Slavery Is Tolerable If It’s Under the Daughter of a Duke
By the time my tea with Medeia was drawing to a close, the sun had already begun to sink.
She sat silently, gazing out at the sunset through the window.
Night would be coming soon. It was the sort of hour that made it awkward for a man to linger in a lady’s room.
“It’s about time for you to sleep, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
Medeia rose quietly and moved deeper into the room.
I tidied the teacups, then followed after her.
She sat before the vanity, arranging her own hair.
Normally, the maids would have clustered around her, helping with it, but for Medeia, even that had to feel like a dream.
There was no maid who could come close to her.
At least, I could come close to her.
I’d never so much as fixed a girl’s hair before, but all I had to do was brush it properly, right?
With that lighthearted thought, I stepped behind Medeia.
“Lady, let me help you with your hair—”
The moment my fingertips were about to touch it, Medeia’s face went pale.
“No!”
Smack!
She hurriedly knocked my hand away.
“D-don’t touch me!”
Clutching her hair as if in terror, she stared at me with wide, frightened eyes, as though she would never let anyone lay a hand on it.
Seeing that, I realized I’d made a mistake and lowered my head.
“I didn’t know you hated it. I’m sorry.”
“……”
Medeia said nothing.
She only kept trembling, her hands still wrapped tightly around her hair.
There was nothing I could do about that.
Just as I was thinking I’d have to come back tomorrow and started to step away—
“D-don’t go.”
“Huh?”
Medeia gripped my sleeve and refused to let go.
“Don’t go… stay here.”
“It’s going to be night soon. If I stay here any longer, people will start thinking strange things.”
A lowly slave and a duke’s daughter spending the night in the same room?
It was exactly the kind of situation that invited the worst misunderstandings.
If a foolish rumor got out, I might not even keep my life.
“Please let go.”
“No.”
In the end, Medeia still wouldn’t release me.
“I don’t want to be alone…”
“I’m saying people will misunderstand.”
“Let them.”
“I might die, you know?”
“……”
Medeia’s eyes wavered violently.
Only then did she realize how unreasonable her request was, and she slowly let me go.
“Tomorrow… you have to come back.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m your slave, after all. Where would I even go?”
I had no intention of running away, yet Medeia seemed worried I might leave her.
How was I supposed to reassure her?
I was absolutely hopeless at this sort of thing.
Nothing came to mind.
So I just said the first thing that came to me.
“When I’m by your side, at least I won’t go hungry or freeze to death. I like my life now, so don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”
“……Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
The destruction of the Serapion Continent?
Sure, that still had to be stopped, but I was satisfied with life under Medeia.
Compared to the days when I’d lived as a human target, this was hundreds of times better.
There was no reason for me to leave.
“Then… have a good dream.”
“Mm… see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
***
After Kael left, Medeia stared into the mirror on her vanity.
Normally, she despised even looking at a mirror, but for some reason tonight she wanted to.
Because it felt like the curse that came every night might not come tonight.
That tiny thread of hope had come from Kael.
Because of him, she could feel a person’s warmth again.
Because she didn’t have to be alone anymore.
Clinging to the hope that she might finally be free of this hateful curse, Medeia waited until the sun had fully set.
The sun went down.
Medeia, who had been squeezing her eyes shut, slowly opened them.
Her gaze met her own in the mirror.
Vertical pupils, the unmistakable eyes of a reptile.
Hssssss.
Shiiiiiii—
Her hair had turned into living snakes.
She looked like a monster torn straight from myth.
“……”
Medeia couldn’t speak for a long time.
No.
She had thought today would be different.
She had believed that, just this once, she would be all right.
“……Ah.”
A hollow breath slipped from between her lips.
“Ah-ha.”
Even Medeia couldn’t tell whether it was laughter or tears.
“Ah, hah….”
Once her laughter broke free, it would not stop.
“Hahahahahaha!”
Laughing like a madwoman, Medeia’s face twisted in an instant.
“Why! Why! Why! Why are you doing this to me?! What did I do wrong! Why—why me!”
She cursed the world.
She cursed the witch.
She cursed her own ancestor.
And yet the curse did not end.
“H-haaah, h-huuuh… haaahhh…”
Medeia threw herself onto the bed and cried.
Because there was nothing else she could do but curse and weep.
That was the only way she knew how to endure her present despair.
“……Kael.”
Exhausted from crying, Medeia closed her eyes.
