〈 Episode 10 〉 Yandere Youngae 10

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"Come on, let's eat. You're hungry, right?"

Most servants eat in the dining hall at mealtime, following the routine set by the butler. I hadn't been to the dining hall in three days, and all I'd eaten so far was...

"I'm pretty hungry.

A slice of steak at Noel's side, a sip of tea and a biscuit from the butler.

'Then...'

Noelle wants me to eat with her. Having not had a proper meal, my stomach was ready for anything.

"Maybe she was starving and couldn't hold it in...until you came to eat with her.

Having been starved so many times in the slums, I have a stomach that can survive on the bare minimum, which is why I've managed to get by so far, and why, in any other situation, I would have been greedily devouring the salmon on my fork that Noel is now offering me.

"There's no way.

The butler's secret distribution of biscuits and fruit was exactly what he meant by secretly tolerating the situation. Perhaps at Noel's behest, the only chance he had to eat in this manor was to sit with her...now...at the table.

"Ms. Noel."

"Yes?"

"I am your servant. I'd like you to stop doing all the hard work."

I calmly took her hand and handed her a fork.

"Then, Tir, will you feed him?"

I hadn't assumed this situation. Calmly, I popped the salmon into my mouth, barely sliced it with my knife, and held it out to her.

"It's delicious."

"Thank you."

I wanted to distance myself from her without eating, but my stomach was clamoring for food as if it had had enough.

"Damn it...

I muttered, my expression grim. As I cut into the salmon, my hands become impatient, teasing the knife as if I can't help it.

"Ah.

The grilled salmon, prepared by the Count's expert chef, is ecstatically and damningly delicious. The outside is crispy and flaky, and the inside is like tender, unbaked flesh that makes my salivary glands tingle. As I chewed, the slightly chewy exterior gave way to a savory flavor that was seasoned with the aroma of grilling and rolled across my tongue.

"...Please eat."

I wanted to bury my head in the grilled salmon and shove it into my mouth even more greedily, but I held it back up to the terrifying figure staring at me.

"Hmmm. I think this is the most delicious salmon in the world."

"The chef must have given it quite a boost this time."

"Silly."

She grins like a fool, and I get another uneasy feeling.

"It's because you gave it to me."

I already knew that, but the words came out of my mouth like I didn't want to admit it.

"Go, thank you."

Too much stiffness would arouse suspicion. I am currently a servant and a prisoner, but I am an actor trying to escape them. I slice the salmon carefully, looking as uneasy and watchful as possible.

"Pour me a glass."

White wine. The stopper was open this time. I don't know what technique she used, but she made me feel like I could be the center of attention in any wine-infused social setting.

"Again!

Pouring the wine, I glance over at her, not realizing she hasn't noticed me trying to figure out how to get out of here.

'I have to reassure her.

Noelle stares at me with a smirk on her face.

"Uh...can I get you a drink first?"

She nods. I carefully pick up the white wine and raise it to my mouth.

"It can't be poisoned...

If I thought about it for a moment, anything that came here would be strictly controlled by butlers and servants... and it was a large mansion, like a prison on a lake, where assassins couldn't possibly come. I remembered from my occasional passing that anything destined for a castle like this was carefully inspected by soldiers and servants.

"There must be a gap.

Not unless there's an assassin who sneaks into the carriage and poisons Noel's drink with something he's not supposed to drink and leaves it to chance.

"And.

It was unlikely that poison would kill this ungodly creature.

"No problem, Mr. Noel."

"Is it good?"

The taste of the sweet white wine was fine enough to melt my nerves.

"Yep. It's delicious."

"Would you like another sip?"

I obediently poured the white wine into my glass and brought it to my mouth. At that moment, I don't know when, her lips met mine.

"Pow!

The glass in my hand fell to the floor with a loud clatter, and her tongue entered my mouth, slowly and gently plundering the white wine in my mouth.

"Hmmm, delicious, huh?"

