Taming The Villainesses-Chapter 349: Waking from a Long Sleep (2)

Ayra's head was turned toward the window.

Beyond the window, one could see the clear sky and tall trees. She gazed at the birds chirping on the branches, like a girl suffering from a long illness watching the last remaining leaf.

I spoke to Ayra, who looked like that.

"Good morning."

For now, I figured it was best to cautiously test her condition.

From everyone working together the previous day to get her to take the sleeping potion, to defeating and ripping out the Ars Nova that had taken root inside her—

It was hard to predict how Ayra would respond to all of it. Would she realize everything and get furious? Or would she feel relieved and happy to be freed from what had been oppressing her?

Or maybe she wouldn’t notice anything at all?

Nothing would have been surprising.

Just as I was quietly gauging the situation, Ayra reached her hand out into the air. Then, the birds chirping outside the window fluttered in and perched on her finger.

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"......."

They were birds with red feathers. As Ayra stared at them for a while and moved her other hand to stroke the underside of the beak, the bird flapped away again.

“...It flew off.”

“I’ve heard taming birds isn’t easy.”

At my mild reply, Ayra yawned with her mouth slightly open. She still seemed not fully free of the drowsiness lingering on her face and body.

Then, Ayra stretched both arms out in front of her.

I'd seen it many times already, but watching her stretch so broadly in all directions was always a curious and entertaining sight. She was the very embodiment of the word "lithe."

Ayra sat on the bed for a while, stretching out her arms and legs. Watching her like that, I figured it was about time to start some kind of conversation, so I casually asked,

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you sit on the bed for so long, Ayra-nim. Did you perhaps have a good dream?”

“A good dream, huh... I’m not sure. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. I think I remember splashing around in the water with everyone.”

All that remained seemed to be a blur.

Should I consider that a relief? I had worried about what I would do if she started asking detailed questions, but thankfully, that didn’t seem to be happening.

I mean, even if I appeared in her dream and flicked her on the forehead, it’d be weird if she started scolding me in real life for it.

Seeing her now, Ayra didn’t seem all that different. Even though Bael, who had been lying dormant inside her, had been extracted, the lazy queen’s day was proceeding just like always.

Maybe it was because I’d been expecting something dramatic, but I found myself questioning it a little. Could things have not gone well after all? Was everything we did maybe... meaningless?

“Teo-ya, allow me the honor of being supported by you.”

Shff.

Just then, Ayra reached her hand out toward me. Her arrogance, as if being supported by her was some grand reward, was no different from before.

Maybe Ayra truly believed that any action allowing someone to make contact with the woman known as the most beautiful in the kingdom was itself a tremendous gift.

Just the same as always.

“Thank you.”

I offered a polite thank-you as I took hold of her slender hand. It was more delicate and dainty than I had imagined. That soft skin. From the touch of her palm, I could feel a faint pressure.

Slide.

Ayra pulled her legs out from under the blanket and placed her feet on the floor. Just as she was preparing to rise—

“Ugh.”

—she suddenly swayed heavily.

Worried that she might fall and hit her face or something, I hurried to brace her body with mine.

But the weight—what you could call the weight—was heavier than I had expected, and I ended up tangled up and falling with her.

Crash.

“Hieeek...!”

I let out an embarrassing squeal because Ayra had ended up landing on top of me, sitting on my back with her rear. I could feel a heavy pressure on my lower back.

Like a sheet of paper crushed under a hunk of iron, I was completely flattened.

Was Ayra always this heavy?

I was sure I’d carried her in my arms several times recently. But now, she felt so heavy that I couldn’t even imagine doing it.

Can weight suddenly change like this?

Could it have something to do with what happened recently?

Just as I was puzzled, Ayra spoke.

“I vaguely remember you lifting me up in a dream, Teo. But I guess reality is different, huh?”

Her tone sounded like she was trying to provoke me. So I instinctively tensed my muscles like someone fired up.

