The Dutiful Kid Who Saved the Villainous Family - Chapter 217

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Omake Chapter 17

Airi found herself staring intently at Berry’s expression.
The loosened tie, the shallow trembling of his breath, the reddened corners of his eyes, and…….
‘I can’t breathe.’
……Airi barely managed to hold her breath.
‘This is strange. Why do I feel so overwhelmed when I’m near Berry lately?’
Without thinking, she took a step backward.
What she didn’t realize was that the dress hem was quite long on her now. As Airi stumbled slightly while retreating hastily, Berry quickly extended his hand.
“Careful now.”
With those words, Berry’s hand wrapped around Airi’s waist, steadying her.
Held against his chest like this, Airi bit her lip.
She’d meant to move away from Berry, but instead found herself closer than before.
“Um, thank you, Berry.”
Berry’s distinctive cool cologne scent reached her. She didn’t know what fragrance he wore, but it smelled unmistakably like an adult man. As Airi inhaled that scent, she stared at Berry blankly, her lips parting slightly.
“I think I’m steady now. You can let go.”
“Is that so? I’m not quite ready to.”
……What? What did he mean he wasn’t ready?
Airi’s face burned crimson.
‘Berry, why are you being so bold!’
Just as Airi opened her mouth in bewilderment, her lips trembling soundlessly, the door opened.
Creak.
As the door swung open, someone stepped in and spoke hesitantly.
“Um, Miss Airi? The next dress fitting is ready…….”
The moment the door opened suddenly, the eyes of Airi and the wedding shop manager locked directly.
The manager’s face flushed. She looked as though she’d caught a couple in the throes of passion inside the wedding shop.
“I’m so sorry!”
Bang—the door slammed shut in an instant.
Airi looked up at Berry, her face now redder than a tomato.
“B-Berry.”
“Yes?”
Airi instinctively clutched at Berry’s collar and murmured.
“Berry, what do we do? I think we’ve been misunderstood.”
“……What kind of misunderstanding?”
“Do I really have to spell it out myself?”
At those words, Berry let out a soft chuckle.
“Yes, I’d really like to hear you say it.”
“……We look just like a couple so in love with each other that we were about to kiss passionately right here.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she felt a flush of embarrassment at her own bold statement.
As Airi’s earlobes turned bright red, Berry laughed quietly.
“If it’s a misunderstanding, then I suppose it is one.”
“I don’t know what to do. How do we fix this?”
Whenever she was with Berry, all she heard was her heart racing.
But now Berry felt dangerously thrilling.
Was it because they’d been trapped in that strange room twice?
Or was it simply that Berry felt like a man now?
Why wouldn’t her heart stop its wild beating?
Airi truly couldn’t understand herself.

* * *

The dress fitting ended lightly after that.
Airi couldn’t quite remember which dress she’d selected.
‘A white wedding dress with lots of lace, sparkling jewels, a neckline down to the collarbone, and a hem that fell to the ankles.’
…Yes, that’s all she could recall.
After that, she’d been too focused on Berry’s face to think clearly about anything else.
As the carriage carried them back to Ortejo Castle.
Berry, ever the gentleman, escorted Airi back to the castle.
“Goodbye, Berry.”
After helping her down from the carriage, Airi waved.
“Safe travels. I’ll see you tomorrow! Tomorrow seems to be the day for the dress alterations…….”
“I know the schedule. But before then, there’s something I need to do.”
Airi, who’d been reciting the wedding preparations one by one, tilted her head.
“Hm? Something to do? What is it?”
As she looked at Berry, he grinned.
Berry’s face drew slowly closer to hers.
Airi blinked.
It felt as though tiny signals were lighting up one by one in her mind.
‘This is…….’
……Naturally, her eyes would close like this.
In that moment, Berry stole a kiss on Airi’s cheek.
As his dry lips touched her soft cheek and disappeared like the wind, Airi found herself clutching her cheek and murmuring.
“B-Berry, you…….”
“I wanted to kiss you all day long.”
“W-what?”
“Since that’s allowed between us.”
Those words left Airi profoundly shaken.
‘Allowed between us.’
It was an obvious thing to say. Surely it was obvious, but why…….
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll come for a good morning kiss.”
With that, Berry grinned and escorted her into the castle.
Airi stepped through the castle gates in a daze, her mind still half elsewhere from that single kiss on her cheek.
And she thought.
‘The man I chose turned out to be this shameless and carefree!’
Berry Jacquel—how had he hidden his true feelings all this time?
Airi ended up lying in bed without even changing out of her dress.
The events at the wedding shop kept replaying in her mind.
And finally.
The moment Berry gave her that parting kiss on her cheek came back most vividly.
Airi buried her face in her pillow and giggled softly.
“Fine, I’ll let you get away with it.”
Acting all suave, trying so hard to seem like a mature man…….
And yet Berry’s earlobes when he’d stolen that kiss and departed…….
Were flushed red, just like they used to be when he was a child.
At the thought of that sight, her heart felt ready to burst, and Airi bolted upright in bed.
Tonight, sleep seemed like it would never come.

* * *

……Airi’s prediction from last night came true.
To make matters worse, the moment the dress alterations were finished, the Southern Grandmothers Who Love Airi came storming into Ortejo Castle with bundles in their arms.
“Oh, my dear child!”
“Did you like the gifts? Henry brought such pretty things for our little one!”
Airi was certainly grown up now.
But it was strange nonetheless.
Whenever she was around them, she’d revert from a grown woman back to that five-year-old girl.
“Yes, Grandmothers! I loved them!”
As an adult now, she couldn’t very well dance around on their laps, though.
Pretending not to see the disappointment on their faces at that fact.
After having her cheeks pinched and being kissed repeatedly in their embrace.
After being held and lavished with affection in their arms.
Airi promptly asked briskly.
“But why have you come so early? The wedding isn’t until the actual day.”
“Because we have much to prepare!”
The grandmothers looked at Airi with great confidence.
The moment Airi saw that expression, she felt a chill run through her.
And with good reason—whenever the grandmothers wore such expressions, nothing good ever happened to Airi!
Oblivious to Airi’s dismay, the grandmothers set down their bundles with a thud.
Then they unrolled the bundles and spoke solemnly.
“Child, you know, don’t you? The things a bride must bring to her wedding.”
“Yes. Something Old, Something New, Something Sacred. These three things must be brought…….”
“And we’ve brought them for you!”
Airi’s eyes widened.
The grandmothers’ bundles had been completely unpacked. It looked as though an entire street market had opened up inside the room. Just as Airi was looking forward in confusion.
“Child! Look at this, look at this!”
“G-goodness…….”
Airi’s eyes went wide as saucers.
“B-but isn’t this a Family Heirloom of the Grandmothers?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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