How the Useless Me Became the Beloved of the Devilish Duke Knight - Chapter 18
Chapter 18 : Magic and Kidnapping (Suspicion)
After changing, Elma was led into the guest room. Eugreek looked pleased when he saw Elma but was immediately puzzled.
“…Is that a servant uniform ?”
“She said this is better than wearing a dress.”
The maid, who was met with a puzzled look, shrugged and replied. Eugreek was silent for a while before voicing his understanding. Elma had a bad feeling about this and became wary.
“Ah…I see, the old clothes. That was definitely disrespectful. I’ll prepare something more appropriate next time—”
“That’s not it!”
“Hm ?”
“I can’t bring myself to wear such luxurious clothes, even for a moment…!”
Despite his good intentions, he often goes overboard. Once Elma made it clear that the problem was with the dress itself, rather than its age, he directed a confused look at the maid.
“Well, it’s true that evening party attire might need some courage to wear…but were they all really that flashy?”
“No, I did show her both the casual and loungewear. However, Lady Elma is a very modest person. And it seems that she is not used to this sort of thing.”
“I see… It’s quite difficult. So, is the servant uniform better than the dress?”
But when he looks down, Elma’s mood also begins to droop.
“I’m sorry… for causing you trouble.”
“No? I’m actually having fun. It’s exciting to be with Elma.”
He didn’t seem as depressed as she had worried about. But should she be relieved by this, or should she say something to check on him ?
Elma’s expression became a little unclear, but as Eugreek approached, she regained her composure and straightened up. He placed his hand over Elma’s face and she felt a soft movement in her hair.
“…Yeah. I’m sure I did it properly.”
Eugreek withdrew his hand. Elma tilted her head and was surprised when she casually touched her hair.
“……! Eugreek-sama, my hair is dry!”
Although Elma’s hair had been carefully dried and wasn’t dripping with water, it was still quite damp and cold. Now it felt nicely dried, with the right amount of moisture gone.
He probably deepened his smile beneath the mask. Nobles can use magic. For a high-ranking noble who owned a mansion of this size, he probably possesses significant power. Now, she unexpectedly got to experience that for herself.
“I usually only do this for myself. I’m glad it worked out well.”
“Well, young master, to insist on keeping the hair as it is…”
“Yeah. I wanted to do this. Besides, since Elma always keeps her hair up, I wanted to see it down.”
Elma blinked at the comment and her face went red. She’d forgotten about it because it had taken her much longer than usual to get changed, but she had left her hair down to dry. She would never show such an indecent appearance to even her family.
“Why are you panicking? Just as I thought, you look cuter with your hair down. Although I also like the way it’s up, with that sharp, defined profile.”
“Ahh…!?”
“Elma’s hair is straight and silky. It’s very beautiful.”
“A….Aa….!”
As she hurriedly tried to tie her hair up, a completely unintentional follow-up comment came her way. Sometimes, honesty can be a form of sin or violence. Moreover, Elma was aware of the impact of his words even under the mask, and she could somehow imagine the expression he was making while speaking.
Elma needed to take several deep breaths to calm her increasingly erratic heartbeat.
The maid and the butler–who had been standing in a corner of the room the entire time, exchanged looks at their master’s obviously ecstatic state, and both shrugged their shoulders and returned to their original, neat, upright positions.
Only the person who caused the commotion continues to behave as if nothing happened (or rather, from his perspective, nothing actually did happen).
“Anyway, you must be hungry, right? It’s a bit early for dinner, but let’s have a snack. Nisa.”
“Yes, young master. Excuse me.”
As the maid bowed and left, Erma reacted to the mention of “dinner.”
“That’s right, I have to go home now…!”
“Elma.”
Immediately, the atmosphere around Eugreek becomes tense, but Elma doesn’t notice yet.
“Umm, Eugreek-sama. Excuse me, but could you please tell me where we are? If I know where we are, I’m sure I can find the way home—Oh, and, um, about the clothes, I’ll wash and return them later.”
“Elma. I have no intention of letting you go home like this.”