Even if Ayra was heavier than before, she still had a slim woman’s body. Someone like me could lift something like half a sack of rice—about 40kg—with both hands.

Let me show you the strength I’ve built up lately.

With that mindset, I pushed against the floor with both arms, lifting Ayra on my back. Slowly, my field of vision rose. Ayra let out a soft murmur of admiration.

“Hooh...”

She hadn’t been that impressed even when my magic prowess suddenly increased. But now she was impressed just because I managed to lift something about the weight of half a sack of rice. So in the end, muscles > magic?

Since I was at it, I hoisted Ayra up and carried her on my back.

Well—saying I “hoisted” her up sounds easy, but truthfully, my arms and legs were shaking a little. Still, I spoke with as much confidence as I could muster.

“Did you see that? This is the strength of Teo. Someone as light as Queen Ayra, I can easily carry on my own.”

My face, as I said that, was flushed even to my own awareness. Not from embarrassment or affection—but because the exertion was forcing blood to rush to my head.

“In a room this size, I could walk around with Ayra-nim on my back more than ten times.”

I spoke proudly, but Ayra, who was being carried, would no doubt notice my legs were trembling.

Maybe that’s why, but after I made one full turn around the room, Ayra burst out laughing.

“Yes, that’s impressive. But you can put me down now. I asked you to support me, not to carry me. They’re different things.”

Ayra’s voice held a certain familiarity—and a hint of loneliness.

It felt like if I put her down now, that loneliness would deepen even further.

So I put more strength into my legs.

“I won’t put you down. Not until Ayra-nim has truly awakened and can stand firmly on her own two feet. Until then, I will carry you.”

Shff.

Ayra pressed her face against my back. I could feel her soft hair and breath tickling the nape of my neck, and the sensation was oddly funny.

“Teo, now that I see it, you really are the biggest fool in all of Angmar.”

A fool? I felt like I’d heard that from someone else not long ago. Hearing it twice in a row like this couldn’t just be coincidence. It made me curious—what exactly was the reason?

“And why am I a fool?”

“Because, even when you’re carrying something heavy—you never put it down. You just keep piling things onto your back and shoulders, lugging them around like a snail.”

“Is that so?”

“If you keep being so stubborn... then I’m really going to lean on you this time. I won’t be able to shake you off.”

Srrk.

I could feel Ayra’s legs and arms winding around my neck and thighs. Suddenly, I wondered—was this the kind of feeling male spiders had when they touched a female spider’s web?

Were those poor males, wrapped up with no escape, feeling the same way I did now?

No... this is different.

What I carried on my back was something far more terrifying—and far more beautiful. And the fact that she was placing her full trust in me, relying on me alone to ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ hold her up, gave me a quiet sense of satisfaction.

“You’re such a fool.”

Ayra whispered it right behind my ear.

I figured I’d say something to her as well.

“You’re kind of an idiot too, Ayra-nim.”

The moment I said it, I felt a slight tremor from the body on my back.

“...You’re calling me an idiot? And why is that?”

Was she expecting something? If ever there was a moment in my life to deliver a cool line, it was probably now. That’s why I opened my mouth in the first place—but having done it, I couldn’t think of anything good to say.

My tongue, which normally rolled out smooth, just flopped in place.

Maybe I was too tired after carrying Ayra around the room several times. And then, Ayra brought her lips close to my ear and asked again.

“Why am I an idiot?”

“...Just because.”

Chomp.

That was when I felt something bite my neck. The sensation was so completely unexpected that I nearly jumped out of my skin and let out a full-on scream.

“Hieeek...!”

Did Ayra just bite my neck? That proud Ayra, biting someone’s neck? It was so unbelievable—and it hurt too!

***

Crash bang!

A rather loud noise came from inside the queen’s room. It was impossible to tell what exactly was going on, but judging by the heavy thuds and thumps, it seemed like something... positive.

Only then did Elga, the young lady of House Leones, who had been quietly standing outside the queen’s door in silence, finally let out a small breath of relief.

“Looks like it went well for now.”

