My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 278

“Hmm. I think I left it here somewhere.”

As soon as Ella returned to the room, she began rummaging through the wardrobe. Wearing a dress she rarely puts on, she kept shifting her posture as if uncomfortable.

Her upper body was already deep inside the wardrobe, as if she had tucked something away in a very hidden spot.

“Oh, here it is.”

After a brief struggle, she pulled out a wooden box.

“What’s this?”

“When I got infected by the Magic Beast… Err, I mean, it’s something I wrote about a year before Praus sold the Purification Stone on the black market.”

When she was infected by the Magic Beast.

It was because Ella was an S-Class that she was sold off during the Demon War. Until then, I never expected I would have this kind of relationship with her.

“I was really in pain back then…”

She said while gently brushing the box, wearing a nostalgic smile as if she missed those times.

“Who says people have to die? Now I can share love with Praus like this. Hehe.”

Ella said innocently, her smiling face beautiful.

Closing the wardrobe, she grabbed my hand again and headed towards the table.

“Could you bring a chair and sit next to me?”

“Sure.”

I brought the chair from across the table and pushed it right next to her.

“No need to be so close. Am I that charming to you?”

“Yep. I like it.”

“…I don’t know if that’s too straightforward or if you really mean it?”

Ella said teasingly as she tapped her cheeks. She wanted a kiss. I chuckled and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“I love you.”

“Hehe! Thank you, darling.”

Thinking back, Ella was quite the active one during our dating phase. She often acted playfully to coax me into intimacy.

Of course, she would shy away during the more serious moments, but she often showed boldness lately. So much so that sometimes I found myself being led during our intimate moments.

“Just sit down already.”

She tapped the chair again. Once I saw her hand pull back, I sat down.

Looking a bit nervous, Ella opened the box and spoke.

“But… there might be some embarrassing things written in here. So don’t laugh, okay?”

“Got it.”

“Give me your hand.”

She flashed a satisfied smile as she reached out her hand towards me, lightly waving it as if asking me to hold it.

“Huh? Isn’t it going to be uncomfortable to read if we hold hands?”

“I just want to hold your hand. Hurry, give it to me. Quick, quick.”

“Okay.”

I took Ella’s hand, and she puffed her cheeks indignantly before intertwining our fingers.

“If you love me, then this is what we do!”

“That’s true, but… won’t our hands get all sweaty like this?”

“It’s fine. I won’t let go while we’re reading my bucket list. The paper won’t get wet!”

“Alright, alright.”

“And again, absolutely no laughing!”

“I got it already.”

After repeated confirmations, she slowly opened the box.

Inside, there were bundles of parchment tied together. It looked somewhat like a book.

Though time had caused it to yellow, it was still legible enough to read the inked words.

As I stared blankly, she pulled out a handful of parchment and placed it on the table.

“…Can I read it?”

“Of course. But please keep it a secret. Even my dad doesn’t know about this.”

“If you say that, I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to see it.”

“It’s fine for you. I can trust you, even if I can’t trust anyone else.”

Ella expressed her affirmation by gripping my hand tightly.

“Thanks for thinking that way.”

I grabbed the top piece of parchment she had set on the table. As I tried to pull it closer, Ella leaned in eagerly.

“Oh, I want to see too. It’s been a while since I looked at it… I want to know what I was thinking back then.”

“Okay.”

With the parchment between us, we slowly began to read the words written on it. Or at least that was the plan.

But from the very first sentence, I was struck and couldn’t look away.

“I feel like I’m dying from the pain.”

The moment I read those words, I was left speechless.

That was not an appropriate phrase for a bucket list. Just as I was about to realize that this was not a bucket list but something else entirely, Ella urgently snatched the stack of parchment away from me.

“Oh no, I… I think I looked at the wrong thing.”

She awkwardly cleared her throat and began pulling her hand away from mine.

“Ella, this is…”

“This is just… that. It’s what I wrote when I had no one to vent to while I was suffering.”

But I didn’t think so…

Honestly, Ella’s past wasn’t very fleshed out in the game, so there was a lot I didn’t know.

After all, supporting characters are rarely given much weight in a story meant to shine the spotlight on the main lead, so there’s no detailed description to go with it.

Ella’s role was simply to measure the Heroes’ combat power, just a pawn used during the Demon War.

So I had only thought of her in that manner.

