Given That I've Become a Villainess, I'd Like to Live Freely

[Chapter 77]

El gave me a request.

[El]: "I want a 'do your best' kiss."

To me, El is who he always has been. Someone like a little brother who likes to stick close to my side that I need to protect.
But, I think El has changed a bit recently. He's taller than I am and a lot stronger. And it was El who helped me the most during this past incident. Considering I was so gung-ho about stopping the dark auction when I was younger, I never thought the day would come where our situations would be reversed.

It's true I was relieved when I saw El coming to my rescue at that time.

But, how could I have ever imagined that someone who I've only ever seen as a little brother like El would ask me to kiss him?

[Rose]: "Eh!?"

(Did I hear him wrong!? There's no way that El would.......right!?)

[El]: "So it......really is no good?"

We're both lying down in the same bed, so I can't see El's tail. However, since his ears are droopy, I can only assume his tail is droopy too.

(My weakness....... No, but......)

That man flickered across my mind.

I can't tell El or my family.
I can still feel that man's face buried into my neck. My maidenhood went untouched, but my skin still feels clammy from where it was touched by a man I didn't know, and that sickening feeling from where he licked my neck won't go away no matter how much I wash it.

(I'm afraid of men now because of that man! What am I going to do!?)

[El]: "Rose?"

[Rose]: ".....sorry. That's different, from a reward, so it's no good......."

I couldn't stop my hands from trembling, so I pushed them underneath the covers to hide them away. I tried covering it up with a smile, but that probably looks a little forced too.

[El]: "......that guy did something after all didn't he?"

I was shaken by El's voice suddenly dropping down low, but I still denied his words.

[Rose]: "......no, nothing. I was captured, and he threw me in his dungeon. Just that."

[El]: "......am I, that unreliable?"

Whether he had realized I was trembling or not, El wrapped his arms my shoulders and gently held me close.

[Rose]: "El?"

[El]: ".....sorry, just let me hug you for a bit."

(El's smell......it calms me down~. It's hard to believe I was shaking only a second ago.)

El's gentle scent and the warmth I felt from his hug was comforting. So much so that it only took a few minutes before I had fallen asleep.