Chapter 15
“Big Sis—!”
As always, Maria came pattering over and latched onto my leg.
I tried to pick Maria up…… and failed.
At this point, maybe it wasn't my disability but my lack of exercise.
Instead, I knelt on the floor to bring myself down to Maria's eye level.
This time, making sure she couldn't see under my skirt.
……If it's pink again today, she'll definitely tease me.
“Big Siiis, I missed you!”
“Aw, Maria. Did you miss your br…… big sis?”
I still had no intention of making a show of embracing my femininity, in case that voyeuristic lizard was watching from somewhere.
Maybe I could use it as an emergency measure someday, though.
Even so, my thoughts had shifted a little when it came to Maria.
Since Maria could only make superficial distinctions between men and women, was there any need to confuse her with my words and behavior?
Though I'd been forcibly driven out in the end, I still had my pride and professional spirit as an educator.
It'd be best to be a pretty, kind big sister, at least to Maria.
“Maria, didn't you miss Big Bro?”
“I missed Big Bro too, but I like Big Sis more!”
The only issue was that Derek was watching me act this way.
In this world, childcare was entirely a woman's responsibility, so seeing me play with Maria must look rather strange to Derek.
Still, it was different from deliberately deciding to act like a woman.
I hoped he wouldn't tease me about it later.
Derek had already been pointing out my femininity more and more lately.
Even as I thought that, I dealt with Maria, who knelt demurely and tried to throw herself into my arms.
“Yuria Big Sis, since you went away for a hundred nights, you have to play with Maria a hundred more times!”
“Wow, Maria, you can already count to a hundred? You're so smart! But Big Sis is very, very sorry, because she can't play with you a hundred times and has to go sleep away for another hundred nights.”
“Waaah, no! Don't go!”
“Big Sis doesn't want to go either, but Big Bro Derek will be going to a faraway place called the Imperial Capital soon. Then Big Sis has to go with him.”
At the thought that I was going to leave her again, Maria's eyes began to well up.
Still, it was better to tell her in advance and make her face reality than to suddenly disappear.
Anyway, kids changed their focus incredibly quickly, so if you suggested something to play today, that was all they cared about.
Meanwhile, Derek looked at me in bewilderment, as if to ask what he'd done to deserve this.
What? It's not like it's wrong, man.
“Waaah, Big Sis can't go! Only Big Bro can go, and Big Sis has to play with me!”
“That's right, Maria. Big Sis has it rough because of that mean Big Bro. Mom gets mad and kicks him out because he won't get married.”
“Waaah…… Huh? Why is Big Bro getting married twice?”
Maria stopped crying and throwing a tantrum to tilt her head.
I tilted my head, too. Married twice?
I turned to look at Derek.
Derek had a bemused expression at Maria's words.
“Hey, Derek. Did you get married without me knowing? I mean, did you break off an engagement before I came back from convalescing, before I lost my memories……?”
“……Me? As if I would. You know you're the only woman I'm close with.”
Well, that's true.
I was kind of pleased with Derek's answer…… No, wait.
The words, ‘Don't spout nonsense, I'm a man!’ almost slipped out.
I'd decided to act like a genuine woman in front of Maria, so I just held it in.
Instead, I settled for glaring at him pointedly once and turning my head away.
“Maria, why is Big Bro getting married twice? Do you know who he married first?”
“Yeah, I know! Want Maria to tell you?”
“That's right, Maria is so smart, she even knows things Big Sis doesn't! Can you tell me who Derek's fir-st was?”
I deliberately emphasized the word first.
Obviously, it was to tease him.
I glanced toward Derek and saw him visibly flinch.
What, does he have some secret girlfriend or someone he's seeing?
If I didn't know despite always being with him, then it was probably someone from the Order he often saw when I wasn't around……
“Yeah, Big Sis!”
“That's right, who is it?”
“Big Sis!”
“……Me?”
I take back what I said about her being smart.
Where had the tiny angel so cute I could die gone? In her place was a little devil I wanted to bop on the head.
What do you mean I, of all people, would do what with that bastard?
“……Phewww. Maria, listen carefully. Big Sis is an innocent maiden who hasn't married that man, okay? If you go around saying Yuria Big Sis married Big Bro Derek, the vampire grandpa will come get you at night!”
