90
「Ueh……hk, uu……!」
「……!」
Valentin wasn't the only one surprised by Candice
suddenly bursting into tears. After all, she had started crying just from being
given a birthday present. Unable to stop her overflowing emotions, Candice's
crying voice gradually grew louder. She was unable to fully process this joy
she was feeling for the first time.
「Uwaaaahnn!」
「……Did you not like it.」
「Waaah, aaaah……hk!」
At
the sight of her wailing so heavily, the maids of the Violet Palace
flusteredly brought a cloth over to Candice. Between the tears and the
snot, Candice's face had become a spectacular mess. Valentin
tried to wipe Candice's face with the cloth, but not wanting her face to
be seen, Candice reflexively buried it.
「Sniff…… uuu」
「…………Hey.」
By
the time she thought Oh no, it was too late. She raised her body, but a
tremendous amount of snot was stuck to Candice's nose and Valentin's
chest, drawing a string between them to his shirt. I'm going to be killed.
That thought crossed her mind. She had cried so much that she no longer even
knew why she was crying.
「Is it the color that you don't
like……?」
At
Valentin's question, Candice shook her head side to side. She
wanted to convey her feelings, but the words just wouldn't come out right. She
was just so incredibly happy to have received a birthday present.
（Why am I feeling this way!）
Only
a crying voice unlike any she had ever let out before continued to escape her
mouth.
「Then what is it.」
「Ueh, ……sniff, uuu~!」
「Try saying it.」
At
the same time irritation seeped into Valentin's voice, her face was
roughly scrubbed and wiped. As her runny nose was cleared up, her feelings also
calmed down just a little.
（I have to say thank you to
Otou-sama……!）
「Is there something else you want?」
「Th-a……nks! Hic! Otou-sama!」
Perhaps
because her abdomen was spasming, or because she was trying to catch her
breath, Candice couldn't string her words together properly. However, Candice
also lacked the confidence to convey a 『Thank you』
in her current state. Thinking that Hugo might understand, Candice
sent a glance his way while trying to form words, but he merely shrugged his
shoulders as if to say he didn't get it.
Wanting
to somehow convey to Valentin that she wanted to say her 『Thanks』, Candice opened her mouth as
if to shout.
「Otou-sama…… th-aaannnks! Uwaaaahnn」
「Haa……」
She
cried and screamed out of the frustration of things not going as she wanted.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Valentin rubbed Candice's back.
「I get it…… It's fine, just calm
down.」
「Uuuuu~~!」
While
nodding, Candice buried her face in the cloth and into Valentin
in order to somehow regulate her breathing. Because she was clinging to his
body with her entire upper half, his warmth was transmitted directly. Perhaps
because her back was being rubbed by Valentin's large hand, it felt
somewhat nice.
（…………It's warm.）
Candice closed her eyelids. Whether it was
because she had a nightmare today, or because of the full feeling from eating
too much cake. Or perhaps because she had overthought things more than usual;
thinking about anything and everything became too much of a bother. The
sensation of a large, gentle palm stroking her back felt pleasant. Her body
gradually grew warm, and sleepiness attacked her. Inside the room that had
fallen dead silent, Candice, who had cried heavily, repeatedly hiccuped
as if having spasms. A cloth was pressed against her eyes, and her field of
vision went dark.
I wonder how much time had passed. Still clinging to Valentin, Candice had fallen fast asleep.