The girl was in my arms for a long time, breathing tremblingly.
I didn't know what had scared the girl so much, but she held me close until her heavy breathing calmed down.
"Ricardo..."
"yes."
"Ricardo..."
The hand wandered.
"Ugh..."
Because I don't know where to grab the girl I'm hugging.
I was hesitating whether to pat her back to comfort her or wrap my arms around her waist.
I felt it was too much of a shame to just pat her on the back, and my heart was pounding too hard to hug her around the waist.
I thought I was a butler who was good at everything, but when I saw myself worrying about things like this, I thought I still had a long way to go.
"it's okay."
The hand that had been wandering and lost its way found its way and hugged the girl's back tightly.
I gave the girl a small smile and patted her back, muttering a comforting 'It's okay.'
"It'll be okay."
I hugged the girl, comforting her that she would be okay, even though I didn't know what had happened.
“Whatever it is….”
I will be by your side, young lady.
"I will be by your side, young lady."
There was no need to worry.
*
Late morning hours.
Olivia was holding onto the edge of the blanket with her eyes wide open and blinking.
-Knock knock knock.
I wasn't sleepy.
The sleepiness that had escaped her by the sudden appearance of a blue window never returned. Olivia, whose favorite pastime in the world was sleeping, tossed and turned, eyes wide open in the elusive sleep.
"I can't sleep..."
Olivia couldn't fall asleep even when she turned her body toward the window, and she couldn't fall asleep even when she turned her body toward the door. She felt uneasy and held onto the edge of the blanket.
One good thing is that I'm not alone in the room.
If I had been alone in the room, I would have been scared that a ghost would appear. Fortunately, Ricardo stayed in the room and waited until Olivia fell asleep.
Olivia looked at Ricardo's face, who was nodding off with his legs crossed, and made an apologetic expression.
"..."
I told him he could go now, but Ricardo, who said he would stay until I went to bed, was dozing off in his chair.
-You can go.
-I don't like it.
-why?
-I'm saying this because I'm bored and can't sleep.
-I'm not bored, so I'll go to my room and sleep.
-It seems like you're trying to see ghosts alone, but I can't tolerate you doing fun things without me.
-No, I won't. And I hate ghosts because they scare me.
Anyway, he was a butler who had many worries.
Something is very strange.
He's a butler who plays a lot of pranks, but I don't think there's anyone who worries about him this much.
Olivia knew that Ricardo's grumbling stemmed from worry.
Anyone who isn't an idiot would know that much.
Olivia stared at Ricardo with an apologetic smile. Ricardo, not even covered by a blanket, sat in a chair, arms crossed, dozing.
"Ricardo Ja...?"
"..."
"I see you're sleeping."
With trembling hands, Olivia threw off the blanket she had been covering herself with. She turned over and approached Ricardo, trying to place the blanket over his shoulders.
I crawled toward Ricardo, clutching the sheets and dragging myself quietly, hoping not to wake him, and hoping my uncomfortable legs wouldn't make any noise.
I reached out to cover myself with the blanket.
"Ricardo has a cold."
"..."
"Cover me with a blanket."
My hands are short.
hmm….
Olivia reached out with renewed force to cover Ricardo. The weight of the down comforter, perhaps due to its winter feel, felt ominous.
As the warm-hearted action turned into exercise, Olivia frowned and began to exert herself.
"Eww...!"
While everyone else was growing up, what was she doing? Olivia bit her lip, her frail forearms unable to reach Ricardo's shoulders, and her expression seemed ready to burst.
"Eeeeek!"
Olivia's mouth was making a strange sound as she tried to cover up without waking Ricardo.
"Huhhhh!"
Open your eyes wide.
Olivia tries to lift the blanket.
Olivia's mind raced as she felt the blanket strangely heavier than usual.
As if someone was holding it.
Even if she was a beauty who didn't exercise, it was absurd that she couldn't lift a single blanket, so Olivia stared thoughtfully at the blanket that didn't budge, and then her eyes trembled rapidly at the sight of a black silhouette moving on the bed.
"what...?"
A massive creature moved slightly in the direction its feet were pointing. As the black creature moved, the blanket was gradually dragged along.
Olivia muttered softly, her heart trembling.
"Ghost...?"
Olivia remembers why she called Ricardo.
Olivia had momentarily forgotten about the sudden appearance of the blue window, but now that the memory was finally coming back to her, she looked at the dark space in front of the bed with trembling eyes.
-Wriggle.
Olivia swallowed hard and clutched the edge of the blanket. Even a ghost wouldn't take the blanket away, so she held on.
"It's mine..."
wiggle...
"Ugh...!"
Olivia decided to give up, feeling like this wasn't a creature she could handle. She tried to force it, but it felt like she'd fall off the bed if she tried.
