Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/822139844414118669/episodes/822139845338193731
Two days later, on the morning following a day off.
I had come to the front of the school building with Liene. Though I’d seen the building countless times in games, seeing it up close was a whole different experience. The white exterior walls and the many windows visible on them—bathed in the morning sun, they shone like a castle.
As I thought this to myself, I shifted my gaze to the side.
“……Ugh…… Sniff. Ra, Rai-samaa~……!”
“—I knew it would come to this.”
It was Liene, bawling her eyes out without a care for who might see.
She’d been like this ever since checking the class assignments on the bulletin board that morning.
Her unabashed, tearful sobbing is adorable enough to make me want to protect her. That said, given the location, she was attracting a lot of attention.
Other students arriving for school were glancing over at us, wondering what was going on, as they passed by.
“Liene. You’re overreacting just because we’re in different classes.”
“B-but…! Lord Rai is in Class S… and I’m in Class A…? Even though I’m his personal maid, I can’t be by his side…? That’s just…!”
Liene struggles to string her words together while sobbing.
Her eyes are bright red; she sniffs “sniff” and wipes her tears with the back of her hand, but there’s no sign of her stopping. And just like that, the Duke of Arkberg’s famous “Sobbing Maid” was born.
That said, back then, it wasn’t a problem because everyone around was family.
Glancing around, I could see whispers like, “A scene from hell first thing in the morning…?” or “Did he make her cry?” and curious stares directed my way.
(I really hope rumors don’t start spreading that I made a girl cry on my very first day of transferring here.)
I let out a small sigh.
“Liene, calm down. We’re just separating for a little while.”
“But…!”
She grabbed my sleeve tightly.
“You’ve been right next to me this whole time… but starting today, we’re in different buildings, different classes…! The thought of there being times when I can’t see you, Rai-sama… I can’t bear it…!”
Every time Liene’s trembling voice echoed, the stares and whispers around us grew louder.
Breaking out in a cold sweat at the scene, I placed my hand on Line’s head.
“We’ll be together the whole time after school, right? Just hang in there until then.”
I said it in as calm a voice as I could manage.
As I gently stroked her lustrous light brown hair with my fingertips, Liene’s shoulders twitched. I guess I just needed to give her one more nudge.
“If you can hold out, I’ll spoil you rotten back at the dorm.”
“……R-really?”
Her tear-filled eyes pierced straight through me.
But the moment I said it, I realized I might have chosen my words poorly. Glancing around again, I saw unpleasant speculation already beginning to fly: “What does ‘pamper’ mean…?” “Surely not that kind of relationship?”
(Our relationship isn’t what you’re thinking, you know? We’re just a normal master and maid, a wholesome master-servant relationship…?)
When I say “spoil,” I mean something closer to pampering her.
Like holding her close and stroking her head until she’s satisfied. Or enjoying a good chat with her. Or spending the night in the same bed together, like we did on the first day—that sort of thing.
It is absolutely not a lewd relationship. I’m not like ‘Rai’.
“Will you promise me…?”
“…I promise.”
When I nodded at Liene’s words, her expression brightened instantly.
Her tears haven’t stopped yet, but at least she doesn’t have that anguished look she had a moment ago.
“I-I… I’ll hold it in!”
Sniffling, Liene straightened her back as best she could.
She wiped her tears with both hands, and this time they seemed to have stopped for good.
“I’ll work hard in Class A too, and achieve results that won’t embarrass me as Lord Rai’s personal maid!”
As if her tearful face from just moments ago were a lie, her bright brown eyes sparkled with determination.
But then, she suddenly started fidgeting, her cheeks flushing red as she looked up at me with a shy, upward glance.
“S-so… I’ll be looking forward to after school…?”
Only the last part was whispered.
But—it seemed that single sentence had clearly reached everyone around us.
I felt the whispers grow louder.
“…Yeah. But don’t go overboard, okay?”
“Yes!”
Finding the stares and whispers around us a nuisance, I headed toward the school building as if fleeing.
Liene walked beside me, her expression truly radiant.