“……Huh?”
Until now, Eugreek Germane had been Elma’s friend and ally, a man who, although sometimes forceful, never tried to get in her way. What could have caused this change ?
Elma was shocked by this unexpected turn of events, and Eugreek continued speaking.
“If you’re worried about home, I’ll contact them. If you need someone to pick you up, I’ll have them come here. If your absence means there will be a shortage of staff, we’ll send someone from home in your place. So, there’s no need for you to rush home. Isn’t that right?”
“But, umm….”
“Last time it was your forehead. Today, there are bruises on your ears, arms, and hands. And you were crying in the rain without an umbrella. I know I’m quite insensitive towards others, but I understand that someone who leaves you in such a state cannot really call themselves your friend.”
Elma was completely overwhelmed. He never raised his voice. Rather, he spoke calmly, as if he was suppressing his emotions. That’s why she could sense the emotion leaking out of him, and his strained voice became more intense. Each point was undeniably true.
“Also, do you really want to go home? Sorry, but it doesn’t look that way to me.”
“I, I…”
Elma Tarcoza must devote herself to her family. It is also her way of atoning for having caused the death of her mother. Until recently, she had no doubts about this. However, a basket full of lathies had changed Elma’s mind a little.
Having seen something valuable destroyed right before her eyes and feeling a level of danger to her life she had never experienced before. It wasn’t that she had never faced such threats before, but… how should she put it, yesterday it was clear that there was murderous intent in that attack.
The truth is, Erma’s steps were heavier than usual.
‘I have to go home. I’m a useless failure, and that’s all I’m worth. But… but…’
As Elma was lost in thought, she heard a big sigh.
“Young lady, it must be tiring to stand for so long. Why don’t you sit down first?”
The butler urged her to sit down on the soft sofa. Surprised by the feather-like feel, she tried to stand up, but sank back down with a thud. Next to her, the old butler turned to face Eugreek.
“Young master, A gentleman should not be mean to a lady.”
“I’m not picking on her.”
“The line about not letting her go home sounded quite extreme. Are you a kidnapper?”
“I’m not kidnapping anyone—though, in this situation, it might look like that…”
Eugreek tried to argue with him, but upon reflecting on his own actions, he seemed to have some thoughts. After a moment of waiting for a response, the butler slowly began to speak.
“Since I heard Foltra’s voice, it means you brought her with you, right ?”
“Y-yeah. That’s right.”
“You made sure to explain our intentions properly before bringing her with you and obtained her consent, right ? I hope it’s not the case, but you didn’t just suddenly pull her up onto a horse or anything like that?”
“No… well, um…”
“In other words, it was a decision made solely by the young master and a sudden move. That would explain the young lady’s complete confusion.”
“Hold on. Well, it’s true that I did get a bit ahead of myself. But still…”
“But, you did kidnap her, didn’t you?”
“……So, in the end, it comes to that conclusion, doesn’t it?”
The butler turned around to leave the room, but Eugreek grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him.
“Hey, stop it, Georgie. Is it Father ? or Varies? Either way, it’s going to get complicated. Especially with Varis, don’t even try. I can’t even predict what he’ll say—no, the fact that I can somewhat guess makes it even worse.”
“Putting the master aside, the prince with his love for gossip and keen ears probably knows about this situation already. Rather than trying your poor young master’s worldly skills, I think it would be best to simply ask for his advice—”
“—Excuse me!”
Elma suddenly stepped in between them. She couldn’t keep quiet while sensing that Eugreek was being blamed. Elma was the one in the wrong. He shouldn’t bear any of the blame.
“Eugreek-sama has done nothing wrong. It’s all my fault…”
“Elma, that’s not true. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“But, it’s me who…”
“No, it’s my fault.”
As they were about to get into a back-and-forth of “I’m the one at fault” and “No, I am,” the butler looked up at the sky, and fortunately, the maid returned just then.
“Come on. Let’s have some tea. People can’t think clearly without some sweets and a drink.”
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Translated by : Cutae30