Because Pushing Didn't Work, I Decided to Pull Away Translation

21.1 The Only Thing I Want

Two days had passed since I was brought to that mansion. Every morning, day, and night, delicious meals apparently made by Cliff himself would be served to me. To be honest, I had no appetite at all. Even so, I thought it’d be a problem if I had no stamina on the chance something happened, so I forced it down my stomach.

Other than during mealtimes, I was allowed to move freely around the mansion. However, no matter how much I looked around, there were only a few empty rooms. I couldn’t find any exits or anything that could be useful. Perhaps, that was why he let me roam free.

My water magic wasn’t so powerful to make a hole in the wall. If I were to take action and make a loud noise, Cliff was guaranteed to come immediately.

I kept thinking of a way to escape whenever I had the opportunity. The only solution I could think off was to recover my magic tools.

Cliff would only eat together with me, occasionally we had tea and he innocently talked with me. He didn’t harm me. But, when I thought about how he didn’t have the slightest bit of remorse about attempting to kill Marian, I felt nervous. I also couldn’t sleep much at night.

If that continued for too long, I’d surely grow physically weaker and would have more difficulty in escaping. The fact that there wasn’t much I could do made me impatient.

“C, Cliff, where are the accessories that I wore…?”

That day, in the large dining room, we were having dinner. I was facing Cliff; he was smiling as usual. When I fearfully asked him, Cliff smiled, as if troubled.

“I don’t want you to escape, so I confiscated all your magic tools.”

“I, if it isn’t a magic tool, will you return it to me?”

“That’s right. Alright, then, I will return the necklace you’ve been so adamant about. I wonder if it was gift from Noel?”

After dinner, he truly came to deliver the necklace to the room I was using. A beautiful amethyst necklace—the color looked a lot like Noel’s eyes. Just staring at it made my tears overflowed.

…I wanted to see Noel. Was he thinking about me right now?

I tightly hugged the necklace against my chest, and I closed my eyes on top of the bed. Mysteriously, I slept peacefully that night.

***

The next day at noon, I was still facing Cliff as I ate the sandwich he made. Suddenly, I realized that day was the day my restriction spell would lift. If that incident hadn’t happened, I’d still be by Noel side, professing my love to him.

Anyway, I needed information. He even returned the necklace I received from Noel. If I asked him something, he might answer. With that in mind, I decided to ask about what I was most interested in.

“Where is this?”

“The woods near the border.”

In other words, the Great Forest of Notes. Wasn’t that a dangerous place where demons prowled? Certainly, no one would assume we were in such a place. I felt hopeless—the probability of help arriving and the probability of escaping were both quite low.

When I was worried, thinking if living in such a place was alright in the first, he smiled as if he had seen through me.

“There are magic tools set around this house to avoid the monsters. If you stay in this mansion, you won’t be attacked.”

“I, I see…”

“Noel will soon be tightening the border security. We shall live here until it settles down.”

“Are you planning to go to another country…?”

“That’s right. I’m thinking of living there for the rest of my life.”

…I felt terribly dizzy. If no one came to help as it was, I’d be taken to another country and live with Cliff for the rest of my life. That was no different from being dead.

Above all, when I thought that I might not be able to see Noel ever again, my vision gradually blurred.

“Today is the day your restriction spell lifts, isn’t it?”

“Eh…?”

Towards his sudden words, my heart fluttered. Why did he know that?

“The day has finally arrived where you can confess your love to Noel. I’m sorry that you have to be here with me, instead.”

“Why…?”

“Didn’t I say that I’m always looking at you? I know everything about Sherry. Ah, I wish you had suffered the consequences of it. But, it’s quite surprising that Noel didn’t relent at all. For him to be desperately clinging to you like that—how pathetic.”

I gripped my skirt tightly and endured my rising anger. I couldn’t forgive him for ridiculing Noel. The irritation I felt at the moment was more intense than what I had felt for the past few days.

Before I noticed it, I had already spoken.

“…Don’t say bad things about Lord Noel. I’m the one who’s at fault.”

As soon as I said that, I realized that Cliff’s mood, who was smiling, had changed in an instant.

“Even at a time like this, all you ever think about is Noel. How am I to get you to notice me? Should I kill Noel?”

“For the rest of my life, I will never look at you that way. If anything happens to Noel, I will follow him.”

I was already at my limit. What I heard earlier already made everything feel hopeless. I also couldn’t bear being trapped in such a place forever and having to endure Cliff’s moods.

“…I see. So, between you and Noel, it doesn’t matter who I kill first because the result will be the same.”


***T/N: Oh my god, Cliff, you should’ve just tried to get closer to her by bringing her your delicious cooking back in the days… I mean, if you didn’t win her, at the very least you would’ve won us, the readers…

<Previous chapter

Next chapter>