How the Useless Me Became the Beloved of the Devilish Duke Knight - Chapter 15
Chapter 15 : Mansion and Guide
A horse soaring through the sky gracefully flaps its wings, eventually descending somewhere. With the impact of landing, Elma cautiously opened her eyes, it appeared that she had landed in front of a large mansion.
The haunted mansion where the Tarcoza family lives is nothing compared to this, as it is not only large and splendid, every inch of it is well-maintained, and you can tell at a glance that someone of high status lives there.
In contrast to Elma, who was stunned, Eugreek was calm. He jumps down from the horse back, and then he takes Elma off as well, only to not let her touch the ground and continues holding her in a sideways embrace.
“Um, Eugreek-sama…!?”
“Fortra, thank you for your hard work. It’s all good now. You can head back to the stable first.”
The white horse, when spoken to, whinnies as if responding energetically. Turning its head, it runs off with a light pace towards an unknown destination.
Ignoring Elma’s confusion, Eugreek enters the mansion with her in his arms. Light pours out from the opened door, causing Elma to involuntarily shut her eyes.
“It’s the young master. I thought I was imagining Fortra’s voice, but…”
It seems someone came to greet them, but the words were cut off midway through. Eugreek stopped in his tracks.
“Perfect timing, Georgie. Please call Nisa. And prepare a bath.”
When Elma opened her eyes, she saw an elderly man with a gaping mouth. Judging by the way he looks wearing a suit…could he be the butler of this house?
Still, what an incredibly bright house. The lighting is bright, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are all shiny and smooth. A soft carpet is spread out there, making your feet comfortable.
“Your Excellency. Unless my humble eyes deceive me, it seems to be a concerning situation. It seems I can’t resist the growing tide of age…”
“Enough with the theatrics. Bring Nisa quickly. I want her to look after this person. Besides, your eyes are still dark enough.”
“I see that you won’t even allow me to escape from reality…”
The man held his temples, but after he let out a deep sigh, straightened his back, and clapped his hands to make a loud sound.
“Everyone, gather here! Young Master has returned!”
Elma’s eyes widened in surprise, but then she felt even more overwhelmed. The servants, all neatly dressed and looking as if they had been well-trained, appeared from all over the place, lined up all at once, and bowed their heads in unison.
“Welcome back, Your Excellency!”
‘Young Master… Your Excellency…’
Somehow, from the very beginning, there was a feeling that he might be from a good background. She was aware that he probably belonged to a different world than hers.
For an ordinary person, fetching a basket full of Lathy would be an impossible task. However, to suddenly find oneself riding a pegasus and being escorted to a grand mansion on the third (or perhaps fourth, depending on how one counts) encounter – such a day is beyond imaginable.
Elma was so completely lost in herself that she didn’t even notice that she was finally being made to stand on the ground. Being with this man made every day truly stimulating. She wouldn’t be surprised if she fainted someday.
In fact, it was more unbelievable that she was currently able to stand on two legs properly. Amidst the crowd, a plump middle-aged woman comes forward and talks to Eugreek about various things, but Elma remains oblivious.
“?Understood, Young Master. I will be happy to serve you with the utmost sincerity. ”
Seeing the woman bow her head respectfully, Elma suddenly looked up. Next to her, Eugreek seemed to be trying to distance himself.
Wasn’t it rather cruel for the one who brought her to a place where she clearly didn’t belong to just leave her behind?
“Eugreek-sama…!”
Elma instinctively reached out and managed to grab the hem of his clothes, but a nonchalant voice from the side exclaimed, “Oh my, my, my!”
“Young Master, what would you like to do?”
“…There’s no way I can be there.”
“But if we leave it like this, the guest might not be pleased, don’t you think?”
Eugreek seemed to be looking down at Elma with a troubled expression, but Elma herself was also desperate.
“Everyone, could you all step out for a moment? I’ll call you again once we’re done.”
Most of them calmly stepped back, but the butler and the middle-aged woman gasped and looked at Eugreek with sharp eyes. However, it only lasted for a moment, they quickly bowed and left.
After confirming that they were completely alone, Eugreek lifted the cloth covering his face. When Elma looked up with teary eyes, his silver eyes trembled. He grasped Elma’s hand, crouched slightly, and matched their eye levels.
