You Have Done Nothing Wrong
You have done nothing wrong.
When Karen gave no answer, Yosef calmly asked her,
"Why are you like that?"
The moment Yosef's voice dropped a register, the memories of the past surged back, and Karen shouted on pure reflex.
"It's nothing!"
"In the carriage earlier, and now—you need to lower your voice a little."
"Understood……"
Yosef naturally draped an arm around Karen's shoulders, only to feel her body go rigid as stone.
Is this another leftover habit? Yosef's old ways of handling women seem to be lingering all over the place.
The instant they stepped into the shop he became aware of what he was doing and withdrew his hand; only then could Karen finally breathe freely again.
Alice was already inside, looking around.
"All the clothes are displayed behind glass windows."
The clothing stores Alice knew simply stood racks of hangers with garments hanging from them. Department store or neighborhood shop, it made no difference. Here, everything was kept behind glass, so there were far fewer pieces on view.
"Those are the base garments. Customers request personal custom work on top of them."
"Custom-made……!"
Factory-made ready-to-wear was cheap because it was mass-produced identically. Hand-tailored pieces, however, were expensive—labor-intensive, and the maker's reputation was added to the price. Curious how costly such creations might be, Alice searched for a price tag.
"Hmm, hmm……"
"What's the matter?"
"There aren't any price tags."
"Ah."
Karen clapped a hand over Alice's mouth and whispered into her ear.
"You must never discuss prices or sums of money here."
"Why not?"
"Talking about money makes you look exactly like an undignified merchant in a noble's eyes."
Merchants haggled and calculated every angle for profit. Nobles, however, were not supposed to covet money; to appear generous before their inferiors they were never to bargain.
"Th-then the Goldrain family……"
"Even more so—you must never!"
Because the Goldrains were a merchant house, one might expect them to fuss over coin, yet in any matter that displayed noble standing they deliberately did not. Only by doing so could they conceal the shortcoming of their brief history.
"You must not say such things in front of the young master. Understood?"
"Y-yes. I understand……"
Alice answered, thoroughly cowed by Karen's sharp tone. It was common sense difficult for a girl who, like Cinderella, had been born into a noble house yet never treated as one.
"First, take this one's measurements."
"Certainly. Miss, if you would follow me this way."
While the two were speaking, Yosef had gone farther inside and returned with the designer. Alice immediately followed to be fitted for a maid uniform.
"And you already know Karen's size, I assume?"
"Yes, of course, but……"
The designer glanced between Yosef and Karen, then, as she passed Karen, whispered softly,
"Hang in there."
"……Yes."
Apparently the designer was convinced Yosef intended to make Karen his woman. Karen understood the encouragement perfectly well, yet even if she had wanted to "hang in there" she could not. The crisis had already drawn so near it could no longer be avoided.
While Yosef examined several samples, Karen felt a crushing dread.
What on earth is he planning to make me wear?
The more a person grows accustomed to pleasure, the stronger the stimulation they crave. Eat a sour fruit and you soon want something sweet; after that you want fruit that is both deeply flavored and sweet. As Yosef had indulged in women, that baseline had steadily risen. Having witnessed the grotesque ways nobles satisfied their desires, Karen could only sink into terror at what might be done to her.
"We'll start with this one."
"Isn't that an academy uniform?"
"It is. You're a student—shouldn't you wear one?"
The first piece Yosef selected was a perfectly ordinary academy uniform. Karen had expected to wear only maid uniforms at the academy, and the price of a proper uniform had been far from cheap, so she had never bought one. Receiving it now through Yosef's hands left her with complicated feelings.
I'm grateful, but given everything Young Master Yosef has done so far, I can't help feeling there's some scheme hidden even in this……
When Yosef turned to other garments, Karen's eyes automatically followed.
"Next……"
—Gulp.
"I'm back!"
Just as Karen was so tense she swallowed dryly, the one who rescued her was Alice. She appeared wearing a maid uniform of the same design as Karen's, only in a different size.
"It suits you well."
"Hehe, thank you."
"……?"
Karen fell into confusion watching Yosef offer praise so naturally—and without a single lewd remark.
