Chapter 2: The Letter the Viiness is Waiting For (1)
The main entrance, located on the first floor, was immediately before me.
In a hurried attempt to reach there, I swiftly ran my fingers through my disheveled hair and straightened my ensemble before positioning myself in front of the youngdy''s chamber door.
Today was a day off for the sole housemaid in the mansion. It meant the mansion was currently upied only by the youngdy and myself.
Being the only one present to attend to the youngdy if required, my te was exceedingly full.
‘This ought to do.''
-Knock knock.
I alerted the youngdy, "I''m about to enter."
An unruffled voice emanated from beyond the door, as if bracing itself for any impending uproar.
"Please,e in."
-Creak.
As I pushed the door open, a sight of a teddy bear, torn limb from limb, greeted me.
"Oh, dear Lord."
I wondered how the teddy bear, which I had procured only yesterday tofort her, had ended up in such a dire state. Bowing my head, I mourned the pitiful teddy.
Additionally,
The vase was in pieces.
And the bedsheet… disarrayed.
‘What a rampage…''
Why had she opted to wreak such havoc in the room? Picturing the tumultuous emotional state of the room''s owner wasn''t a tough guess.
As I stood there, dumbstruck, taking in the spectacle of chaos, I was snapped out of it by the icy voice of the room''s owner.
"Ricardo."
"Yes."
The intense gaze from the floor below me snapped me back. Thereid the room''s owner: ring at me intensely.
[Desmond Olivia Lv. 0.5]
[Profession: Unemployed]
[Affinity: 20]
[Favored Discussion Topic: Michail]
Her unruly hair, white as snow.
Her wizened face.
And my unkempt master, preupied with her uneven bangs.
Desmond Olivia.
Her high societal stature was long past, and sprawled next to the bed was my Mistress, her mind a riotous flower bed.
Olivia extended her hand to me.
"Help me up."
The white hand of the youngdy reached out, beckoning.
Unceremoniously, I bypassed her outstretched hand and hoisted her up.
"Good heavens! How dare amoner audaciously manhandle a noble?"
The youngdy iled her arms up and down. She was curiously silent, though from her bodynguage, it was clear she was seething. Theck of any blush or visible expression on her face left me slightly perturbed.
"You''ve sustained a minor wound. I''ll apply some ointment."
"A wound?"
"Yes, you''ve slightly grazed your knee."
"I had not noticed."
The room fell into a moment of silence.
Despite a year having passed, I still struggled toprehend such stoic reactions.
Considering she once had a meltdown over a tiny scrape, her emotionless "Oh, I see" response was unsettling.
Even though the youngdy professed that she often spoke without thinking, it was honestly quite challenging to take her word for it.
Changing gears, Olivia let out a faint sigh and broached a new subject.
"Anyway, what were you up to today?"
"I was quite upied."
"And how exactly does a useless wretch upy himself?"
"…Well, those words do sting a bit."
My Mistress'' harsh words were directed towards a servant who had loyally served her, without demand forpensation. I secretly decided to exact revenge by applying just a tad bit more ointment than necessary.
-Squirt.
Unsurprisingly, the youngdy''s knee that was numb to pain remained oblivious to my intentions. But nheless, I did make clear that I too was capable of sweet revenge.
"Today, I was tending to the garden fence."
"Tending?"
"Yes, a great deal of vines had grown, therefore, it needed some tidying."
"Ahhh… good job."
"Yes, good job. And what were you doing, Young Lady?"
The youngdy furrowed her brow, indicating that something significant had urred. I paused, cotton swab in hand, to lend my full attention to her narration.
"Cockroaches appeared…!"
"Puh!"
"You''re frightened too."
"Well, yes…"
"Why are you examining me like that!"
Our conversation flowed as we spoke about various minor matters.
Starting with the distastefulment, ‘Could you imagine the size of the cockroaches?'', then moving on to what the most recent gossip was.
In order to quench the youngdy''s curiosity, since she was confined indoors, Iposed a mix of truthful and embellished tales of the outside world.
Among them, she was particrly captivated by stories about the Academy. Whenever I narrated those, the youngdy feigned indifference while attentively listening to every word I spoke.