All focus was on the Heroes, making other supporting characters feel expendable.

At least until I began to accept this world as reality and view its characters as actual people.

But now that I learned a part of the pain Ella had felt, I couldn’t even bear to think about how hard those situations must have been for her.

Even though the reason for Ella’s suffering wasn’t my fault, guilt began to creep in.

“Relax your expression, darling. It’s really nothing.”

She said, holding onto my arm.

“But…”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it anymore. I’m healthy. I’m not in pain. Let’s not dwell on useless pasts when I’m living so well now.”

Ella’s words were undeniably correct. They made sense, but it wasn’t so easy to shake it off instantly.

Seeing my stern expression, she seemed determined to change the subject as she began flipping through the parchment sheets one by one.

“Um, where did I write that…”

The words scribbled on the rapidly flipping parchment were faintly visible.

———I can’t sleep because of the pain, I’m so tired———

———No one comes to see me anymore. In the end———

———Wouldn’t everything be easier if I just died?———

———If that was the case, I shouldn’t have become an adventurer———

———I wish someone would just kill me. Then I wouldn’t be in pain———

Every time I read a piece, I fully grasped what kind of pain Ella had endured.

At the same time, I realized.

This isn’t a bucket list; it’s a diary written during the time she was infected by the Magic Beast and was on the brink of death, her ‘will.’

“Ah~! Here it is. I wrote it down.”

As she pulled out a sheet of parchment with things she wanted to do, she noticed my expression and flinched.

“Darling…?”

“…Are you really okay?”

“Ugh. I told you I’m fine. I’m alive and well. When we’re together, you keep calling my body beautiful, how can you doubt that?”

Ella smiled cheekily as she placed her finger on my lips, forcing them up as she smiled herself.

“Now, no more seriousness. Smile for me.”

“…Okay.”

Just like she said, feeling any sympathy or guilt now would serve no purpose.

She had already overcome those times.

So it felt right to follow her lead.

Still, I hope she would never have to struggle like that again.

“Ella.”

“Yes?”

I grasped the hand she had resting on my lips.

“I’ll give you far more happiness than the pain you’ve endured.”

“…You say that, but—”

“Even if you had family with you during your hardest times, it must have been tough, right?”

“…”

She couldn’t respond to my words, only giving a shy smile as if recalling her feelings, emotions, and thoughts from those times.

At this point, it wouldn’t be odd for her to have it all doused in trauma.

Despite that, she had concealed it deeply. She must have felt fear during battles against the Demon Tribe, yet there was likely an overwhelming urge not to show any weakness to others.

Being the eldest daughter of the Todiah Family, she must’ve thought she couldn’t display her vulnerabilities as an S-Class Adventurer.

“Thank you for holding on this long.”

“Ah… um, yes.”

She hesitated before answering, her voice shaking.

Tears had already gathered in her eyes. It looked as though she would burst into tears at any moment.

I leaned in slowly to plant a kiss on her lips, making sure not to startle her. Ella didn’t resist my approach.

As I pulled away, the soft sound of our lips parting echoed between us.

“Ella. Let’s make sure to do everything on this bucket list.”

I read the contents on the parchment once more.

“…Yes.”

She nodded while wiping her eyes with her remaining hand.

“I’ll never let you feel lonely.”

“Fool. I’ve already lost my loneliness by marrying you. How could I be lonely when the person I love is by my side?”

Ella said, hugging me. The armrest of the chair was uncomfortable, but we did our best to lean close and share warmth.

“Ella, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

We stopped hugging and kissed again.

This time it wasn’t just a light peck; it was a deep, sticky French kiss, mixing our tongues together.

As we shared saliva, a tantalizing, intimate atmosphere enveloped the room. The sound was scandalous, yet we focused on exploring each other, ignoring everything else around us.

“Phew…! But they say to strike while the iron is hot. How about we tackle one of those bucket list ideas now?”

Ella said breathlessly as she pulled back slightly.

“What is it?”

“Making a baby.”

With a giggle, she released my hand and wrapped her arms around my neck.

“Wait—”

I tried to calm her down in my surprise, but Ella’s kiss cut me off.

“I can’t wait. Are you ready?”

“B-but shouldn’t we at least wash up first?”

“It’s fine. It’s Praus’s.”

“Alright.”

I lifted Ella’s rear and led her toward the bed.

Today felt like it was going to be particularly heated.