Chapter 8
The heads of House Rebellin had always loved the scent of Edelweiss.
That was why the study used by generations of Rebellin lords was always filled with the flower's fragrance. It was still the same now that Theo was head of the family.
'No, if anything, it's gotten stronger.'
The scent hadn't been this strong as recently as yesterday, which meant something in the study had changed.
But nothing in the room seemed particularly different to Theo.
A magical tool that gave off the scent of Edelweiss? He'd checked that first, and it was working normally.
Then was the fragrance from the garden drifting in through the window? If so, it should have smelled like this before.
Besides, it wasn't as if the windows had been open only today.
'There is one thing that's changed.'
It was whether Edel, the new maid of House Rebellin, was standing by his side right now.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
Edel answered his call in a sweet voice, like jade beads rolling together. For some reason, she seemed oddly expectant.
'I knew it.'
Theo sighed and turned to look at her.
"Did you put on some kind of perfume?"
"Oh! You noticed?"
'What do you mean, You noticed?'
She'd obviously put on some kind of Edelweiss-scented perfume to seduce him.
It was common knowledge that the people of House Rebellin loved Edelweiss.
After all, the symbol on the family's banner was the Edelweiss flower.
But no matter how much he liked the scent, using it so blatantly as bait was unpleasant. It was only natural that Theo's expression would sour.
Edel, however, seemed unaware of how he felt. Looking rather proud, she spread her arms wide and said,
"You can hug me."
At her words, as though she were doing him a favor, Theo was too dumbfounded to even feel offended anymore.
On top of that, she had the nerve to openly flirt with him in the study, a sacred place where generations of Rebellin lords had worked!
And, of all things…
"You do know it's broad daylight, right?"
"…Of course I do?"
Edel looked puzzled by his words, and seemed to think he was the strange one.
The way she was acting made him even more suspicious.
Could it be that when she said she wanted him to hug her, she didn't mean she wanted to sleep with him, but simply wanted to hug Theo once?
'No. That can't be…'
Why would a mere maid like her want to hug the head of the family?
If an ordinary maid did something like that, there could only be one reason.
She wanted to seduce him, become his mistress, and enjoy the life of a noblewoman.
But this woman wasn't an ordinary maid.
'She's too beautiful.'
With looks like hers, she could be put to far better use than simply digging up a weakness of his.
But Verdia must have known that too. Even if they wanted to find something to use against him, she was going too far.
Or was there something he didn't know?
As questions piled up in Theo's head and muddled his thoughts,
"Master?"
Edel's voice pulled Theo out of his reverie. She was still looking at him with her arms spread wide.
For some reason, Theo felt a headache coming on at the sight, and
"Tch."
he clicked his tongue to refuse her.
"Tch."
Edel clicked her tongue too, then let her arms drop.
With a tiny cross-shaped furrow between his brows, Theo said,
"I'll say it again. I have no intention of hugging you."
He'd said it to her several times already, but he spoke with just as much conviction now.
Edel's expression immediately darkened.
"…You really won't?"
"I'm not the sort of man who hugs just anyone."
"But the rumors say…"
"I'm saying you're one of those 'anyones.'"
A small, wounded sound reached Theo's ears.
'Was that too harsh?'
But despite that thought, Theo felt strangely elated.
Because the woman who'd ignored his words countless times until now had
"…I understand."
lowered her head as if she were genuinely heartbroken.
It felt as though he'd finally shown that insolent maid the dignity of the lord of Rebellin.
'From now on, I should be a little colder toward her.'
Perhaps he'd been too indulgent with her until now.
He didn't know who was backing her, but she was a maid, and he was her employer. It was a clear boss-and-employee relationship.
Besides, unlike the other vile nobles one sometimes heard about, he paid her wages on time, made sure she had proper days off, and never sexually harassed her.
And yet the maid before him was always insolent and demanding physical affection from him. It was only right to be harsh with her and establish a proper relationship.
That's what he thought, but…
A sidelong glance.
"…"
"…"
Why on earth did she look so sad?
Why was she going this far for Verdia?
Perhaps House Verdia had some leverage over her. She didn't seem like a bad person, so it probably wasn't for a reward. Could they have taken her family hostage?
It was possible. So that woman was doing this for her family…
Bang!
"Huh?!"
"It's nothing."
"But…"
"I said it's nothing."
"…Yes."
Theo did his best to hide his burning right hand, then went back to looking over his documents as if nothing had happened.
Of course, inside…
'Theo Rebellin, have you finally lost your mind?!'
He was trying to understand a woman who'd come to seduce him! Theo decided to stop thinking about it.
She'd only thrown him off because she'd been at his side today. By tomorrow…
'Hmm?'