At that, the annoyingly smug girl, Mirna Draco, scoffed through her nose with a “Hmph.” She’d been sulking ever since the half-fairy entered the room where Ayra was.

Not that it was hard to guess why.

So Elga shot a line at her like a stinger from a honeybee.

“If you hate sharing that much, maybe you shouldn’t have joined in the first place. This kind of thing’s going to happen a lot more from now on. You gonna throw a fit every time?”

Was it that Elga’s words had hit a nerve?

Mirna glanced at her with those red eyes. Her half-lidded gaze slowly sank, and eventually her eyelids shut completely, hiding the glint in her eyes.

“I just hate it more when I can’t have him to myself. And you’re worried too, Lady Leones. You were the one who wanted to eavesdrop, remember?”

“Well, I mean, I just meant we should stay on standby since we don’t know what might happen. It wasn’t because I was jealous or anything.”

Mirna chuckled at that excuse.

“Lady Leones, you really are a terrible liar. In that sense, I feel just a little human closeness with you.”

“......”

To be honest, Elga had felt a bit uneasy about the half-fairy and the queen being alone together. The two of them fit so perfectly together, like parts born to match one another.

Watching them so tightly intertwined sometimes made her question whether there was even room for anyone else to wedge themselves in between.

‘Well, it’s probably just because Ayra’s going through a hard time right now. I’m sure the one he loves most is me.’

Elga fell back on her characteristic optimism and forward-thinking mindset. She even had solid proof to back it up.

Their first child, Leonoi.

Historically, the wife who bore the first child was the one who received the most love and earned the rightful position as the lady of the house. No matter how hard the others tried, they couldn’t outpace someone already flying.

As Elga was basking in that confidence, Mirna spoke.

“Feeling a little too ahead of yourself just because you’re pregnant?”

“...Wait, did you just read my mind? Don’t go digging through my thoughts on your own!”

“You’re not that hard to read, Lady Leones. Your thoughts are so straightforward they might as well be written on your face. Anyway, even if it seems like you’re in the lead now, it won’t be long before someone catches up.”

Like a villainous noblewoman straight out of a serialized novel, Mirna covered her lips with the back of her hand and let out a hohoho-style laugh. She never smiled like that around the half-fairy, though.

“Hmph, laugh all you want. I’m still in first place.”

“Nope. Because of what happened in that dream yesterday, you got a big penalty. Don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten what happened at the Leones estate?”

Elga’s hair visibly bristled at that.

“Hey, that was just a dream!”

“Still, a penalty’s a penalty. Scoring has to be fair. By the way, these main-wife points? We’ll be able to use them for all sorts of things.”

According to Mirna, you could exchange those collected points like currency to buy various rights and privileges—like a date with the half-fairy, or permission to sleep together at night.

For a tightwad from the Draco family, it actually seemed pretty reasonable, and Elga nodded in agreement.

But then Elga felt something—an unusual stillness from inside the room.

It was too quiet.

When she quietly pushed open the door, she saw that both the queen and the half-fairy had fallen asleep together on the plush carpet.

“Guess they were short on sleep.”

After moving them to their respective beds so they could rest a little longer, Elga and Mirna fell into a long silence. The one to break it was Mirna.

“There really isn’t much time left now.”

“Yeah. But I wonder... if it really ends just with us becoming a family.”

“What do you mean by that, Lady Leones?”

“You saw it too, right? When he used that powerful magic to defeat the spider. When the world blinked out for a moment... the things we saw then. That... enormous gate, and the terrifying thing beyond it...”

Maybe it was because of the sheer magical explosion, but Elga had seen it.

The being lurking deep within Ayra’s consciousness.

That world must have been shaped by Ayra’s memories. If what Ayra saw was real—if that thing truly exists—then peace and safety might never come to this world.

That was why Elga had pulled the blanket over her head. Of course, the half-fairy probably thought she was just scared because of Leonor.

At that, Mirna raised a finger to her lips and whispered:

“Let’s keep that a secret—for now.”