Chapter 10
Episode 10
No way. No way.
A sense of unease crept up my spine.
"It's different from usual."
"......"
"As you said, miss maid, even food I've always eaten can feel different sometimes."
Rihart calmly set down his spoon and looked at me.
I didn't take his words at face value.
I wasn't foolish enough to miss that he was indirectly hinting the food had the fruit in it.
I'd thought carefully watching only while the food was being prepared would suffice, but apparently that was my mistake.
How did they put it in?
"......Ugh."
"......!"
Rihart, who had been acting fine, suddenly let out a groan. I widened my eyes in shock.
His face was flushing bright red.
Rihart didn't look well. He just hadn't shown it, but cold sweat was beading on his face.
"......Are you okay?"
I reached out to wipe the sweat from his forehead. At that moment, a strong grip seized my wrist.
His hand tightened around my wrist.
Even when he'd eaten food laced with the Death Flag Fruit before, this had never happened......
According to the original story, the fruit didn't show immediate effects from the start but built up steadily before reacting.
......Judging by his state, it seemed the fruit the kitchen maid had been secretly adding over a long period was finally taking effect now.
'Why of all times now......'
I bit my lip and observed him.
The thought that my head could fly off if I mishandled this made the pain in my seized wrist feel like nothing.
"You shouldn't...... come closer."
His vision seemed blurry as he blinked laboriously and warned me lowly.
Contradictorily, even as he told me to stay away, he clung tightly to my hand.
Because of that, I could neither pull away nor approach and was forced to sit facing him.
Soon, his body crumbled.
"Rihart!"
I urgently caught his collapsing body.
The current Rihart reminded me of how he'd been when I first saw him.
Gasping and begging for medicine.
He wasn't in need of medicine now, but the agony wracking his body was the same then as it was now.
'What do I do?'
Overwhelmed by helplessness, I bit my lip until it bled.
If I reported this outside now, I might be accused of poisoning Rihart's food and killed.
But I couldn't just leave him like this either......
"......Miss maid."
Finally, after a long silence, Rihart exhaled hot breath and opened his mouth.
"......Touch me."
"......"
"......Please, I beg you."
His blue eyes, filled with fervent desire, looked at me.
I took no action even after hearing his words.
To be precise, my glitched brain refused to let my body move.
Touch? Me? You?
"Hurry......"
He pulled my seized wrist, making me stroke his cheek.
As my hand was suddenly yanked forward, my unbalanced body tilted toward him as well.
I frowned, ending up collapsed into his embrace, unable to do anything.
"Hey, a little......"
"Feels good......"
"......"
Why?
I had no special abilities, yet I felt like someone who could counteract Rihart's current state.
Seeing him lean into me, lost to reason, all I could do was sigh.
Rather than letting it be discovered that he'd eaten the fruit and ended up like this, maybe it was better to leave him be if this could somehow heal him.
Weighing my life against this bizarre situation, the answer came easily. I decided to stay still.
"Moderation, please."
Whether he heard me or not, his face looked serene, like someone who'd found an oasis in the desert.
His skin against mine burned hot as if feverish, making my fingers curl inward reflexively.
"Haa......"
He let out a low, hot breath. With a stiff expression, I watched him breathe heavily and laboriously.
As I stroked his cheek as he guided, his breathing seemed to slowly improve. Watching that made my own mood feel strange.
"Does it hurt a lot?"
"Less pain and more just......"
He exhaled hot breath. He'd been out of his mind moments ago, but now he seemed somewhat calmed.
"To be honest, I didn't expect myself to become this violent."
What did that mean?
"Simply put......"
He laughed as if troubled.
"I want to kill."
"......"
"Must be because of whatever strange thing I ate."
So that's why he told me not to approach......
I seriously debated shaking off his hand and fleeing right now.
I glanced at the Mana Shackles around Rihart's ankle.
The thought that I might be dead if not for those made me reflexively touch my neck.
"I've shown you an unsightly side again."
Now fully calmed, the strength in Rihart's grip on my arm loosened.
I pulled my arm free and thought.
The kitchen maid had started adding the fruit to the meals again.
As long as she kept doing it, this kind of crisis might come again.
Belatedly, I decided what I needed to do from now on.
* * *
My foul mood over the past few days lifted in an instant.
All the problems caused by Rosie when adding the drug to the monster's food had been resolved.
Marie brushed her brown hair back and smiled pleasantly.
Did she really need to add the drug right at the moment the Head Chef prepared the food?
There were plenty of ways.
She couldn't understand why she'd wasted energy on that girl Rosie.
'Still, it's unforgivable.'
She seemed like a commoner, yet she dared look Marie straight in the eye without fear......
And that maid Emily by her side was the same.
So she planned to make it hard for them to stay in this Marquis's household.
However, Marie knew such petty bullying wouldn't faze them.
The moment she realized that, she already had a vague plan in her head to drive Rosie out.
She intended to exploit something the Marquis was sensitive about.
The monster.
How? Well......
"Hello, Marie."
"Y-You......!"
Seeing Rosie appear silently behind her, Marie gasped in surprise.
"Wh-what do you want?"
"Nothing much."
Rosie grinned wickedly.
Marie narrowed her eyes at the smile that didn't feel pure. What was she scheming?
"I heard from the other girls that you're great at giving advice, Marie."
"......What?"
What came from Rosie's mouth was truly unexpected and out-of-left-field.
"So I was hoping you'd counsel me on my worries."
"Why should I?"
To her curt reply, Rosie just smiled amiably and linked arms with Marie.
Stunned by Rosie's sudden action, Marie was taken aback. Had she eaten something wrong......?
"I want to be friends with you, Marie."
Only then did Marie glimpse Rosie's intentions.
Her bullying had continued, so she'd decided to submit. It was immensely satisfying that she was bowing first.
Marie looked at Rosie with a smug expression.
"Worries, huh? What kind?"
"Well...... I had a strange dream."
"A dream?"
As Rosie nodded in a way that didn't seem casual, Marie unwittingly observed her closely.
"In the dream, I was sitting at the table waiting for my meal. But when I ate, my mind grew hazy."
"......And?"
"The food tasted weird, so I sneaked into the kitchen to check, and someone was putting drugs in my food."
"......"
"The next day, and the day after, over and over......"
Adding the drug.
Like reciting exactly what Marie had ordered the kitchen maid to do, Rosie persistently met Marie's eyes.
"Did I wrong someone?"
"......"
"What do you think, Marie?"
"You......"
"Yeah? What do you think, Marie?"
Unable to respond as Rosie kept striking at her vulnerabilities, Marie fell silent.
Then Rosie smirked at her and muttered.
"......It really is you, huh?"