As we stepped inside the building together, we were greeted by a vast atrium with a soaring ceiling. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling, and the polished marble floor bore the weight of the students passing by.
A faintly glowing magic circle surrounded the central pillar, and students were appearing and disappearing from it. Given the scale of the place, I suppose there’s a limit to how far one can travel on foot.
“—It’s been quite lively since this morning.”
Amid the clamor of students coming and going, a calm voice reached my ears.
I turned toward the voice that had naturally caught my ear, and there stood Elisia. Her lapis-blue hair swaying, she walked over to my side, placed her hands on her hips, and furrowed her brow.
It wasn’t so much that she was offended as it was a hint of exasperation, perhaps?
She gave a soft, wry smile.
“Your voices carried all the way out here. —You’re attracting a bit too much attention.”
“……Sorry.”
“It’s nothing. I understand.”
Her deep purple gaze slowly shifted back and forth between me and Line.
“That Liene looks up to you… and that you cherish that feeling.”
Elisia leaned closer to me.
Her long hair swayed gently, and the distance between us closed in an instant.
Her deep purple eyes, fixed firmly on me, were burning with intensity.
“……That said,”
Elisia’s voice was quiet, but slightly lower than usual.
“Wasn’t the choice of the word ‘pamper’ a bit careless?”
“……Ugh.”
She’d hit a sore spot, and I couldn’t help but let out a sound.
Perhaps hearing my reaction, Liene, sitting next to me, hurriedly tried to explain.
“E-Elisia-sama…!? W-well, that was, um…!”
“Hehe. I know.”
Elicia smiled gently.
But her gaze wasn’t smiling.
“I know full well that you didn’t mean it that way.”
She lightly traced her fingertip across my chest.
The distance between us remained as close as ever.
“But you see, Rai. You lack self-awareness.”
“Self-awareness?”
“You capture people’s hearts without even realizing it. That’s precisely why you should choose your words carefully. Especially—”
With a whisper-like voice, she glanced briefly around her.
Where her gaze fell, there were still whispers and murmurs, along with students staring at us with curious eyes.
“This is a school. Rumors spread even faster here than in high society.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hmm, that’s fine.”
I apologized meekly, unable to say a word in protest, and Elisia nodded with satisfaction.
—But she didn’t step back. If anything, she moved slightly closer. We were so close that if either of us took even a single step forward, our lips would touch.
“And another thing.”
“……What is it?”
“You said be ‘together the whole time’ after school?”
Elisia’s smile deepened.
Yet, a faint trace of anxiety seeped into her deep purple eyes as she stared at me.
“I’m… included in that, right?”
Her voice was calm. The smile on her face seemed to be testing me, but her eyes alone remained unsmiling as ever. That look—a mixture of jealousy, anxiety, and fear—resembled the expression I’d seen on her face countless times in the game.
Without thinking, I took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes.
“Of course. I have no intention of leaving you out.”
As I replied, tightening my grip on her hand, Elisia’s eyes wavered.
Then, as if reassured, she smiled and finally took a step back.
“…In that case, it’s fine.”
With that, she naturally wrapped her arm around mine.
As she pressed her body so close against mine, the moment we shared in the carriage the other day flashed through my mind.
“Is it okay for me to wrap my arm around you like this?”
“Of course. We’re engaged, after all.”
I gave a wry smile at Elisia, who snorted in agreement, and looked over at my side.
There, Liene stood frozen in a flustered state. Her gaze was fixed on my hand, and she fidgeted nervously with her fingertips.
Smiling wryly at that “Liene,” I reached out toward her.
“Liene.”
“Y-yes…”
Her eyes, a mix of anxiety and anticipation, turned toward me.
“Come here.”
When I said that briefly, Liene’s eyes widened for a moment, then she smiled as if a flower had just bloomed and approached me, saying, “…Yes!” Then, though not quite as bold as Elisia, she intertwined her fingers with mine.
“Well then, shall we go…”
Elisia on my right arm.
Liene on my left.
Feeling the warmth radiating from both sides, we made our way through the school building.
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