The Reluctant Young Master
Exactly as I’d said back in chapter 34, bringing the young master back to the main house was going to be a real headache. When someone with power and an underdeveloped sense of responsibility dug in their heels, the trouble they caused was endless. It didn’t take long to realize just how true that was.
“Welcome. The young master is waiting upstairs.”
We were greeted and shown inside. The mansion looked oddly pristine—not because it had been meticulously cleaned or tidied, but because it felt strangely empty, like a house someone had just moved into. I glanced around the corners with a puzzled look.
“Quite deserted, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes.”
After a while, the servant leading us tossed the question over her shoulder. I pulled my wandering gaze forward and gave a short reply. I hadn’t noticed while looking around, but apparently my curious glances had gotten on her nerves. The woman in the maid uniform turned slightly, met my eyes with a faint smile, then faced forward again and continued in a calm tone.
“Once the young master returns to the main house, only a minimal staff and guards will remain here before we head back to the capital.”
“Ah, so that’s why…”
“Though it seems the young master still hasn’t made up his mind about going back.”
I let out a sigh of understanding. Even while calling the protagonist “young master,” the maid grumbled with a touch of irritation. The fact that she could complain so casually to someone she was supposed to serve suggested they were on fairly familiar terms.
Strange. I don’t remember any cheerful NPCs like this in the early game…
Maybe she’s one of the people who stayed behind at the mansion?
With that small question lingering, we climbed the stairs and stepped onto the second floor. Compared to the grand estate in the capital, this personal residence in Selindale was a place I’d never had reason to visit. I’d always assumed it belonged to someone else and never bothered approaching it. Why hadn’t the information boards mentioned this? Did that mean that during my playthrough in Selindale, I’d left a perfectly good private villa empty and slept in an inn instead?
What an idiot.
“The young master will be waiting inside.”
Just as I was wallowing in self-reproach over the belated realization, the maid stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hallway. Unlike the other dark, old-fashioned doors, this one was predominantly white with gold trim—an unmistakably luxurious door that clearly belonged to the master of the house. Until we reached it, I’d thought there wouldn’t be any real problems.
“Young master, guests sent by the head of the house have arrived.”
She knocked—tap, tap—and a long silence followed from beyond the door. Sensing something amiss, she knocked again, just in case. The sound of her knuckles rapping against the wood repeated.
“…Young master?”
Whether the master granted permission or not, the maid seemed to have confirmed her suspicions. She flung the door open. Inside the tidy room that looked like a study, there wasn’t a single person—not even a bug.
The maid’s face, which had remained composed the entire time, twisted into an expression of utter disbelief.
“P-please wait here for a moment…?”
She grabbed the hem of her long skirt with both hands and hurried down the stairs. Reina and I followed after the maid, and from the chaotic first floor came a shout.
“Hey! The young master ran away—find him, quick!”
“What!?”
The calm voice I’d heard moments ago cracked with panic. The maid’s cry from the first floor faintly reached the second floor. Servants, both men and women, couldn’t hide their shock and dismay. While the sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the mansion, one of them shouted,
“Seriously, why won’t he just give up already!?”
Apparently this wasn’t the first time. Even the servants were used to the young master’s stubbornness. Leaving the flustered staff on the first floor behind, I pointed down the quiet hallway with my index finger and said to Reina,
“Let’s search the second floor at least.”
“Alright.”
Reina readily agreed, and we split up to begin our search. Given the atmosphere of the mansion, it didn’t seem like anyone would mind us joining the hunt. We opened every closed door one by one, holding our breath so we wouldn’t miss even the faintest sound. Even after flinging open every visible door, there was still no sign of white hair.
Reina, who had started searching from the opposite end of the hallway, came walking back. I called out to her.
“Find anything?”
She simply shook her head. Had he already escaped the mansion? Even if he was a noble’s son, there was no way someone with beginner stats—who couldn’t even hunt a single boar bare-handed—could slip past the guards. Judging by the maid’s reaction, he had definitely been here during the day…
Reina stared silently at the open doors. Apparently she needed to see everything with her own eyes; she glanced into each room I had already checked. We were passing the third door when she suddenly stopped, turned back, and peered inside with unusual focus. Then she leaned her head out and looked at me, extending her arm. The metallic clank of her gauntlet rang out as she curled her fingers inward repeatedly, beckoning me over.
What is it?
Had I missed something? Tilting my head, I approached the open door. Another metallic clink. Reina’s gauntlet scraped as she pointed insistently into the room. Following her finger, I slowly shifted my gaze.
The window?
Her finger pointed at a wide-open window inside what looked like a bedroom. I wondered what could be so suspicious that she refused to leave the room… and then I saw it. In the frozen stillness of the room, something was moving.
Looking closer, I finally noticed the thick rope draped over the windowsill.
“Ah.”
A short sound of realization escaped me. I stepped into the room and walked to the window with Reina. Leaning out, we looked down at the mansion’s backyard—and there, trying to escape into the courtyard, was the young master’s white head.
“Ah.”
At the sound of approaching footsteps, the young master looked up and met our eyes. He was gripping the thick rope with both hands, slowly lowering himself down. While several people were struggling because of him, he’d been leisurely planning his escape? Annoyance flared. I grabbed the rope without hesitation and, together with Reina, began hauling him up.
The drop was high enough that jumping would be dangerous. Still clutching the rope, the young master shouted in panic.
“W-wait! Who the hell are you people!?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
I gave him a dry reply. Maybe because we were the same age, he didn’t seem intimidating at all, noble or not. I pulled the rope with all my strength while Reina silently hauled from the other side. As the ground rapidly receded, the young master tried to climb down faster, only to get tangled at the end and be dragged upward.
“Over here! Second-floor bedroom! The second-floor bedroom!”
A butler who had come out to the backyard spotted the young master dangling from the rope against the wall. His shout drew the other servants rushing toward the bedroom. The young master’s sudden escape event had triggered, but we apprehended him on the spot. Following the request’s instruction to use any means necessary, Reina used the rope to lightly bind him once he was pulled up.
“You bastards—did my father send you!? You think I’ll just go along quietly!?”
The moment he was restrained, the young master thrashed around without caring who was watching. I’d only ever seen him through the protagonist’s taciturn perspective with occasional dialogue choices, so I never imagined his real personality would be this obnoxious.
Irregular footsteps approached the bedroom. A woman with disheveled clothes and slightly parted lips, breathing heavily, leaned against the doorframe as if barely able to stand. She opened her mouth with difficulty.
“…Young master?”
“Ah.”
It was the same maid who had guided us upstairs earlier. Even in the middle of winter, she was drenched in sweat—clearly from running around searching for the young master. When she called out to him with narrowed eyes, his expression froze, the bold attitude he’d maintained until moments ago vanishing completely. His darting eyes and trembling lips betrayed his fear.
The young master is terrified of the maid? What’s going on here?
After catching her breath, she began scolding him loudly, regardless of who was present.
“How could you try to run away on such an important day? Do you have any idea how many people will be waiting because of you!?”
The maid launched into a righteous tirade. For this moment alone, their master-servant relationship seemed completely reversed. I couldn’t help but chuckle, standing with my hands behind my back. This guy really had the face of someone who was born to be caught and live under someone’s thumb.