Episode 34

I didn’t quite understand his words at first.

“You’re not going to just let the lady’s hat be lost like this, are you?”

My eyes started to shake.

His words meant to immediately jump into the lake and retrieve the hat.

And that meant… judging whether I was a woman or not based on my wet body when I emerged from the water.

The expression on Theodore’s face, staring at me intently, said exactly that.

“…”

Amy also seemed to have grasped his intention to some extent and remained silent. Then she looked at me as well.

Her gaze contained an implicit meaning of jumping into the lake.

After I went into the water, I was trembling with fear of the aftermath that would follow, but the answer to this situation was already decided.

As the protagonist, I couldn’t refuse their words.

“I’ll be right back.”

“Be careful.”

Amy quietly added. Should I be grateful for her words of concern?

“…”

I approached the lake. The color of the lake, which had looked blue from afar, was so clear and transparent that you could see the bottom.

I took off my shoes and socks.

“It’ll be fine.”

Then I cautiously put my foot into the lake. As expected with the weather, the water was colder than I thought.

It wasn’t unbearable, but I was sure I would catch a cold if I went in and out of the water.

But if the hat drifted further away, I plunged my body roughly into the water, not caring if my clothes stuck to me.

Fortunately, the lake wasn’t too deep.

I waded clumsily towards the hat. I was worried if I could catch it, but I reached out with all my might.

“I got it!”

Afraid I might miss it like an idiot, I grabbed the hat tightly.

Although one problem disappeared as I made it to where the hat was, a new problem arose.

“If I go out like this, my clothes will stick to my body.”

But if I stayed in the water for too long, it would only confirm Theodore’s suspicions.

“Hey! Hurry up and come out!”

Seeing that I had grabbed the hat, Theodore shouted for me to leave the lakeside.

What should I do?

First, I shouted back at him in a panic.

“W-what did you say?”

When I didn’t intend to come out of the lake, he approached the lakeside, seeming frustrated.

“…Stubborn man.”

And then, he started to take off his coat as if it were too much trouble. And then, to my surprise, he even took off his shoes.

Was I mistaken? I wiped the water off my face with my hand and checked again, but I wasn’t mistaken.

I was completely terrified by his unexpected actions, and Amy seemed to be in the same state of shock. Amy, who was taken aback, shouted,

“Theo! Come out immediately, it’s dangerous!”

However, Theodore didn’t respond and approached me, entering the lake without a word. In the end, I submerged myself underwater to avoid being found by him.

But I’m not good at swimming. So, I struggled for dear life. My only thought was to keep my face above the water.

My breath was almost choked, but at least it was good that the noises I made didn’t penetrate the water.

Then, feeling like I was about to suffocate, I lifted my face above the water.

“Gasping, gasping…!”

The momentary feeling of air couldn’t be sweeter. I raised my hand to wipe my face above the water.

“Are you crazy?”

Turning my head at Theodore’s voice, I found him in a state of having reached the spot where I was floating earlier.

I pretended to be startled and asked him,

“Sir, why are you here?”

“Dammit.”

Dammit, it’s you!

“…I-I’m sorry!”

With those words, I vigorously swam in the water to get out of the lake. The sound of water getting closer from behind was daunting.

I was scared. If that bastard really caught me, I felt like he would slit my throat. I was so scared that tears welled up.

I missed Raiden. Compared to that bastard, Raiden was a good person.

But soon after, I was startled by Theodore’s desperate cry from behind.

“H-help me!”

“Theo?”

I quickly stopped walking and turned around.

Something seemed to be caught on his leg. Amy was rolling her feet on the lakeside, shouting.

“Wait! I’ll call for help right away!”

If we waited for people, Theodore would surely die. And my life as the protagonist would also be over.

I hurriedly swam towards Theodore. There wasn’t much distance between us, as if he had swum towards me with the intention of really killing me.

I desperately lifted Theodore, who was sinking into the water with a gurgling sound.

I checked below, thinking that something might be caught on his foot, but there was nothing. Probably just a trick of the mind.

‘What do I do…’

I wrapped one of Theodore’s heavy arms around my shoulder and hurriedly got out of the lake. It was fortunate that the water wasn’t too deep.

Gasping, gasping…

I lay down on the ground and struggled to catch my breath, wringing out my wet clothes. Then I noticed Theodore’s shirt, which he had carelessly taken off, and used it to wipe myself dry.

