Surviving in a Romance Fantasy
Andy possessed certain rights as Cream’s tutor at Hollybell Mansion. Authority over her education, daily guidance, and general care. These privileges existed to help a commoner raise a noble young lady smoothly—not to be abused for personal whims.
“The soil should be spread thinly. From my experience working on a farm, about as thick as the young lady’s finger. Like this.”
“L-like this?”
“Perfect.”
Of course, this wasn’t abuse. They were simply collaborating in harmony.
“Heave… ho…”
Andy watched Cream diligently planting spinach seeds. He had felt oddly uneasy yesterday when she kept fiddling with the pitchfork and glancing at the back of his head, but today it seemed his worries had been unfounded. Once the hard work of tilling the soil was done and they moved on to sowing seeds, she appeared to be enjoying herself, fully absorbed in the task.
“How’s this! Hehe…”
With dirt smeared all over her and a bright smile on her face, she looked every bit the country girl. Not a noble at all. That was precisely the point.
He believed harsh lessons and training would be premature for a child who had only recently lived in the back alleys. Instead, he had her tend the garden to build her stamina and strength, while incidentally aiming to raise other stats as well. Teaching philosophy or mathematics right now would be less effective than letting her play in the dirt at her level.
He didn’t want to see Cream studying through the night only to collapse, getting caned until her calves bled for every mistake, or spraining her ankle from overzealous dance practice—only to slaughter everyone in the end with a hollow laugh of “I should’ve done this sooner.”
He wanted to give her time to grow comfortable with her tutor and their lessons.
Shhh—
After organizing what he considered a solid growth plan, Andy watered the soil with a watering can. Cream stared at it intently.
“Would you like to try?”
“Yes!”
“It might be heavy, though.”
“It’s not heavy!”
Despite her confident words, the moment he handed it over she immediately staggered.
Thud—!
“Young lady!”
“Ehehe… I’m fine!”
She must have landed on the soft soil, because she stood up without a scratch, wiped her face once, and began watering the garden.
“Gulp, gulp… Grow well…”
Stay strong, young lady.
Stamina: 32 → 33
Strength: 23 → 24
Dignity: 24 → 23
Stress: 55% → 56%
On the way back to the mansion, Cream’s stats had changed. Similar fluctuations had occurred yesterday as well. He had roughly expected stamina, strength, and stress to rise while dignity fell. After all, she had been working in the dirt. Surprisingly, her sensitivity hadn’t increased. Gardening with a child should have been perfect for raising sensitivity, yet it hadn’t. Still, it was fortunate she was following along so well.
“What shall we make with what we planted today? How about spinach?”
“Hamburger!”
“No. For the sake of your health, I’ll make green juice. You need to raise your stamina right now.”
“…”
Cream’s lips jutted out in a pout. If you were going to do that anyway, why ask… she muttered, poking Andy’s back with the trowel.
After being poked all the way back to the mansion, he called over the first maid he saw.
“The young lady’s clothes are dirty. Please prepare a change of clothes and some refreshments.”
“…Understood.”
Ah. Now that he looked, it was the same maid from yesterday. The petty one with the protruding lips. The type who seemed prone to hysterics. While he and Cream waited awkwardly in the room, the maid soon returned. In her hands were a tea tray and a child’s dress—and there were quite a few problems with them.
“…Are those clothes actually clean?”
“Yes.”
“They don’t look clean to me.”
“They look clean to me.”
The dress was mostly white, but covered in stains here and there. It seemed someone had deliberately dirtied a freshly laundered dress.
“And why is the tea so cold?”
“Since the young lady cannot drink hot tea, I prepared it with lukewarm water.”
When he touched the teacup, it wasn’t even lukewarm—just cold water. The tea had been steeped in cold water, so the color was pale as well. It was a shabby reception with not a shred of sincerity toward the person being served.
He glanced at Cream. She had her head bowed low, clutching her skirt and fidgeting.
“…I’ll feed her carefully, so please prepare something warm instead.”
“We’ve run out of tea leaves. It’s impossible.”
