Chapter 33: The Rosemary Sisters Launch Their Assault
After a series of twists and turns, Rest was officially accepted into the Rosemary Marquis House as a prospective groom, thanks to Airish’s acknowledgment. Albert, the head of the family and Rest’s father-in-law-to-be, reluctantly recognized Rest’s engagement to the sisters, making their relationship publicly acknowledged within the household.
The only issue was that Rest himself was unaware that he had become the sisters’ fiancé. He believed he was merely welcomed into the mansion as an apprentice servant, as a token of gratitude for saving their lives. Although he felt a strange discomfort at how close the sisters had become to him, he did not perceive it as affection.
Rather than being dull, this was likely due to his lack of experience in being loved. In his previous life, he had not received love from his parents and had been focused on studying and working part-time to support himself. While he had friends, he had never had a romantic partner. In this life, things were somewhat better, but he had only a few acquaintances from his commoner days and a familiar priest; his romantic experience was nonexistent. He had never even considered the possibility of being loved by someone outside his family.
And so, the Rosemary Sisters launched their full-scale assault. They chose a thorough “offensive” strategy to ensure that Rest would see them as women.
“Um…”
“What is it, Rest-kun?”
“What can I do for you, Rest-sama?”
“Isn’t this situation… a bit strange?”
Rest’s face contorted as he grappled with the absurdity of his current predicament.
The three of them were in the bathing room of the Rosemary Marquis House. Rest was only wrapped in a towel around his lower body, barely concealing his most private parts. The sisters, while not completely naked, wore only thin bathrobes that clung to their damp skin, accentuating their alluring figures. Such enticing beauties were washing Rest’s back as he sat on a bath chair.
(This is… definitely strange…!?)
Rest’s mind was in turmoil. He understood that Viola and Primula were grateful to him for saving their lives. However, this was clearly going too far. While it was one thing for them to tutor him, having them wash his back was well beyond the bounds of gratitude.
“How’s the pressure?”
“Ah…!”
Primula whispered as she leaned closer, pressing her soft curves against his back, causing a delightful sensation.
(What the…!?)
What was this weight pressing against his back? He had felt similar sensations while studying, but this was entirely different. Of course, it would be. Rest was currently bare-skinned, and Primula was only wearing a bathrobe that was even thinner than a negligee. The wet fabric clung to her body, making it feel almost as if they were touching directly.
(…Could it be that she’s not wearing anything underneath?)
“I-I’ll wash you too!”
“Ah…!”
Now it was Viola, flustered, who pressed herself against him. Though slightly smaller than Primula, her firm chest was now in close contact with him.
(Even though they have the same chest, the sensations are different… No, I don’t want to acknowledge that I can tell the difference…!)
“Wh-why are you two doing this…?”
“Why, you ask…? Don’t you understand yet?”
“…I don’t.”
Viola and Primula gazed at him with glistening eyes.
“A mere savior of life wouldn’t go this far.”
“Exactly. We wouldn’t do this for anyone but a special person.”
“Hey, Rest-kun. Do you really not understand how we feel…?”
“……”
The warmth radiating from the two bodies pressing against him. Could he truly be so oblivious to the boldness of young women acting this way?
“Could it be…?”
Finally, a click echoed in Rest’s mind, as if a puzzle piece had fallen into place.
(They have feelings for me…? No way!)
Even Rest could see it now. Viola and Primula were harboring affections for him.
(But why…? I don’t remember doing anything to deserve their affection…)
He hadn’t done anything significant—just helped them a little in the Forest. Yet, that small act had somehow led them to develop feelings for him. In his previous life, he had not even received love from his parents. In this life, he had lost his mother early on and had been mistreated by his father, stepmother, and half-brother.
(They actually like someone like me…?)
“Rest-kun?”
“Rest-sama?”
“…Thank you.”
Rest expressed his gratitude. He was thankful that they had feelings for someone like him. However, the sisters responded with a slightly sulky tone.
“Thanking us feels a bit off, don’t you think?”
“Yes, what we want to hear isn’t that.”
“Um…”
Even Rest, despite his dullness, understood. What they sought was not gratitude but a response to their affection.
“Um… I’m sorry.”
““Eh!?””
“Ah, no, no! That’s not a rejection!”
Rest hurriedly tried to clarify as the sisters’ expressions turned sad.
“I’m really happy about your feelings. Truly, I’m incredibly happy! But… I don’t know how to respond to your feelings.”
He had been desperately working to change his circumstances. To prove himself to his father and stepmother, to make his brother eat his words. He was in the midst of striving to change a life that had been trampled upon and oppressed. He had no room to think about romantic matters.
“So… can you give me some time? I promise I’ll respond properly when the right moment comes.”
“…Alright, I’ll wait for you. After all, you’re special!”
“Besides, we can’t move forward until you pass the entrance exam anyway.”
The two sisters snuggled closer to Rest, accepting his rather pitiful postponement of a response.
“Thank you…!”
Rest sincerely expressed his gratitude. He could never dislike either of them. He just wanted the confidence to reciprocate their feelings.
(I will become stronger. I will rise higher and higher…! Once I can protect them properly, that’s when…!)
Rest vowed to himself that he would respond to their feelings, while simultaneously trying to think of a way to distract himself from the warmth radiating from their bodies.