Swordsmanship First-Class but Pussy Third-Class!? (3)
“So, what brings you here? I don’t think I got a proper answer earlier.”
“Th-that’s... um...”
Kidian’s eyes spun in circles at Rian’s question.
Wh-what am I supposed to say?! If I tell the truth, will he understand? What if he thinks ‘the crazy bitch of this mansion is you!’ Aaaah!!
Woooong—!
Kidian’s brain kicked into overdrive.
Her original plan had been to demand, as the heir of the Necroport Family, that he write 100 Days Until the Gloomy Lady Falls.
She’d thought it was a pretty solid plan.
...Right up until she’d ended up camping out like a beggar.
A few days earlier, in front of Rian’s Mansion.
...L-Lord... Rian... isn’t... here? ...R-really... not here?
Tremble tremble—!
Finally accepting reality, Kidian’s hands and feet shook uncontrollably.
For a severe agoraphobic hikikomori like Kidian, this outing had been a massive event.
...And to blow it so anticlimactically!
K-Kidian, you idiot!! I should’ve at least sent a Skull Bird ahead!!
Squeeze—!
Normally, she’d send Skull Birds near the mansion for ‘protection’ without anyone asking...
But she’d been so excited about meeting Rian that she’d skipped even the basics.
Glance— glance—
Pacing in front of the main gate and gnawing her thumbnail, Kidian thought.
Wh-what do I do? If I go back now, I’ll have to start all over from scratch!?
Her resolve was wavering.
Well, getting dolled up hadn’t felt bad...
But having to approach the maid again and explain everything step by step? That was the problem.
N-no way, no way, no way!! ...In that case... um... sh-should I just... wait until Rian comes back?
She’d rather see it through here than go through that again.
Twitch—! Twitch—!
Of course, a huge part of her wanted to give up and crawl back into her warm, safe blankets.
...But!
“F-first... go back home!!”
“....”
To cut off her retreat, Kidian ordered the Headless Knight to take the carriage and return.
Clank—!
The Headless Knight, who’d received the order, flickered its flames as if asking if she was really going home.
“J-just go already! If they ask at home... s-say I’m in tr-training!”
“....”
At Kidian’s repeated command, the Headless Knight walked toward the carriage.
Clop— clop—!
“It... it really left...”
Regret suddenly flooded in.
She was still within the Headless Knight’s command range.
Should she call it back now...?
“No! ...Now... it’s... f-forward or nothing!”
Squeeze—!
Kidian clenched her fist. Of course, it was the wrong choice...
But she didn’t know that then! She had no idea Rian’s return would take this long!
If she’d known, would she have made that choice?
Honestly, she felt a bit wronged.
Whenever she’d used Skull Birds for ‘protection,’ Rian almost never stayed out overnight...
And even if he did, he’d always return by dawn the next day!
So statistically, half a day at most was a sound judgment.
Chirp— chirp—
But...
After a full day passed, Kidian realized something was wrong.
“Hic...! Why... isn’t he... coming...! Hnggu...!”
She cursed the heavens.
He’d never been out this long before!
Why of all days did he have to be gone today!
...D-did he... know... I was coming...? D-did he... run away...? Hic!
Just imagining it made her feel so hurt she wanted to cry...
Sniff... Th-that... d-doesn’t... make sense, right?
There was no way Rian could’ve known ahead of time. Her visit was half-impulsive...
Gurgle—!
“I’m... h-hungry... Hngguu... B-but if I hold out a little longer... h-he’ll come, right?”
Clutching her whining stomach, Kidian curled up.
Three days passed like that.
“....”
Swipe—
All traces of her carefully made-up appearance were gone; she looked worse than usual.
“Wh-where... the hell... hic... d-did you... gooo...! Hic!”
Was this the sunk cost fallacy she’d read about in books?
All the time she’d already waited made it impossible to leave.
And what if... the moment she left, Rian came back?
“Hic...! Hnguu...! Hnggyu...! C-come... quick...”
Swipe— swipe—
Kidian wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
Poke—!
Back in reality, Kidian bowed her head.
...I’m so embarrassed I want to die!
At the time, she’d been too thrilled to meet Rian to think of anything else.
But looking back now, even she knew it was pathetic—as heir to the Necroport Family...
No, as a human being.
...Huuuh! ...I-I’m sure... I stank... too, right?
Rian had said she didn’t smell, but that was 100% a lie.
