[Resolving Trauma]
(Merlot Side)
My name is Merlot. Despite my looks, I had been a blacksmith for over 30 years.
Dwarves lived much longer than humans. While humans were said to live up to 200 years, dwarves barely considered ourselves adults at that age.
My entire life had been dedicated to blacksmithing—in fact, I had already been helping my parents with their blacksmithing work since my earliest memories.
Blacksmithing was all I knew.
Because of that, I had no experience with men at all. When my father had first taken in a male apprentice, I had nearly been molested by him. I had been very young, knowing nothing about men, but he had tried to kiss me by force.
I had felt nothing but fear in that moment. Without thinking, I punched him in the face, sending the guy fleeing with tears streaming down his cheeks.
Even now, two decades later, I remained haunted by that incident, my fear of men unshakable.
Whenever a man attempted to approach me, my instinct was to fend him off with a punch.
This fear had kept me unmarried, toiling away in solitude as a blacksmith, even as the years passed.
…My life took a drastic turn about half a year ago.
My blacksmithing skills had reached their peak, and my works had gained considerable recognition. At that time, a female adventurer friend of mine asked me to create a custom-made sword for her.
It was the best weapon I had ever created–my masterpiece.
But before I could give this masterpiece to my friend, Marquis Gordon discovered it.
In Labyrinth City Gorgon, craftsmen were not subject to taxes.
Instead, when we created our finest work, we were required to offer it to Marquis Gordon if he desired it.
But I declined and gave it to my friend.
That decision turned out to be the gravest mistake in my life.
Marquis Gordon, although typically benevolent, showed no mercy to those who broke his rules.
As a consequence of my decision, everyone connected to me was arrested, and all my assets were seized.
My masterpiece, along with my adventurer friend, vanished, their fates uncertain.
If I had obediently handed over my masterpiece, my friends—the blacksmiths and the female adventurer—might have been from such a cruel fate.
Greedy Gordon.
At one point, I had looked down on Marquis Gordon as a kind but naïve person.
Oh how terribly wrong I had been…
I wished I could kill myself so badly, yet even that release was denied to me. As if Marquis Gordon had cast a curse on me, whenever I tried to suicide, my body would refuse to obey.
When I tried to continue to do blacksmithing, there was no one willing to buy my works. Without sales, I couldn’t afford materials, and without materials, I couldn’t continue to do blacksmithing. Stripped of everything, I found myself drifting into the slums.
Each day turned into a dreary routine of beating up some lowlifes, swiping their booze, and losing myself in intoxication…
I was nothing more than a walking corpse.
But as those days persisted… that individual showed up on my door.
“Looks like you really are Merlot. Syrup, we’ve got the right person.”
His face was so strikingly beautiful that it was almost impossible to tell if he was a man or a woman. For a moment, I couldn’t decide whether to fear him or not.
I wasn’t drunk—absolutely not— but for some reason, I couldn’t focus on his features.
“Eek! A-a devil! A beautiful devil!!”
The moment he smiled, he emitted a radiance so blinding I couldn’t meet his gaze.
“Merlot. From today onwards, you’re mine.”
“Eek!”
“Sleep.”
He used some kind of magic to put me to sleep. The next time I woke up, I found myself in a clean bed.
I didn’t know how many hours had passed, but I woke up to a sight unfamiliar – not the familiar decrepit ceiling of my slum home, but the opulent expanse of a hotel suite.
“Are you awake?”
Following the voice, I found the radiant, beautiful man standing before me, exuding brilliant light. When I looked at his face through the bright light, fear immediately gripped me. I hurriedly pulled the blanket over my head, my body shivering.
“I’ve got no business with m-men! G-go away. I’m not good with m-men!” My words quivered due to my dread.
“Oh, yeah. You have that particular trait. And the way to fix it is…”
I could hear the man muttering something as he drew closer and closer.
“Merlot!”
The blanket was yanked from me, and I clenched my fist, poised to strike with all my might.
“Stay away!!”
But he caught my fist, forcefully pushing me onto the bed.
“I win! You’re mine now.”
Seemed that I would at last lose my chastity…
But… if it was to such a beautiful man…
“Aww!”
Even though I had prepared myself, the man just flicked my forehead before pulling away.
“Huh?”
“You’ve overcome your fear of men now, right?”
Now that he mentioned it, I finally noticed it.
“H-huh? I’m not… scared? I’m not scared even though I’m looking at you.”
“Haha, it wasn’t men you were afraid of, but weak men who cried and ran away just because they couldn’t match your strength. You’ve always been strong and can easily defeat men. You were traumatized by your own strength.”
Had I truly been afraid of hurting men? Well, one thing for sure was that the man before me was way stronger than me.
If it was him… I could give him my everything. Relief washed over me, and I felt better.
“You didn’t notice it yourself, huh. Well, I guess it can’t be helped, that’s just how the setting goes. So, are you still afraid of me?”
“…No, not at all.”
“Huh, that method actually works. Blocking her punch and pushing her down—I’d expect less from an adult game.”
I wasn’t sure what he was talking to himself about, but… this beautiful man was undeniably strong.
“As I said earlier, from today onwards, you’re mine. Any complaints?”
To be his…
I wasn’t sure why, but the thought filled my chest with warmth. It felt comforting.
“No. I’m yours.”
“Okay, then take a bath. You stink.”
Have some tack, will you?! I couldn’t believe he said a woman stinks right to her face… I simply hadn’t bathed for a week, that was all.
It came with being a blacksmith, not that I had been working at all lately.
Still… I was now someone’s woman, huh.
He was so beautiful, too… I never imagined it would bring me so much joy.
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Zky Translates 
Kek. Legal loli get
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