“Then prepare a different kind of tea.”
“That’s also out of stock.”
“You’re saying this vast mansion doesn’t have a single tea leaf for the young lady?”
“No.”
How infuriating. Andy sighed and lowered his head, while the maid’s lips curled upward. She seemed to be savoring her victory—but that wouldn’t do.
He could simply let this slide. He could wash the clothes himself and fetch tea leaves on his own. But if he did, they would only look down on them even more, offer even shabbier treatment, and the cycle would repeat endlessly.
This world was a romance-fantasy setting overflowing with obstacles blocking the young lady’s path. If they couldn’t even overcome a single extra like this maid, how could anyone call her a noble young lady? She was destined for greatness.
Watch and learn.
What was needed was a strong first impression. An attitude that said he would never tolerate such treatment.
While Cream beside him looked lost, Andy finished his preparations and raised his head. He picked up the teacup and flung its cold contents forward.
Splash—!
“Kyaa!”
It hit her clothes perfectly. He had deliberately avoided her face, so only the maid’s white apron bloomed with tea stains. Since they hadn’t been standing far apart, little was wasted on the floor.
“W-what do you think you’re doing!”
“Laundry.”
“What!?”
“Laundry.”
“That’s nonsense! Don’t spout such drivel after dirtying perfectly clean clothes! How is this—”
“Now it matches the young lady’s dress, doesn’t it?”
Andy pointed at the stained dress on the table. The food-like stains looked no different from the ones now on the maid’s clothes.
Cream, who had been quietly watching, widened her eyes.
“T-that’s sophistry!”
“You said the exact same thing about that dress earlier. You claimed it looked clean to you. Or did you lie, pretending something deliberately dirtied had been washed?”
The dripping maid bit her lip, at a loss for words. She hadn’t expected her own words to be turned against her.
“It’s unbecoming for a servant to deceive her employer with clothing.”
“Employer? Hah. You’ve been saying some regrettable things yourself, sir!”
Just as the maid glared at him without losing spirit, Andy returned a fierce look of his own.
“—What is the meaning of this commotion?”
Another servant arrived at that moment. A middle-aged maid wearing glasses.
“H-Head Maid…!”
“What is all this noise while the lady is napping, Kanel? And what seems to be the problem, sir?”
Before the maid could explain, Andy quickly cut in.
“I apologize for the disturbance. It was merely a small misunderstanding.”
“A small misunderstanding? This man threw tea at me, Head Maid!”
“That’s precisely the misunderstanding. But I don’t understand why you keep raising your voice in front of the young lady. It’s becoming quite rude.”
“Rude? What—”
“Quiet.”
When the Head Maid glared at the maid named Kanel, she immediately shut her mouth.
“Sir, please explain in detail.”
“Thank you for the opportunity. As I mentioned, it was merely a small misunderstanding between us.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
“This maid brought the young lady’s dress claiming it had been washed, so I made her own clothes match it.”
The Head Maid’s face twisted in disbelief as she looked between the tea-stained maid’s clothes and the dirty dress on the table.
“And yet she keeps shouting, as if taking it maliciously. Even after the young lady witnessed the mansion lacking tea leaves, how terribly rude.”
“…Tea leaves?”
The Head Maid glanced sharply at Cream, who shrank back in fear and hid behind Andy.
“Eek…”
“The young lady also finds this situation regrettable.”
As he stepped forward protectively, the Head Maid furrowed her brow. A look of annoyance flickered across her face before she composed herself again.
“…From what I gather, the maid offered inappropriate hospitality and caused you both discomfort. I apologize. Hollybell Mansion is not lacking in resources. Well then, Kanel. Apologize to them at once.”
“H-Head Maid…!”
“Kanel. Now. While the tutor’s methods may have been excessive, consider the cause.”
“……I’m sorry, young lady. I’m sorry, sir.”
“Then come to my room once you’ve tidied yourself. We need to have a talk.”
