-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: An Outing
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A polite yet urgent voice called from outside.
In this house, there were only two people who were close to my uncle and spent a lot of time with him.
One was Leto, the head butler, and the other was Gerard.
Gerard wasn't scary-looking, but the sword he always carried made him frightening.
“Come in. You, go to your room now.”
My uncle told me, his face taut with anger.
Startled by his voice, which was completely different from before, I couldn't bring myself to ask for the letter and shuffled away hesitantly.
“Ah, okay…”
Gerard came in shortly after.
I decided to try again later, leaving with just a “See you later, Uncle,” and headed for the door.
“Greetings, my lady.”
Gerard stopped on his way in and bent a knee to greet me.
He had wavy gray hair and round, black eyes. A smile gently lifted the corners of his mouth, and he had a mole under one eye.
“Hi, Gerard!”
“If I had known you were here, my lady, I would have brought some snacks.”
“Cut the chatter. Did you find him?”
My uncle spoke sharply, strode over, picked me up, and put me out of the room.
“Yes. For starters, one of them…”
“Tell me after the child leaves.”
As if that wasn't enough, he even gave my bottom a little push, urging me to hurry along.
Kicked out into the hallway in an instant, I pouted and looked up at my uncle.
“I'm… I'm going.”
“Stay quietly in your room.”
“Uncle, about the letter later…”
*Slam.*
The door closed before I could finish my sentence.
“Hmph.”
I hope my uncle grows horns on his butt.
I glared at the firmly shut door before turning and heading to my room.
I can just get the letter later.
* * *
“When is Uncle coming home?”
“He may be a little late, my lady. Why don't you start dinner first? The chef has prepared a feast of dishes with that creamy milk sauce you love so much.”
“But it's better when I eat with Uncle.”
I mumbled, sitting on the bed and swinging my feet back and forth.
Not long after kicking me out, my uncle had gone out with Gerard.
And by evening, he still hadn't returned.
“Perhaps he'll be back soon if you start eating dinner?”
I thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay, I'll eat and wait.”
“A wise decision. Now, shall we go?”
Zenda bent down and offered me her hand.
I took Zenda's hand and headed to the dining hall.
And at the end of the hall, we came face to face with my uncle, who was striding in with a forbidding air.
“Oh! Un…”
He looked exactly like my uncle, but strangely, he didn't seem like the same uncle who was always annoyed with me.
He was much scarier, and it felt as if any warmth he once had had vanished completely.
On top of that, one of his hands was damp and dark red for some reason.
I hate to say it, but I could kind of see why he had gotten his nickname.
For a moment, I was so scared I almost backed away.
But my uncle was faster.
Exuding a menacing aura, he disappeared down the right hallway, and Gerard gave a quick bow before hurrying after him.
“…Now, let's go, my lady.”
Zenda gently led me, still frozen in place.
I stared blankly in the direction my uncle had disappeared before following Zenda.
And I didn't see my uncle again until the next day.
* * *
Three days had passed since I was kicked out of my uncle's office, which had followed the incident in the stables.
During those three days, my uncle was still angry with me more often than not.
“Just go, please.”
“Get out of my sight.”
“Stop following me, will you!”
He seemed to get angry every time he saw my face.
Especially on the day he came back from his outing with Gerard; not only was his hand covered in blood, but he was so murderous that I almost ran and hid from him in my room without thinking.
And yesterday, when I was tagging along behind him, he even yelled at me, asking if I was a stalker.
Was that when he was going to the bathroom? Anyway!
Thankfully, I hadn't had any other dreams or visions since the close call at the stables, so I'd only been loitering near my uncle.
Then again, if I'd stuck to him like glue, he might have actually thrown me.
“Zenda, thank you!”
Zenda dried my face, wet from washing, with a soft towel.
Even though my uncle had openly warned her not to be too nice to me on my first day here, Zenda was always incredibly kind.
Even if I just said I was thirsty, she never gave me water carelessly.