Theo realized something was off.
"But why are you beside me today?"
Of course, it wasn't strange for a maid to stay by the head of the family's side.
The heads of the family had always kept one of their servants nearby while they worked.
Besides, lately he'd been keeping a maid nearby to lend credence to the rumors that he was a womanizer.
Naturally, he hadn't done anything improper. He'd only kept trusted maids by his side, then had them spread rumors that he'd harassed them all day.
And Edel was certainly not one of those 'trusted maids.'
"Well… ahaha."
Edel scratched her cheek and stammered, as though she found it difficult to answer.
Theo had a feeling he would have to argue with her several times to get the answer he wanted, so he decided to stop asking.
"I want to be alone, so leave."
"Uh…"
The moment he finished speaking, Edel's face fell, and Theo felt that strange sense of guilt well up inside him once again.
"…Never mind."
"Yes!"
Now she was grinning brightly like a child who'd just been given a birthday present, as if she'd never been down at all.
Somehow, she was kind of cute…
'As if!!'
Thump!
"Master?!"
Theo fiercely denied the thought he'd just had.
No matter how attractive the woman before him was, he didn't want to be a fool who ran toward sweet bait even though he knew it was a trap.
Besides, he was responsible for House Rebellin.
He couldn't become that woman's pawn and let Verdia use him however they wanted.
'It'd be better if I just left.'
Theo set down his pen, rose from his seat, and headed for the coat hanging on the wall.
"I'm going out."
"Yes."
Edel naturally followed Theo out of the room. When she continued following him all the way to the stairs leading to the first floor, Theo stopped, sensing something was wrong.
He turned around and saw Edel looking at him with a bright expression.
"I'm going to the family forge."
"Yes."
"…Outsiders aren't allowed in."
Even if she hadn't been here long, how could a maid not know something so basic?
But if he tried to explain it to this woman himself, he'd surely end up with a splitting headache. He decided to bring it up with the head maid later and resumed walking.
Clop, clop.
…
…
A glance back.
"Why are you still following me?"
He'd just told her outsiders couldn't come in, and yet her audacity was so baffling that Theo was at a loss for words.
Just what kind of backing did this woman have to ignore the words of the lord of Rebellin every single time?
"Am I an outsider too?"
But her question, which came right after, was the exact opposite of what Theo had expected.
On top of that, she looked downcast, as if she'd lost her energy.
Theo began to feel strangely as though he were the one in the wrong.
"You're not a Rebellin noble, are you?"
"Oh! That's what you meant."
'Then what on earth did you think I meant?'
Edel kept showing him a different side of herself. Now, instead of irritation, Theo felt curious about her.
Just what…
"What are you thinking about?"
At Theo's question, Edel's eyes went round and she covered her mouth with one hand. Her reaction made one of Theo's eyebrows twitch.
"Why are you so surprised?"
"I think this is the first time you've spoken to me without frowning… I'm surprised."
Then she gave Theo a radiant smile.
'What a strange woman…'
Theo wondered if he'd really been frowning at her that much, and he couldn't understand why something so small made her this happy.
What a strange woman…
"Mm…"
Theo's hand reached out unconsciously and touched Edel's cheek. A faint moan escaped her at the same time.
"Ah…"
Only then did Theo seem to realize what he'd done, and he hurriedly pulled back his outstretched hand.
"D-don't make strange noises!"
He sounded like he was scolding her, but he was obviously flustered. Aware of that himself, Theo turned his back to her and hurried down the stairs and out of the mansion.
After he'd gone some distance from the mansion and his excitement had settled, Theo suddenly had a thought.
'That means I've fulfilled the second rumor, too.'
A man who touched a woman, then scolded her for making a strange noise—wasn't that the perfect picture of a beast?
With that thought, Theo fully regained his composure and continued on, now even feeling a little proud of himself.
* * *
Even after Theo left the mansion, I couldn't move from where I stood for a while.
I raised a hand and touched the cheek Theo had touched, and
"This isn't it."
It didn't feel the same as before.
The moment Theo touched my cheek, it had tingled like a jolt of electricity, and at the same time, a pleasant warmth had spread through me.
It was a different sensation from the comforting feeling I got when I secretly hugged him.
Honestly, it felt good.
I'd been feeling down because Sully's suggestion from yesterday hadn't worked, but all that sadness vanished in an instant.
What on earth was wrong with my body that just having Theo's hand touch me felt this good?
Maybe I had to admit that I was a pervert.
"Haa…"
For now, I should go back to the study.
There was nothing for me to do now that Theo had left the mansion.
I thought I'd heard that we weren't allowed in the study unless we were cleaning when the head of the family wasn't there, but…
Well, it probably didn't matter.
