Chapter 84: An Unexpected Confession

With the quiet sound of the door closing, the house fell into silence.

My mind was tangled with thoughts about Master’s changed behavior compared to before leaving home.

It was clear that Master’s attitude had changed.

In the past, he would have found fixing a broken robot bothersome, but as soon as I became despondent after seeing Eve’s absence, he stayed up late to finish the repairs and brought her back to me.

That side of Master felt unfamiliar.

Has Master truly changed?

Now that he keeps showing me only his gentle side, the heart I barely managed to steady was starting to waver again.

As I tried to sort out my confused feelings, I sensed someone below looking up at me with a sulky gaze.

When I lowered my head, I saw Eve, who had been looking up at me and wagging her tail.

“Mm, Eve. It’s been a while.”

I shouldn’t just keep standing here at the entrance.

I should at least go inside.

I grabbed Eve’s torso—she still hadn’t adapted to her new body—and helped her up.

She barely managed to stand, but it seemed she didn’t quite know how to walk on all fours yet.

In the end, I had to drag Eve inside the house.

Right now, it’s a bit much, but once she gets used to moving her body, Eve will be able to move around much more freely than before.

Eve, who always waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, might now be able to come find me in my room herself.

While I was sitting near the sofa, helping Eve slowly get used to her new body, I suddenly remembered Father whom I had run into yesterday.

“Come to think of it, what should I do about Father’s birthday?”

I couldn’t go empty-handed…

He always welcomed me so warmly, so I wanted to express my gratitude, even if only in a small way.

The problem was, I had no money to buy a gift, and I didn’t even know what Father liked.

In the end, I’d have to ask Master.

Although Master never liked me getting close with Father, he was the only one I could ask right now, even if I worried about whether he’d answer.

“Eve, I’ll be back for a bit.”

I gently stroked Eve’s head, who still couldn’t steady herself, then stood up.

I went up to the second floor and stood in front of Master’s room for the first time in a while, feeling a bit nervous.

Carefully, I raised my hand and knocked.

“Master, it’s me.”

-Come in.

When I opened the door and entered, Master was still in a suit, leaning back in his chair.

“Master, I wanted to ask you something about Father’s birthday.”

“Right. That’s coming up…”

Master furrowed his brows slightly and muttered quietly.

His displeasure was written all over his face.

He wore the same expression as when Father invited us home after we met him in the hotel lobby.

Worried that he might refuse to let me go again, I watched his mood as I asked.

“…Can I go?”

“Do as you like.”

His answer was surprisingly calm.

Because he agreed so easily, I blinked in confusion.

“Oh… I thought you’d say no…”

“I was going to, but I changed my mind.”

“Are you coming with me too, Master?”

“Of course. I can’t just send you alone—who knows what your father might do.”

I’d expected him to tell me to go alone.

Because Master changed his mind, I was in a bit of a bind.

I’d planned to ask Father to officially accept me as a household robot, but if Master came along, I wouldn’t be able to bring it up.

If I mentioned it in front of Master, the mood would instantly turn sour.

I didn’t want to ruin Father’s birthday celebration.

I decided I’d have to ask Father separately when we were alone, and moved on to my next question.

“And I’d like to bring a gift Father would like, but I don’t know what he prefers…”

“If it’s a gift for Father, wine would be appropriate.”

“Wine?”

“He enjoys red wine. Contact the shop and have it prepared.”

As Master spoke, he pulled out his smartphone and sent a message somewhere.

Then he looked back at me and asked,

“Anything else you need?”

“Um… No, that’s all.”

After thinking for a moment, I shook my head.

Since Master was coming with me, the means of getting to Father’s deck was settled, and the biggest worry—the gift—was solved easily.

“Then sit down and chat for a while before you go.”

“Yes…”

I’d gotten the answer I wanted, so I was about to leave the room, but Master stopped me.

Unable to refuse, I nodded.

I couldn’t just leave after coming here to ask a favour.

Besides, Master had stayed up late to repair Eve for me.

So, just chatting for a little while…

Master was still sitting at his desk.

I looked around the room, then perched at the end of the bed, facing him.

But even though Master had asked me to chat, he didn’t say anything.

As the long silence dragged on, I was the first to speak.

“Is there something you want to ask me, Master?”

Still, there was no answer.

Since it had been a while since we’d had a face-to-face conversation, I couldn’t think of what to say.

On the other hand, Master seemed to have something on his mind but couldn’t speak easily.

Finally, after an uncomfortable silence, Master opened his mouth.

“…Did you wait long?”

He wasn’t asking about today.

He was talking about the time before I left home, when Master hadn’t returned for a long while.

I couldn’t answer for a long time, but finally nodded slightly.

Seeing me, Master closed his eyes briefly, then let out a slow breath.

“I was foolish. I thought, since you’re a robot, I could just forget you as soon as you were out of sight. But I couldn’t.”

“I didn’t realize that if the robot was gone, I’d be the one falling apart.”

Master let out a self-mocking laugh, but it quickly faded, replaced by deep regret.

My chest tightened painfully.

I stood up abruptly and turned away, almost running.

“I’ll sleep with Eve tonight. You should get some rest too, Master.”

As I turned away and tried to leave, a voice called out softly from behind.

“I’m sorry, Didi. For making you wait alone.”

Something deep inside my chest ached.

If I stayed any longer, the resentment I’d suppressed would burst out as tears in front of Master.

I didn’t answer.

I just quietly left the room.

***

Eve became much more used to moving around in just a few days.

Now, she’d completely mastered how to move and could roam freely around the house.

Eve lay on her back, wagging her tail.

Seeing her act cute like a puppy made me laugh.

I’d played some puppy videos for her to learn how to move, and now she was copying them exactly.

While I was playing around with Eve in the living room, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

When I turned my head, I met Master’s eyes as he came down from the upper floor.

Without thinking, I quickly averted my gaze.

Since our conversation in Master’s room, I’d been noticeably avoiding him, but Master approached me as if nothing was wrong and asked,

“Are you ready?”

“Yes. I’ve packed the wine too.”

Today was the day we were visiting Father.

From what Master said the day before, it seemed other family members would be at the invited meal as well.

That made me even more nervous.

I wanted to make a good first impression on the family, so I’d been preparing since early morning.

Today, I wore a clean white shirt and even put on a beige jacket.

I was so tense, determined not to make any mistakes.

“Didi, let’s go.”

“Yes…”

With Sophia and Eve seeing us off, we stepped outside.

I carefully cradled the two bottles of wine in my arms and got into the car.

They were the wines for Father.

It was Master who chose and prepared the wine in advance, but… for some reason, I felt excited as if I’d prepared it myself.

In the quiet, the car set off smoothly.

As we headed toward our destination, the silence deepened, and in the end, no one spoke first.