Chapter 13
Episode 13
She wasn't here. Yet Rihart spoke as if she were right by his side.
Thanks to his heightened senses as a Transcendent, he had overheard the conversation between Marie and the Guard outside.
"......What should I do."
He wanted to see his maid panic when faced with this difficult situation.
Though he wasn't particularly inclined to tell her.
"She helped me out, so maybe I should let her know......"
Either way, it seemed like it would be quite entertaining.
Rihart waited for dawn, anticipating his maid's arrival.
* * *
Was the Head Chef always the type to look after people despite his grumbling demeanor?
These past few days, he'd been giving me desserts consistently, and after I reported the kitchen maid's issue, the desserts had noticeably improved in quality.
Not just the taste, but the portion size......
A two-tier cake...... When am I supposed to finish this?
"If you don't wanna eat it, don't."
Despite his cold tone, he pushed the two-tier cake toward me.
"......Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Why the sudden change?
I had no idea. Good things were good things.
It was impossible to carry the two-tier cake on a tray.
I used a trolley to transport Rihart's meal along with my share of the cake to his room.
But there was a neatly dressed male servant standing in the basement whom I'd never seen before.
I glanced at the Guard. Who is that guy?
The Guard shook his head as if he didn't know either.
"Rosie! I heard you're the one attending that monster's meals."
Ah, so he knows Rosie?
"......Yes, and?"
"Isn't it tough?"
The servant sent me a burdensome gaze and stroked the back of my hand gripping the trolley.
I pulled my hand away from the unpleasant sensation, and his eyebrows shot up.
"Tough? It's just bringing meals."
What was Rosie's relationship with this guy?
Judging by the casual skinship......
Either lovers, or an annoyingly pushy creep.
One or the other.
The important thing was, even if he was Rosie's lover, he was just a creep to me right now.
"If it's tough, tell me anytime."
"And if I do?"
"Huh?"
"Will you take over my meal duty?"
I flashed a wide smile, as if ready to hand over the trolley at any moment.
The servant, who had spoken like he'd do anything, now laughed awkwardly at that specific request.
It was natural. Rihart was known here as a monster who bewitched and cruelly harmed people.
Rumors were funny like that. Believing so easily without seeing for themselves.
"If you're not going to take over, I'll head in now. I need to bring the meal to the person inside."
"Wait, Rosie. What do you mean by that."
"......Is it wrong for the meal attendant to bring food?"
"No. That's not it—why call that monster 'the person inside'?"
Definite.
The servant before me was the unpleasant type.
If Rosie had dated him, she had bad taste in men; if he was the one clinging annoyingly, she was pitiable.
"Then what should I call him?"
"Why call a monster a monster, obviously."
"Then what do you call people or animals with names?"
"Huh?"
"You call them by name. Calling a person 'person' or an animal 'animal' would be weird, right? But I don't know his name, so I said 'the person inside.' What's wrong with that?"
"......No, Rosie. What I mean is."
I knew exactly what he wanted to say but had no desire to indulge him.
So I responded playfully, like bantering back.
"Then I'll be going now. I have to deliver the food."
"Uh, okay......"
I entered Rihart's room without sparing the man another glance.
Rihart stared at me blankly before slowly opening his mouth.
"Miss maid."
"Yes?"
"So, in your eyes, am I a monster?"
* * *
Is that maid a Devil Worshipper?
It was something Rihart had been pondering lately.
One day, a maid appeared before him claiming to be his meal attendant.
From the moment she arrived, various variables entered his life.
She coldly rebuffed him whenever he approached, yet diligently tended to his needs.
Rihart couldn't understand such behavior.
Up to that point, he could dismiss her as someone not overly malicious, but he'd overheard the Guard's story.
'That maid personally went after whoever was putting something suspicious in the food?'
Why go that far?
Rihart couldn't comprehend it.
Thinking deeply from her perspective, he reached one conclusion.
If harm came to him, she would suffer too.
A simple conclusion, yet it had taken him so long to arrive at it.
'But is she really just an ordinary maid?'
The scent from her body. He pondered it deeply.
A mere fragrance suppressing the pain felt by a Transcendent like himself, even calming his emotions during the intense murderous urge from the drug.
He found it deeply unsettling.
It was true that she eased his condition, but he didn't welcome someone influencing his body.
That maid was an exceptionally unique existence.
Thus, Rihart resolved himself.
During the time she served his meals, he recovered his body, making it easier to plan his escape.
So he decided: when he escaped, he'd take her by force if necessary.
For now, since she positively affected his body, there was no harm in keeping her close.
If Rosie knew, she'd be shocked enough to jump in surprise.
She might scream about her free will, but that was beyond Rihart's concern.
At that moment, a sweet, cloying scent wafted to his nose. And with it......
"Did Rosie really say she wanted to see me?"
A new voice came from outside the room.
"This is a secret, so keep your mouth shut."
The Guard shushed him with a quiet 'shh.'
Rihart scoffed. When he left this place, he had no intention of letting those two off easily.
"Rosie!"
As Rosie approached, an unpleasant voice called her name welcomingly.
Rihart softly echoed the name the man had used.
A meaningless act for a name he'd forget soon enough.
"I heard you're on meal duty for that monster."
The ensuing words were utterly ridiculous.
Rosie looked uncomfortable with every word the man said, and inexplicably, that brought Rihart a strange sense of satisfaction.
"If it's tough, tell me."
How absurd. Who did that guy think he was?
"Will you take over my meal duty if I do?"
Her response made sense, yet Rihart felt oddly displeased, as if she were ready to hand over his meal duty at any time.
Why?
Because without her, his body would ache again?
But contrary to his worries, the maid would attend him for the remaining days.
That thought strangely brought him relief.
"What do you call people or animals with names?"
"Huh?"
"You call them by name. Calling a person 'person' or an animal 'animal' would be weird, right?"
Rihart felt a peculiar emotion at the maid's casual remark.
Ah. His maid was amusing, after all.
Soon, the maid entered. So he asked impulsively.
"Miss maid."
"Yes?"
"So, in your eyes, am I a monster?"
