The Villainess in the Romance Fantasy Is Strange - Chapter 92



92. Still Unchanging (2)

When I asked her which way she should be called, it seemed like Leah was leaving the choice up to me. Since both of the options she gave were surprisingly normal titles, I hesitated, speechless for another reason.

I thought that Leah, who secretly, no, half-openly treated me like a pet, would naturally come up with a serious title for me.

It was difficult to choose easily when I was asked to choose between ‘my husband’ or ‘my husband’ rather than something like ‘puppy’.

“Huh? Which one do you think is better?”

“… … Hmm, that’s it.”

I paused for a moment and thought to myself.

A nickname is usually a friendly and affectionate way of calling someone instead of their original name. So, it is a prerequisite that it clearly shows your consideration for the other person, but it also has to be easy to say and easy to say without feeling burdened.

Our husband or husband were titles that met both of those conditions, but each had its own unique resonance and appeal.

‘Our husband’ is a title that seems to overflow with affection, and ‘Seobang’ is a title that seems to have a cute feel while also highlighting Leah’s bubbly side.

“… … .”

It was a long story, but the point is that I like both of them so much that it’s hard to choose just one.

When I couldn’t respond right away and just kept walking, Leah must have sensed that I was hesitating because she laughed quietly and slapped my cheek.

“Cain, are you worried?”

“… … It’ll be a little bit.”

“Huh, it doesn’t seem like a little bit… … .”

As if joking, Leah breathed into my ear and held on tightly. A pleasant shiver and softness spread down the back of my neck, and I felt like I was going to let out a strange sound without realizing it, so I coughed to hide it.

“If we’re really worried, should we start by deciding on a nickname for Cain to call me?”

“Yes, well… … I see. Do you have a title in mind?”

“Hey baby, how are you?”

“… … .”

My cheeks stiffened involuntarily at the unfamiliar words.

Leah glanced at my side as if to gauge my reaction, then poked my cheek with her finger.

“You don’t like it? Then, honey?”

“Umm… … .”

Baby, it’s better to be honey than honey, but it’s still awkward.

As I was just drooling, Leah pouts and urges me on.

“If you don’t like either of them, what should I call you?”

“… … As I said before, how about just calling me by my name?”

“You’re just going to call my name… … ?”

“Yes, because I told you yesterday that I would only make it half-easy. So now, instead of making it half-easy, I think it would be okay to make it really easy, and just call it by its two names.”

“… … Yeah, well.”

I could hear Leah’s sigh, which seemed to be precariously straddling the line between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

“Okay. If you’re embarrassed to call me by my nickname right now, you can just call me by my name for now.”

“……thank you.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Leah shook her body once.

“Oh, by the way, this is just the beginning, right? So from this moment on, you should be really comfortable and only call me by my name. Got it?”

“Yes, Leah… … .”

I almost habitually called her “nim”. When I realized it too late and barely managed to stop myself, Leah snickered and gently stroked my head as if praising me.

“You changed your address, but you still have the habit of speaking stiffly… … ?”

“… … .”

Well, I’ve been saying this for 10 years. Except for a very small number of cases where I go with the flow and use informal language, I still feel more comfortable using formal language.

“It’s already in your mouth, so it’s hard to suddenly change it, right?”

“I think so.”

“It would be difficult to change everything at once, so you can slowly change your stiff speech.”

“Yes, but as soon as possible… … .”

“… … I think I get more excited when Cain speaks politely to me when we do dirty things.”

I almost gasped at Leah’s words that suddenly came out.

I tried hard not to hear the slightly sticky tone of voice, looked at the distant mountains, and changed the subject.

“That’s the title that Lady Leah uses to call me.”

“Oh, you’re not Lady Leah anymore?”

“… … That’s what Leah calls me.”

Perhaps because she was nervous, her speech became very strange, but Leah didn’t seem to mind.

“Huh… … . Yeah, why the title?”

“I think ‘Our Cain’ would be hard for Leah to call me every time, but what about Seobang, which is relatively short and easy to sing…?”

Since I was going to call her anyway, I thought it would be better for Leah to choose a name that was as short as possible. It wasn’t something I would call her once or twice, but something I would call her whenever I saw her face in the future.

I asked the question awkwardly, as if it was awkward or not, and then watched Leah’s reaction.

“… … Hmm.”

Leah didn’t answer right away, but just rubbed my collarbone for no reason.

Then, all of a sudden, he let out a strange breath and tickled my cheek. He put all his strength into the arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.

“Yeah, I got it. … … Sir.”

“… … .”

When I heard Leah’s voice calling me softly, my lower back started to tremble and my legs almost lost their strength.

I had kind of expected it, but having the woman I love call me by a nickname… … is so thrilling that it sends shivers down my spine.

Is this why lovers call each other by nicknames?

“……greatness.”

My heart felt tingly and the corners of my mouth seemed to keep going up.

I couldn’t show Leah this ugly side of me liking her, so I pretended like nothing happened, picked Leah up, and walked forward again.

“You know, sir… … ?”

“… … Yeah, Leah.”

“… … Where are we going now?”

“… … .”

If it were up to me, I’d like to carry Leah on my back to the villa and just stay in my room, regardless of the schedule, but that won’t work, right… ?