"Ricardo..."
So Olivia called Ricardo with a trembling voice. She called him with a small, frightened sob, but Ricardo remained asleep.
-Wriggle...
Move slowly.
Slowly onto the bed.
Olivia began a staring contest with the black object in front of her with trembling eyes, and clenched her fists, ready to wake Ricardo at any moment, trying to calm her heart that was about to burst.
A black object slowly began to appear above the bed.
Olivia gulped and clenched her fists as the object slowly appeared above the bed, its massive body moving.
-bear?
Olivia yelped in annoyance at the sight of the familiar creature raising its front paws onto the bed and shaking its rear.
"Hey, you cub bear!"
-bear?!
Olivia was annoyed.
I was really scared because I thought it was a ghost, but it turned out to be a gomtang biting the blanket.
Olivia threw the pillow at Gomtang with an annoyed voice, and Gomtang started chewing on the pillow with a pleasant smile.
"...uh?"
Olivia suddenly loses her pillow.
Olivia stared blankly at the torn pillow with a gloomy expression, feeling a sense of emptiness.
and.
"Pfft... Phew! What is it!"
The butler's voice, filled with laughter, slowly reached my ears.
"Aha... my stomach hurts."
Ricardo was looking at him with eyes that seemed perfectly clear. He was resting his chin on his hand, his eyes neither sleepy nor tired. He smiled and spoke to him.
"Was Gomtang that scary?"
"Hey! Don't tease me!"
"Poohahaha! Gomtang is a ghost...!"
Olivia pouted and spoke to Ricardo.
"Why didn't you sleep?"
"Just like that."
"why?"
"How can you hold back when the most beautiful person in the world is right in front of you? You just pretend to sleep."
"I'm kind of pretty."
"I know. You seem like a kind person. You even offered to cover me with a blanket."
"That's right. I'm kind of nice."
Olivia looked at Ricardo with a pleasant smile. Then, while smoothing her hair that was blowing against the window, she spoke to him.
"You really didn't sleep?"
"yes."
"Why?"
"I told you, I didn't sleep because I was watching."
As expected, Ricardo is strange.
I didn't even sleep because I wanted to see the sights.
If there's something delicious, give in.
It's really strange that Ricardo accepts my whining without showing any disapproving expression.
Olivia looked at Ricardo with a bashful smile. Ricardo frowned at Olivia's sudden smile and asked, "Are you flirting?"
"Why are you laughing like that?"
"Just because Ricardo is ugly."
"I think he has a pretty good-looking face."
"Ricardo has a lot of pride."
"It's not that he's proud, he's just really handsome."
Seeing Ricardo's smiling face made me feel a little less scared.
Ghosts too.
The story that the blue window will show you.
Olivia smiled as sleep, which didn't come easily, moved a little closer to Ricardo. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say she moved a little further away to make room for Ricardo to lie down.
It was a bit odd to see him crawling on motionless legs, but Ricardo still didn't laugh at this ridiculous sight.
Olivia said, patting the empty bedside.
"Ricardo, lie down."
"yes?"
"Lie down. I don't have a pillow."
"ah..."
Ricardo's face suddenly falls.
It was dark so I couldn't see Ricardo's face very well, but I could tell he was embarrassed.
Because Ricardo is shy.
"Lie down!"
Olivia urged Ricardo to lie down. She wanted to give him a rest, since he was suffering because of her, and at the same time, she wanted to ease his fear of being haunted.
Above all else.
-Would you like to view it?
Olivia gave Ricardo the seat next to her because she thought he would be less scared if he was there.
Ricardo sighed deeply and slowly climbed onto the bed, lying down.
"It's been a while since we've lain together."
"That's right."
"You used to hate it because it smelled like sweat."
"Not now."
The light on the stand turned on with a click. Ricardo opened the storybook and smiled slightly.
"Ta-da."
"oh...!"
"It's a hot new release."
Olivia, leaning on Ricardo's shoulder, spoke with a serious expression.
"I don't understand what was written at all."
"..."
"Is it ancient?"
"..."
Ricardo hated Olivia.
*
The darkness that came like that has passed.
Olivia leaned against Ricardo's shoulder and slowly closed her eyes.
I guess I'll have to see it now.
Ricardo will be sleepy too.
Because you can't avoid it forever.
Olivia slowly closed her eyes and spoke to herself.
'I'll take a look.'
and.
-Blame me, miss.
I could see Ricardo covered in blood. Unlike before, Ricardo had long, tied-up hair and his eyes were weary.
-No...! You didn't do it! That's why... That's why...!
I found myself standing there crying.
Ricardo was smiling bitterly.
And as always.
He was looking at himself with a smile.
-So, you become a hero, young lady.