"Apparently, the martial arts department won the sspetition this year. Last year, it was the magic department, wasn''t it?"
"Well, I wasn''t there."
"You''ve got a point."
"Don''t just agree with me…"
"In any case, Ricardo, has it arrived?"
While I was enthusiastically regaling her with tales I had heard while tending the fence, the youngdy abruptly interrupted me.
If the certain Greek God who regarded amusement as life itself witnessed this, he would likely hurl a harp at the youngdy''s head, but considering I did not consider amusement as life''s sole purpose, I decided to quietly satiate the youngdy''s curiosity.
"What are you referring to?"
"A letter."
In a single sentence, Olivia encapsted her thoughts.
"Isn''t it a bit premature for the debt collection notice to arrive?"
"…Be quiet."
With that, Olivia shot me a malicious re I hadn''t seen in quite some time.
I silently acknowledged her cuteness despite her re, thinking, ‘What harm can a re do?''
But a letter, indeed.
There were merely two types of letters that would reach our mansion.
Threatening letters from students who had been victims of the youngdy''s bullying at the Academy, and the dreaded debt collection notice for the outstanding debt of 100,000 gold.
If it wasn''t a letter of wee…
I nced up at the youngdy, a foreboding sense of dread creeping over me.
"Youngdy, you aren''t thinking of selling me into very, are you?"
"What nonsense!"
The youngdy clenched onto her nket.
"I was wondering if there was a letter from the Academy, specifically for Michail."
My brow creased, furrowing deeply.
"What did you just utter?"
A disquieting silence filled the room.
"My apologies."
I bustlingly apologized.
As a mere servant, I found it difficult to conceal my expressions.
Clearly, I had a long way to go.
The youngdy, visibly unsettled by my response, moistened her lips. She appeared deep in thought, contemting her next words.
"Well, be more cautious in the future."
The youngdy nodded, seemingly cated. Evidently, the anticipation of the letter was far more important than my oversight.
The youngdy cast her gaze towards the window.
Unable to express herself directly due to embarrassment, she elected for silence. I chose to respect her wish and attentively listened to her words.
"I sent him a letter justst week too. But I''ve yet to receive a reply."
I responded with a nonchnt nod.
"Do you think I''ve made a terrible mistake? Even after a year, he never replies to my letters; he must be truly upset."
"Indeed."
"Do you agree, Ricardo? This week I even wrote in my letter apologizing for past transgressions."
"Hmm."
A sudden revtion had me pping my hands, eximing, "Then you should stop writing."
[Olivia''s favorability has decreased by 5.]
Quicker than the ding of the notification of favorability loss, the youngdy''s icy rebuke was flung my way.
"Enough already."
The youngdy curtly dismissed my words.
Her stinging words felt like they bore holes into me, prating deeply.
At that moment, the magnitude of the youngdy''s forthrightness hit me, cutting right to the bone.
She red at me, as if daring me to utter another word, her fists clenched tightly. I found myself growing increasingly annoyed.
But I wasn''t particrly irked.
Who was I?
A loyal servant to a sterndy.
For a whole 13 years at that.
Even such a sight seemed favorable to me, merely because she appeared healthy. Compared to her state a year ago, I was prepared to handle her current demeanor anytime I saw it.
No matter how terrible her disposition was, she was a friend I had associated with for 13 long years. We hadn''t shed badly enough to warrant abandoning her. One could even argue our asional fights were ratherposed.
Last time, she had even hurled a vase at my head.
"I apologize. I''ll double-check."
Our disagreements always culminated in my surrender.
Most of our daily interactions involved me losing favorability and causing emotional injury.
I stole a brief nce at the youngdy perched on the bed, ring sharply at me.
She appeared to be rather livid.
I should quickly prepare dinner.
Feigning an excuse to escape, I murmured to the youngdy, "I will proceed to prepare dinner."
"I won''t be eating so just leave."
The youngdy''s anger was palpable.
I bowed respectfully.
Before exiting, I couldn''t resist muttering my frustration.
"Michail, that idiot! Such a lolicon."
With the ‘ding'' of the decreasing favorability notification, I was out the door.