I opened the study door and went inside. When I sat in the chair where Theo had been sitting, my eyes naturally fell on the documents on his desk, and my curiosity got the better of me. I picked one up.
"Hmm… This is hard."
I'd learned the language of this world, but reading it was still difficult for me.
Still, I had nothing else to do, so I decided to treat it as studying and slowly read through the documents on the desk, one by one.
"Is this a letter?"
I'd assumed it was a document about the family's affairs, but judging by its contents, it seemed to be a letter addressed to Theo.
Theo's name was written at the very top, and the name at the bottom was…
"Kerenes Verdia?"
I remembered that Verdia was the name of the count's family to the west of Rebellin.
Judging by the way Theo had frowned the last time he said the name Verdia, they probably weren't on good terms.
And then…
"Hmm… Ellis? Birthday?"
What, is this a birthday party invitation…
"Edel?"
"Eek!"
Startled, I looked toward the door and saw a cute brown-haired girl, Sully, staring at me in surprise.
"You startled me, Sully."
"Sorry—no, why are you here? The master left."
Oh, right. I wasn't supposed to be here.
"…What about you, Sully?"
"I'm assigned to clean the study today."
Then she held up the rag and bucket in her hands to show me.
Well, I was the only one who'd gotten caught doing something wrong…
"Hehe…"
At times like this, the best thing to do was smile.
They say you can't spit in a smiling face, right?
Of course, kindhearted Sully would never get angry with me anyway.
"Good grief. If the head maid catches you, you'll be in big trouble."
"Hehe, sorry."
Just as I'd expected, Sully only gave me an exasperated look. She didn't get angry or anything.
If it had been anyone but Sully—if it had been the head maid—I would've been dragged off for questioning and then lectured all day.
"So, did you try it on the master?"
"It didn't work at all."
"It didn't work?"
"No. At first he seemed interested, but later he stopped paying attention altogether."
Honestly, I was really down at the time.
Just like Sully had said, I'd sprayed on tons of perfume with a scent Theo liked, and he still kept ignoring me.
On top of that, I was even a little hurt when Theo said I was one of those 'anyones.'
But…
"Still, I think we've gotten a little closer."
Theo's hand had felt warm and nice when it touched my cheek earlier, so I could forgive him for what he'd done today.
"This is a secret, but I'm telling you because it's you…"
"Hm?"
Sully glanced around for a moment, as if worried someone might hear.
Why was she taking so long to say it?
"The truth is, the master is a very virtuous man. Maybe that's why he doesn't know what to do."
Come on, couldn't anyone tell that just by looking at him?
If anything, ever since meeting Theo, I'd wondered how those rumors had even started. He was a bit irritable, though.
"But something doesn't add up."
"What doesn't?"
Even now, the maids at the mansion were strongly pushing the story that Theo was a womanizer.
And some of them claimed Theo had personally harassed them. One of those women was…
"You, Sully."
"That's why I said it was a secret. The master actually told me to do it."
Theo himself had started those rumors?
"Why?"
"W-well, it's a long story. To put it briefly, the master was looking for a way to break off his engagement. Until then, he wanted to delay the wedding."
I'd heard that Theo was engaged.
Whenever the maids got together, most of what they talked about was men, and of course Theo was always at the center of it.
"Can't he just break off the engagement if he wants to?"
"No. It's difficult even under normal circumstances, and it's even harder now. When that disaster happened before, House Rebellin spent a lot of money helping the people of the territory, so the family went deeply into debt to House Verdia."
I hadn't known that. It was the sort of thing I could've found out if I'd just paid a little attention, but I'd been so focused on getting hugged that it had taken up all my attention…
I'd always lectured my little sister about not letting her emotions control her, too.
I wonder how dumbfounded Lazuli would be if she saw me now.
"But why are you telling me all this?"
I thought Theo must have told her to keep it secret, so I was surprised that she was telling all this to someone like me, who'd only just arrived.
Sully seemed to recall something and paused, then gave me a gentle smile.
"I owe the master a great debt from a long time ago. So I wanted to live my life doing things I thought would make him happy."
"And for some reason, you reminded me of myself. I guess that's why I feel like I can trust you."
That's right. Just like you, I want to repay Theo for what he's done for me.
But how did you guess that so exactly? Sometimes she's genuinely scary, you know?
Could she be an animal who turned into a human, like me?
"What's wrong?"
Maybe my expression had looked strange, because Sully asked me with concern.
"Nothing. So Theo—no, does the master need money right now?"
"Well, that too, but I think I heard him say he's troubled by the criminal organization that's been running rampant in Rebellin lately."
I feel like I could help with that.
"Could you tell me more about it?"