Cinderella is... the Male Lead? - Chapter 33
At that moment, the blanket that covered Rona slid sideways. Then the bed creaked, and a low voice was heard.
“I guess we can both fit under one blanket.”
“Is that so…”
Rona stammered her response, then shifted her position to lie on her back, facing the ceiling. She had asked Cinderella to sleep beside her, and it felt wrong to turn her back. Staring at the ceiling’s patterns, Rona parted her lips.
“Thank you for coming. I don’t know if we’ll hear the strange crying sounds again tonight, but…”
“Sister Rona.”
An androgynous voice drifted into her ear. When Rona glanced sideways, Cinderella, lying on her side, was staring intently at her.
“Yes?”
“I can’t hear anything.”
“What? O-Of course… you wouldn’t hear it right away. Let’s wait a bit.”
Was that what she was going to ask? Rona looked away and barely managed to mumble.
Was it because she was lying in bed with the female lead who should have despised her and killed her? It felt strangely uncomfortable and her heart was pounding.
Was this how prey felt lying next to a predator? Her heart was beating so loudly she could hear it in her ears.
‘Oh, please stop. Why is my heart like this? Cinderella won’t eat me. Calm down.’
Was it fear of being devoured? That was her fate according to the novel’s plot. If not, she couldn’t explain why her heart kept racing.
While Rona’s mind was in turmoil, Cinderella extended ‘her’ long arm toward her.
When a dark shadow covered her face, Rona flinched and tightly closed her eyes. She heard a click, and when she opened her eyes slightly, it was dark. Realizing Cinderella had turned off the bedroom light, Rona pulled up the blanket and let out a small exclamation.
“Oh! Uh…”
“We need to turn off the light to sleep.”
“Ah, r-right. You could have just asked me to turn it off…”
Why did ‘she’ go out of her way to turn off the light? It was embarrassing. Soon the blanket rustled, and Cinderella brought ‘her’ lips close to Rona’s ear. It was an excessively close distance.
“Goodnight, Sister. If you hear any strange sounds, shake my shoulder.”
“Okay…”
Rona placed her hands on her chest and tried to sleep. With the darkness, she felt her heartbeat even more acutely.
Glancing sideways, she saw Cinderella’s back turned to her. The calm sound of ‘her’ breathing filled the air. The gentle sound tickled Rona’s ears and gradually evened out, causing her consciousness to fade. Despite the tension, the insomnia that had plagued her for days made her quickly drift off.
But Cinderella was not about to miss the opportunity. He slowly opened his eyes and conjured mana with his hand.
Soon, an eerie crying sound reached Rona’s ear as she was about to fall asleep. She snapped her eyes open and urgently whispered to Cinderella.
“Gah! The sound! Didn’t you hear the crying sound just now?”
“…No? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Ah… that’s strange. I… I just heard it.”
Cinderella hadn’t heard it? Was it really just a hallucination only she could hear? Rona sighed in disappointment. Just then, the ominous crying sound was heard again. Cinderella seemed not to hear it, showing no reaction.
Scared, Rona forgot her earlier tension and clung to Cinderella. When her soft chest pressed against Cinderella’s firm back, Cinderella stiffened. The situation was unfolding more smoothly than expected, but it took his breath away.
“See, I heard it again.”
“Sister, I can’t hear anything.”
In the darkness, Cinderella’s low voice echoed. Rona, pressing close to Cinderella’s back, perked up her ears. She couldn’t hear anything again. If Cinderella couldn’t hear it, was it really just a hallucination only she could hear?
Relaxing her tight hold, Rona rested her forehead against Cinderella’s firm back. She felt the heat radiating from her forehead.
“Ha, you really didn’t hear it? Maybe I’m losing my mind lately.”
“…Maybe.”
Cinderella’s response came a beat late. The feel of Rona’s soft chest against his firm back, the touch of her bare skin against his legs, and her warm breath were all too enchanting. He was relieved that his underwear concealed the lower part well enough.
He had intended to be satisfied with just this, but when Rona’s hand started groping his chest, Cinderella’s body stiffened.
Unaware, Rona felt something was off as she groped. The spot where her hand landed should have felt soft, but it was flatter than expected.
Initially, she hadn’t meant to grope openly, but feeling something strange, her touch became bolder. As Rona unconsciously groped Cinderella’s upper chest, a large hand covered hers, making her flinch and pull her hand back.
‘Oh my God. I groped her chest without realizing it. Will she feel offended? But why is it so flat?’
She had noticed that Cinderella’s figure wasn’t very feminine.
‘Her’ broad back, mismatched with ‘her’ delicate face, ‘her’ large, rough hands, and ‘her’ firm arms when crossed. But she hadn’t realized ‘her’ chest was so flat. Though she hadn’t meant to grope, it felt like there was hardly any chest to speak of. She could almost mistake ‘her’ for a man.
