Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage
Character page: Here
Chapter 222 – I tried to talk it over with my former subordinate
“Duke and Irene-san went through a pretty rough patch themselves for a while, you know.” [Youki]
“…”
“Well, he’s not like us. Even when something happens, he doesn’t panic. He handles it himself. He never comes asking for advice, either.” [Youki]
“…”
“I know Duke doesn’t mean any harm. He’s not bad at reading the room, and he’s not pretending to be clueless either… I mean, Duke’s not airheaded or anything.” [Youki]
“…”
“Hey. Stop eating for a second.” [Youki]
“…What?” [Happiness]
“How many pieces have you had already?” [Youki]
“…Unknown.” [Happiness]
“Don’t keep eating until you lose count of how many you’ve had!” [Youki]
At this point, it wasn’t even stress-eating anymore. It was just binge-eating. Ever since we parted ways with Duke and came to the cake shop, she had been eating nonstop.
Was she even listening to me? She nodded now and then, so she probably was, but her hands and mouth never stopped moving. She had been chewing and feeding herself continuously this whole time.
Do girls’ stomachs connect to some alternate dimension or something? Normally, no one could eat this much sweet stuff, right?
Though in this case, Raven and Duke were probably to blame.
“And here we have our newest cake.”
“…Delicious.” [Happiness]
Andrei-san, the man enabling the binge-eater before me, kept bringing out one cake after another with no sign of stopping, and Happiness kept eating whatever he placed before her. I didn’t remember her ordering anything, either. All she did was hand over her empty plates, and he would replace them with different cakes.
“…Don’t tell me… you can communicate with my brother without even speaking?”
The one who seemed most shocked by this exchange was Ami-san. That said, the astonishment on her face was so exaggerated that it was hard to believe it reflected her true feelings.
“Well, they do seem pretty in sync.” [Youki]
“Not just pretty in sync, Youki-san. The eye contact, the passing of plates… it’s flawless. If she stood in the kitchen with my brother, I have no doubt she’d do an excellent job.” [Ami]
“Sorry, but Happiness already works as a maid, so poaching her is kind of…” [Youki]
Sophia-san would absolutely say, I will not allow you to steal my mansion’s maid. She recognised Happiness’s talent at a glance, so there was no way she’d let her go.
“A maid… so she works at some noble’s residence, then. That’s a shame.” [Ami]
You didn’t have to look that genuinely disappointed. And judging someone’s career potential from this scene alone felt a little hasty, too.
“More importantly… just how many has she eaten already!?” [Youki]
Since Andrei-san had been the one bringing the plates out and collecting the empties, I had completely lost count. I didn’t know the exact number, but it was definitely beyond what you could count on both hands… or even with your toes added in.
“That’s enough. We’re done. We’re done!” [Youki]
We decided the cake Andrei-san had just brought over would be the last one, then settled the bill. Even though I’d seen it coming, the final total still hit me like a truck. It wasn’t as though I earned so little that her binge-eating would put me in financial trouble, but still…
“I don’t remember saying you could eat that much.” [Youki]
“…Thanks for the treat.” [Happiness]
“That’s not the point. Think before you eat. …So, what do we do next?” [Youki]
Up until now, we had just been acting on impulse. She had already eaten her fill of cake, but I had no idea where we were supposed to go next. If I asked whether she wanted to go shopping with me, I’d probably get slapped for it, so that option was out.
I glanced at Happiness, careful not to let her notice.
She was really dressed up. She was even wearing the hair ornament Raven had given her a long time ago. She must have been looking forward to today.
That made me feel bad for her.
“…Staring.” [Happiness]
“Ah, sorry, sorry. I was just thinking.” [Youki]
She caught me looking from the corner of her eye. Considering how long we’d known each other, there was no way I could hide it from her that easily.
“I was just wondering if there was something I could do for you…” [Youki]
She said nothing, but there was a complicated look on her face. It unsettled me. We had known each other for a long time, yet this time I couldn’t understand what she was thinking at all. Just a little while ago, her expressions had still been easy enough to read, so what had changed?
In the end, we had nothing else to do, so we parted ways.
But by then, I had already made up my mind. I was going to do something for Happiness.
♦♦♦
That night, I slipped out of my house. After turning myself invisible, I ran through the city streets towards my destination: the knights’ dormitory.
Since it wasn’t a noble’s mansion, the security wasn’t especially tight. It was easy enough to slip inside unnoticed. I quietly made my way to a certain captain’s room and turned the doorknob.
…Locked.
Well, considering the hour, that was only natural. Forcing my way in would defeat the whole purpose of sneaking here in the first place. So instead, I decided it would be easier to have the room’s owner open the door for me.
I knocked.
No response. Just as I was about to assume he wasn’t in, I heard two knocks in return.
A signal, huh? In that case, I’d better announce myself.
“Sorry to bother you so late, Raven. It’s Youki.” [Youki]
The lock clicked open, and the door swung inward. Standing there was Raven, his eyes dull, his hair dishevelled, and a memo in his hand that read, What do you want?