It wasn’t so much revenge against him as it was… I was in a hurry. I had to hide my body before he got up anyway.

I also wiped Theodore’s limp body with his shirt. It was because the weather was chilly. Then I quickly woke him up.

“Sir!”

“……”

“……Sir?”

But no matter how much I tried to wake him up, he didn’t seem to want to get up.

…He couldn’t be dead, could he?

Suddenly frightened, I desperately tried to perform CPR on him. If this man dies, I’ll die too.

When my face approached his as I attempted to perform CPR, Theodore’s eyelashes, which had been closed, twitched.

And then, in that moment, his eyes snapped open.

“……!”

As our eyes met, I froze completely. I didn’t even dream that he would open his eyes all of a sudden like that.

As if a droplet of water hanging on his eyelashes had gotten into his eye, Theodore began blinking frantically.

Then he abruptly sat up.

Droplets of water trickled down his neck. Theodore wiped his face with the back of his hand and opened his mouth coldly.

“Get lost.”

“…What?”

Perhaps because water got into my ears, I couldn’t hear his words clearly due to the congestion.

It seemed like he got even angrier at my appearance. Theodore shouted as if he would kick me out any moment.

“I said, get the hell out of here, right now!”

His eye area was completely red with anger.

…Of course, I didn’t expect to receive a thank you from him. But I didn’t expect to be treated like this either.

“Hey, aren’t you leaving?”

Forced to smile at Theodore, who looked full of contempt, I felt bitter inside. But I tried to smile and kindly replied to him.

“…People will be here soon. Just in case, please make sure to get treatment.”

“Just shut up and get out now.”

“Yes.”

I wished I could leave before people arrived. I got up abruptly and left the spot.

Avoiding the mansion to avoid meeting people coming to Theodore, it took even more time.

Unknowingly, a feeling of sadness overwhelmed me.

I missed the old mansion where only aristocrats were present. I wanted to work again by Raiden’s side in the main house.

* * *

Yesterday, I thought I would catch a cold after falling into the water, but my body condition was better than I thought. It was a relief. Today was the day of the hunting competition.

“Chase, we need to leave now.”

“I’m ready!”

At Peter’s voice coming from outside the door, I hurriedly came out of the bathroom. Looking out the window, it was still dawn before the sun had risen.

As I opened the door, Peter, who was waiting outside the room, widened his eyes when he saw me.

“Huh, why are you only wearing a vest?”

“It’s relatively warm during the day, right? And I thought it would be uncomfortable to work with too many layers.”

“Look at this kid. Don’t you know how cold it’s gotten these days?”

With a slight taunt, Peter forcibly pushed me back into the room. Eventually, I put on another jacket and came out of the room.

“Good.”

As if satisfied, Peter raised his thumb towards me. I smiled faintly and followed his lead.

The place where the hunting competition was held was the Alas Forest. It wasn’t a particularly good place due to what happened last time.

Although it was still early dawn, the Alas Forest was bustling with servants preparing for the hunting competition.

“Chase, let’s move the table and chairs together.”

“Yes!”

I moved the table and chairs with Peter. In between, Flynn boiled soup to keep the servants warm and full.

Eating soup with a roaring fire on a cold dawn was fantastic. Sniffling, I asked Peter.

“Come to think of it, haven’t the seniors arrived yet?”

“Haven’t you heard? He’s extremely popular among the ladies. So, he decided to entertain them. Thanks to him, we only need to show up before the competition starts.”

Perhaps feeling sleepy after eating something warm, Peter yawned loudly and got up from his seat.

“Eat quickly. There’s still a lot to do.”

“Yes.”

I quickly finished the soup along with Peter.

As the sun began to rise, there was a shift change among the servants. Instead of in the middle of the forest where the competition was held, temporary tents for servants were set up outside.

I shivered as I entered the tent. I had a bad feeling. It was because the symptoms were similar to those before catching a cold.

“Ch-Chase.”

At that moment, Flynn, who followed me into the tent, handed me a pouch.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a heated stone. Hold it to keep warm because it’s cold.”

Thanks to it, warmth spread throughout my body. Flynn also came into the tent and wrapped himself in a blanket.

Flynn also seemed tired, with dark circles under his eyes. However, he tried to smile at me and spoke up.

“Chase, see you in a bit.”

“…Sleep well, Flynn.”

I closed my eyes, listening to the murmurs from outside the tent. But it wasn’t long before the ominous drumming sound echoed in my ears.