Becoming the Guide of the Mysophobic Villain? Absolutely Not! - Side Story 22 - (Series End)

Instead of letting go, Rose reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

Her body drew closer, and the small figure that had been causing him so much agony lately came to him willingly.

She wouldn’t even let him remove his gloves, yet here she was, hugging him on her own.

He couldn’t quite understand it, but his arms—out of habit—wrapped around her, holding her tightly.

But her goal wasn’t just a hug.

Her lips moved closer to his ear, her soft breath grazing it as she whispered,

“You… you…”

…are not my type.

“What…?”

As his mind started reeling from the sudden, shocking words, another voice called out from a distance.

“Lord Claude…!”

His eyes snapped open.

It was early dawn. Claude quickly spotted Rose’s wide, round eyes peering at him through the darkness.

“Are you awake now?”

In the haze of not knowing whether he was still dreaming or fully awake, the meaning in her eyes was unmistakable—she was worried about him. That meant this was reality.

The moment he realized it, he shot upright, wrapping his arm around Rose’s waist and holding her close, desperately.

Though startled, Rose didn’t pull away from his embrace.

“…Did you have a nightmare?”

Her voice, gentle and cautious, carried a soothing quality as she lay quietly in his arms.

The familiar feeling of guiding flowed into him, brushing over his skin like gentle waves against the shore.

By now, he should have been used to it. But there were still moments, like this one, that struck him with a profound sense of emotion, moments that left his chest aching.

“Tell me… what happened?”

Her voice was soft, almost like she was comforting a child. He couldn’t help but feel a mix of embarrassment and gratitude.

What kind of nightmare could have shaken him enough to make her worry like this? Yet he couldn’t deny that he’d been rattled enough by the dream for her to notice.

The real irony was that the nightmare had been triggered by nothing more than a question he’d heard the day before.

〈What do you think it would be like if I were the Esper and you were the Guide, Lord Claude?〉

It was just one of Rose’s usual “What if?” questions.

She often posed these hypothetical, unrealistic scenarios and was always curious about his reactions to them. With her tiny head always coming up with such strange ideas, it was impossible for him to predict what she might say next.

Whenever she asked questions like that, he felt mentally exhausted. Why did he need to imagine such impossible situations? Still, when faced with her bright, expectant eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint her.

But this particular question had been oddly interesting. What would it be like if Rose were the Esper, and he was the Guide?

〈That sounds pretty good, actually…〉

He’d meant it, surprisingly.

If Rose had been an Esper, at least he wouldn’t feel so anxious, constantly worrying when she was out of his sight.

Even though he found her endearing when she acted recklessly, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the idea of her being out in the world.

If only she had the power to protect herself, maybe things would be different.

He didn’t want her to suffer from the pain or fear of running out of guiding. But if he could be by her side forever, wouldn’t that be okay?

If she depended on him, as he depended on her, if her chaotic mind was filled with thoughts of him, just like his was with her…

But no, it wasn’t like that.

“Rose, you’re perfect just as you are.”

“…?”

Her big, round eyes blinked at him in confusion.

Suddenly? Her expression made it obvious she had no idea why he’d said that. But he didn’t care.

He started squishing and patting her small face, making her cheeks crumple as he played with her.

She was startled by this unexpected treatment in the middle of the night, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.

It wasn’t the first time. When it came to Rose, Claude always lost his composure and acted childish.

He was always anxious, always unsure. Back then, when she kept slipping away from him like sand through his fingers, and even now, when she seemed so comfortable in his embrace, he still felt the same way.

Even if she had been the Esper and he the Guide, nothing would have changed.

No matter what the conditions were, in a relationship, it was always the one who loved more that became desperate.

“Becoming an Esper is something not even worth thinking about…”

“What? Are you telling me you’re acting like this because of that random thing I said earlier?”

“…”

“Seriously? You’re overthinking a joke! Just forget about it and get some more sleep!”

Rose clicked her tongue in annoyance, now realizing it wasn’t anything serious.

Claude, on the other hand, felt utterly wronged.

〈Side stories, end〉

T/N: Thank you to everyone who has read and supported this novel until the very end!!

It didn’t turn out the way I thought it would, and honestly I was hoping that author-nim would give us more ㅠㅠ I’m still holding out hope that she’ll come back with more side stories in the future, and if she does, I’ll post them here too!

So, goodbye to Rose and Claude for now! I’ll really miss these two lovebirds~