The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 062 – Plot [B]
After breakfast.
Kesselring was called by Pale and she left to find her outside of the house.
“So what do you want to talk about?”
“…Well, uhm… that’s…”
Pale was, for some reason, finding it hard to say the things she wanted to say and tilted her head.
“…I would prefer if you state your business as fast as possible. I don’t want to be away from him for very long.”
“………Kesselring-sama?”
“? What is it?”
Although Kesselring had simply stated what she considered obvious, Pale’s eyes were half-lidded as she called Kesselring’s name, which made a question mark appear in Kesselring’s mind. She had only meant to say it wasn’t good to leave Leonhart alone in his current condition.
Of course, there was also the fact that she didn’t want to be away from him.
But Kesselring couldn’t expect that part would be known to Pale. Therefore Kesselring had asked that with an expression that showed she had no idea what Pale meant but,
“—About Leonhart-san — you love him, right?”
“………”
Kesselring was lost for words, and her heart began to throb.
Kesselring was frozen as she tried to think it through.
…Ho, how… did she find out…?
Of course, Kesselring’s expression was schooled to hide her emotions so the panic she felt didn’t show.
These were feelings that she had only become aware of last night. She had no idea how Pale could have figured it out as it had only been a few hours since she, herself, first became aware of it.
But now that Pale had said it out loud, it couldn’t be helped. Although Kesselring didn’t like to lie, she felt the need to hide her true feelings behind some deceptive remarks. With that in mind, she looked at Pale.
“…”
However, Pale’s expression seemed to say she was already convinced of it, as she stared at Kesselring from behind those half-lidded eyes.
Kesselring wanted to look away but, if she did, she was basically admitting that Pale was right. Therefore, Kesselring just contemplated her words in silence. Pale needed to put a little more pressure on her,
“…You love him, right?”
“Ah… We, well, that’s… you see…”
Pale asked her again, as if she were going for a checkmate, which made it difficult for Kesselring to answer her. This weird pressure Kesselring felt that was forcing her to take a step back was probably not just her imagination.
Pale looked into Kesselring’s eyes and spoke.
“…You don’t like him then?”
“…I, I wonder about that?”
“…Then, do you hate him?”
“I, I don’t hate him.”
“…I see.”
Kesselring was relieved when Pale crossed her arms and seemed to be contemplating her words.
…If I keep denying it, I think I can deceive her…
Her illusions were immediately shattered.
“…Then can I tell Leonhart-san that you ‘neither like nor hate him’?”
“You can’t.”
“…”
“..Ah, no, the thing just now is—“
Kesselring tried to deny Pale’s words.
And soon Pale approached Kesselring,
“You like him, right?”
“…”
As Pale said that, Kesselring felt pressured by Pale’s attitude, which was significantly more forceful than usual.
And as Kesselring looked away — she exhaled.
Although that was also meant to be an excuse, if she was being pushed this far anyway,
“…You’re right.”
She had no choice but to admit it.
“—I… love him.”
She said it. That feeling she had only recently discovered.
It was something she realized when she had shared a bed with him last night.
However, that feeling was supposed to stay hidden,
“…Pale, how did you know? Even I only came to understand it yesterday—”
Kesselring asked how Pale could come to know about the feeling that she had intended to keep hidden.
After all, Kesselring thought she had done a good job of hiding it—
“…Err, it’s quite hard to say… but, to me, it’s very obvious, you know?”
“………eh.”
Unexpected words came from Pale and Kesselring responded with an unintentionally stupid voice.
Meanwhile, as Kesselring stiffened, Pale continued on, as if to catch her while she was still feeling shocked,
“…Haven’t you been staring at Leonhart-san’s sleeping face, with that captivated expression, ever since you woke up?”
“………That’s—”
Kesselring had indeed been doing that. In fact, she woke up early just because she wanted to gaze at his sleeping face.
But she had intended to do that in secret. To think she was caught. His sleeping face was as handsome as ever, but it was also quite cute as well. She had wanted to caress it, but she controlled herself since she had known she would get caught if she did.
“When I went to cook, you changed his bandages in a very tender manner, right? It looked like you were grooming a flower.”
“A, aah…”
That was also a good time.
Once the bandages were removed, his masculine and well trained body was revealed, and it had countless wounds on it. Once she considered that he had received those wounds to protect her, her heart was filled with endearment. She had been forced to endure the urge to embrace him from behind.
“And the decisive thing was during the meal time. You forgot about your own food when you started to watch Leonhart-san eating his, right? You smiled so happily while looking at him… However, that was not a nice thing to do to him. Leonhart-san seemed to have a tough time eating, you know?”
“! So-so I got noticed…!”
It was a blunder, but it couldn’t be helped.
When Kesselring saw how deliciously he ate, it warmed her heart and caused her jaw to hang loose. She thought she had done a good job of restraining herself, but to think she ended up troubling him… she did feel remorseful about that.
Speaking of cooking, Kesselring remembered how she had agreed to let him eat her handmade cooking. She would have to ask Pale to teach her later.
Pale continued on mercilessly, spouting her reasons as Kesselring attempted to come up with excuses for them.
“If you’re going to behave like that then even I can figure it out. Kesselring-sama is too easy to understand…!”
“—gh, kuh…?!”
She couldn’t make any excuses now that she had heard this much. Kesselring raised her voice in anguish and looked at Pale.
