Chapter: 100
“Umm…”
Lian sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Normally, he would have said he’d come back later and left, but today he had a mission: “Keep Noah occupied for the surprise party!”
Because of that, he couldn’t help but look towards the bathroom with an awkward expression.
‘Since she’s showering, maybe I can buy some time until the party preparations are done?’
If she had just started showering, she would naturally take her sweet time, which meant he could sneak back to the kitchen. Considering the time it would take to dry her hair and get dressed, returning to the kitchen seemed like a much better plan.
Just as Lian was running through his hopeful calculations, the sound of running water from the bathroom suddenly stopped.
[Looks like she’s coming out soon.]
“Ah…”
Lian let out a disappointed sigh but quickly shook it off.
‘Anyway, I needed to tell her we should leave Cardishian. Let’s think about it positively.’
With that thought in mind, he turned his gaze away from the bathroom. Even among friends, staring at someone coming out half-naked would be, well, awkward.
Lian’s eyes shifted to Julianna.
“Uh, Julianna? Since Noah seems to be done, shouldn’t we give her some privacy?”
[Ah! You’re right.]
Julianna chuckled and stood up. At that moment, Noah’s voice floated out from the bathroom.
“Julianna, we’re out of towels. Can you bring one?”
“What…?!”
Noah’s casual request made Lian’s body freeze like a statue. His eyes ping-ponged between the bathroom and Julianna.
‘Are they… in that kind of relationship?!’
Seeing Lian’s shocked face, Julianna sighed softly.
[Sure, I’ll bring it right away.]
“Whoa…!”
Lian, utterly surprised, stumbled backward against the door. His face was red as a tomato, and his eyes were darting all over the place.
‘Wait, how big is their age difference?’
While Lian was getting steamier by the second with his mental math, something whizzed and hit him in the chest. Instinctively, he caught it before it hit the floor. It was a dry towel.
“Huh? Why are you giving this to me?”
[Would it be appropriate for me to take it in as a woman?]
“But Noah specifically asked you…”
[That’s because I was the only one in the room. If you leave it by the door, she would pick it up herself. But now that you’re here, it’s not necessary.]
Julianna shrugged and returned to her book. Lian looked down at the towel in his hands with a bewildered expression.
The heat from his face gradually faded as he let out a long sigh of relief.
‘Phew, thank goodness. No matter how you slice it, a hundred-year age gap would be weird.’
Lian didn’t know the exact age difference between Julianna and Noah, but he figured it must be at least a hundred years.
Relieved that his friend wasn’t in a relationship with someone a hundred years older (and a ghost!), Lian carefully folded the towel and marched towards the bathroom.
Click.
An impatient Noah cracked the bathroom door open slightly.
“Julianna?”
Prompted by Noah’s call, Lian rushed towards the bathroom door. The door was made of frosted glass, turning the inside into a blurry mosaic. Lian squinted at the silhouette behind the opaque door and thought,
‘Was Noah always this petite?’
The hazy view made her look smaller, with narrower shoulders and a thinner waist than usual. Lian frowned slightly.
‘Maybe I’ve been viewing Noah as too much of an adult.’
While Lian always tried to take care of the kids, he relied pretty heavily on Noah, who served as the glue for everyone.
Just like a child who suddenly realizes that their dad’s back is much smaller than they imagined. Feeling a bit emotional, Lian gazed at Noah’s hunched figure through the frosted door.
‘What does it mean to be a good friend! I’ll make an effort to be someone she can lean on during tough times!’
With that sentiment echoing in his mind, Lian grabbed the slightly ajar door. Even though he intended to be a good friend, he felt a playful spark and yanked the door open.
Lian flashed a goofy smile as he opened the door wide.
“Here’s your to— uh!”
“What, what?”
The infamous boss, capable of overpowering forces even gods feared, Lian ended up bleeding from his nose as he stumbled backward. Noah, with a dazed expression, looked down at Lian, utterly confused.
“What’s happening? L-Lian?”
