Reborn As Noble - Chapter 488

Chapter 488: Soft Words and Strong Feelings ( 488 )
After the meal, Javier stood up and stretched his arms.

He reached into his magic storage, pulling out a folded mat and blanket, then laid them neatly on the grass beside the fire.

“You two sleep here,” he said plainly.

Mimi tilted her head.

“Nya~? Can we sleep with you instead?”

Delya smiled softly. “My~ it’s cold tonight. Wouldn’t it be warmer together~?”

Javier looked at both of them with a deadpan expression.

“No.”

He pointed behind him.

“I’m sleeping with my Pekko. He’s big. He’s warm. And he doesn’t talk back.”

Javier walked over and sat beside his giant bird, leaning against its warm, feathered side. Buddy puffed up and shifted slightly, making more space.

Mimi pouted. “Nya… rude.”

Delya sighed. “How lonely…”

Javier ignored them, pulled his blanket over himself, and closed his eyes.

“Good night.”

He then looked up at the night sky. The stars were bright, scattered across the black sky like scattered mana stones.

Delya, still lying on her blanket, glanced over at him.

“Hey, Javier.”

He didn’t look.

“Hmm?”

“Why don’t you want more girls around you? You’re strong. Smart. Noble. Isn’t it normal for a man to want more wives?”

Javier stayed silent for a moment before answering.

“We’re still thirteen. Marriage is still far off.”

Delya smiled. “True. But isn’t it a man’s dream to have more than one wife?”

“Yeah… maybe.”

He paused.

“But why should I chase more when I haven’t even secured the first one I wanted since the day I was born?”

Mimi blinked. “Nya? Since you were a baby?”

Delya tilted her head. “Hmm? How can you even remember something like that? You were just a baby at the time.”

Javier looked away from the stars, closing his eyes.

“Don’t ask questions.”

He rolled slightly and pulled his blanket tighter.

“Go to sleep.”

Delya and Mimi exchanged quiet glances, neither pressing further.

The camp settled into silence.

Only the sound of the gentle stream and Buddy’s soft breathing filled the night.

Inside Javier’s mind, a name echoed softly.

Liana.

The beautiful elf who had cared for him since he was a baby. The one who had stayed by his side through everything. The person he had chosen to marry from the very moment he was reborn into this world.

He knew he just had to wait.

Adulthood. That was the only thing standing in the way of it becoming official.

And after that…

Gloria.

Another constant in his life. Calm. Mature. Quietly devoted.

Javier kept staring at the sky.

His eyes didn’t blink. But he wasn’t really looking at the stars anymore.

He was lost.

Liana’s flustered face.

The expression she always made when he teased her too much.

Liana’s soft, warm smile.

The one that made everything feel right again.

He remembered the times she read books aloud to him while he rested on her lap. Her voice steady. Her hand gently stroking his hair.

And their daily kiss.

Soft. But real.

Even amid the chaos of the world, that part of his life never changed.

Javier took a quiet breath.

Why… why do I keep remembering this right now?

He closed his eyes.

Still thinking of her.

Delya glanced over and saw Javier still staring at the sky.

He wasn’t talking. Just quietly smiling to himself.

That expression made her heart skip.

That face…

So calm. So focused. So unlike the boys she knew.

Handsome… and real.

She looked around and saw Mimi already asleep, curled up under her blanket with a soft purring sound.

Carefully, Delya crept closer—step by step.

She lowered herself beside him, then gently leaned in and hugged him from the side.

“D-Delya!?” Javier blinked, surprised.

“Mmm…” she closed her eyes for a moment, holding him without speaking.

“What is wrong with you?” he muttered, although his voice wasn’t harsh.

Delya’s voice was quiet. No teasing. Just her true self.

“I just… I want to be part of that smile, too.”

Javier didn’t speak.

“I don’t mean to play around this time,” she continued softly. “I want to be part of that kind of love. The real kind. The kind that makes you smile like that when you think about it.”

She looked up at him, just for a moment.

“I want to be someone worth thinking about, too.”

“Even just a bit…” Delya whispered softly.

“I’m not asking for all your attention. I just want to be part of it.”

She rested her head gently on his shoulder.

“And at least… let me hug you like this.”

Javier stared straight ahead, his face stiff.

“Ugh… You’re the princess of the Demon Kingdom. You shouldn’t be doing stuff like this.”

Delya smiled faintly, not letting go.

“But I also have the right to love who I want.”

She looked up at him again.

“Besides, you’re not legally married yet. And it’s normal for nobles to have many wives, isn’t it?”

Javier sighed and looked away.

“…Still.”

“I’m not asking to be first,” Delya said softly, her tone calm. “I just want to be somewhere in your heart. Even if it’s just a small place.”

Javier didn’t reply. But he also didn’t push her away.

The stars above continued to shine quietly.

Snap!

“Munya…?” Mimi stirred, eyes barely open. She reached out to her side, only to find the space empty.

Her ears twitched.

Her eyes shot open.

“NYAAA!” she screamed dramatically, pointing.

“That’s cheating! Mimi wants to hug him too!!”

Javier froze.

“Oi! Go to sleep already!!!”

“Nya! Don’t care!!”

Without hesitation, Mimi launched herself from her mat, jumping with all her might.

“Mimi cannonball!!”

“Wait—!”

THUD!!

She landed right on top of Javier, arms wide, tail flicking with triumph.

“Aahhhhhhhh!!!” Javier yelled, completely crushed.

Delya fell back laughing, covering her mouth.

After a moment of chaos, both Mimi and Delya settled down beside Javier, happily hugging him from both sides as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Javier lay flat, arms limp.

“…You both have your own place to sleep,” he muttered.

No response.

He sighed again.

“Also, a princess shouldn’t be sleeping out in the open field like this. You both have status. You should be escorted by proper guards.”

“Nya?” Mimi blinked. “Father said the same thing. But I left them behind. I told him ‘Young Armand will protect me.'”

She grinned proudly.

“He just sighed when I left.”

Javier stared at her.

“That poor man.”

Delya chuckled softly.

“My brother didn’t stop me either. He knows I’m fast. Strong.”

She sat up slightly, tapping her temple with a finger.

“If something were to happen, I can just use my skill—Phantom Shadow.”

Javier raised an eyebrow.

“…Phantom what?”

“It lets me split my body into a copy. I control all at once. I send the fake to distract the enemy while I run with the real one.”

Javier looked at her for a long moment.

“Useful,” he admitted. “But you still shouldn’t be here without guards.”

Delya smiled.

“I don’t need guards. I have you, don’t I?”

Javier sighed, covering his face with his arm.

Delya leaned closer, arms still wrapped around him.

“You know, Javier… that copy I mentioned earlier—it’s exactly like the real me.”

Javier glanced at her.

“Yeah? And?”

“They move the same. Think the same. Even talk the same,” she continued softly. “It’s just that when they take a hit, they turn into smoke.”

Javier raised an eyebrow.

“Sounds tricky. But what’s your point?”

Delya smiled.

“There’s an advantage, you know. For the one who marries me.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Without warning, she hugged him tighter, her voice dropping to a whisper near his ear.

“I can summon up to seven phantoms.”

Javier froze.

Delya didn’t say anything else. She just smiled.

Javier stared at the stars again, his face slowly blanking.

“…I’m sleeping.”

“Good night~,” she responded sweetly.

Mimi, half-asleep, mumbled, “Nya…? Seven what…?”

Buddy shuffled nearby, flicking dirt with one foot.

“Cuquawked.” (She’s dangerous.)

( End Of Chapter )