Volume 1 Chapter 70 Loneliness was not just the Servant
Why on earth am I here?
I heard the lady teacher say, "Let's go out," and before I knew it, I was taken into a carriage, arriving at the Alfano family mansion, a place I thought I would never visit again.
I pleaded with the lady teacher that I had no right to step into this mansion, but all those pleas were ignored.
I was brought inside the mansion and made to wait in front of the reception room, but after a while, the maids and staff gathered with this one and I ended up getting captured.
I was then led to the reception room, unsure of what expression to wear, and when I looked down, the Lady called my name.
Even though she hadn't seen my face.
Perhaps all the Lady could see was just the crown of my head.
The Lady rushed over to me and called my name again.
I was taken aback to hear her voice quivering with tears, and at that moment, I locked eyes with her.
I was so confused I couldn't say a thing.
Seeing my reaction, the Lady burst into tears.
After a moment of gathering my strength, I finally managed to call her "Lady," and she said, "I was lonely."
In that instant, I felt as if my heart had been grasped tightly.
I realized that I wasn't the only one who had been lonely.
Overwhelmed by the guilt of making her cry so much, along with the relief I felt, I didn't know how to handle it, but then Sir Hans, who was sitting closest to me, grabbed my wrist and began to use my hand to soothe the Lady's head.
I wanted to ask what he was doing, but sensing his silent pressure, I kept quiet.
Meanwhile, completely ignoring my confusion, the lady and the lady teacher continued to discuss matters, and in the end, the talk of Lady and I getting married was settled.
How did this happen?
Could it be because I wished on that purification crystal back then?
That I never wanted to part again.
"Rolus? Are you okay? Do you still dislike the idea of marrying me?"
The Lady, still on my lap, tilted her head and said that.
"It's not that I dislike it. Just... just, I'm a shield, and a mere shield cannot be a bride for a Lady."
I wasn't even born to be wanted; I was just a man treated like trash, and it's inconceivable that such a man could become the husband of the precious Lady.
"About that story!"
It was the madam who opened her mouth.
"You thought I was casting a spell on Elena, didn't you? How rude!"
"Huh?"
Apparently, it was a misunderstanding by the master and Sir Hans regarding the spells, and it seems it was resolved without my knowledge.
"I was wondering what Father and Elder Brother were thinking, as they worry about Rolus's health every time we meet, but I guess they thought it was due to the shield."
The Lady says this with a pout.
I've surely fallen ill a few times.
But wasn't that caused by the spell?
"So, does that mean Rolus thought he was falling ill because of the spell? Poor thing."
Lady is patting my back while saying "There, there."
Yet, even when I was treated like trash, I never particularly fell ill, so I didn't doubt it when they mentioned the spell.
"The reason Rolus fell ill was the sense of security, wasn't it?"
"Sense of security?"
Lady and I tilt our heads at the lady teacher's words.
"I watched Rolus for a while, but the tension never eased even once. But now, just having Ellie by his side is gradually easing it a little."
"Really? Yay!"
As I ponder while hearing Lady's muttering.
I definitely feel a sense of security just from having Lady around, even if I don't know the exact reason.
Perhaps it's the feeling of security that the one I must protect is healthy.
"You feel secure when Ellie is by your side, right?"
"...Yes."
"That's right. After all, I've lost so many times."
I didn't understand what the lady teacher was saying.
I just felt that Lady's grip around my torso had tightened.
And I could also tell that her voice was trembling when she asked the lady teacher, "Can you see them?"
"The ghost told me."
"You don't have to say anything unnecessary, ghost."
What are they saying?
"Anyway, has your doubt been cleared?"
Suddenly, the lady said this while looking over here.
"Y-yes, I apologize."
"It's fine as long as your doubts are cleared. You don't have to apologize. It's true that I did something to be suspected. Well, no, I didn't intend to, but..."
The madam said this, and Lady was letting out a soft "fufu" laugh.
"But thanks to Mother's doubts, Rolus came to our house."
"That's true. I was surprised when Sir Oscar suddenly brought a boy, but to think he intended to use him as a shield!"
"I-I'm sorry."
"I mean, just the fact that he brought a boy for my daughter's attendant was surprising. Not to mention, why is there a boy near my daughter and not a maid?"
Upon hearing this, the husband frowned, letting out a small hum.
"It might be because I was a parent with a daughter. To be honest, I thought anyone would do to protect my daughter, but somewhere in my heart, I felt hesitant about forcing something as dangerous as a spell shield onto a girl..."
"I see. I can understand that. But I also think it's questionable to impose danger on a boy with no family. Well, it wasn't dangerous since it wasn't a spell or anything, right?"
In the end, I must have been lucky.
After all, I was taken in by such a warm family.
"Either way, my meeting with Rolus was meant to be."
"I see. I was honestly surprised when you said you wanted to leave this house, but at that moment, I was certain. I realized you loved Elena."
"Eh?"
"Well, if you're together all the time, you're going to fall in love! At that time, Elena hadn't graduated from the academy yet, and I thought it'd be dangerous if she accidentally got too close, so we decided it'd be best to leave her with the lady teacher."
What about now?
"Just right?"
A question flew from my lap toward the lady.
"You received a marriage proposal from the lady teacher, right? After that, I met with the lady teacher to discuss Elena's happiness. Then it turned out that going to the lady teacher's house as a bride was the best option, right?"
Apparently, according to the madam, this discussion has been advancing for quite some time.
To conclude, it seems that the lady teacher already had a rough idea that I wanted to resign as an attendant.
And then, what madam said at that time about wanting the lady teacher to do another fortune telling and that introducing a servant might allow her to get a reading was all a lie.
After all, she knew I would obediently comply.
I was completely deceived.
The lady teacher had it all figured out.
"So Mother has been hiding Rolus' whereabouts all along!? I was so worried and nearly dying because Rolus was missing, and she didn't tell me...!"
"If I had told you, you would definitely go see him."
"I would go."
"The lady teacher said that if you went, that child would run away."
The gazes of the Lady and madam are focused on me.
If I had encountered the Lady then... I might have indeed run away.
"The silence means you were definitely planning to flee. I had been searching for you endlessly!"
"I... I apologize sincerely."
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