The Incompetent Noblewoman Marries the 'Devil of the Far East' as a Substitute Bride—Told by Her Parents to 'Die in Place of Your Sister,' She Left the House, but Her New Family Turned Out to Be Wonderful and She's Happy - Episode 1.44

The night breeze tickled my bangs.
The scent of the tide.

When I woke up, I realized I was in a dimly lit room.
Tatami mats, a table. This is… inside a houseboat…?

“Are you awake, Rei?”

“Satoru-sama… what, huh?!”

In front of me is Lord Satoru.
Moreover… I’m lying down next to him. W-What… I’m lying down next to him together!?

“Sorry, sorry, I’m so sorry… eek!”

He pulls my arm and draws me closer.
He hugged me from behind.

Being embraced from behind, and then… lying down. Th-this is just like… that… you know…

“I’m just glad that Rei is safe. I was really… really worried that he might never wake up.”

I could feel my body temperature, which had been rising, suddenly cooling down.
His body is trembling… because I realized he truly cares.

“I’m sorry… for making you worry.”

“Really. You’re such a naughty child.”

Ah, I’m going to get scolded.

“Bad kids need to be punished.”

“Y-yes… as you wish…”

“Indeed. Then, for a little while longer, please be my pillow like this.”

“Eh…?”

C-could that be considered punishment…?

“Oh, Rei. You are wonderful. Warm, soft, and you smell so good. I want to hold you and sleep with you every night.”

“Y-you’re joking, right…?”

“This isn’t a joke. I’m serious, you know?”

He hugs me tightly, “Gyu.”
Ah, so comfortable.

Just him touching me makes me… really feel happy.

“Once things have calmed down, let’s update the situation.”

Satoru-sama told me about what happened after he defeated the water tiger Suiko, who had become a second life.

Right after that, I apparently lost consciousness.
Satoru-sama used a curse to repair the broken houseboat.

They say they laid me down on the tatami mat and it’s been like this ever since.

“Thanks to the spirit sword Rei lent me, I was able to defeat it. Thank you.”

Thank you. He has told me this many times since I came here.
But… until now, it seemed like those words weren’t being conveyed correctly.

I thought he was telling me because he was kind.
But now, I can really tell that he is grateful to me.

It’s not because I have the ability of awakening.

“Um…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel embarrassed to ask something like this, but……”

“Oh, I see. It’s okay. We’ll be alone on the sea for a while.”

Huh…?

“W-What do you mean?”

“Actually, I don’t know how to operate this ship. It was Suiko, the water tiger disguised as a human, who was moving the houseboat.”

I see… Now that we’ve lost the boatman named Suiko, there is no one left who can operate the boat.

“Well, I sent a shikigami to call for help from Shinkuro, so assistance should arrive eventually. But until then, it’s just you and me. We’re out here on the sea. No one will overhear our secret conversation.”

I see.
Just the two of us, then…

“Well, you said you had something to talk about. Go ahead and say it. I’ll listen to anything you ask for.”

“Um, well… c-could you… step back for a moment?”

“Decline”

“I haven’t finished speaking yet!”

“Hahaha”
“Geez… that’s so mean…”

Such words come naturally to my lips.

“Sorry, sorry, I can’t help but want to tease the girl I like.”

Belatedly, I realize that I may have spoken very rudely to Satoru-sama.
But Satoru-sama is smiling.

I don’t think it’s disrespectful.
But… this person…

“Um… do you really… like me…?”

What kind of question am I asking…?

“Ah. You must have understood it too, right? My last words. There was no lie in them.”

After being attacked by Suiko the Water Tiger, Satoru-sama nearly died.
At that moment, he told me that he liked me, that he loved me…

I understood that there was no falsehood in those words.

“How about you? Do you like me?”

You ask such a clumsy question as whether I like you.
Of course I like it…

This person who saved me from hell…
This person who has always been kind to me…

Tightly pursing my lips. I hesitate.
If you say it, there’s no going back. The words you throw out won’t come back.
I… like you.

It’s not easy to convey that.
If it were the old me… I probably wouldn’t have been able to say it. Because I was afraid of being rejected when I told the other person.

but.
He thinks he likes me. He loves me.

Then…

“Yes… I also hold you in high regard.”

Satoru-sama, with a bright smile, lifts me up and hugs me tightly.
strong, but gentle.

“Rei. I’ll tell you as many times as it takes. I like you. I love you.”

Every time he weaves words of love, I feel something like a wedge inside me being pulled out.
The words of curse that my parents and those around me have cast upon me…

Incompetent, young lady.
But… thanks to him expressing his love for me, I realized that the curse… is gradually lifting.

I was certainly an incompetent noble lady on the western continent.
I might not have had a place there.

But…
Right now, I’m here.

This is where I am by Satoru-sama side.
My… place. A wonderful gentleman who accepts me… is by my side.

“Rei. Are you ready?”

Satoru-sama lifts my chin.
I no longer refused.

Close your eyes and surrender.
I can tell he’s getting closer. …I felt him gently press his lips against mine.

Tears stream down my cheeks.
This kiss has no ritualistic significance whatsoever.

But… it’s special.
His feelings of love flow into me.

I can feel the intense feelings of love you have for me…
He pulls away.

“Master Satoru… your face is completely red.”

Honestly, words that come to mind.
I don’t think that’s disrespectful anymore…

I know he will be happy.

“Well, you… kissed the girl you like. Of course, you’d be like this. Even Rei’s ears are bright red.”
“I too… kissed someone I like.”

We face each other and laugh.
Somehow, since coming here—no, for the first time in my life—I felt like I laughed.