Chapter 11 – Pillow Talk

TL: Eevee

Ed: Hungry Panda

In the end we decided to sleep together. Nothing untoward, just as it said on the tin, simply sleeping together. Shut eye. Rest. Sleep.(1) Okay no problem. While getting out of the shower, Minwoo made his resolve, and stepped out of the bathroom.

Shatter (tink tink). That was the sound of his resolve breaking.

“P… please don’t stare at me too much…”

With a face that looked like it would burst red if one so much as poked it, Clarice looked away. Minwoo wanted to run away.

“Clarice. Why are you wearing that?”

She was wearing a frilly negligee that reminded one of dainty flower petals. Who was? Clarice was.

Negligee. A woman’s gown that looked similar to a dress. Normally worn when sleeping, since it was both sexy and elegant, it was underwear popular among upper-class women. There was no way that Minwoo wouldn’t be aware of that kind of underwear even if he wanted to. Maybe it was because the priestess had constantly worn that at night to try to seduce him, but he’d gotten sick of negligees long ago.

Hoh boy. Having said that he’d never thought that Clarice would wear it as well.

“I asked Karina for nightwear that would fit my breasts and this was what she brought me… It, it’s not like I’m wearing this because I want to either!”

“I, I get it! I get it so calm down!”

As Clarice shook her body while explaining, her flippant breasts went bounce bounce, squish squish. To make matters worse, you could almost see through the sheer fabric if you concentrated, so Minwoo frantically backpedalled away. But unlike his vehement reactions, Minwoo was actually quite moved on the inside. This was his first time that he became aware just how seductive the nightwear called negligee were. When the priestess wore it, it was like pearls on a swine, but since Clarice was wearing it this was…

It was then. As his eyes took in the negligee Minwoo noticed something. Visible through the see-through fabric, a pink dot. A pair of pink dots. Minwoo frantically covered his eyes. His eyes just fell on them by accident. It was a pure accident so he did his best to ignore it. No telling what would happen if he didn’t. Namely things to do with his rationality.

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing.”

He simply made efforts to think happy thoughts.

“I’m tired. Let’s sleep. Mm? Please.”

“?”

Clarice tilted her head and blinked those innocent eyes. That really was a carefree appearance. Then again, she was a man until just yesterday so it wasn’t like she’d have any self-awareness as a woman.

Clarice undid the ribbon that had been holding up her hair. Her long, beautiful hair flowed down beneath her shoulders. As Clarice brushed her hair like Karina had told her to, Minwoo thought it was a pity.

Ah, that neckline. It was good.

Following Clarice who had finished preparing to sleep, Minwoo paused before settling down on the sofa. Clarice looked at him with a strange gaze.

“Why are you lying down there?”

“Hm? Well, to sleep on the sofa, of course…”

Daring to get into the same bed as royalty aside, Minwoo didn’t have enough self-control to sleep snuggled up to a woman. The priestess who kept crawling into his bed came to mind, but that woman was in heat way too much for a human so he treated her like an exception.

“Doesn’t Hero-nim want to sleep with me?”

Clarice gripped the sheets with a sorrowful face. Minwoo’s heart jumped.

“Nnnooooo! Of course not! Haha!”

He shot forward like an arrow and dived into the bed. Right next to Clarice. As Clarice turned the lights off, Minwoo calmly closed his eyes. However his own little campfire kept on burning through the firewood. Happythoughtshappythoughts…

Damn it. No matter how I see it I’m too soft on Clarice.

If the priestess that had pulled all sorts of things to try to seduce him could see him right now, she’d be clutching the back of her neck wondering just why he was going along with this. To be honest, it wasn’t like he couldn’t understand Clarice’s behaviour today. Rather, he understood it a hundred, a thousand times over. Even he was about to rip his hair out dealing with this troll of a royal family, but just how much more crazy would it be for Clarice, the person affected the most by all this.

“Eh heh heh. To think I’m sleeping with my beloved Hero-nim, it feels like a dream…”

Problem was that she was a bit too crazy.

They say that when a person reached breaking point, reason just goes out the window. That was Clarice right this very moment. To Clarice, who was currently tightly clinging onto him, Minwoo thought happy thoughts and asked with effort.

“Um. Clarice?”

“Yes?”

“Could you scootch away just a litttle bit?”

Her breasts were touching. Scratch that, not just touching, they were squishing and rubbing all over him. The negligee that she was wearing right now was sheer to the point that you could make out all the fine details of her breasts, and the sensations were raw enough to make his head spin.

It was rising.

The stiffness. The feeling of ‘how do you do.’