She hoped Kael would call her with a smile again tomorrow morning.
And she hoped, more than anything, that he would never learn what she became at night.
***
Morning came.
“Bella? Sister Bella? Miss Bella? How should I address you?”
“……Just call me Bella.”
“Understood, Bella.”
Bella and I were in the villa’s kitchen.
We were preparing breakfast.
“By the way, isn’t there a cook here?”
“There aren’t many people working in the villa, so we don’t keep a separate cook. Usually I prepare everything myself.”
“That’s impressive, Bella.”
Maybe pleased by my praise, Bella’s stiff manner of speaking softened a little.
“But what brings you all the way into the kitchen?”
“I thought I’d try making the lady’s breakfast myself.”
“The lady’s breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I usually prepare it, but I suppose one day won’t hurt. I’ll help you.”
After that, Bella prepared food for the villa’s servants and knights while I made breakfast to take to Medeia.
It was my first time cooking since coming into this world, so it was difficult at first, but with Bella’s help, I managed to finish without too much trouble.
Cooking (E)
Once the meal was finished, I’d gained a skill as well.
The proficiency was pathetic, but I’d managed to drink the black tea brewed with an E-rank Tea Party skill without any problem, so I figured that was fine.
Thinking that, I gathered up the food and headed for Medeia’s room.
Hm?
When I reached her door, I heard voices from inside.
—Starting next week, you will attend the academy.
“……Are you serious?”
—I’m not telling you to take first place or participate in high society. Just graduate. That is all.
“……”
—I hope you won’t disappoint your father.
After that, there was no more conversation.
From the sound of it, and from the fact that I couldn’t sense anyone other than Medeia inside, it seemed she’d been speaking through a communication magecraft device.
The head of the house, huh.
In the original story, Medeia had taken a leave from the academy because of her curse, and then returned by the head of the house’s order.
So this must be that moment.
What do I do?
I’d even cooked breakfast just to bring it to her, but it felt awkward to go in now.
But if I turned around and went back, the food would go to waste and Medeia would end up skipping a meal.
Mm. Skipping meals wasn’t good.
You had to eat properly if you wanted strength. That was how you kept going.
I knocked lightly on the door and called to her.
“Lady. It’s Kael. I brought breakfast—would it be all right if I came in?”
“……Come in.”
Medeia granted permission.
I opened the door carefully, went inside, and set the food on the table.
There wasn’t much to call it cooking; as befit breakfast, it was simple.
Toast, eggs, sausages, and a tomato salad. That was all.
“What is this?”
“Breakfast.”
“Forget it. I’m not in the mood to eat.”
Turning her head away, Medeia ignored the meal I’d prepared.
Is it because of the academy?
Even in the original story, Medeia had hated the academy.
She had no friends there.
Only people who feared or despised her.
Of course she wouldn’t like it.
Still, that was one thing and this was another.
She had to eat!
“Bella and I worked hard to make this from early this morning. So please, at least try this much.”
“……You made it?”
“Yes. I made it with Bella.”
Medeia’s eyes wavered slightly.
Her gaze drifted to the food on the table.
After a moment of hesitation, she spread jam over the toast and took a bite.
“It’s burned.”
It’s ruined!
I’d thought I’d done pretty well, but apparently I’d left a scorched side on it.
As I reached to clear the plate, thinking I’d brought something weird after all—
Chomp.
Medeia took another bite of the toast.
Chomp.
She kept eating.
She ate the sausage and the eggs too.
She even finished the tomato salad cleanly.
“It’s not good.”
After polishing everything off, she said that, and I could only stare at her in disbelief.
Still, she’d eaten, so I decided that was good enough and poured the tea.
Tea Party (E) → Tea Party (D)
Thanks to Infinite Growth, the proficiency of my Tea Party skill rose quickly.
Medeia, drinking the tea, blinked at the difference in flavor from yesterday’s.
“This is better than yesterday.”
“I practiced hard for your sake, Lady.”
“I-is that so?”
Maybe she was in a good mood, because a faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.
Seeing that smile made me feel good too.
“What do you think about me preparing things like this from now on?”
If she said she didn’t like it, that would be disappointing, but I’d already decided I wasn’t going to stop preparing breakfast.
“……I like it. Do it like this.”
Thankfully, Medeia seemed satisfied too.
Not long after breakfast ended, Bella came looking for me.
“Someone is asking for me?”
“Sir Derick is looking for you.”
The knight uncle was looking for me.