed tightly onto the hem of Cassel’s clothes, refusing to let go.

“……This is driving me crazy.”

When he had tossed her onto the bed on the first day, she had been startled and flailed around in surprise. Now she sprang right back up like a roly-poly toy.

If he went out like this again, she would probably find some way to follow him around, trotting after him.

Even her stubbornness was exactly like his sister’s.

No, somehow, she seemed even worse.

Cassel finally gave up, grabbed Aika by the back of her clothes again, moved her to the corner of the bed, and then flopped down onto the wide-open space.

“U-Uncle……?”

Ignoring her puzzled voice, he covered his eyes with his arm.

Beside him, he could hear her endless chatter: “Uncle, are you sleeping?”, “Are you really sleeping?”, “Can I lie down next to you, too?”, “Can I sleep next to Uncle, too?”

But Cassel pretended not to hear a thing and simply closed his eyes.

 

***

 

Uncle must be asleep.

The bed was so huge that even if there were ten of me lying on it, there would still be room, but Uncle was lying diagonally across it, making it feel completely full.

Is he really asleep?

I wanted to poke Uncle a few times, but I was afraid he would scold me again, so I didn’t touch him and quietly settled down nearby.

I sat with my back half turned toward Uncle and let out a long sigh.

I knew.

I knew I had done something wrong.

But the thought that I had to save Uncle came first.

I was so exhausted today that I hoped I wouldn’t see any more strange visions.

I didn’t want to dream, either, so I had decided not to take a nap.

“Hooong.”

But there was a problem.

I had to keep an eye on Uncle so he wouldn’t go outside, but sitting still all by myself was incredibly boring.

I had always been alone whenever Mom went to work, so why was I so bored now?

Grandfather had said I could stay beside him whenever I wanted while he worked……

He had even said that if I got bored, I could wake him up anytime, day or night……

On top of that, maybe because I had been so startled earlier, my eyes kept closing on their own……

Should I just sleep?

If I slept right next to Uncle, wouldn’t I know when he got up?

I looked around and thought about it for a long while before suddenly getting an idea and carefully climbing down from the bed.

Then I opened every drawer in the room until I successfully found a suitable piece of string.

I took the string and climbed back onto the bed.

Then I tried to connect Uncle’s arm to mine with the string.

“……H-Hard.”

I never knew tying a knot with one hand would be this difficult!

In the end, I had no choice but to tie it around my foot instead, making sure it was firmly connected to Uncle before curling up beside him.

“Now I just need to sleep for a little while.”

The moment I lay down, I fell asleep in an instant.

 

***

 

The next day didn’t change our relationship.

“……Don’t you go outside to play?”

“Yep! I like it here.”

I didn’t become any more affectionate toward him, but things didn’t get dramatically worse, either.

“There are plenty of better rooms.”

“I like the carpet here, Uncle.”

Even without looking up, I could practically imagine a vein bulging somewhere on Uncle’s forehead, so I deliberately kept my head down.

Besides, Uncle wasn’t even working right now.

“What are you doing over there? I heard you were always playing outside at the old man’s house.”

I planted myself right in the middle of Uncle’s study.

Holding down a sheet of drawing paper with one hand and gripping a crayon in the other, I drew a large tree before suddenly looking up with sparkling eyes.

“How did you know?”

“The little brat doesn’t need to know.”

“Hmph.”

I lowered my head and started drawing the tree again.

The soft brown crayon moved thickly across the drawing paper.

I pressed down firmly, coloring the trunk so that there were no gaps, but I could keep feeling a heated gaze fixed on me.