“I’m coming in for now. You look completely exhausted, but you’re going to hear me out. I’m not taking no for an answer.” [Youki]
I wasn’t sure why he had gone back to communicating through writing, but it was probably something to do with women. Maybe someone had said something that got under his skin.
Well, I’d hear about that after I said what I came to say.
“You don’t need to communicate with me through writing.” [Youki]
“…Yeah.” [Raven]
“I saw you walking around town with a woman today.” [Youki]
“…So you saw it. If it’s you, Youki, I don’t even need to explain. You already understand how it is. It wasn’t my choice.” [Raven]
He looked utterly worn out.
This was bad. Really bad.
Apparently, Happiness hadn’t been the only one looking forward to their date. And now that I knew how he was feeling, what I was about to say next would basically be kicking him while he was down.
“I wasn’t the only one who saw you. Happiness saw you too.” [Youki]
Raven’s eyes widened, but he said nothing. Either the shock had stolen his words, or he simply didn’t know what to say. I didn’t give him time to recover. I pressed on, telling him everything that had happened that day.
“Happiness dressed up as much as she could, and then she got hit on.”
“She watched you walking with that woman while looking miserable.”
“And in the end, she stress-ate more than ten pieces of cake.”
I told him everything about Happiness that day, in detail. Raven listened without interrupting me. I could faintly feel a jealous look directed at me. He was probably jealous that I had spent the whole day with Happiness, but I chose not to say anything.
“So… what are we supposed to do? As her family, I’m worried about Happiness. There has to be something we can do, right?” [Youki]
“…You understand too, don’t you, Youki? Getting close to me right now is dangerous. There’s no telling when or where someone might be gathering information on me. Until things calm down, it’s safer not to meet. If Happiness can’t accept that, I’ll write her a letter and have Duke pass it along…” [Raven]
“Are you really okay with that?” [Youki]
Talking without meeting.
Communicating through letters alone.
Would that really lead to an outcome either of them could accept?
Judging by how Happiness had been today, there was no way she’d be satisfied with that. And honestly, the one who looked least convinced was probably Raven himself. It was obvious from the look on his face that he was forcing himself to endure it. It was such transparent bravado that it hurt to watch.
“Then just meet in secret. You’ve got a willing accomplice right here in front of you. Use me.” [Youki]
“…You’ve got Cecilia, Youki. She’s having a hard time too. This isn’t the time for you to be worrying about us.” [Raven]
“Yeah… I know, but…” [Youki]
“I appreciate the thought. I’ll accept your help. To be honest, I’m exhausted… no, more than that. I want to see Happiness. But you want to see Cecilia too, don’t you? You can handle most things on your own, and you’re the type who can’t ignore someone when they’re struggling. Even so, the person who should come first for you is Cecilia.” [Raven]
“…Damn it. You’re right.” [Youki]
Something similar had happened before.
I trusted Cecilia. She’d be fine.
But that was only something I had decided on my own. I hadn’t talked to Cecilia about it at all.
If I really wanted to, I could sneak in like this without anyone noticing. Getting into the mansion would be easy enough. Maybe it was just my arrogance talking, but… perhaps Cecilia had been wondering why I hadn’t shown any sign of trying to see her, even with things like this. If I only realised that after having someone point it out to me, then I still had a long way to go…
“I’ll ask Happiness to pass along a message. Something like… when it’d be safe for me to break into her room.” [Youki]
“…If I were acting purely as a knight, I should arrest you. But for now, as a friend, I’ll turn a blind eye.” [Raven]
“Thanks. …So what about Happiness, then?” [Youki]
“…If only there were somewhere we could meet in secret. Public places are bound to attract attention. Even staying at an inn means writing your name in the guest registry. At this point, the only option might be to rendezvous in some demon-infested wasteland where dangerous demons roam.” [Raven]
“If you meet in a place like that, your heart will be racing for a completely different reason!” [Youki]
Where had the sensible Raven from a moment ago gone? Did he fall apart when it came to his own affairs, or did he seriously think that was the only option left?
“What are you even supposed to do if you meet in a demon-infested wasteland?” [Youki]
Hunt demons together and deepen your bond?
“…Right. I just want to talk… just the two of us. I want to take things slowly. We haven’t been able to see each other lately, and everything’s been chaos. It’s not about doing anything special… if we could just spend time together…” [Raven]
“So as long as you can be together, even a demon wasteland would do?” [Youki]
“…I’ll cut down any demon that tries to lay a hand on Happiness, so it’ll be fine.” [Raven]
“Hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it!” [Youki]
Don’t reach for your sword! Is he serious right now?
A date in a demon-infested wasteland? I’d never heard of anything like that in my life. There was no way they’d be able to relax. How was he planning to hold a casual conversation with demon cries echoing all around them?
Alright, then. No choice. We’d have to involve Happiness herself. Looks like I’d be rolling up my sleeves again.
“There is one place that wouldn’t leave any records. But my cooperation would be absolutely essential.” [Youki]
“Really!?” [Raven]
Raven leaned forward sharply.
Yeah, figures. Even he didn’t want a demon-wasteland date.
“Yeah.” [Youki]
“…And where is this place?” [Raven]
“My house.” [Youki]
The second floor was empty, after all. They could use it however they liked.
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