Can I ease up a little? He doesn't look displeased, at least.
"Did you buy clothes for Miss Karen as well?"
"Not yet."
"Hmm, this one looks like it would suit her."
Alice had chosen a plain one-piece dress. Seeing it, Yosef did something unusual: he asked the person concerned for her opinion.
"Do you like that?"
"Y-yes! I like it!"
Karen agreed at once, desperate to escape this hell. Whether the escape button worked or not, she ended up with a new uniform and an ordinary one-piece.
After both Karen's and Alice's clothes had been ordered, I looked at the two of them.
"It suits you well."
"Ahaha, yes. Thank you……"
When I praised Karen she reacted with extreme awkwardness.
Alice simply accepted it with pure delight, but this one flinches. Given everything she's suffered it isn't strange, yet I hope someday she'll be able to treat me comfortably.
In the novel Karen had been a very peculiar character. Whenever Yosef committed some vicious act she was right beside him, cleaning up the aftermath. When the Goldrain family needed to deliver compensation money, Yosef was nowhere to be found and Karen appeared in his place. Once Yosef caused such a scandal that Karen was expelled instead; the following year the family donated a larger sum and had her re-enrolled—so she could look after the troublemaker again. Her abilities were useful in that many ways.
She's sharp at reading the room and capable besides. I want to keep her close and make use of her for a long time.
"Thank you for buying for me too!"
And Alice, more important than Karen, had received the same one-piece.
"Are you satisfied with that?"
"Of course!"
In the original work there was never any mention of Alice buying everyday clothes besides dresses. Looking at the illustrations, aside from formal gowns she appeared only in her uniform.
I can't tell whether the male leads were simply dense or whether she herself was content with the uniform. Outside the novel it might just have been that drawing extra outfits was too much trouble, so they never added the scenes.
Having bought clothes for both of them, I stepped outside in a light mood—and immediately stopped dead.
"Uh."
"Uh?"
"Uh!"
Because right in front of my eyes stood the saint candidate, Benedict.
"Hello!"
"Yes, hello. Sister, we met earlier, didn't we?"
Alice greeted him at once, and Benedict returned the recognition.
"Yes! Thank you so much for the ice cream!"
"It was nothing. You simply looked so troubled that I wanted to help."
"And are you the brother of House Goldrain?"
"I am."
I could not answer cheerfully, so I kept it short. The moment I brought the heroine out I ran into one of the male leads; an unpleasant feeling rose at once.
If I speak any longer my real feelings might spill out.
My reasons for taking the heroine in were twofold. First, my family was an evil house; if the heroine thrived, the family would eventually be smashed by her iron hammer and ruined. Second was for Benedict's sake.
If you get distracted by a woman and neglect the Order's work, you lose, the Order loses, and the Empire loses. I'm preventing that.
Rumors that a saint candidate had his head turned by a girl would certainly damage the Order's authority, and there would be any number of other side effects. Therefore I could declare with a clear conscience that keeping her as my maid was for Benedict, for the Order, and for the Empire.
"Have you taken Sister Alice as your maid?"
"I have."
Academy students were required to wear uniforms. When someone entered service as a student's attendant, maid, or servant, their attire changed; the maid uniform was one of those options.
"If it is not too forward of me, may I ask—was the contract one she herself desired?"
"It was, but?"
I turned my head slightly toward Alice; she half-lowered her gaze and stopped. Incurring the debt had been an unwanted accident, yet the contract to become a maid had been of her own will, which was probably why she reacted that way. Seeing the awkward response, Benedict asked me again.
"She is a pitiful sister. Could you not release the contract she made in order to become a maid?"
The look in Benedict's eyes was less that of a man gazing at a beloved than the pitying gaze one gives a wretched animal.
He might be hiding his true feelings, but he certainly didn't fall in love at first sight.
"What exactly did she do that makes you look at her so pityingly?"
"Well……"
Benedict hesitated a moment before speaking.
"She was lost and wandering. Her stomach was growling, so she was clearly hungry. And although she spoke with a noble accent, she was alone—no carriage, no attendants."
Hearing that, it truly did sound pitiful.
