Chapter: 08
A polite yet urgent voice came from outside.
There were only two people in this house who were close with Uncle and often seen together.
One was Leto, the general manager, and the other was Gerard.
Gerard didn’t have a scary face, but he was always carrying a sword, so he was scary in a different way.
“Come in. You—stay in your room now.”
Uncle said to me with a face full of fury.
His voice was so different from earlier that I flinched and couldn’t even ask for the letter. I just hesitantly moved back.
“Uh… okay…”
Right then, Gerard entered.
I decided to ask for the letter later and just said, “Uncle, see you later,” as I headed toward the door.
“Good day, my lady.”
Gerard stopped in his tracks and knelt on one knee to greet me.
He had wavy gray hair and round black eyes. His soft smile lifted the corners of his mouth, and he had a mole under one eye.
“Hi, Gerard!”
“If I’d known you were here, I would have brought you a snack.”
“Stop with the useless chatter. Did you find them?”
Uncle cut him off sharply, striding over and lifting me up to toss me out the door.
“Yes. One of them, for now…”
“Talk after she’s gone.”
As if that wasn’t enough, he even gave me a little push on the butt to hurry me along.
Thrown out just like that into the hallway, I puffed out my cheeks and looked up at Uncle.
“I-I’m going!”
“Stay in your room and behave.”
“Uncle, then later, can I get my lett—”
Thunk.
Before I could even finish, the door slammed shut.
“Ugh.”
May horns grow on Uncle’s butt!
I glared at the firmly shut door, then turned and headed to my room.
I’ll get the letter later.
***
“When is Uncle coming back?”
“It seems he’ll be late today. Would you like to eat first? The chef prepared your favorite creamy milk sauce dish just for you.”
“I’d rather eat with Uncle.”
I mumbled while sitting on the bed and swinging my legs back and forth.
Uncle had left with Gerard not long after kicking me out earlier.
And now it was already evening, and Uncle hadn’t returned.
“If you start dinner, I’m sure he’ll come back soon.”
I thought for a moment and nodded.
“Then I’ll eat and wait.”
“Good idea. Shall we go, then?”
Zenda bent down and offered her hand to me.
I took Zenda’s hand and headed toward the dining room.
And at the end of the hallway, I ran into Uncle—storming in with a terrifying aura.
“Oh! Unc—”
He looked just like Uncle, but somehow it didn’t feel like the same Uncle who used to get annoyed at me.
This one was far scarier, and it felt like all the good energy from before had vanished.
On top of that, one of his hands was wet and dark red, like something awful had happened.
I didn’t want to say it, but now I felt like I understood where Uncle’s nickname came from.
I almost stumbled backward out of fear.
But Uncle was faster.
With a murderous air around him, he vanished down the right corridor, and Gerard bowed once and quickly followed after him.
“…Let’s go, my lady.”
Zenda gently tugged at my frozen form.
I stared at the corridor Uncle disappeared into before silently following Zenda.
And for the rest of that day—and the next—I didn’t see Uncle again.
***
Three days had passed since I was chased out of the stable—and then from Uncle’s office.
During those three days, Uncle was still mostly mad at me.
“Please, just go away.”
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“I told you to stop following me!”
It seemed like every time he saw my face, he got mad.
Especially the day he came back from that outing with Gerard—his hands stained with blood, and the atmosphere so violent I almost ran away to my room without realizing it.
And yesterday, when I was tailing him again, he even yelled at me and asked if I was a stalker.
Was it when he was going to the bathroom? Anyway!
Ever since that almost-horrible accident in the stable, I hadn’t had any weird dreams or illusions, so I’d just been loitering near Uncle.
Maybe if I’d stuck too close, he really might have thrown me out for good.
“Thanks, Zenda!”
Zenda gently wiped my wet face with a soft towel after I washed up.
Even though Uncle had flat-out warned everyone not to treat me well from day one, Zenda was always kind to me.