***
Olivia sat alone in the room Ricardo had left with a frown on his face.
In a barely audible whisper, she murmured, "So infuriating. So infuriating. So infuriating."
Today had been a truly futile day.
She had encountered cockroaches that had scurried onto her bed.
Her beautiful knee had acquired a scratch.
There was still no letter from Michail.
And to top it all off,
She''d had a tiff with Ricardo.
Over an idiotic reason.
All because of a letter which was yet to arrive.
This was definitely not an episode from a preschool rhyme.
Olivia shrouded herself in her nket up to her hair, whispering in a voice so hushed that even an ant scurrying by wouldn''t detect it, she softly muttered,
"Frightening."
She clenched her fist.
"Cockroaches are terrifying."
The cockroach she encountered in her room today was of an unusuallyrge size. She wished to summon Ricardo instantly, but her pride held her back.
"Ah."
Sleep seemed elusive, and the events of the day reyed in Olivia''s mind.
Nothing extraordinary had transpired.
Merely nkly gazing at the ceiling.
An argument with her servant.
And that was it.
The image of her red-haired servant, his shoulders drooped in defeat, exiting the room still yed vividly in her mind.
"Why must he meddle."
Ricardo was indeed correct.
Eagerly awaiting a letter from the man who had brought ruin to her family was lunacy, a downright foolish proposition. She was keenly aware of her pathetic predicament, spending her nights tossing and turning,shing out on her innocent nket.
"But what can be done when I harbor feelings for him."
This was a testament to her stubbornness.
Having set out on this path, she was resolute to see it through to the end. Her life was already a tragic disaster; there was nothing more to lose. This unrequited love story was all that remained as her lonely sce.
‘Isn''t it the duty of a servant to bolster my spirit?''
A servant should at least feign support, subtly rooting for their master. Rumors were rife about household servants of young nobledies covertly stashing love letters beneath the shoe rack.
Ricardo had never undertaken any such task for her.
On the contrary, he had relentlessly thwarted her pursuits of love.
[Olivia''s favorability has decreased by 2.]
Reflecting on this further riled up Olivia.
Each time she sought to meet Michail, Ricardo presented an array of excuses to dissuade her, and whenever she attempted to present Michail with gifts, Ricardo intervened, overstepping his bounds as a servant with intrusive advice, much like the day''s urrence.
Possibly, had Ricardo not been present, she might have established a promising rtionship with Michail?
Her mood soured considerably with these train of thoughts.
[Olivia''s favorability decreased by 1.]
Contrary to her embarrassment, these thoughts incessantly lingered.
Contemting the possibility that had Ricardo not interfered with her ck magic back then, Michail might be involved with her now.
Unexpectedly,
[You have attained 0 favorability.]
[Quest ‘Ungrateful Wretch''pleted.]
◎You have unlocked ess to the hidden side stories.
◎You can now read
What if Ricardo had not obstructed Olivia from using ck magic?
"What?"
Had she lost her sanity?
Havingin in bed the entire day, Olivia was convinced she was sumbing to lunacy, considering how blue letters seemed to materialize in the sky. It was improbable she was seeing blue letters floating in the sky unless she was descending into madness.
[Do you wish to proceed?]
The blue letters remained, seemingly untouched by her futile attempts to wave them away.
‘I must have lost my mind.''
Olivia sumbed to mncholy.
Somehow, however, she found her attention pulled towards the persistent blue characters. It felt akin to observing a solitary poisonous mushroom sprouting on a hillside.
A maic pull held her gaze, for some inexplicable attraction.
It seemed to suggest that she could bear witness to the scene she had often daydreamed.
A dream she had ardently desired.
The possibility of seeing herself blissfullyughing in Michail''spany, appeared highly likely.
‘It seems I''ve finally crossed the threshold into insanity.''
Frustrated by the tenacious blue letters which refused to vanish even after an hour, Olivia resolved,
‘If I''ve already slipped into madness, a bit more wouldn''t make much of a difference.''
She was utterly convinced that the vision presented by the blue window would undoubtedly be one of happiness.
"Very well."
Olivia nodded her head in agreement.
"I shall read it."