Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Lady Who Wants to Make a Baby (1)
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I opened my eyes to find the sun outside the window had lost much of its strength.
I must have dozed off without realizing it.
I'd been planning to just hold the snuggling Dia quietly before moving her to the bed, but sometime in between, I'd fallen asleep myself.
The changes were that the floor was spotless now, and the lady who'd been nestled in my arms was gone.
And soon enough, my eyes met Dia's as she wiped down the floor.
She was still on her knees, scrubbing away.
I could have pointed out the impropriety, but I decided against it. Her dress was already soiled anyway, and the floor gleamed clean. If anything, praising her for it came first.
"You're awake?"
"Seems I nodded off without meaning to. Not like me at all."
"There's a limit to rudeness, you know. Falling asleep with a lady in your arms. And you, a commoner."
"You're right."
"...That just sounded a bit like a lady."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, nothing!"
She tilted her head slightly, and that alone widened Dia's eyes in surprise. Our gazes met for a moment before she quickly looked away.
Then she just wrung out the mop into the innocent bucket. Her hand gripping the mop somehow looked adorable.
Still groggy from sleep, I stretched, and Dia spoke up again. Her eyes still wouldn't meet mine.
"...It's clean, right?"
"Pardon?"
"The floor! I wiped it all down again."
Oh, that was it.
Only then did I examine the floor more closely.
Sure enough, just as she said. Not perfect, but clean enough to tell it had been done with care.
"It is."
"It is...?"
"Yes. It's clean."
"It's clean...?"
Why was she suddenly parroting me like a parrot?
Come to think of it, her expression had changed a bit too.
Her lips were pouting slightly, her eyes narrowed just a touch. And sure enough, a sulky tone soon spilled from her mouth.
"That's it?"
"Yes. That's it. No need to clean more."
"Nooo... Not that!"
"Not that?"
"...Forget it."
This time, I echoed her back.
She irritably tossed the mop over the bucket and turned her back to me completely.
I could swear I heard her mutter something about slacking off on cleaning from now on.
She wanted praise, after all. Only then did I finally understand what Dia was after.
I cleared my throat with a deliberate ahem to get her attention and spoke.
"But, Young Lady. You're not lying to me, are you?"
"Lying? Hey... that's too much! I'm not lying to you anymore!"
She whipped around to face me. Her indignant expression was full of grievance.
Whatever the case, I hadn't brought it up to upset her.
In front of her, I ran my index finger across the floor. Not a speck of dust clung to it.
"I wondered if you'd called a maid to redo it. It's hard for a first-timer to get it this spotless. Impressive."
"I did it myself!"
"Really? Wow. How'd you do it so well?"
"I... did well?"
A faint smile bloomed on Dia's face.
Did she realize how quickly her pout had vanished? In a way, it was the first smile she'd ever shown me.
"You did splendidly. I feel like I overpaid."
"Right! I did well! Didn't I!"
"Yes. Splendidly."
"Right!"
Even with my simple, short replies, Dia bounced her shoulders like an excited child.
"Hee hee, I cleaned extra thorough so you'd come back often. So... no, wait? No! That came out wrong!"
She mumbled to herself, stopped abruptly, and then covered her own face with her hands.
It was clumsy, but endearing.
Endearingly so. Nothing else came to mind. She was just a normal girl, after all. One who rejoiced in ordinary things and grieved over trifles.
So I smiled faintly back. Wanting, for a moment, to nurture that innocence.
A selfish desire. Who was I to think that?
"Uh, um... Ah! Anyway!"
With awkward steps, she ran over and plopped right down on my lap. Then she pressed her back firmly against my stomach.
The sudden move caught me off guard. I imagined a question mark floating over my head.
I stared blankly at the back of her head, still processing.
"Cleaning made me sleepy again. I'm sleeping more."
"Shall I move you to the bed?"
"I said I'm sleeping right here."
"...Here?"
How did we even get to that?
Still leaning back against me, Dia turned just her head slightly.
"You slept here earlier too."
"The bed's way more comfortable."
"...No. You'll just try to leave again. Oh, right. That injection you give me. How long does one shot keep me clear-headed?"
"About six hours, I think. Why ask suddenly?"
"So I can watch out for it too. Or whatever."
So obedient at times like this.
I found myself stroking her hair without thinking.
"You just touch me whenever. So pushy."
Even as she grumbled, she didn't seem to hate it. Dia straightened her back a bit more and pushed her head into my hand.
"I overpaid, so I'm returning the favor."
"A hundred times."
"A hundred?"
"...Yeah. Do it a hundred times. This."
I chuckled softly and kept stroking her hair.
"Yes, Young Lady."
She wasn't immune to it either—getting in a good mood made her chatty. Soon enough, Dia spoke up again.
"So from now on, I just wipe the floor every time I get the shot? That's not hard. Oh, right... you always have to come check?"
"No. Next time, something else."
"...What?"
A puzzled look spread across her face. She asked right away.
"I worked so hard to learn that... something else now?"
"Was it that hard? If cleaning was tough, the next will be too."
"What is it! Tell me... please?"
Now she was throwing a tantrum. Better than swinging a knife by a hundredfold, but I wasn't indulging her.
"Dia, just read three books for me."
"Books? You said books?"
She stretched out her index finger, drawing a rectangle in the air.
Right. I meant actual paper books.
From now on, under the guise of payment, I'd have Dia do ladylike tasks. To seat her properly as a lady, she needed to build those qualities.
It wouldn't be quick or smooth, but supporting her was my job.
The library would be a great ally too. Nothing built refinement faster or easier than books.
"Books to read? Thick ones made of paper...? Crammed full of tiny writing..."
"Exactly. Thickness doesn't matter. Won't even ask which ones."
"...I'll just clean instead. Yeah? I hate books..."
"No."
"Aaaah... Why? Really no? How much no?"
"Well, if you won't read, sleep in bed."
"Argh, seriously! It's dirty, that's what I meant!"
Dia yelled suddenly.
But she showed no sign of getting up.
"Weren't you going to the bed?"
"I meant I'd read and touch dirty stuff there! Do what you want. I'll just skim the three thinnest ones..."
She puffed out her cheeks.
"Don't overdo it. Read thick ones, and I'll give more rewards."
"Don't need 'em. Who do you think I am? Don't get cocky just 'cause I let you pet my head."
I'll go for the three thickest ones.
Dia thought quietly.
On a night when the moon hung lopsided in the sky, maid Carol was cleaning the library as usual.
It should have been done in the afternoon.
But today, an unprecedented incident had struck the Menesil annex: everyone had fallen into a collective nap.
She couldn't even guess what happened, but with Lady Abera herself saying not to worry, what choice was there?
At any rate, tidying the library was her sole duty.
Which spoke to how vast it was, but the work was never grueling.
No one in this mansion ever visits the library~
Exactly.
Abera kept her favorites at the main house. This annex library was essentially a 'book dump.'
Naturally, it filled with novels, smut, and forbidden magic tomes adults banned.
Few visitors meant light work. Carol was quite satisfied with her lot.
But today, something stood out.
A gap in the shelves at the far corner.
"What? Did someone take them?"
The corner shelves held only thick volumes. Servants weren't leisurely enough to read.
Unlikely they'd borrow any.
"Lady Abera wouldn't touch those...?"
Carol had to tilt her head.
Those three in the depths were the most explicit adult novels among the erotica.