Raise Me, So That I Can Eat You Up - Chapter 24

Shameless. The brazen desire to escape from reality plunged me into a fragmented sleep.

‘I guess both my body and mind were tired.’

After staying up almost all night nursing Oscar, it seems I had unknowingly succumbed to drowsiness.

[System: The closing time has passed. You have failed the ‘Library Quest’ mission.]

The surroundings had grown dim while I was sleeping. Naturally, the quest was a failure.

I had always diligently approached missions, so failing for the first time left me feeling a bit dazed.

[System: Due to the impact of mission failure, the ‘Shame’ status persists.

Applying debuff status to target character ‘Benedict O’Neil’.

Content: Stuttering, unable to make eye contact. (Duration: 30 minutes after meeting)]

Well, it’s not as bad as I thought.

I was bound to be a great sinner when we meet anyway, so it was inevitable.

It seemed like a reasonable debuff, so I didn’t feel particularly wronged.

“Ari. Did you sleep?”

I must have been too dazed checking the system window to notice his presence.

Oscar was staring intently at my face with his eyes wide open.

“Yes. I guess I was a bit tired. Did you enjoy your swordsmanship?”

“Leon is a devil.”

His grumbling appearance was exactly the same as usual.

“Are you alright?”

“Mm. Ari, if you’re sleepy, shall we play the nose game?”

Worried about me dozing off like a sick chick, he asked if we should go to bed early, which was so cute and lovable.

“Are you worried about me right now?”

“Ari couldn’t sleep yesterday because of Oscar. Of course you’re sleepy.”

It seems he knew I had been awake the whole time while he was groaning in pain.

They say you grow when you’re sick. His pronunciation seems to have improved too. He said something quite admirable.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Yes, but Ari is sleepy.”

“We should eat before sleeping. What if you get hungry while sleeping?”

“Then I won’t be able to sleep. Hehe.”

He readily admitted it, true to his reputation as a glutton.

Just as I was thinking I should call Jenny and Laura to prepare a meal, as if on cue, there was a knock.

Knock knock.

“Miss, it’s Laura.”

Speak of the devil.

“Yes. Come in.”

I smiled as I let Laura in. Laura looked somewhat troubled.

“Is it dinner?”

“Well, you see, a guest has arrived.”

“A guest? My guest?”

“Yes. Young Master Leon is meeting with them, but the atmosphere is not good at all.”

Leon is meeting them and the atmosphere is sour? Somehow, I had an ominous feeling that sent chills down my spine.

“By any chance, do you know the guest’s name?”

“They said it was Benedict O’Neil.”

Finally, the inevitable has come.

Well, it’s practically a forbidden book. He must have come looking for it, worried I might have run off with it.

Everything went dark before my eyes.

If it’s Benedict, I could understand why Leon was so wary.

‘I need to smooth things over before that ill-tempered guy barges in without knowing the situation.’

For now, we’re the ones at fault. I should apologize properly.

‘No, that’s why I’m scared.’

I felt like I was getting a migraine.

Before heading to the drawing room, I first needed to explain the situation to Oscar.

“Oscar. It seems I have a guest and need to meet them briefly. Could you wait in the room for a little while?”

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

“I’ll tell Laura to bring up your meal. Please eat first. I’ll be back soon.”

“I’ll eat with Ari. I can wait.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Seeing him nod so maturely, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, normally snacks before meals aren’t allowed, but.”

I took out a lollipop from the side table.

“You might get hungry waiting. I’ll give you this as a special treat just for today.”

At times like this, food attachment tendencies were quite convenient.

Since he said he’d wait to eat meat with me, I needed to at least give him a candy for now.

“Okay. Come back quickly, Ari.”

Oscar put the candy in his mouth and blinked his red eyes slowly.

I should return before that candy dissolves.

‘I hope nothing goes wrong.’

I grabbed the ‘Dragon Encyclopedia’ and hurriedly made my way to the drawing room with an anxious heart.

***

Really, it felt like a meal I hadn’t even eaten was sitting heavily in my stomach.

‘I feel so uncomfortable I might throw up.’

The drawing room was heavily weighed down by the uncomfortable aura emitted by the two men.

‘Is this a battle of wills? It’s even scarier because they’re not saying anything.’

Benedict is naturally the quiet type, so that’s understandable. But Leon was also just watching his expression with a sullen face.

“What business do you have with my sister? I believe I’ve asked several times already.”

Don’t try to act tough! Leon Hayworth!

We’re the great sinners here!

I wanted to shout, but I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth.

‘Ah, right, I’m in a debuff state.’

Due to failing the quest, I was carrying a handicap.

Unable to make eye contact, I couldn’t even check Benedict’s expression.

I was cautious about opening my mouth, feeling like I might stutter stupidly.

“As I said, my business is with Miss Hayworth.”

Benedict replied in a calm tone. How could he so neatly and decisively tell someone not to interfere?

‘So that’s why they’ve both been like this, at a standstill since earlier?’

It felt like sparks were flying in the suffocating silence.

