People Hate Me
What is the most important element in a nadena-de novel?
The way the people around the protagonist gape and marvel at their talents?
Of course that mattered too.
But it wasn't the most important element.
At least, not as far as I was concerned.
So what did I think the real answer was?
Cute looks. Pure and simple.
Nadena-de is Japanese for affectionate headpatting — that soft little stroke you give something precious. And when do people normally say things like that? When they see a cute child or a cute animal, coo over it, and start petting it, right?
Nadena-de novels weren't all that different.
The people around the protagonist looking at that cute face and cooing with everything they had. Falling completely, hopelessly in love with the protagonist's cuteness.
That was the core of a nadena-de novel — the alpha and the omega.
There was a reason everyone said cute looks were non-negotiable.
Which meant that in building a proper nadena-de environment, the most urgent task was—
"Then… shall I instruct everyone that upon seeing Young Lady Aria, they are to offer natural compliments on her appearance?"
—ordering every single person in the castle to change how they behaved the moment they laid eyes on Aria.
The Head Butler listened and kept his calm, composed demeanor perfectly intact.
Honestly, if I'd been in his place, the second I heard this I'd have been wondering what on earth this man was talking about… He really was competent.
But competence was competence, and things that needed correcting needed correcting right away.
"No. Avoid complimenting her appearance as much as possible."
"…My apologies. I failed to grasp Your Excellency's intent. Could you elaborate further?"
In the nadena-de novels I'd read, the characters never simply praised the protagonist's looks.
How had those characters actually behaved toward the protagonist?
"Think of Aria as the cutest little girl in the entire world. Then consider how you would act if you met a little girl that cute — and act that way. For example… with a cute child, don't you find yourself wanting to give them just one more of everything? Wanting to take a little extra care of them? That's the kind of thing I mean."
There was a shorter, cleaner way to put it — eok-ppa — but that was not the kind of word that should come out of a Margrave's mouth, so I spelled it out at length.
I wonder if I explained that well… Did he get it?
"In other words, empty flattery cannot move a heart, so one must move Young Lady Aria's heart through sincere action. Is that the correct understanding of Your Excellency's meaning?"
…As expected of the capable Head Butler. He put it so elegantly.
I nodded at once.
"Make sure Aria doesn't catch on."
The Head Butler bowed at the waist.
"I shall carry out Your Excellency's orders."
And with that, he left the room.
"…It kind of feels like I'm running a Truman Show with Aria as the star."
Saying it out loud almost made a twinge of guilt surface.
But the moment I thought about what the Frunhel Duchy must have done to her, that guilt vanished on the spot.
Yeah. Whatever I do, it'll still be better than the Frunhel Duchy.
And it's not like I'm doing anything bad.
Boil it down to the essence and all I did was order them to treat Aria well.
An order to treat a girl presumed to have been abused with kindness? That was an utterly ordinary, common-sense, perfectly normal order, wasn't it?
I felt better.
"I should go see her again today."
To lower her guard toward me — and further still, to make her grow fond of our territory — I needed to keep meeting Aria regularly.
I'd go during snack time, right?
It was strange.
Everyone was kind to me.
Everyone spoke to me in gentle voices, with smiles on their faces.
And everyone kept trying to do things for me.
The maid who brought lunch said she had specially asked the chef for an extra dessert.
There were two puddings.
That had never happened before.
Why?
I was scared.
Things I had never experienced kept happening, one after another, ever since I came here.
From one corner of my heart, a feeling crept up — the urge to just believe them.
The kindness and goodwill people offered me were so sweet, so comforting, that I wanted to simply give in and believe.
I crushed that feeling down hard.
I mustn't believe.
People hate me.
People dislike me.
Father.
Stepmother.
My older brothers.
And my younger sister.
All of them.
"…Please."
So I won't believe.
"Find the servants who are talking about me. Listen to what they say, and tell me."
Never.
The servants working in the castle did not work all day long.
Wanting a little more rest, a little more playtime — that was a natural human desire. So the servants watched for their openings and secured their own break times.
In other words, they slacked off.
And because there were so many servants in the castle, when they slacked off they rarely did it alone. Several of them would slack off together.
Slacking off alone made you anxious, but slacking off with a group brought the relief of not being alone — so in a way, it was a perfectly natural flow of things.
When several people slack off together, do they just sit there in silence? Of course conversation starts flowing, and once conversation flows, the goings-on inside the castle naturally rise to the surface as topics.
And right now, the hottest topic among the servants was, of course—
"Miss Aria — have you met her yet?"
—Aria.
