Just a Friend from the Magic Department
“She’s just a friend from the magic department.”
Hendel spoke with perfect nonchalance, but the brown-haired woman beside him kept stealing glances at his expression. Marinne’s well-honed instincts screamed that the relationship between the brown-haired woman and Hendel was anything but simple friendship. The brown-haired woman, who had been carefully reading the room, suddenly underwent a dramatic shift in expression—like slipping on a mask. Marinne raised her guard even higher.
“Yes, we’re just friends.”
Marinne didn’t believe for a second that Hendel had made a friend on the very first day of the semester. Of course she liked Hendel, but objectively speaking, his personality was… unique. His way of thinking, too. There was no way he could make friends right away—especially not a female friend. Therefore, this woman’s words were a lie.
She’d heard that ever since the Edgar family’s prestige had risen, the number of women proposing to Hendel had skyrocketed. This one was clearly a fox bitch after the Edgar family’s wealth. For the sake of innocent Hendel, she needed to chase her off as soon as possible.
But then…
“Marinne, that’s not right. I already promised Leni first.”
Why?
Hendel was acting strangely protective of the brown-haired woman named Leni. A dark, murky emotion began to bloom inside Marinne’s chest.
No. I have to hold it in.
She wanted to pour out the boiling emotion, but she feared what Hendel’s gaze would look like if she did. So Marinne clenched her teeth and chose to compromise.
“…Fine. Come with us. Let’s eat together.”
She bit her lip.
The restaurant she had spent weeks investigating and selecting just so she could go with Hendel. If things had gone according to Marinne’s plan, right about now they should have been enjoying a sweet, happy meal alone together.
Instead—
“Munch munch.”
“Nom nom.”
Two uninvited guests had crashed the party. Her hands trembled. She wanted to scream at them to stop interrupting her meal with Hendel.
Hold it in. Hold it in. Hold it in.
She tried to calm herself by recalling happy memories. The memory of holding Hendel’s hand. The memory of sharing an embrace with Hendel. The memory of promising to get engaged to Hendel. Technically they had only exchanged engagement rings and hadn’t made it official yet, but the moment Hendel accepted the ring, Marinne had decided it was as good as an engagement.
Tap tap.
A hand touched her shoulder. Hendel was looking at her. The moment she saw his kind face, the ugly emotions that had surged up while watching those fox bitches subsided.
“Want to get some fresh air for a bit?”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yeah.”
As expected, even Hendel must have felt uncomfortable being around those fox bitches. Marinne stood up with a happy smile.
At that exact moment, Hendel placed his own dessert in front of the fox bitches. The dessert he had chosen after days of careful research and consideration just for her. The thought of it disappearing into those women’s stomachs made her stomach twist with disgust.
Marinne’s body moved before her brain could stop it.
“De…licious.”
The ice cream was so cold she couldn’t even taste it properly, but the bewildered expressions on the two fox bitches’ faces made it all worth it.
The chilly autumn evening.
Marinne smiled happily as she caught the faint scent of Hendel that clung to the jacket. A man who would take off his own jacket because he was worried his woman might be cold. Such a loving, boyfriend-like gesture. Marinne wished time could stop right there.
But happiness never lasted long.
“To be honest, I was really disappointed by your behavior earlier.”
The gentle smile Hendel had been wearing vanished as he began to interrogate her. Only then did reason return to Marinne, and she realized how her actions must have looked to Hendel.
Damn it, damn it, damn it. I should have stayed calmer.
One mistake and the tower she had so carefully built might come crashing down. Marinne desperately searched for a way to explain herself.
Before she could come up with anything, Hendel spoke first.
“Promise me you won’t act like that again.”
Having grown up under Hendel’s care since childhood, Marinne immediately recognized that he was trying to forgive her. Her brain quickly calculated the optimal response for the current situation. Right now, she needed to look remorseful and sad to tug at his sympathy.
Sad thoughts. Sad thoughts.
Imagining Hendel rejecting her. Imagining Hendel dying. As all sorts of negative thoughts flooded her mind, tears welled up in her eyes.
“I… understand…”
She answered as pathetically as she could. Hendel’s face softened with pity, as if he had fallen for it. It was too easy. Hendel was so pure that she would probably have to protect him for the rest of her life. Marinne smiled slyly where Hendel couldn’t see.
Clop clop.
Late at night. The carriage rattled along to the sound of hooves. After Marinne had bowed at a perfect ninety degrees to apologize to both Carden and Cani, she returned to the dormitory first. I decided to escort Carden back to her dormitory before heading home myself.
Since the academy separated dormitories by department, Carden’s dormitory was located on the exact opposite side from Marinne’s.