I held back my sinister desire and raised my head.

“If you go straight this way, you’ll come across a town famous for its hot springs. I’d like to go check that out.”

“Oh, I see. Hot spring town… … It’s been a long time.”

“Have you ever been to a hot spring town?”

“Yeah, have you ever been there?”

The continent we live on has almost no non-volcanic hot springs, so there must have been no place to come across hot springs other than the hot spring areas of the southern continent where volcanic activity is active. When on earth have you been to one?

I wondered if she had ever been to the Southern Continent before meeting me, but if my memory serves me right, it was Leah’s first time visiting the Southern Continent, accompanying me, three years ago.

Surely Leah wouldn’t be lying to me, but just in case, I gave it a try.

“Oh, really? When did you go there?”

“Well, it was so long ago that I don’t remember very well.”

“Yes, I’m not going.”

“Maybe, once when we went on a school trip with a group… … .”

“Math trip… … . What is this?”

“… … .”

When I asked back without realizing it, Leah suddenly stopped talking and swallowed with a look of guilt on her face.

But that was only for a moment, and Leah soon regained her composure and continued speaking as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, you don’t know much about the West? Hmm, that’s it. A school trip is like a trip that students from the academy go on together for educational purposes. Uh, what should I call it? It’s a special group activity aimed at nurturing multi-faceted talents by helping them see more things and have a broader perspective? So there’s no strange purpose at all. Uh, uh… …”

Leah, who had been adding explanations for a long time, suddenly became quiet.

He just glances at me without saying anything, so I think he thinks I’m misunderstanding and interpreting ‘math trip’ in a strange way.

I, too, have been on several school trips during my school days, so I don’t have that kind of harsh misunderstanding.

Yeah, I’m not misunderstanding… I’m just saying, ‘No way.’

“Leah, I.”

I took a deep breath without her knowing and opened my mouth to check.

“There are several generals whom I deeply respect and consider my role models.”

“Huh… … ?”

Leah glanced at me, slightly embarrassed, as if asking what I was talking about out of the blue. But I ignored her and continued speaking.

“I respect Alexander Hans, who was famous for being undefeated in a hundred battles, I respect Edmond Dante, who led the victory in the Second World War, and I respect Bern von Edward, the founding hero of the empire.”

“Oh, yeah. Right? They’re really amazing people… … .”

“Death is life, action is death. I respect Admiral Yi Sun-sin the most, who sacrificed his body to save his country.”

“… … Huh? How does the West know about General Yi Sun-sin?”

“… … .”

“… … .”

I was already half-convinced, but I added one more word to drive the wedge in.

“Leah.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“──Great~ Korea~ Republic~!”

That rhythm that any Korean cannot help but know.

“Clap clap clap, clap clap… … ?”

Leah instinctively clapped her hands five times in response, then blinked her large eyes as if she didn’t fully understand the situation and stared blankly at me.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“Uh, uh… … ? Uh, uh-uh-uh… … ? Uh, uh-uh-uh──?!”

Soon, he opened his mouth wide and jumped on top of me.

“S, S, S, S, S, S, S! Korea, you’re Korean… … ?!”

“… … Wait a minute. Leah? If you keep going wild like that, you’ll fall, no, you’ll really fall, you’ll fall. So calm down for now, stay calm… … .”

“Tch, what’s with the calmness! Why didn’t you tell me this whole time? I, I’ve been so anxious. No, I hid it, ah, no, I don’t… … . Anyway! You kept a secret, you kept a secret from me… … !”

“Hey, wait a minute. Don’t tighten your neck… … . Calm down, calm down! If you keep doing this and really fall, Leah’s going to get hurt, she’s going to get hurt… … !”

* * *

A brief lull.

“So… … . Now answer me. Sir, were you really Korean? Korean? Not Japanese, but a real Korean like me… … ?!”

… … No, only the composition changed, but Leah’s level of excitement was the same.

I patted Leah’s shoulder to soothe her as she spoke strange English, unable to contain her excitement, and I slowly nodded my head in agreement.

“Yes, you are Korean. That’s right. As for ‘you too’, by any chance… … .”

“Ah, uh! That’s right, I’m Korean, just like Cain. Oh, of course, to be more precise, I should say that I used to be Korean… … . Uh, well. Hmm, what should I call this… … .”

Leah shook her head, her voice trailing off as if her brain was no longer functioning properly after learning such a shocking truth.

From noble mtl dot com

In fact, I, like Leah, felt dizzy, but apart from the dizziness, my mind was calm. Because my mind had been trained through various mental training methods, I could quickly calm down and regain my composure.

I waited calmly until Leah’s mind cleared.

“… … Phew. Phew, phew.”

Then, as if trying to calm her startled heart, she put her hand on her chest, took a deep breath, and looked straight at me.

“… … You know, Cain. I really have a lot to ask you… … ?”

“yes.”

“But, putting everything else aside, let me ask you this first. … … How did you, how did you come to know that this world, or rather, that you are Korean?”

“Well, that’s… … .”

Where and how should I begin to say this?

I thought it would be a long story if I explained it, so I held Leah’s hand first.

“First, let’s go back to the villa and finish talking.”