Chapter 13

Really, what a graceful thing, Rabi sighed.

She had quietly finished her secret rendezvous with her beloved and, as if it were an afterthought, proceeded to feed the chickens. "I'm not a pet, you know. I'm sorry, chicken bones," she muttered, trying to mask her dejected feelings. In front of her, Baldur was waving cute cookies, saying, "Here, here."

Just looking at his honey-colored hair made everything else seem trivial. Really, what had she been seeing in him all this time? "Ugh!!" So she decided to force her way through. "M-my stomach!!"

By pretending to writhe in agony, the conversation with Baldur ended abruptly. When Baldur asked if she was okay, Rabi, with a pale and haggard face, explained that she wasn't feeling well and had been in a bad mood since morning. To her surprise, Baldur believed her without much hesitation. This was partly because Rabi's face was naturally haggard and pale, making her explanation very convincing, and partly because Baldur wasn't particularly interested in her.

(What do you mean, 'a little thinner'? You're wrapping it in too much sugar.)

There's nothing more cutting than obvious flattery. Incidentally, Rabi had changed slightly, becoming a bit healthier, though her silver hair, which looked like dry white hair, remained the same. She didn't want to draw suspicion with a drastic change, so it was a subtle improvement. However, if you looked closely, you could see that her skin tone had improved. She checked this by pulling her cheeks every day while looking in the mirror.

At this point, her beauty or lack thereof was a minor concern, but living healthily would affect her future life. The distance of her daily walks had gradually increased. However, it was a change that Baldur, who had no interest in Rabi, wouldn't notice.

"...Thinking about it makes me feel so empty."

As she walked, recalling what had happened earlier, she sighed. But she inhaled deeply, turning the sigh into deep breaths, which helped to lift her spirits.

Still, it was surprising that the first person she thought of when she pretended to be in pain was Mari. It was partly because she had just drunk Mari's tea, but the girl was also very dedicated to her duties. If Rabi managed to escape the Heathfen family, or even the country of Whity, she would like to transfer Mari to a better department in the mansion. Unfortunately, Rabi had no authority to do so. She felt sorry about it.

She explained to both Mari and Baldur that she would feel better if she lay down for a while and quietly slipped away. However, returning to her room would be boring, so she decided to fulfill her daily walking quota. Using her polished stealth skills, she wandered around the mansion and saw something annoying.

That clumsy servant was being harassed by Sai. The servant, who seemed to be in the middle of cleaning, was holding a broom and looking up at the taller Sai.

(...Why is Sai here? Didn't he return with Lord Baldur!?)

Sai was visiting the Heathfen family for the first time. Perhaps he had been instructed to inspect the mansion for Baldur's future protection. Baldur, being a man of quick action, might have already returned with the other guards.

Rabi whispered, "If you don't touch the god, you won't be cursed." Incidentally, the god of Whity was said to be full of mercy, so the word "cursed" didn't exist in the country. Despite being full of mercy, the god gave magical power to the rich and not the poor, which was really a nasty thing to do.

Deciding that she had seen something unpleasant, she turned to leave, but her gaze wouldn't shift. The servant looked thoroughly intimidated by Sai's silent pressure. Moreover, Sai had a sharp tongue. If the servant said something wrong, he might upset Sai.

She groaned. She had vowed to avoid getting involved with the game characters. Moreover, Sai already had a distrust, or rather, a dislike of her. Despite knowing this, she found herself slipping between the servant and Sai. With her back to the young man holding the broom, she spread one hand.

"Has our servant done something wrong?"

She spat out the words in one breath.