A befuddled Noah began to back away, as a pool of blood quickly formed around Lian’s crumpled body.
The embarrassment mixed with her confusion seemed to fade into genuine concern.
“L-Lian? Are you okay?!”
If he were an average Joe, he would have bled out and become a painting on the floor. Noah, tossing her humiliation aside, dashed towards Lian.
“Lian! Lian! Julianna! It’s Lian!”
[Hmm…]
Julianna’s gaze trembled as she swooped toward Lian and Noah.
[‘I didn’t expect things to turn out like this…?’]
She had imagined scenes like “Uh, what? Noah, what is this?!” or “Whoa! What are you doing?!” but never a murder scene. Julianna turned to Noah with a skeptical look.
[Did you stab him thinking he was a pervert?]
“No, of course not!”
Noah was so flustered that she started to shake and even shed tears. The overlap of confusion was sending her emotions into a tailspin.
“Ugh…”
“…! Lian! Are you conscious?!”
“Ugh, why am I— ugh!”
Splat!
As soon as Lian opened his eyes and saw the radiant skin, he started gushing blood again and fainted right away. The white steam was hiding Noah’s body, but the proximity revealed just a bit too much for Lian’s poor flustered brain.
“What do I do?!”
[How about putting on some clothes first?]
“Huh?!”
Realizing her state at Julianna’s words, Noah blushed as red as the blood on the floor, shielding her upper body with her arms. Her eyes were darting around in a panic, torn between wanting to help Lian and wanting to cover up.
Julianna sighed softly.
[I’ll take Lian to the bed, so you should wash off the blood and get dressed.]
Julianna shoved the dazed Noah into the bathroom and lifted Lian to the bed, even wiping his face with the towel he had brought.
[Does this guy have some kind of illness? Why is he suddenly bleeding like this…?]
At first, she thought he must’ve gotten a nosebleed because he was overly excited from seeing something scandalous. She had read similar scenes in books before. But the amount of blood was way beyond just that.
It made more sense that his hidden illness had flared up after witnessing the shocking sight of Noah.
After giving Lian’s face a quick clean-up, Julianna removed his blood-soaked shirt.
[Huh?]
Julianna stared down at Lian’s upper body, her eyes wide with surprise. His solid build and pale skin seemed almost unreal.
[Why are there no scars?]
Julianna distinctly recalled Noah mentioning that Lian had suffered through horrific experiments, scarring him badly. She had even seen the evidence herself! Yet, the body before her looked unmarred by suffering.
[This doesn’t make sense.]
Julianna began to feel around Lian’s body, searching for any signs he might have been through hell.
Clunk!
Noah, still worried about Lian, hurriedly washed off the blood and burst through the bathroom door.
“Julianna, is Lian okay—?”
The instant Noah’s eyes landed on the scene, she couldn’t help but tremble uncontrollably. There was Lian, half-naked, and Julianna was all over him!
Noah felt something snap in her mind.
[Ah, Noah, are you done washing? More importantly, I found something weird—wait, hold on? Noah? What, why are you holding a sword?]
Not long after, a loud smacking noise echoed through Noah’s room. But except for Noah and Lian, no one else could hear it.
Moments later, the misunderstanding between Julianna and Noah was finally untangled. Looking at Julianna sternly, Noah said,
“Even so, you shouldn’t be touching someone else’s body without their permission.”
[That’s just too cruel… sniffling.]
Julianna rubbed her sore head, sounding defeated. Ignoring her, Noah quickly threw on some clothes and activated a magical artifact.
Her physique became more toned, and her shoulders broadened. The previously oversized chest flattened out, bandaged tight as a drum.
The shirt that had been crying, “Save me…” now fit her comfortably.
As soon as Noah was dressed, she hurried to Lian’s side.
“Lian…”
Filled with concern, Noah gazed down at Lian. Julianna, still rubbing her head, voiced her thoughts.
[This is all incredibly odd.]
End of Chapter.
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