Chew chew.
I couldn’t stomach any food in the rattling carriage, but Carden was happily munching on chocolate yokan without a care in the world. When I had returned after settling things with Marinne, she was already on her fifth piece that Cani had bought for her. After that, Marinne had given her another twenty pieces as an apology. I’d thought she would save them since she claimed to be broke, but at this rate it looked like she was going to finish them all inside the carriage.
“Master, eat a little slower.”
Carden chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then held one out to me.
“Eat.”
“…”
She must have thought I was jealous of the yokan. I sighed and took it, then popped it straight into Carden’s mouth.
Chew chew.
How does she eat that much sugar without getting a blood sugar spike?
While I was watching Carden’s eating show, I felt a gaze and turned my head. Cani, sitting in the corner, was watching me with a strange look in her eyes.
“What?”
“…Why do you call her ‘Master’?”
Ah, I hadn’t explained it to Cani yet.
“Cough, cough.”
I patted Carden on the back as she choked on the yokan and answered.
“We made a contract. From now on, she’s my master.”
“…You two don’t look like a master-servant pair at all…”
“Well, just think of it as a game.”
“Hmm…”
Cani puffed out her cheeks, clearly unhappy. Maybe she was upset that I hadn’t paid her back for the yokan I bought for Carden. I pulled out my wallet, took out a handful of coins, and handed them over. By the feel of it, it was probably around twenty gold.
“That’s enough.”
To think Cani would refuse free money. What was going on? Was the food bad? I got up from my seat and sat down beside her. A pleasant, warm scent wafted from her.
“What’s wrong? What are you upset about?”
She was an insolent maid, but she rarely sulked like this.
“I want to hear you call me ‘Master’ too.”
“…Have you lost your mind?”
It seemed Cani had finally given up on thinking rationally.
“Why not! You call a girl you just met today ‘Master,’ but I’ve been taking care of Young Master for over ten years and I don’t even get to hear it!”
“It’s not like I particularly enjoy being called Master.”
“Hiiiing…”
“And it wasn’t you taking care of me. I was the one taking care of you.”
“Even though I saved your life.”
Cani grumbled. Just how long was she going to keep bringing up that old story?
“She’s begging so earnestly. Just do it once.”
Even Carden, who had somehow finished all the yokan, chimed in. Her eyes sparkled like a middle-aged woman watching an interesting drama.
The contradictory situation of a maid demanding her master call her “Master.” The world really had turned upside down.
“Just once! Just once!”
Carden clapped like she was enjoying my suffering and egged her on. Cani looked up at me with sparkling, expectant eyes. With the two of them ganging up on me like this, it was hard to refuse. I struggled to push away Cani as she crawled across the floor toward me.
“Fine, I’ll say it, so stop.”
“Really?”
She was the one who asked, yet her eyes widened in surprise. Ugh, it hurt my pride. I felt my resolve crumbling. But I had already promised to call her Master, so I couldn’t take it back. How could I make this sound natural?
“Hurry, hurry.”
Cani urged me on. Whatever. I gave up.
“Master…”
It felt like my masculinity was being shaved away.
“Haa…”
Cani let out a lewd sigh. My whole body cringed. Was being called Master really that good? I heard it every day and felt nothing, but after hearing it just once, Cani looked completely worked up.
What the hell? This is scary.
“Hehe… It feels so good.”
Even though I had pushed her away once, Cani kept crawling closer without caring. There was a crazy gleam in her eyes. It didn’t look like words would work anymore. I pushed her away again to keep her at bay.
Maybe because she kept getting rejected? Cani frowned.
“I get it. Just once! If you call me Master just one more time, I’ll back off!”
She started negotiating on her own terms.
“You promise?”
“Of course! I swear on Cani’s honor!”
Her honor, huh. That wasn’t exactly trustworthy collateral.
“Aww, Young Master, just once…”
Deciding I looked persuadable, she changed tactics and started acting cute. This maid even subtly pushed her chest forward. She must have learned all the bad stuff somewhere. Thunk.
“Ow.”
I gave her a solid flick on the forehead.
“Will you do it or not?”
“Tch.”
For a second I almost reflexively smacked her plump thigh. Thankfully, at the last moment I remembered that Cani was a pervert who got excited when her thighs were slapped. So my hand changed targets from her thigh to her head.
“Hiiing, Young Master is so mean…”
“Sigh…”
I’d thought it was a little impressive how she had tactfully bought yokan for Carden when the two of us were alone, but she was already crawling all over me again like a damn ghost. What was I supposed to do with this troublemaker? Should I just kick her out of the carriage?