Chapter 13

“…Mother, who’s that guy?”

A voice as cold as ice rang through my ears.

It was so chilling that even calling it cold-hearted wouldn’t do it justice. J-Just hearing her voice made my body tremble uncontrollably…

“He’s Rex, the adventurer who accepted our request today. Introduce yourself, Marie.”

“…Hmph. You’re all the same. You’ll just get fed up with taking care of me and lose heart before long… You there.”

“Y-Yes!”

S-She was probably around my age, so why was she so intimidating…? Just meeting her gaze made me flinch.

“I’ll give you some advice. Don’t do it. You’ll only be wasting your time.”

After saying that, the young lady… Lady Marie, simply left the room.

“…Sigh. I suppose it had to turn out this way. I’m sorry, Rex. My daughter was rather rude to you…”

“…U-Um, Lady Uros… W-What exactly did Lady Marie come here for?”

“Eh…?”

“I-I mean, she just came in, warned me, and then left the room, didn’t she!? W-Why would she do something like that…? Could it be that she came here because of me!?”

I-I mean, wouldn’t anyone think that!? She suddenly barged into the room, gave me a warning, and then left… O-Obviously, I’d be worried that something had happened, wouldn’t I!?

“…Pfft.”

“E-Eh? L-Lady Uros…?”

“S-Sorry… You’re the first person I’ve met who would say something like that after seeing Marie… Fufu, you’re really an interesting person, Rex.”

“Eh…?”

I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re laughing so happily behind your hand, but I’m actually feeling pretty anxious here…?

“…Please don’t worry about it. It’s nothing unusual.”

“It’s nothing unusual?”

“Yes. She comes to my room several times every day without any particular reason… I suppose it’s because I haven’t been able to spend enough time with her.”

Lady Uros gave me an apologetic smile.

Ah, I see… I didn’t know much about Lady Marie yet, but perhaps she simply wanted to see her mother’s face…?

“…Perhaps having you come here was the right decision after all, Rex.”

“Y-Yes…?”

“My daughter is rather unconventional and selfish, but… I’m counting on you. Please take good care of Marie.”

“I-I understand…”

Could I really handle looking after her daughter…?

“…Sumiya.”

“Yes, Madam?”

“Eh?”

I-I hadn’t even noticed her…! When had that woman appeared beside Lady Uros?

“Please show Rex to Marie’s room. And make sure he’s treated properly.”

“Understood. Now then, Lord Rex, I’ll take you to Lady Marie’s room. Please follow me.”

“Y-Yes…”

Was she a butler…? No, perhaps the head maid?

Ms. Sumiya seemed ready to guide me to Lady Marie’s room, and she was looking in my direction.

“Well then, Rex. I’m counting on you.”

“Y-Yes!”

After exchanging those final words with Lady Uros, I left the room together with Ms. Sumiya.

“This is the room, Lord Rex.”

“Th-Thank you…”

I-It was huge! And for some reason, the door seemed to sparkle mysteriously…

On top of that, I could sense an absolutely terrifying presence coming from the other side.

Completely oblivious to my reaction, Ms. Sumiya stood in front of the door and knocked about three times.

“My lady. It is Sumiya. I’ve brought Lord Rex, who accepted your request today. I’m coming in.”

Without waiting for a response, she simply opened the door.

Th-This woman… She really didn’t hold back at all.

“…What? I don’t have any business with you.”

“On the contrary, I’ve brought Lord Rex. I was merely escorting him here.”

“……..Hmph. So you came after all. Despite ignoring my warning.”

It should have been a cute-looking room, but the intimidating presence of the person inside made me break out in a cold sweat.

“Um, I came here because I accepted the request, so I couldn’t exactly turn around and leave…”

“…You’re not going to quit taking care of me?”

“A-At least not today…”

She shot me another sharp glare.

Silence settled over the room.

I liked quiet places. But after this experience, I was starting to think I might hate them…

“…I’ve warned you. Don’t blame me for whatever happens.”

Lady Marie got up from her chair and walked past us.

“W-Where are you going?”

“Where? For a walk, obviously. You’re my caretaker starting today, right? Then come with me.”

“…………”

“Hey! What are you standing around for!? Hurry up and move!”

“Y-Yes!”

I was briefly bothered by something she’d said, but I didn’t have the luxury of thinking about it.

And so, I followed Lady Marie, the unconventional young noblewoman.

Needless to say, this marked the beginning of my days being dragged around by a noblewoman under the guise of taking care of her.