…So she knows about everything…
“…Haa… and, there’s one more reason, a major reason for it—”
Pale continued her words while Kesselring stood there looking agitated. Pale took a deep breath, then twice, and thrice. It seemed to be an action to prepare her resolve.
Kesselring wondered why Pale was doing that, but a few seconds later, Pale bashfully looked up to Kesselring admitted,
“—It, it’s because… I also like Le, Le, Le- Leonhart-san…!”
“—!”
Kesselring was amazed by the sudden confession.
No way, such a thought ran through her mind, along with the shock of hearing her admit it.
But when she looked at Pale’s shy, flushed face, it was easy to see that it was the truth. Her expression was clearly that of a maiden in love—
…! …I see… so this is how it feels…!
Kesselring finally understood the meaning behind Pale’s words earlier. At the same time, Kesselring also realized how obvious she must have been earlier.
In other words,
“—Fuh, I understand, Pale.”
“Ke, Kesselring-sama…”
She was,
“—So this means that you also came to love the same man I do…”
Kesselring understood what this would mean as she said it.
Kesselring gazed at the person who shared her feelings — in other words, her ally.
Her expression was,
“…”
A mirror of her own smile..
Pale was confused.
What she was actually thinking as she was smiling at the person she respected was,
…? All she did was just repeat what I said earlier, right…?
Pale’s confession wasn’t meant to just reveal her feelings, but also to show her understanding, since they had come to love the same man.
That was why Pale thought she would get a proper reply, but Kesselring had merely repeated Pale’s words back to her.
…Perhaps she meant that she understands me too…?
I guess it’s fine if she couldn’t express it to me because she was too excited or couldn’t find the right words, thought Pale as she looked up at Kesselring. Then,
“…Fuh, it couldn’t be helped.”
“…What do you mean?”
As Pale asked for confirmation, Kesselring put her hands to her cheeks with a flushed face,
“He — Leonhart is just that charming of a man.”
She said that with serious tone, then after a breath,
“He is just so different from all the other men I’ve seen until now —he’s a real man. He possesses a compassionate heart despite being a majin, and despite possessing such incredible power, he only uses it to protect others. He is an intelligent and rational man, but he occasionally reveals his hot emotions or shows his reliable figure. And although he has such a wonderful inner self, his outer self is equally pleasing—”
…U, uwah…! This is…!
Pale silently listened as Kesselring continued talking.
Pale could understand exactly what she was saying. Kesselring was listing all of Leonhart’s good points.
It was something Pale completely agreed with, and she didn’t mind discussing the topic at length. It would be a good thing for a former and current chef to talk like this.
But if she looked at it objectively, an important fact came to Pale’s mind. And that was,
…I, isn’t this basically… her revealing all the things she likes about him…?
As Pale listened to her words, she understood just how much Kesselring loved Leonhart and all the things she loved about him.
Kesselring was strangely enthusiastic and kept talking about him as if she were reciting a poem. But the things that she loved about Leonhart were all things that Pale could agree with, making her feel embarrassed just from listening to her words.
It felt like her inner heart was being revealed.
…Ra, rather, what if this can be heard by Leonhart-san…?
Even though they were talking outside the house, they were speaking at normal conversation volume so it would be possible for him to hear them. Pale was getting worried about that and opened her mouth to Kesselring.
“…Ke, Kesselring-sama…!”
“—hm, What is it?”
Pale pointed toward the house then, in low voice,
“I, if you say it that loudly, Leonhart-san might hear you-…!”
“…?!”
Perhaps Kesselring had finally noticed her surroundings, because her face was getting redder and redder.
Then she turn around and,
“……It-it seems I talked too much…”
She said it with a very quiet voice. Perhaps she didn’t want her face to be seen, because Kesselring was hiding her face in her hands. Pale could still see her red ears though and it was quite cute.
…Uwaah-, uwah-… what should I do, I really want to see more…!
This was a very rare thing to see from Kesselring, who usually wore such a cool expression. The gap held great destructive power, even to Pale who was also a woman.
To be honest, Pale thought that showing Kesselring’s current appearance to Leonhart would be the best shortcut, but that would be too pitiful for Kesselring. Even though Pale would be embarrassed herself, she thought Kesselring might actually die from the shame. Ah, but it should be the time of change instead of dying since we are kalars.
While Pale had such foolish thoughts, she lightly tapped on Kesselring’s shoulder. Kesselring would normally turn around without being affected, but today her body trembled as she timidly turned to face Pale, showing just how scary love can be.
“…What is it?”
Kesselring said, as she returned to her usual expression. Although Pale thought it would be a waste, she opened her mouth,
“Err, well… you see… I have a suggestion for Kesselring-sama…”
“…Suggestion? What is it…?”
As Kesselring wondered what it could be, Pale was finally able to say it.
To achieve it together—
“Why don’t both of us, together — ma, make Leonhart-san fall for us?”
She declared her intentions.
Author Note:
Ssulal: “Haah… I wonder if a meteor will fall over there…”
Hunty: “You’re saying another dangerous remark there…”
Galtia: “I guess we’re getting used to Ssulal being in a bad mood…”
Carol: “I’ll have to prepare now…”
Shichisei: “What are you preparing for?”
Carol: “Fufuhn! I originally didn’t want to tell Shichisei, but I’ll tell you now! Since we almost caught up to that certain scene, our story will begin next chapt—“
Everyone: “Say that earlier!!”
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