Only a tiny handful of people in the castle knew that Aria was a young lady of a ducal house, and that information had to be kept strictly secret… but the fact that she was a girl of noble status was something everyone knew.
More precisely, Ivan had ordered that everyone be made to understand it that way.
So that there would be no mistakes in how they treated her.
Of course, that alone was not enough to make her the hottest topic in the castle. After all, it wasn't as if only one or two people of noble status had come and gone through these halls over the years.
The fact that she had appeared suddenly, without any prior notice, did spark some curiosity and interest… but not enough to draw every servant's attention.
So why had Aria managed to capture every last one of them?
"No, I haven't met her yet. What was she like? Do you think you understand why the Margrave gave that order?"
"She was incredibly cute. The kind of cute that makes looking after her feel rewarding? That sort of feeling. Maybe that's why the Margrave gave the order?"
"Hmm… I don't think that's it…"
It was because of the order Ivan had given.
The order to think of Aria as the cutest little girl in the entire world, then consider how you would act upon meeting a little girl that cute — and act that way.
An order that, just in case anyone might twist its meaning, even included the example of how with a cute child you find yourself wanting to give them just one more of everything, wanting to take a little extra care of them.
This was not the kind of order the Ivan Cluers the servants knew would ever give.
So of course it was destined to become the hottest topic among them.
"Does she cause any trouble?"
"She's incredibly well-behaved and quiet, you know? You'll feel it the moment you meet Miss Aria yourself. Oh, and following the Margrave's order is a complete piece of cake. She's cute, she's good, she's quiet. Plus, since this place is unfamiliar to her, she looks a little scared? And that look just triggers your protective instincts, I'm telling you. You go in planning to put on an act for the sake of the order, and you end up treating her sincerely — for real."
"That much…? Now that you put it that way, I'm really curious."
"That much, I'm telling you. The way I see it, Miss Aria has clearly opened her heart to the Margrave just a little. So he gave that order because he wants her to adapt here as quickly as possible."
"I… guess? It kind of makes sense… and also kind of doesn't… Hey, let's get back inside. The head maid is going to catch us slacking."
"Yeah — and you make sure you see Miss Aria sometime. Then you'll understand everything I said."
"I got it already, so let's go!"
Of course, there was nothing particularly problematic in the conversations the servants had while slacking off.
Even if the content reached the ears of the head maid, the Head Butler, or Ivan Cluers himself, it would end with a mild warning at most.
Yes. There was nothing particularly problematic.
As long as they were careful that Aria never overheard.
Snack time arrived.
But I didn't go looking for Aria the moment it began.
If I walked into her room while she was still eating, she might get so tense she wouldn't know whether the food was going into her mouth or her nose, right?
I needed to show at least this much consideration if I wanted her to open her heart any faster.
Figuring she had probably eaten a fair amount of her snacks by now, I went to find her.
A maid was waiting outside the door.
"May I come in?"
"…Yes!"
…Her answer was a bit delayed.
But I'd heard it, so I opened the door and went in.
Aria was sitting with her hands clasped together.
Her whole body was rigid with tension.
…She seemed even more tense than yesterday.
Her snacks… looked almost finished.
I shifted my gaze to her face.
…She looked quite exhausted.
She was clearly trying her best to look fine… but even with the effort to hide it, it showed.
That meant Aria was that tired right now.
But… strange?
How could she be tired? She was receiving treatment practically fit for a guest of honor.
…No. There was also the possibility she hadn't slept well.
When humans try to sleep their first night somewhere unfamiliar rather than their usual bed, they usually toss and turn.
Something about the brain staying on guard against the new environment, or whatever.
"You look tired."
At my words, Aria's shoulders flinched.
"Did you have trouble sleeping, by any chance?"
"…Ah, yes…! Th-that's right! I had trouble sleeping…!"
Hmm… I'd heard that recreating a familiar sleep environment helps in cases like this… but no matter how I thought about it, Aria's sleep environment back at the ducal house probably hadn't been all that great.
If I tried to recreate a familiar sleep environment, it would probably end up being a downgrade instead.
What else was supposed to help again…?
Ah. I remembered.
"Getting as much sunlight as possible during the day and taking long walks will help with your sleep, so tell the maid you'd like to go for a walk. Then you'll be able to take a walk with a maid accompanying you."
Aria did not immediately answer that she understood.
Wondering if she disliked walks, I checked her expression.
She was working her mouth in small, uncertain movements.
It was the look of someone who wanted to say something but couldn't quite organize the words.
"…Yes."
In the end, what came out of Aria's mouth was an affirmative, spoken in a voice that seemed to shrink into itself.