“But…… Big Sis is always with Big Bro. Big Sis keeps looking at Big Bro, and Big Bro keeps looking at Big Sis…… Mom and Dad do that too! So then Big Sis and Big Bro are like Mom and Dad…….”
Screw it.
I clamped a hand over Maria's mouth.
No, none of that was wrong…… so how was I supposed to explain it?
I couldn't exactly explain to a five-year-old what nobles were or what a personal maid was.
I was always with Derek—true, because I was his personal maid.
I always watched Derek—true, because as his personal maid, I had to keep an eye on what my master was doing and attend to him.
Derek always watched me—because he was my master…… What was that about?
I knew Derek wouldn't fall for looks alone, since even though I, Yuria, was pretty, had a nice figure, and had big breasts, there was a black-hearted bastard inside me screaming that he was a man.
So, hmm…… was he still worried about my condition?
Even if I hadn't been sick much lately, he was probably concerned because my overall health was weak.
Yeah, that must be it.
Hugging Maria as she struggled against my hand over her mouth, I abruptly turned toward Derek.
Derek still had that inscrutable expression, but the corners of his lips had lifted slightly compared to before.
What, do you think this situation's funny, you punk?
****************
Clatter—
“Wow, wow!”
Today's game was dominoes.
Maria was delighted to watch the dominoes we'd spent an hour setting up topple over in a flash.
Meanwhile, I……
“Yuria, are you okay?”
Ha. It's really hard for an average five-year-old to focus on the same game for an hour, but Maria had somehow managed it.
Meanwhile, I was completely worn out.
As I stared blankly at the falling dominoes, Derek came over and sat beside me, gently stroking my head.
Lately, he's been stroking my head more and more often.
At first, I hated it, wondering why another man was patting my head, but it turned out to feel surprisingly nice.
Maybe it was because my hair was so soft; I liked the smooth sensation, too.
“……You can clean this up, can't you?”
“You seem to be getting weaker by the day. Shouldn't you see a doctor?”
“My dad already arranged for a doctor to come the day after tomorrow. I'm taking that day off, okay?”
Since young Yuria had once come close to ending up in a coffin, everyone around me, including Derek, reacted sensitively whenever I was simply tired.
I don't know. In the four years since I became Yuria, I'd often felt under the weather, but I don't think I'd ever felt seriously ill enough to be dying.
Right after I became Yuria, I did have a hard time because my body was in the condition the original Yuria's had been in just before she died.
Derek sat down beside me.
Then he began picking up the fallen dominoes around us.
It was a pretty menial task for the heir to the Grand Ducal House and one of the Empire's few Sword Masters, but Derek quietly did it just because I'd asked.
Yeah, that's what friends are for.
Touched, I reached out and patted Derek on the head, too.
Derek, who'd been gathering up the dominoes, looked up and met my eyes.
Uh, um, right.
I just took my hand away.
Feeling a little awkward, I turned my gaze slightly aside.
Hmm.
Just then, Maria leaped over the scattered dominoes and ran to me.
“Big Sis! Let's play dominoes again!”
“Big Sis is all tired out now. Let's play dominoes again next time. It's time to take a bath and go to bed, Maria, okay?”
“Yeah, then I'll wash with Big Sis!”
Th-that's right……
I'd washed Maria myself a few times, and it took a ridiculous amount of stamina.
Washing Maria meant playing with soap bubbles in the bath to our hearts' content.
Sigh. If Maria were a boy, I could just ask Derek to do it, but since she's a girl, I have no choice but to do it myself.
“Big Bro should wash with us too! Let's play with bubbles together!”
“……Huh?”
At Maria's words, I looked at Derek without even thinking to correct her.
Our eyes met.
……What are you looking at, man?
No matter how close we are as friends, there's no way we'd ever bathe together.
I'd heard that quite a few personal maids helped their masters bathe, and in the process either ended up sleeping with them or were forced into it by their masters.
Derek would never do that to me, but even if something like that happened? I'd quit being his personal maid and cut off our friendship on the spot.
“Big Bro won't wash with us?”
“U-Um, Maria, an unmarried man and woman shouldn't wash together. Big Bro won't wash with Big Sis.”
“Oh…… then Big Sis and Big Bro should get married! Then we can all wash together!”
S-stop……
Lately, I feel like I can call Maria pure evil, and mean it literally.
The psychic damage is no joke.