Kanel looked as though she wanted to say something in anger, but ultimately bit her lip and left the room. She should have known better. Mocking the young lady might have been amusing, but it had ultimately tarnished the mansion’s reputation.
Though Andy was employed by the count’s household just like the other maids, his role was more refined. An educator brought in under the count’s own name. Having made the mansion seem destitute of even detergent and tea leaves in front of such a person, the Head Maid had no choice but to at least pretend to do something.
“I will discipline that maid properly. You received poor tea and clothes, correct? I’ll have another maid bring proper ones immediately.”
“Yes. I hope there won’t be any more conflicts with the servants in the future. It’s unfortunate.”
“…”
Despite the barbed remark, the Head Maid showed no change in expression. She bowed and turned toward the door. Just as she seemed about to leave, she added one more thing.
“I’d like to ask one thing in return. Please keep things quiet from now on. Especially disturbances like today’s.”
The Head Maid was not on Andy and Cream’s side.
“The lady has sharp ears.”
She was someone who had turned a blind eye even if she hadn’t directly tormented Cream in the original story. Her tone carried a thorn of either annoyance or irritation as she departed.
Here, “the lady” referred to Lady Noryu, the current count’s mother. She was the one who had driven Cream and her mother—the count’s mistress—out of the mansion. When her son brought the illegitimate child back as a tool, she pretended to accept it while casting disdainful glances. And the Head Maid was her person.
Look at this slap on the wrist for a maid who had treated a noble poorly. It was laughable how the adults blamed the child when the adultery had been someone else’s doing.
“…Young lady.”
Once they were alone and the room fell quiet, Andy lowered himself to Cream’s eye level. He checked to see if she had been shocked by the incident, but she merely blinked innocently.
“Ehe…”
“Are you all right? Were you startled?”
“No. It’s just… Teacher, you were amazing. I can’t even speak properly… Whenever I ask for something, the maids just snicker and walk away, but you spoke so well. Amazing…”
“Presence is important.”
“Huh?”
“A battle of wills requires shamelessness. If someone acts absurd, respond in kind. It’s something you’ll have to do someday, so don’t forget it.”
“Hmm… I don’t really like fighting.”
Cream, who usually smiled brightly, now smiled with her eyebrows lowered.
“I just… wish everyone could get along without fighting. Without conflict… like we’re all one.”
“…”
“I like smiling faces.”
There was a bitter aftertaste that didn’t suit a child. This young girl must have had her own hardships. Living in the back alleys, parting with her mother, and arriving at this noble mansion filled with ugly adults—what must she have seen? Her coral-pink eyes, which seemed to hold everything, slowly blinked shut and opened again. It was both adorable and pitiful.
“Young lady.”
The girl who had worn stained clothes and drunk tasteless tea until now looked lonely.
“No matter what happens, I am your tutor.”
“…”
“In this mansion, I am on your side.”
Andy extended his hand, conveying that he would stay by her side just like today.
“…Thank you, Teacher.”
She smiled as she took his hand. Her small hand fit inside his. They clasped each other’s hands and shook them up and down. Watching quietly, Cream carefully spoke first.
“But… don’t do anything too flashy. The maids won’t like it. The Head Maid even said something earlier…”
“It’s fine. I can handle it.”
“I’m fine just living like this… I’ve been eating well and staying warm until now, so it’s okay. You don’t have to go that far, Teacher.”
“You don’t deserve this kind of treatment. You have the right to receive more noble, more humane treatment and be happy—”
“—No.”
For a moment, Andy swallowed his words.
“Don’t do anything that draws attention.”
Her harmless coral-pink eyes seemed, for an instant, chilling. The hand holding his felt somehow cold.
“If we stand out, it won’t be good. Right? If we keep causing trouble and get marked by the maids or Lady Noryu… they might do something bad to us, and you might get hated too… So please don’t do this again, okay?”
“……I’ll try.”
At his answer, Cream beamed. It was a smile that loosened every muscle in her face, making even the viewer relax. Enough to make him wonder if he had imagined that earlier gaze.
“Hehe!”
Her innocent laughter quickly buried the unease.