If I exaggerate a little, she might have looked as though she had been attacked by bandits.
Nobles never went about alone. To speak with another noble one first sent a servant or attendant to inquire whether a visit was welcome. If those attendants had vanished, one naturally assumed a grave accident and the loss of all property. A perfect object for a saint candidate's mercy.
"But this one owes me a debt."
"A debt……"
"My clothes were ruined. They were worth three hundred gold coins."
"Three hundred?!"
Each of the male leads attached to the heroine had his own role. Had it been a foreign prince flaunting wealth with gold ornaments, he might have paid the debt on the spot. This one, however, was a saint candidate. Living piously and frugally, even buying ice cream counted as spending a considerable sum.
"I…… see."
Yet Benedict's expression did not improve; instead he regarded me with clear disapproval.
"And I heard that ice cream was something you bought for her."
"……Pardon?"
"Ah, I left out the cause of the trouble. Let me explain properly. Because of the ice cream my clothes were soiled, and because of that Alice entered into a maid contract with me."
I never once said it was Benedict's fault. He had bought the ice cream, but Alice had been the one who dirtied the clothes. Even so, Benedict's conscience seemed to take the blame upon itself; a troubled look crossed his face.
"Then I was at fault……"
Benedict was an extraordinarily good person. In the later chapters he even encouraged the heroine to love whomever she wished.
In the middle arc he does get distracted by women and causes a few incidents, but at this stage he's still a normal human being.
"No, it is not your fault. If you perform charity for the poor and then a robber appears among those poor, is that your fault?"
"That is……"
"Taking responsibility for everything in this world is not a human's portion. We merely follow where God leads, and answer only for what lies within the reach of our own hands."
So I hope the interest you show Alice will also fade away.
I muttered that inwardly and brushed past him.
"……"
As I walked on, my eyes met those of a woman. Benedict's fiancée—and in the original the villainess who clashed with Alice and met her downfall—Isabel.
Come to think of it, the saint candidate really is a scoundrel. He had a beautiful fiancée yet looked elsewhere and awakened her into a villainess.
She inclined her head slightly toward me. Then her gaze fell on Alice walking at my side and she looked away. Clearly she was displeased that her fiancé, the saint candidate, had bought ice cream for a strange girl.
In this life I'll make sure she never awakens as a villainess.
Once we reached the carriage, Karen spoke.
"Um, Young Master?"
"What is it?"
I expected her to say either You must not fight the saint candidate or Thank you for not clashing seriously with the saint candidate. What she actually said was unexpected.
"By any chance…… are you interested in the saint candidate's fiancée?"
She had not missed the way I looked at Isabel. The fact that she would even ask such a question suggested she might one day stop me when I truly caused trouble—yet today I had caused none, so the suspicion felt unfair.
"……No."
Does she see me as someone completely mad for women?
I never imagined locking eyes once would make her think I was interested.
Still, given Yosef's usual behavior……
I briefly reviewed the wastrel days still lingering in this body. Karen's worry was understandable. There had been times when, riding in a carriage, he would order a woman who caught his fancy to be bought and brought along.
"Let's buy some ice cream before we go."
"Yes? Really?!"
"You're making such a fuss over it—it must be delicious."
"It was delicious……!"
Alice kept chattering so excitedly that I began to doubt the reliability of her claim.
Maybe it only tasted good because she was starving at the time.
We headed for the ice-cream shop. The place was fairly crowded, yet the turnover was good and the line shrank quickly.
"I'll go purchase them."
"All right."
"Um, me too!"
"You look as though you'd spill them, so wait here."
"But can Miss Karen carry three ice creams?"
"Just buy two. I'll take one bite and leave the rest."
This body was specialized for gourmet food; forcing down anything tasteless was difficult. Indeed, after I took a single bite and handed the cone to Karen, Alice stared at the two ice creams in confusion.
"Uh, which one should I……"
"……"
While Karen hesitated, Alice carefully reached for the one I had already tasted.
"I'll eat this."
If she chose it out of some junior's sense of sacrifice, that stings a little.
Alice's face flushed bright red; after one bite she seemed to like the flavor so much she finished the ice cream in a rush. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's—adorable.