She always checked to make sure it wasn't too cold or too hot.
Zenda seemed terrified of my uncle, so much so that I worried she might get in trouble for disobeying his orders.
“You're very welcome.”
That's why I like Zenda so much.
Her kindness, her grass-green eyes, and her wheat-colored hair, braided to one side.
Of course, I like all the other servants too.
“Can I go to Uncle's room?”
“Again… you're going again?”
Zenda looked at me with worried eyes.
Her face instantly turned ashen.
“Yup. Uncle doesn't eat breakfast.”
Mom said you have to eat a good breakfast to start the day off right and not get tired by evening.
As usual, Zenda tried to stop me several times, but in the end, she took me to my uncle's room, just like always.
“Thanks, Zenda!”
“If you get scared, you must run right out.”
“Okay, I will!”
“And if the master gets angry, please tell him that I opened the door on my own, not you.”
“Huh? But that's a lie.”
“That kind of lie is okay.”
Heeding Zenda's worried words, I slipped into my uncle's room.
Jet-black curtains were drawn over every window, so even though the sun had risen a while ago, it was still night in here.
Fortunately, the room was just incredibly spacious with not much furniture, so I didn't have to worry about bumping into anything.
‘It smells nice.’
I looked around the dim room, searching for something to step on.
Why is Uncle's bed so high?
I'd used cushions and a footstool to climb onto the bed a few times before, but he must have gotten rid of them because the floor was clear today.
But I couldn't give up!
Grunting with effort, I managed to climb onto my uncle's bed for the first time without any help.
“Uncle, it's morning.”
Then I sat near him and called his name persistently.
“Uncle. Uncle?”
Around the tenth time I called his name, a string of curses suddenly spilled from my uncle, who was sleeping on his stomach, and then his menacing golden eyes snapped open.
I beamed at my uncle.
“Good morning, Uncle! Did you have sweet dreams?”
“…You still haven't left?”
My uncle asked sourly, his voice thick with sleep as he looked at me for waking him.
“Left for where?”
I asked, my eyes wide.
“To the old man's house.”
“I told you I'm not going to Grandpa's. Uncle, let's go eat.”
“Haaah…”
My uncle sat up halfway and roughly scratched his head.
From under the covers, his torso was revealed, looking like dozens of boulders and pebbles roped together.
“Aren't you cold, Uncle? Why do you sleep without a shirt? You'll get a stomachache.”
“What's it to you?”
“I'm worried you'll catch a cold.”
“I'm not cold because I'm so pissed off at you. Now get down.”
“…I'm getting down.”
Uncle is always angry when he sees me.
I haven't even caused any trouble yesterday or today.
Mom, Grandpa, the servants, and even the people at the shops Mom and I went to all liked me.
I wished my uncle would hurry up and start liking me too.
He'd probably get angry again if I didn't get down, but it was obvious he'd just go back to sleep if I did, so I brazenly lingered on the bed.
“Why are you here.”
My uncle sat up completely and asked as he grabbed a shirt strewn across a small table and threw it on.
“To eat breakfast with you!”
“Go eat on your own.”
My uncle got up and irritably chugged some water.
Then he disappeared somewhere, probably to wash up.
I sat on the bed and waited quietly.
Despite his words, my uncle came back, hastily changed his clothes, and once he was ready, he tucked me under his arm and carried me to the dining hall.
“Uncle, I can walk, you know.”
I muttered as I dangled from his side.
“The sooner you eat, the sooner I can get rid of you.”
“Eeeh…”
He must have remembered how I'd pestered him, saying I would stay by his side forever if he didn't eat every day.
But the entire time I ate in the dining hall, my uncle's sullen gaze never left me.
Though he only drank water.
I had just finished my breakfast and was patting my full belly when my uncle suddenly called my name.
I ran to him happily, but for some reason, the atmosphere felt even more ominous.
“Get ready to go out.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Come down when you're done.”
“Where are we going? Where are you going, Uncle?”