Even when I just said I was a little thirsty, she never handed me water carelessly.
She always checked if it was too hot or too cold.
Zenda seemed really scared of Uncle, but she still didn’t follow his orders when it came to me—and that worried me sometimes.
“You’re very welcome.”
That’s why I really liked Zenda.
Her gentle ways, her leafy green eyes, and her golden hair braided neatly to one side.
Of course, the other attendants were nice too.
“Can I go see Uncle?”
“Again…?”
Zenda looked at me with worried eyes.
Her face turned pale almost instantly.
“Yeah, since Uncle doesn’t eat breakfast.”
Mom always said starting the day with a good meal keeps you from getting tired by the end of it.
Zenda tried to stop me several times like always, but in the end, she brought me to Uncle’s door, like always.
“Thanks, Zenda!”
“If you get scared, run right out, okay?”
“Yup, got it!”
“If the master gets angry, please say it was my idea to open the door. Not yours.”
“Huh? But that’s a lie.”
“Some lies are okay.”
With Zenda’s concerns ringing in my ears, I quietly slipped into Uncle’s room.
Thick black curtains covered every window, so even though the sun was already up, it felt like nighttime in here.
Thankfully, the room was huge with not much furniture, so there wasn’t much risk of bumping into anything.
Smells nice.
I looked around the dim space, trying to find something to step on.
Why is Uncle’s bed so high?
Before, I’d used cushions and stools to climb up, but it looked like Uncle had removed them all because the floor was completely clear today.
Still—not giving up!
I struggled and grunted, but finally succeeded in climbing up onto Uncle’s bed without any help.
“Uncle, it’s morning.”
Then I sat near him and stubbornly kept calling him.
“Uncle. Uncle?”
Around the tenth time I called him, Uncle, still lying on his stomach, suddenly cursed under his breath.
Then those ominous golden eyes appeared.
I grinned when I saw him.
“Uncle, good morning! Did you have a nice dream?”
“…You still here?”
Uncle, his voice rough and groggy, asked with a frown.
“Where would I go?”
I blinked at him in confusion.
“To the old man’s house.”
“I told you, I’m not going to Grandpa’s. Uncle, let’s eat breakfast.”
“Ugh…”
Uncle sat halfway up and scratched his head roughly.
His upper body emerged from the blanket, as solid and heavy-looking as a pile of boulders.
“Aren’t you cold, Uncle? Why aren’t you wearing a shirt? You’ll get a stomachache.”
“Why do you care?”
“Because I don’t want you catching a cold.”
“I’m already boiling because of you. Aren’t you getting off?”
“…I’ll get off.”
Uncle always gets mad when he sees me.
Even though I didn’t do anything wrong yesterday or today.
Mom, Grandpa, the attendants, even the shopkeepers we used to visit with Mom—they all liked me.
I wished Uncle would hurry up and like me too.
If I got off the bed, he’d probably just go back to sleep, so I stayed and wandered around on the mattress, acting shamelessly.
“Why are you here?”
Uncle fully sat up, picked up the shirt lying crumpled on the tiny table, and put it on carelessly.
“To eat breakfast together!”
“You eat.”
He stood up and gulped down some water irritably.
Then, without another word, he stormed off to wash up or something.
I sat quietly on the bed and waited.
Despite everything he said, Uncle came back, changed into something presentable, then tucked me under his arm and carried me to the dining room.
“Uncle, I can walk too, you know.”
I mumbled, dangling from his side.
“Gotta feed you quick so I can get rid of you.”
“Ugh…”
He definitely remembered my threat that I’d keep sticking to him unless he ate.
But even during breakfast, Uncle’s cranky gaze never left me.
He didn’t touch a bite—just drank water.
When I finished eating and patted my full belly, Uncle suddenly called out to me.
Thinking he finally softened, I ran over happily, but the atmosphere felt even darker than before.
“Get ready. We’re going out.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. Be ready and come downstairs.”
“Where are we going? Where are you going?”
