A Bitter Spoonful

The moment I closed the door, Maple, sitting on the bed, let out a nervous whimper, or perhaps a restless murmur.

“Fubai?”

“Where are you?”

“I’m right here, where else would I be?”

“I only stepped away for a moment.”

“Why are you so anxious?”

“It’s all because I can’t see!”

“Afraid you’re being ‘left to play’?”

“I am not!”

The more he denied it, the more it felt like an admission.

I returned to the bedside, holding the tea bowl, and spoke in a particularly dutiful tone.

“Maple, it’s time for your medicine.”

“Ugh, judging by your tone, you must have poisoned it!”

“Yes, yes, I just added two catties of arsenic.”

I stirred it with a spoon.

“So, are you going to take it or not?”

“Then bring it over here.”

He spread his hands, adopting a welcoming posture, though to me, it looked more like he was asking for a hug.

Could he truly not fear my poisoning?

Was his trust in me that absolute?

My mood instantly brightened.

“No need, this Princess will feed you personally~”

His pale neck swallowed nervously.

“How could I possibly impose?”

“When this Princess personally feeds you, you should be eternally grateful and consume it with tears of joy!”

I scooped a spoonful and offered it.

Maple: …

I: …

Seconds ticked by, and my arm, holding the spoon aloft, began to ache.

“Well, feed me!”

“Well, open your mouth!”

My heavens!

I yearned to funnel it directly into his mouth.

“I can’t see where the spoon is!” he grumbled indignantly.

“Now, open your mouth and say: ‘Ah—'”

His voice wavered with uncertainty.

“Like this?”

“Ah—”

“Are you a little girl?”

“Why is your mouth so small?”

I shoved a spoonful into his mouth.

Oh no…

That was a mistake.

He ended up choking.

He coughed for quite a while before finally recovering, then exclaimed in a fit of pique.

“Are you a pervert?”

“You nearly shoved that into my throat just now!”

“Uh… it was an accident,” I lied, refusing to admit my blunder.

I retorted righteously, “That way, you won’t taste the bitterness.”

“I want to drink it myself!”

“Hmph!”

“You’re displeased that this Princess is personally feeding you?”

“Then you might as well drink this bowl of… stuff and hurry on your way!”

“I can’t see!”

“Don’t make me imagine things!”

“Ugh… gulp, gulp…”

I simply aimed the tea bowl at his mouth and poured the entire contents down.

Bitter?

Imagine a vast, grueling march of suffering.

Maple lay sprawled on the bed, uncomfortable for a long while.

Finally, he lifted his gauze-covered face, looking at me with a wronged expression.

“Ugh… Pervert.”

Just looking at him, I wanted to commit a crime!

How could he be so adorable?

“Who are you calling a pervert?”

“When this Princess personally feeds you, you should be making sounds of pure satisfaction, like chugging a carbonated drink!”

I frowned, noticing a trickle of white medicine still at the corner of Maple’s mouth as he called me a pervert.

“Wait, don’t move yet, you have something at your mouth—”

I picked up the spoon and scraped away the medicine that had dribbled from his lip.

Maple suddenly shivered, his face flushing crimson.

He pointed at me weakly.

“Did you just… lick the corner of my mouth?”

Huh—?

(Confused Black Man Meme.jpg)

“Your imagination is truly vivid!”

“It’s all because… I’ve noticed you really like playing pranks, so… it’s not entirely impossible!”

“It was the spoon!”

“The spoon!”

I pounced, scraping the spoon across his cheek, back and forth.

It was actually quite gentle!

Hmph, I had to make it perfectly clear, otherwise, if he truly believed I’d licked the corner of his mouth or something… it would be impossible to explain.

“Would my tongue be that stiff!”

“Please remember this feeling well!”

“Ugh… I’m blind right now, so don’t be so hard on me…!”