Again, the priestess who would launch her body attacks when and wherever came to mind, but these sensations were quite frankly, incomparable. Once again if the priestess could see this now, she’d be clutching the back of her neck but it couldn’t be helped. Even if a monkey in heat rubs her breasts against you, you’d just find it distasteful.

“I’m sorry… I overstepped myself and bothered you too much.”

However it seemed that Clarice hadn’t noticed Minwoo’s inner monologue and thought of it as something else. Minwoo wanted to cry.

Just why you do this to me.

“No, it’s not that… I was just worried that you’d find it hard to sleep.”

“Ah… Really. You don’t have to worry about me. Just being able to sleep with Hero-nim makes me so happy.”

Clarice really did look happy like she couldn’t ask for anything more. Minwoo started to suspect that this was what the royal couple had planned. No, they definitely had. To push Clarice right to her limits and make her rely on him.

……Those devils.

“Clarice.”

“Yes?”

Minwoo turned around to face Clarice. The light had vanished, and only the moonlight streaming through the windows lit up their world. In this space with no more intruders and this quiet, quaint place where only the two of them existed, Minwoo turned to face Clarice.

The moonlight gave Clarice’s cheeks an ivory-white glow, and Minwoo softly whispered.

“Should we run away?”

“Eh?”

Clarice’s eyes widened.

“These assholes. They’re definitely trying to get the two of us married. At this rate, who knows what might happen to you.”

“But…”

“It might be better to run away rather than being left at their mercy.”

“……..”

Clarice lost herself in silent thought briefly, before quietly shaking her head.

“I’m sorry. Hero-nim. I want to remain in the kingdom.”

“…Why?”

Minwoo asked. His voice didn’t contain a shred of resentment or betrayal, but simple curiosity.

“No matter their mischief, no matter their character, they’re still my father and mother. This is the country where I grew up in and my precious homeland. I know that staying like this is a fool’s errand. But Hero-nim, I don’t want to leave the kingdom, my family, my subjects, my friends behind and run away.”

As if she was ashamed of herself, Clarice’s eyes drifted downwards. It was a sorrowful appearance that even the moon beyond the window would take pity on.

“I’m sorry.”

Minwoo smiled. He might be overthinking this, but that snake-like couple, they might have taken Clarice’s personality into account as well.

“Then I’ll stay as well.”

“Eh?”

“What. You’re staying, so what am I leaving alone for?”

Minwoo and Clarice’s gazes met. So that the uncertain, wavering eyes under the moonlight wouldn’t shake any longer, Minwoo smiled.

“I told you. I don’t want to lose my important person a second time.”

The surprise was evident in her eyes. To hide his embarrassment, Minwoo stroked Clarice’s hair as if to tangle the strands.

“You flatter me.”

Clarice fidgeted with her hair grumpily. But she didn’t look displeased. Minwoo was reminded of something, and he said.

“Clarice. Do you want to go to the training grounds tomorrow?”

“The training grounds?”

“You said you wanted to learn swordplay from me a while ago. For a change of mood, I feel like teaching you.”

“Ah.”

Unconsciously, the corner of Clarice’s mouth twitched. So he had remembered.

“That’s welcome news to me. Hero-nim, I’ll gladly anticipate it. Fufu.”

“……Should I have brought it up. Pressure’s on now.”

The two’s quiet talks ended there. Having run around as much as he had, Minwoo bade Clarice good night and closed his eyes. Clarice looked sidelong on Minwoo’s sleeping face and whispered.

“Hero-nim. Are you asleep?”

There was no response from Minwoo. As if making a decision, Clarice gulped and opened her mouth.

“Hero-nim.”

“……..”

“Thank you for helping me today. I, when Hero-nim said he would protect me, you don’t know how much my heart soared.”

There was no response from Minwoo. Clarice paid it no mind and continued her whispered confession.

“Although living life as a woman is scary, but I think that if Hero-nim is by my side it will be alright. No, it definitely will be alright. So…”

Clarice smiled.

“Please take care of me from now on.”

And Clarice fell asleep shortly afterwards.

Minwoo’s eyes gradually crept open. His face, even in the dim moonlight was noticeably reddened. With a grunt, Minwoo rolled over, facing away from Clarice, and sighed.

There goes all my sleep for the night.

Author’s Note

Pillow talk? It’s a conversation between ‘couples’ in bed.

Hehekh

Next up is a side story!

(1) Originally in English. Actually, ‘rest’ and ‘shut eye’ were also just synonyms for sleep in the raws as well.

Lol how many of you took the bait? I’m just amazed no one commented on Minwoo’s Freudian slips last chapter…

Also, written as ‘run away,’ read as ‘elope.’ (lol)