Chapter 58: Returning to the Room

The pain in my leg had completely disappeared, so I breathed a sigh of relief and looked around. There was no shadow watching from the dormitory window. That probably meant no one had noticed. There was no point staying here any longer, so I decided to head back to my room.

The first thing I should do upon entering the room was—

"Lily, how long have you been here?"

—question her. This girl wasn’t watching me the whole time from the beginning, was she?

In response to my question, Lily showed no sign of being troubled at all.

"Huh? I was doing my rounds and just happened to spot Lord Robby falling from the roof. I thought it would be terrible if you were injured, so I rushed over. Oh my, could it be that you misunderstood and thought I had been watching the two of you the entire time?"

That overly upright and proper attitude of hers is exactly what makes it suspicious.

"I did misunderstand. Because it’s you, Lily, I thought you’d do something like that."

"I would never do anything so rude. My duties are maintaining the palace gardens and working as a maid."

"I see. I was sure you were spying on me."

"That’s right. Please rest assured."

There’s no way I can rest assured.

Stevie, who had been listening to our conversation, was still frozen in place.

"Stevie, are you okay? What’s wrong? If you still haven’t cried enough, you can keep crying, you know?"

When I spoke to her, she finally reacted.

"Lord Robbyyy... I’m sooorryyy... It’s all my faaaault... You fell from the roooof because of meeeeeee—!!"

Crying, she threw herself into my arms. So now it’s this direction, huh.

Pushed back by Stevie’s momentum, we both dove onto the bed (which was conveniently right there). As we lay down, Stevie’s head shifted, ending up on my chest. She clutched my pajamas tightly while continuing to sob.

"Stevie, it’s okay now. The injury’s already been healed, and it wasn’t that serious to begin with. It was just a bit of pain shooting through my leg."

Hearing that, Stevie lifted her face. Tears were spilling from her eyes.

"Really? It’s really healed? Are you okay?"

She looked even more childlike than usual.

"I’m fine. Don’t worry anymore. By the way, what happened with your brother from the knight order? Are you going to go see him?"

When I asked about her brother, her eyes welled up with tears again, but she wiped them away with her hand.

"Yeah... I’m planning to go to my brother’s place, see him, and then come back. There’s someone who was supposed to be with my brother. I’m thinking of going with that person. I asked someone from the knight order for help."

"I see. Then go ahead. Are you okay on your own? Do you have money? I can give you a little if you need."

I’ve started going outside more recently and have been given pocket money. Snack money, meal money, donations to the cathedral, and a bit extra. I still had some of it saved.

"Here, it’s not much, but I’ve got two silver coins and three large copper coins. Take them."

I took out all the money I had in my magic bag and pressed it into Stevie’s hand. She looked surprised, staring at the coins for a moment, but then nodded firmly and put them in her pocket.

"Thank you, Lord Robby. The knight said they didn’t need money... But I’ll treasure this."

A drop fell from Stevie’s nose onto my pajamas. She didn’t seem to notice. There was also drool gathering at the corner of her mouth. Tears, snot, and drool—every watery thing was flowing out of her.

She collapsed onto my chest again and started crying. Lily stood like a shadow by the entrance door, silently performing her night watch duty. She had erased her presence and become like a decoration.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."

Stevie’s crying gradually subsided as she wiped her tears.

"Stevie, do you want to sleep in this room until morning?"

She nodded.

"Yeah, that’s what I came for. My brother isn’t in our room, and being there just makes me think about him. So I came to Lord Robby’s room."

She came here planning to stay the night! But... I can’t just do what I want to do. Taking advantage of a sad, innocent, childlike girl like Stevie to embrace her feels wrong. The older ladies would be one thing, but with Stevie... Still, she came to my room of her own free will, so I don’t think anyone would blame me no matter what I do with her. Except for Lily, who’s lurking in the corner of the room. I can’t see her figure, but I feel like two eyes are watching us. There’s a heavy presence. I can sense an expectant aura full of hope that we won’t just quietly fall asleep and will instead have a dramatic night.

"For now, let’s take off your shoes, Stevie."

"Ah! You’re right, sorry!"

She had climbed onto the roof with her shoes on and dove straight onto the bed in them. I was already in pajamas, but Stevie was still in her regular clothes—for some reason, pants. I thought women in this world normally wore skirts as everyday wear, but Stevie was wearing trousers. It was obvious at a glance that she hadn’t come dressed for nighttime activities.

Stevie got off the bed and removed her shoes. They were flat shoes without heels, unlike her usual ones. That must have been why she didn’t seem shorter than me earlier.

I just took off my shoes and got into bed, but Stevie removed her shoes, blouse, and pants, then climbed in wearing only her chemise and pumpkin pants. Pumpkin pants! I was surprised, and even the shadowy Lily seemed shocked. I thought I saw the shadow waver.

But pumpkin pants, really...? I expected a young girl to wear the kind with minimal fabric tied at the sides, but Stevie had these baggy pumpkin-style ones. They weren’t even brand new—they looked like they’d been washed, made of stiff cotton. She clearly had no intention of showing me her panties... but she still came to sleep over? Hey, Lily, what do you think about this? Cass, what the hell is going on here!? Did no one teach her anything?

I kept those thoughts to myself, lifted the blanket, and invited Stevie in.

"Lord Robby..."

For some reason, Stevie hugged my neck. I couldn’t help but think rudely—did this girl even wash up today? She smelled a bit sweaty. Or maybe it was just her natural scent? It was still exciting in its own way, and it wasn’t that strong. Stevie’s chest was pressed against my shoulder. I don’t think she’s even aware of it.

Stevie’s chest wasn’t full breasts yet—just slightly swollen, elastic mounds pressing against my shoulder. I could feel a soft, squishy sensation, just a little. Even through the chemise, I could sense the softness. If I focused my nerves on my shoulder, I could even feel what seemed to be her nipples. My son was already fully prepared, standing at attention and probably leaking precum in excitement.

"Stevie."

"Yes, Lord Robby?"

If a man calls a woman’s name in bed like that, it usually only means one thing—he wants to move forward. So why the hell are you making a face like "?" !?