Chapter 3
Episode 3
Sparkling silver hair as if sprinkled with starlight powder, lush eyelashes half-closed and drooping.
A refined face that looked a bit tired.
An appearance that naturally evoked the keyword "beautiful gong."
Strangely, in the pitch-black basement without a single ray of light, I even had the illusion of seeing a man bathed in evening glow, steeped in melancholy.
Moreover, the shackles around his ankles accentuated the decadent aura emanating from him.
"Ah."
Upon spotting me, Rihart's lips parted slightly, curving into a soft smile.
For a moment, I felt as shocked as if someone had whacked the back of my head with a baseball bat.
How could a person be that handsome?
"You're the maid who helped me earlier."
Unlike when I'd seen him a few hours ago, his previously pallid face now held a faint glow of life, likely from the medicine.
But a small dose couldn't fully suppress his pain, so Rihart still looked a bit weary.
"I wonder how I should repay this favor......"
Wasn't he just grinding his teeth a moment ago?
His tone was so earnest it made me suspect something was wrong with my memory.
"No need to repay me. I've brought your meal, so please eat."
I cut off any chance for conversation and set the dog bowl down in front of him.
Rihart wasn't inherently kind, and he harbored hatred toward everyone in this mansion.
There was no way he'd be grateful over a mere act of help from moments ago.
Rihart was just acting sweet now to escape.
He'd probably bewitch me and use me when he fled.
'That's why Emily grilled me about being enchanted by the monster.'
In the original story, all the servants who were enchanted by Rihart and helped him ended up with their heads chopped off.
And Rihart felt not a shred of guilt over it.
"Thank you for bringing my meal, miss."
Even seeing the dog bowl and feeling humiliated, he calmly offered his thanks.
He'd been polite when we met earlier too, but back then, he'd lost his composure and let his hatred show.
'He's not trying to get more medicine from me again, is he?'
It made sense.
Arjen had the maids attending Rihart deliver the medicine to him.
When Rihart first rampaged, Arjen had been pleased at the opportunity to instill fear in the servants.
But on the other hand, he'd felt frustrated by Rihart's unexpectedly strong power.
After that, he instructed the maids to give Rihart the Mana Suppressant only right before a rampage.
Of course, it was such a tiny amount that it only prevented outbursts, with little effect on easing his pain.
"Miss."
While lost in thought, Rihart had apparently already finished eating.
"I've finished my meal, so you should go now. You need to eat too—you can't stay here forever."
"Understood."
Considering how I'd steeled myself before entering, nothing much had happened.
They said the attending duties rotated, so if I endured about 10 days, that should be it?
I just needed to watch him carefully until then.
As I thought that and picked up the bowl in front of Rihart, something unexpected caught my eye.
At that moment, chills ran up the back of my neck.
The chain—it was broken.
It looked like it had been partially snapped and reconnected to avoid detection.
"Miss?"
There was no way a high-grade Mana Shackle was defective...... High chance Rihart had broken it himself.
What would have happened to me if I hadn't noticed?
"Miss, are you alright?"
"Ah, just a bit of anemia......"
"Anemia?"
Desperate to hide that I'd spotted the broken chain, I threw my whole body into swaying dramatically.
"......Miss!"
Rihart firmly caught my waist as I pretended to collapse. However.
Crash.
Because I'd swayed so much, I couldn't save the falling bowl.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the sturdy dog bowl didn't break.
"......Are you alright?"
Embarrassment flickered across Rihart's face.
In my haste to fool him, my acting had been a little—no, a lot—over the top.
I suddenly felt awkward.
"I have anemia and need medicine, but I forgot to take it......"
I wasn't even good at lying, and I wasn't convincing now.
Rihart must have noticed something was off. But unexpectedly, a look of pity crossed his face.
"You didn't take your medicine?"
......No way.
"I've had anemia since I was young, so I always carry medicine for it, but since starting as a maid, I keep forgetting."
"I see......"
He seemed to think we had something in common with his own Mana Suppressants.
Pity flickered briefly across Rihart's face before fading.
Good, I think I fooled him safely.
"Anyway, thank you for catching me."
I pushed against Rihart's shoulder and slipped out of his arms.
I hurriedly grabbed the discarded dog bowl and headed quickly for the door.
Half of it was wariness that I might get enchanted by Rihart if I stayed longer.
"Well, I'll be going then."
"If I may ask, miss."
But Rihart stopped me.
"......May I ask what perfume you're wearing?"
Perfume?
I couldn't very well say, 'I've only been in this body for a day, so I don't know what perfume it is.'
"I'll tell you next time."
So don't escape. Absolutely.
Ignoring Rihart's gaze, I left the room.
"Rosie! Are you okay?"
Emily was waiting outside the room.
I smiled brightly and sweetly, handing her the dog bowl.
She looked at me with utter confusion.
"Rosie? Why are you giving this to me......?"
"Emily."
"Y-Yeah?"
"If you find something dangerous here, who do you report it to?"
I needed to report it quickly before Rihart escaped.
"Hmm. Usually the butler. Did something happen in there?"
"Where's the butler?"
"I saw him on the first floor earlier......"
"Thanks!"
I rushed past her.
Emily shouted "What's going on?!" from behind, but the urgency of reporting this drowned it out.
I had to report before Rihart escaped.
Leaving the dim basement as Emily said, a man in a simple white shirt stood alone on the first floor.
"Butler, big trouble!"
Excited, my voice boomed out loudly.
I ran toward the man.
"Butler?"
"......"
At my call, he turned to me with a puzzled look.
Something felt off.
Don't butlers usually wear butler uniforms?
"......I-I'm on duty attending the m-monster, and I found the chain broken."
I almost blurted out Rihart's name but clamped my mouth shut.
The mansion's servants called Rihart a monster.
Arjen wanted it that way, and to them, he was imprinted as one.
No one knew Rihart's name.
"The chain is broken?"
"It looks like it was cut, precisely. Anyway, you need to check......"
Wait, something's wrong.
Soft golden hair like melted pure gold, forest-green eyes. Refined features.
Too flustered to notice before, but it matches the shou's description......
No way, is this Arjen......?
He smiled faintly at me.
A chill ran through my entire body.
