"Subaru, ahnnn...!" Emilia-sama prompted with a bright smile, holding out a spoonful of dessert.
"Emili-tan~️" The pervert eagerly opened his mouth, his gaze intensely fixed on her with what could only be described as nasty eyes. Emilia-sama moved her hand closer, about to spoon-feed him like a small child. His fetishes are certainly quite peculiar.
"Ah!" The spoon slipped from Emilia-sama's hand, a small portion of the dessert spilling onto the pervert's lips – surely a dream come true for him. "Subaru, I am so sorry," Emilia-sama apologized with a small smile on her face for being so clumsy as usual. "Ah, Emilia-tan, don't worry—" the pervert shrugged it off like nothing, of course, he would never have the guts to.
But he was cut off as Emilia-sama held his face straight, their eyes meeting. Emilia-sama slowly moved closer to him, the distance between their lips closing in. Using her hands, she set aside her hair over her ears as her pink, plump lips crept closer to his. Eh! Emilia-sama, what are you doing?!
"Emilia-tan—" he tried to say, but Emilia-sama gently placed her fingers on his lips. "Shhh!" she whispered. He couldn't even budge, held firmly in Emilia-sama's grasp. The pervert closed his eyes. "Smooooch️~"
BAAM!*
"Ouch!"
"Oh, Barusu, you are finally awake. Ram was just planning how I should dispose of the dead body," the beautiful, magnificent, sweet, and kind maiden spoke with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
The pervert, now awake and clutching his face where he'd been slapped with a damp towel, grunted as he sat up in bed. "Who are you calling a dead body!" he yelled groggily.
"It's already sunrise, Barusu. Get up and get working," the maiden stated.
"I'm starting to get the feeling you just want me to do all the cleaning again," he questioned the obvious situation.
"Hmmmhmm," she giggled, a smug tone lacing her voice.
"I CAN SEE THAT SMUG LOOK, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT!" the pervert screamed, behaving exactly as one would expect from a mannerless fool.
"Get changed quickly and come down to the kitchen," the maiden ordered.
"Alright, but by the way, what were you even doing in my bed—"
SLAM*
The maiden slammed the door shut as she left the room. Standing just outside, she clenched her hand over her heart, her stoic expression unwavering, yet her mind seemed to drift, the end of the hallway appearing farther away than before. She walked...
Thud*
Thud*
Only the sound of her footsteps echoed in her mind, mingling with the thoughts forming within. "What is this feeling?" the maiden wondered to herself. "I feel warm when I am around him," she mused. Every day, she found herself eager to see his face, and today, with the convenient excuse of waking him up, she had sneaked into his room just to look at his sleeping face, a sight so peaceful it inexplicably brought her a sense of calm.
She stopped as she reached the end of the hallway, the sunlight streaming in, a stark contrast to the dimness behind her. Specks of dust danced in the air, illuminated by the bright rays. She drifted her hand into the beam of light, her fair skin shimmering. Turning her hand over, she stared at her palm, feeling the gentle warmth, as if trying to connect the weather to the unfamiliar warmth within her. She turned and walked towards the stairs, her hand lightly gliding along the smooth banister. With each step down, the bright window behind her receded from view.
"So, what is this?" the idiot asked, even though his eyes seemed perfectly fine.
"Barusu, did the responsibility of being a knight finally break your sanity, that you are unable to recognize Ram's magnificent cooking?" the world's greatest cook, Ram, huffed, her chest swelling with pride.
"I can definitely see that, but that's not the problem here," the idiot dared to complain.
"Tatoe's with tea? What kind of a combination is that?" he asked, how dare he question world's greatest boiled tatoe's recipe ever?.
"Tatoe's are really great for body, mind and eyes, barusu needs all of them especially your brains" The maiden teased with a sweet grin on her face.
"Alright, guess I'm never gonna win against you," he said gently, holding the tray up as he walked past her, only to trip on the rug near the kitchen table and fall. He knocked the water jug off the table, spilling water that dripped off the edge, first onto his head, then onto her face as she lay on the ground with the pervert sprawled awkwardly on top of her.
In that moment, time seemed to stop for her. His wet bangs hung down, shadowing his face, but she kept staring into those dark raven eyes. Those usually nasty eyes felt strangely hopeful and mesmerizing, and she felt like she was being pulled into them. The water made her own bangs heavy, and as they parted, her left eye, usually hidden, was revealed. Her eyes glittered, and she noticed that both of their breathing was ragged, her lip quivering slightly.
BADUMP*
BADUMP*
Her heartbeat quickened as the clouds slowly drifted away, and sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, illuminating Barusu's face, now completely crimson, his eyes fixed intently on hers. It felt like time had completely frozen for her. She didn't realize it, but the thought echoed in her mind again: "What is this feeling?"
"Glup!" He swallowed hard as the atmosphere grew undeniably awkward
Drip*
The last drop of water broke the silence, and both of them scrambled to their feet, hurrying out of the kitchen to change their clothes.
She bolted, taking a huge leap towards the door, her pink hair sparkling under the sunlight. She fled down the hallway, counting the shadows as she passed each pillar, desperately trying to distract her racing thoughts. Her face felt flushed, and she couldn't make sense of any of it.
She barged into her room, immediately rushing to the bath. She dipped into the bathtub from head to toe, trying to cool herself. She resurfaced, gasping for breath. Her cheeks were still flushed. She stared ahead as she held her knees closer to her chest, blowing bubbles onto the water through her mouth. Her brows furrowed. "Yes, I get it now! Anger! How could that idiot pervert lay his hands on an innocent maiden like me!" The maiden concluded that this feeling was anger and hatred towards the pervert.
Meanwhile, Barusu hurried up the stairs to his room, only to be momentarily blinded by the sunlight streaming through the window. He shielded his eyes as he walked, his face still flushed.
Thud*
Thud*
Badump*
Badump*
Each step he took seemed to echo the rhythm of his heart. As he walked down the hallway, the warm sunlight brushed against his cheeks. Both Barusu and the maiden, in their separate spaces, found themselves pondering the same question, their hands instinctively clutching at their hearts.
"What is this feeling?"