She smiles wickedly. I stare at her, my face burning. I don't know how many times I've had my lips stolen by her already.

"But what am I going to do, I don't have a glass anymore...I want to enjoy this wine."

I can't just say, "Pour yourself a bottle," to Noel. I have to pull out all the stops.

"Hey, let me just clean up the dropped glass."

"Later."

It's impossible to rebel against her words, so I just sit in my table chair and wait anxiously for her command.

"My glass."

She presses her finger to my lips.

"Here."

As if on cue, she picks up a bottle of white wine and pours it into my mouth. The sweet liquid slides into my mouth with a hint of alcohol, and then she's at it again, tasting the white wine with her tongue.

"Ah...

I blacked out again. I should be sober, but the alcohol, Noelle's kisses, and the tiny bumps on her tongue are driving me crazy. Pleasure, greed, and a quagmire of feelings are weighing me down.

"Ding!

The chair tipped over, and I fell on top of Noel, who was already on top of me, smiling and slowly pushing my hair behind my ear.

"Tir♡"

I wonder how many times she's called my name now. Her soft face buried in my arms as she began to exhale slowly.

"I love you."

I didn't want to join her in her lovemaking...but I fought back the urge to reach for her, perhaps because of the alcohol. I'm a man, too, and having a beautiful woman like this constantly pouncing on me leads to troubling thoughts.

"Huh?"

She asks, her eyes asking me to give up and join her. Her eyes, which had been monstrous until now, looked like the eyes of a little girl who sees something she wants and fights to get it.

"Noel..."

I opened my mouth after calming myself down.

"Yes."

"Dinner is in full swing, why don't you finish your meal."

"I'm fine, but..."

"It's just that I'm hungry, and I haven't had anything to eat in a while."

"Really?"

I wonder if he's feigning ignorance or if he really didn't know. If he didn't know, then it's more likely that the butler was behind my not eating until now.

"In that case...

That would mean that it's not just Noelle who's holding me captive, but the butler as well. Of course, the butler could have served her dinner and escorted her to the dining room if she'd just come out, but...it would be better to bend to their wishes.

"Yes. I have a lot to learn here, and I don't know what to eat, so I haven't eaten in three days and I'm a little lightheaded."

"Oh, no, sit down!"

For the first time, I saw her panic.

"This is it.

Here's where I got the hint. When I'm in a survival or living situation...she's on my side, and she'll do whatever it takes to get my needs met.

"Yes. If you'll excuse me, then..."

She slowly moved aside and I pulled up a chair and sat down on it. The bottle of wine lay there, spilling wastefully, but...I didn't bother to pick it up.

"We could kiss again...

The same situation could repeat itself again. I picked up my fork and knife and slowly cut the salmon. And then I look at her.

"I'm fine, Tir. Eat quickly."

Her face, her embarrassment still visible. Suddenly, she looked cute. Like a big monster that's nervous that I'm going to do something wrong, and it's going to explode if I let it. She was no more than a foot above my neck, but she looked huge, and I felt a strange feeling of helplessness.

"Damn...

The grilled salmon tasted wonderful, like sweet fodder that I would feed to a beast if I were a beast.

"You must have been hungry..."

Her face was apologetic. But if I stayed here, I'd starve to death, and the moment I begged her to let me out, her eyes would turn back to their deep, quagmire-like color.

"It's okay. In the slums, it's a basic survival condition to have a full stomach for a week."

"That's why you're so skinny."

She caresses my cheek, carefully touching my cheek, my chin, my ear, as if she doesn't want to interrupt my meal.

"Heh...tir..."

"...Noel..."

"Why?"

Her face looks surprised, as if she's been sick, or the food doesn't taste right.

"Excuse me, but I've already spilled the wine...and I'm not thirsty, so do you mind if I go downstairs and get some water?"

"Oh, are you choking?"

She rises hastily.

"Monsieur Noel, I am your servant!"