“Leon, could you step out for a moment?”

“What? No.”

“Just for a moment. Okay? You can wait right outside the door.”

I pleaded with Leon, clasping my hands together.

‘Please, take the hint! You idiot!’

When your sister is acting unusually anxious, shouldn’t you think there’s a good reason?

As I glared at him with desperate eyes, Leon let out a deep sigh and got up from his seat.

“I’ll be on standby, so wrap it up quickly.”

I nodded, and Leon reluctantly left the room.

Only Benedict and I remained in the room.

“You’re late.”

“I’m, I’m so, sorry. I’ve, I’ve co, committed a, a mortal sin……”

Ah, how embarrassing. My voice kept trembling uncontrollably.

“I’ve been waiting.”

Benedict’s lips curved into a long arc. He didn’t know that his charming smile was pure terror to me.

‘Should I just play dumb and pretend not to know?’

If I were in my normal state, maybe. But due to the debuff status, I didn’t have the guts.

‘Should I just apologize for not being able to come today and naturally ask for an extension?’

With all this trembling, there was no way I could do it “naturally”.

Right. If it doesn’t work, I could even grab his pant leg and beg if I have to.

‘If I can just succeed in getting an extension, he might not open the book right away.’

I briefly entertained this pathetic hope circuit.

No, how long can I hide it?

Even if I extend, extend, and re-extend, what will I do when it’s time to return it?

My head throbbed.

‘Should I run away? Should I flee to Dragon Ravine with Oscar?’

I like my home. I couldn’t even fathom the idea of living in a rugged “ravine”.

Or should I just gut myself?

What can I do? I don’t even have a mana core to be crushed. What could he possibly do to me?

‘I’m crazy. I have no conscience. Sigh.’

In that brief moment of silence, thousands of thoughts flashed through my mind.

‘I guess it’s better to honestly confess.’

It was something I had to face eventually anyway.

Benedict is a clever person. And he’s also eccentric to the point where you can’t read his true intentions.

It felt like if I tried to make flimsy excuses in front of someone like that, I wouldn’t even be left with bones.

“Did something happen?”

Benedict, who had been calmly waiting for my answer, asked first.

He must have noticed that I was in an unsettled state.

“Ah, well, you see. Yesterday I was, was too tired. I, I fell, fell asleep by, by mistake.”

“Why are you trembling so much?”

Benedict’s eyes narrowed sharply.

“Who, who said I’m, I’m tre, trembling!”

In my confusion, I ended up raising my voice.

“If you say so.”

“Well, it’s, it’s because you, you came so suddenly.”

“So you were surprised.”

“Ah, yes, yes. That’s, that’s right.”

My face flushed hot. And not just my face. I felt dizzy as heat seemed to rise even to my earlobes.

If only I could stop stuttering.

A conversation continued where I would stutter and Benedict would interpret.

“I heard there was a royal ball yesterday.”

“Yes, anyway. I’m, I’m sorry.”

“If I had known you would be there, I would have gone too.”

“What?”

“I thought you didn’t like those things.”

He smiled faintly as he set down his teacup. Benedict seemed to be saying he was wrong, but he had actually seen right through me.

I couldn’t very well say, ‘Actually, I don’t really like those things. I don’t like them, but the damn system made me do it.’

“Well, His Highness sent an invitation. I had no choice.”

“I received one too.”

“Ah, oh, I, I see.”

He meant he received one but didn’t attend because he wasn’t particularly interested.

‘I’m envious. You’re a great magician who doesn’t need to worry about others’ opinions. Unfortunately, I’m living as a slave to the system.’

I forcibly swallowed my inner monologue.

“You must be a good dancer?”

“Da, dancing?”

“Yes, the rumors are quite widespread.”

No way. Has the rumor about dancing with an unidentified man at that ball reached even there?

I couldn’t lift my face out of embarrassment.

‘Wait, why does it feel like the conversation keeps drifting to other topics?’

Despite the debuff status, I made a great effort to maintain eye contact that I kept wanting to avoid.

And I quickly glanced at Benedict’s expression. His mysterious amber eyes were staring intently at me.

“I, I broke my promise, I really! It’s, it’s a mortal sin! No, no! I’m sorry!”

I squeezed my eyes shut and bowed my head. I’ll apologize first, so please don’t kill me!

Pfft. I heard the sound of a stifled laugh.

Perhaps my apologetic appearance was a bit comical. Benedict couldn’t hold back his laughter and kept chuckling.

Wow, is Benedict laughing like that for real?

He was always a character who sat there expressionlessly, exuding only coldness. Is that even possible?

‘Oh really. I want to die of embarrassment.’

My face turned as red as a tomato.

“It certainly doesn’t seem like you did it on purpose.”

“Yes, yes! Of, of course not!”

“Don’t tremble. It’s okay.”

As if trying to calm my state, he took another sip of tea and nodded readily.

“I just came to see if something had happened. And I have something to receive.”

“You, you mean the Dragon Encyclopedia?”

The inevitable has come. I swallowed hard.