She didn’t even want to imagine what her unwashed body smelled like after three days.
But... what was I... thinking...? Oh! ...Rian asked... s-something...! R-right! ...I came all this way... so I have to... ask him to write it...! J-just like I practiced!
Whoosh—!
Kidian took a deep breath and recalled her prepared lines.
To Lord Rian Ludwig, the heir of the Necroport Family, ‘Kidian Necroport,’ politely requests that you fulfill your promise to write 100 Days Until the Gloomy Lady Falls.
She’d practiced in front of the mirror so many times—there was no way she’d mess up!
“...Because I missed you.”
“....”
“....”
“...Eh? ...H-huh...? Wh-what did I... just... s-say...!? Hiiing...!”
Shocked by her own words, Kidian clamped her mouth shut.
“Th-that’s not...!! ...N-no! ...I did miss you, but!! ...Th-there’s... another... reason too!! ...Hic!!”
The more flustered additions she made, the more tangled it got.
“....”
I’m not an idiot...
I hadn’t been completely oblivious to Kidian’s feelings.
P-please... write a... n-novel with a... p-protagonist... based on... m-me... overall!
Recalling her panting, dogeza-begging form honestly made my heart race a bit.
But...
...She’s from the Necroport Family, right?
The Necroport Family pursued extreme ‘profit’ and ‘rationality.’
No matter how friendly Kidian was, the moment her family deemed me useless...
Slice—!
No reaction. Seems like an ordinary corpse.
Something like that could happen!
“....”
So keeping a proper distance like this was best.
Then, Kidian threw out one more line.
“Lady Kidian, I truly appreciate your words, but...”
“L-Lord Rian!! ..N-no! ...N-Nakadashi-sensei! ...Um... wh-when’s... your next work... coming out?!”
Munch—! Munch—!
Blood will tell, huh?
Even with her face red enough to burst from embarrassment, she was still Necroport through and through—planning to get business done.
I already promised Rebecca I’d write a next work, so I have to anyway...
The problem was, I couldn’t even imagine Kidian’s reaction if I said no to 100 Days Until the Gloomy Lady Falls.
Direct refusal seems definitely off the table...
Swipe—
Fortunately, I had an excuse to buy time.
Managing my expression, I spoke in a regretful tone.
“My next work? Well, my situation is a bit complicated right now.”
“C-complicated? Wh-who? ...Wh-who’s making things... c-complicated for you, Lord Rian?”
Shiiiine—
The light faded from Kidian’s pupils.
Eyes that seemed ready to use her family’s power to eliminate any obstacles.
But this time, the opponent was one of the five great families too.
“Yes, as you know, the Ludwig Count family is under the Glacia Grand Duchy... so I have to attend the upcoming Glacia Grand Duke’s Banquet.”
“...Hic!?”
Tremble—!
The word ‘banquet’ made Kidian’s body shake.
“Yes, so it’ll be hard to focus on writing until after the banquet. Plus, I need to find a partner to go with... It’ll be busy all around.”
“P-p-p-p-partner?”
Jiggle—! Jiggle—!
In that instant, Kidian shot to her feet, her mana storage swaying dramatically.
“L-Lord Rian... d-don’t you have... a p-partner?”
“Ah, yes... I don’t.”
A bad premonition hit me.
...No way? Nah... Kidian’s famous for never showing up to events like this, right?
And rightly so—the banquet was a gathering of everything Kidian hated.
So there was no way Kidian would—
“Th-th-th-then!!! ...M-me! ...I-I-I-I’ll be your... p-p-p-p-partner!!”
—offer.
“......Are you serious?”
Considering her social anxiety, attending a banquet was next to impossible...
“Ah!? Uwaa?! ...Hic! ...S-sorry! ...S-someone like me... c-couldn’t possibly be... hic! ...I forgot my place... Sniff! ...I’m... s-sorry...! ...I’ll atone... w-with my life!”
“W-wait! Lady Kidian!!”
Whoosh—!
I grabbed Kidian’s wrist as she tried to flee.
Forget family distance or whatever...
If I let her go now, something really bad might happen.
“Actually, I was hoping to ask you!”
“...Hic?”
“Honestly, I’ve been worried about not finding a partner... If you’d join me, it’d be a great honor for me.”
I smiled gently at the teary-eyed Kidian.
“Yes. If you’re okay with it, Lady Kidian.”
“...Th-then... r-really... m-me!? ...I-I can be... your... p-partner...!?”