"Wait!"

A gust of wind and she was already gone.

"No what..."

She's a lot faster than the ridiculously fast roe deer I've seen before. The one he'd met while out hunting in the woods to fill his ravenous stomach. I remember the one I'd teased with my foot, eager to make it dinner tonight, only to have it rage around me as if to taunt me.

"Here."

She holds out her water bottle and glass, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Thank you..."

I take it, dumbfounded, and she pours water into my glass. Then she glances at the grilled salmon, two-thirds of which is gone.

"This isn't enough, is it? Make sure you tell them you're hungry. I'll tell the butler to prepare two servings, and he'll understand."

She seems to realize that eating with me is a foregone conclusion.

"There's no way out...no way.

Noel's pace was more than I dared to match. Not just a specialist in wine socializing, I had the feeling that if I were to partner with her as a pickpocket, there would be nothing in the world I couldn't rob.

"Fast, strong, tenacious.

I made a quick list of her characteristics. No way to escape. I finish my calculations and slowly clear my throat. Then I put down my glass of water and knelt down on one knee in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Ms. Noel. I'm Noel's servant."

"...I see."

"For a servant to bring his master what he needs would be dereliction of duty to me. Even if Noel wishes it, I believe there is a distinction between master and servant."

"Tir..."

"You tell Noel what you need, and I'll get it."

It was a nice gesture. If she uses all of her power and the Countess's decree to grant me what I need, then I am nothing more than a bird trapped in this cage forever. So, as a servant, I must have a mandate that I will move for you, so that...

I can make the excuse that I'm going to get something for Noel.

If I am locked up in this castle...and she hears everything, then when I flee outside, I will have all the suspicion I need. I would be captured by soldiers and knights before I even crossed the bridge, and I would be raised like a prisoner in a cage, not a servant.

"Then..."

Noel replied.

"Why don't you just be my husband instead of a servant?"

The question seemed obvious.

"No, Noel!"

The perfect, jaw-dropping answer came out of my mouth. Of course, it was the perfect wrong answer, completely wrong from my perspective.

"Why?"

"Because I'm nothing more than a slum-dweller, and you, Noel, are the darling of the Earl of Deckard, aren't you?"

"Yes, which means I can marry any man I want."

Normally, an earl's damsel can't. They are used to cement connections with other nobles with whom they have a long history of arranged marriages.

"Ah.

Five noble families' sons have been decapitated so far. No noble family would want to take her. Until she wants one, and who she wants.

'That would be me...'

The Earl of Deckard's unknown favor. Even her parents can't force her to do anything. The current Earl doesn't berate her or give her orders, and he's the one who gets Noelle what she wants, even if it means dragging her through pain. Eliza is hard on her, and her brother, Kirtle, is so afraid of her that he won't even show her his face.

'If she wants...'

I'm good enough to be an earl's dowager. It sounds like the stuff of upward mobility. But...

Trapped forever...

And a life of broken wrists and broken bodies.

"...Shame."

Her touch slowly approaches. She shyly touches my cheek and slowly brings her lips to mine for a kiss. My head slowly lowers and I kiss her back. This is...

"Marriage vows?!

I say I do, and we kiss without words. I had to think of an excuse, both with and without my head.

"Mo, adventurer!!!"

"Huh?"

I thought of Sophia. She's an adventurer now.

"Yes! I've always dreamed of being an adventurer. I longed to explore the endless unknown, and even though I spent my life as a pickpocket, I still have that dream in my heart!"

I exclaimed, hiding a gasp, and explained that if I were to marry her, I would be in trouble. Noel hates to see me in trouble; therefore...

"No."

"What?"

"No...she's mine...she's mine...she's finally mine...and she's walking away? From me? Why? Why? I've been so good to her...no...it was your fault you broke her wrist, wasn't it? Huh? What's wrong?"

I...touched...wrongly. Her eyes grew pale and I took a small step back.

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