“Elma…um…Ah, right, I guess my explanation was too brief. I’m sorry for bringing you here so suddenly. This is my house. No one will hurt you, so please rest assured.”
The low, husky voice was pleasing to the ears, yet it didn’t immediately calm the uneasiness.
“You are my precious friend. If you are in trouble, I want to help you… What you need at this moment is to take care of that too-cold body, right ?”
Elma squeezed his hand. His silver eyes reflected a shabby young girl whose eyes wandered anxiously.
“But… what… what is going to happen from now on…?”
“There’s nothing to be worried about. We’ll be saying goodbye for a little while, but we’ll see each other again soon.”
“But, Eugreek-sama, I…”
“No, buts… even if you look at me like that… there’s no way I’m going to follow you to the bathroom, right…?”
He spoke with genuine concern. After blinking a few times, Elma quickly released his hand.
‘Oh, I need to cleanse myself now, don’t I?’ She looked down at her dirty, patched skirt. Indeed, her appearance seemed out of place in such a luxurious and beautiful mansion.
It makes sense to clean the dirt first and then talk. Once she realized this, she began to feel bad about standing in the shiny entranceway with such a body.
“I-I’m sorry, I… I didn’t realize…!”
“Well… it feels a bit different, but… if it helps you feel more positive, I suppose that’s fine.”
Eugreek smiled bitterly and then held out his hand towards Elma.
“Elma, come on. Let me show you to the entrance. It’s okay, there’s nothing to be scared of.”
He can be pushy at times, but he doesn’t raise his voice or cause any pain. He’s a strange guy – but he’s not an enemy. Elma takes a deep breath and lets it out.
‘That’s right, calm down. What should I do now…?’
Since she is already at his home now. Then, it would be polite to follow his way at home. Hesitantly taking his hand, he left behind a gentle smile before lowering the cloth.
“Nisa.”
“Yes, Your Excellency. At your side.”
With a brief call, a middle-aged woman, who seemed to be waiting by his side even though her presence wasn’t visible, appeared.
“I’ll escort you nearby, and then I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“oh dear…”
Elma was shocked. She was certainly feeling a bit nervous, but not being able to walk by herself was like being a child. Her face turned red, but the gaze of the woman watching over her was warm and kind.
“Certainly, that is more appropriate. Bringing someone along and then leaving them would be quite insensitive, young master.”
“Is that how it is? I’ll be careful.”
While Elma was confused, Eugreek finished talking with the woman and started walking away.
At first, he takes long strides – or rather, his long legs naturally do when he walks normally, but he quickly adjusts his stride when he notices that Elma is running at a small pace.
They climbed the stairs, walked down the hallway, passing numerous doors, it became unclear where they were going.
‘Even though it’s inside the house, it feels like a maze…’
“We’re here.”
At first, Elma tried to memorize the directions, but gave up halfway through. Then Eugreek announced that they had arrived at their destination and let go of her hand.
“Well then, see you later.”
While the awkwardness disappeared, a sense of loneliness crept in. As Elma unintentionally watches him leave, a middle-aged woman approaches her and bows deeply to Elma.
“Let me introduce myself properly. Today, I will be taking care of our guest—the young lady. My name is Nisa Harnia. Please feel free to call me Nisa.”
“…! My name is Elma Tarcoza. Nice to meet you…!”
Come to think of it, she still hadn’t been able to even say hello properly. Elma hurriedly bowed deeply as well, but when she raised her head, there was a radiant smile before her.
“Alright, time to show off those skills! I’ll polish them up for you, young lady!”
Bonus: It’s not like I don’t have friends (as he himself says)
“I guess you’ll explain the situation later, won’t you?”
“Well, more or less.”
“What should I say to the master and madam…?”
“If I were to bring more friends home, my parents would probably raise a toast with the oldest wine they have. They’re not complaining about having an unmarried son for no reason.”
“Please don’t hold your chest up.”
“I’ve given up. No, I had given up, I guess.”
“What exactly is a friend? Is it about doing things to become friends?”
“… Is that not it?”
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Translated by : Cutae30