The Male Slave of House Sianella - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Lady of House Sianella (3)

"We didn't discuss anything special. I only asked how long I had been lying here and where you were, Lady Sione."

"Hmm... was that really all?"

Sione showed an uncharacteristically suspicious look.

"Until just now, you seemed too close with Sister Siabel..."

"...She just said she wanted to see how my left arm was, so I showed her."

"Was that really all?"

"How could I possibly lie to you, Lady Sione? Would you like to see it too?"

"No, that's fine."

Though I showed my left arm to Sione, she raised her hand to stop my action as if uninterested.

Then Sione let out a mysterious sigh of relief and said:

"I've already confirmed with my own eyes many times that your arm has returned to its proper form. Though the priest said you'll need to receive holy power several more times... how is it, can you move your arm?"

"Though the wounds have healed, moving my arm still seems impossible. Even when I try to use strength, it just goes limp."

"...That's troublesome."

Sione let out a small sigh seeing my limp arm.

Apparently Sione felt guilty about what had happened to my arm.

At this rate, she would probably make that miserable expression every day until my arm healed.

Though such an expression was fine once or twice, if I had to keep seeing it, it would become distracting and annoying.

I started speaking to help Sione ease her guilt.

"Please don't worry so much about my arm. The situation couldn't be helped, could it?"

"Still, if I had been more helpful—"

"It's fine. It's much better for me to be injured than for you to get hurt, Lady Sione."

"...Just what is the reason?"

"Reason?"

"The reason you keep protecting me."

The reason I keep protecting Sione.

It's nothing special.

Because I need Sione to survive in this cursed world.

Moreover, if I abandoned Sione and ran away in dangerous situations, people would demand to know why I hadn't protected her from all directions.

If Sione died by mistake, I would have to watch helplessly as the world was destroyed.

And... I had grown somewhat attached too.

Sione was an important existence.

Both to me and to this cursed world.

"Because you are more important than anything else to me, Lady Sione."

"...What?"

"Just as I said."

Sione's eyes grew round.

Seeing her pupils trembling slightly, it seemed she hadn't expected my answer.

Though Sione tried her best to hide that she was flustered.

Unfortunately, it showed obviously.

Finding her needless effort subtly amusing, I smiled slightly.

Seeing her reaction made me want to tease her a bit more.

"If you weren't important to me, how could I have faced that huge spider willingly offering my arm?"

"That's..."

"I simply judged that offering my arm would be more comfortable than seeing you seriously injured, Lady Sione."

"..."

At my words, Sione finally lowered her head deeply to avoid my gaze.

She flinched her shoulders needlessly as her earlobes turned red.

She seemed to have no resistance to embarrassing words at all.

Though I felt a bit shy myself after saying it, seeing her react so strongly made me feel somewhat rewarded.

I asked such a Sione:

"By the way, are you alright, Lady Sione?"

"...What?"

Sione slightly raised her deeply lowered head to look up at me.

"Given the situation it couldn't be helped, but... I did throw you, Lady Sione."

"...You fool."

"Pardon?"

I had only asked out of concern about throwing her onto the rough mountain path.

She's cursing at me for this?

Though I knew well that "fool" was just a cute level of cursing.

I hadn't expected to be directly called a fool when showing concern for someone.

"Just... just what are you worrying about? Worry more about yourself instead of me..."

That's when.

Though I couldn't easily understand why she was acting this way, I could see Sione's eyes growing moist.

...Why is this kid tearing up again?

This was bewildering.

I hadn't imagined she would show tears just from some loyal words.

For Sione to show tears rather than some emotionally abundant man.

Her sudden tears left me dumbfounded.

"...Are you alright?"

Though Sione tried to say something at my question.

"...I'm fine. I want to be alone, so could you leave for a while?"

In the end, she couldn't finish what she wanted to say and only ordered me out.

When I tried to get up from the bed to leave the room at her words.

Sione firmly gripped the hem of my clothes.

"You don't need to come visit today."

"When you say I don't need to visit..."

"So you can rest without any thoughts today. The priest... said they would come after lunch until you're healed, so keep that in mind."

"...Thank you."

"Then I'll see you tomorrow."

Sione with her dejected atmosphere slipped into her bed.

Usually Sione would stare intently at my retreating back from that bed.

But today unusually, Sione lay turned away and didn't look at me until I left the room.

After leaving her room, I whispered softly in Korean:

"...Why are both sisters acting so strange today?"

From Siabel closing in uncomfortably to Sione losing her usual shameless, silly self and acting melancholy.

Just why were they acting this way - no answer came even after racking my brains.

I don't know. Since it wouldn't harm me anyway.

I soon gave up thinking about it.

I headed to my assigned room with light steps.

After all the trouble I'd gone through following Sione around.

I planned to rest deeply for just one day without worrying about trouble-attracting Sione.

***

Perhaps because I had rested deeply for a whole day.

Unlike before, I was able to wake up feeling refreshed today.

Since it was early morning when most people would still be sleeping, I wanted to sleep a bit more too.

But I had to prepare to go out because of Sione who went jogging at this time every day after returning to the territory.

Wearing my servant's uniform and roughly tidying my hair, washing my face and such. After all preparations were done I looked in the mirror.

"Handsome."

These weren't empty words.

It wasn't for nothing that this body's original owner had the title of male knight and was to be sold to nobles.

Though it could give off a cold, heartless impression. My current face was objectively quite handsome.

I smirked at the mirror.

"Well, at least the face has to be good."

Though it was because I died in the dungeon.

Having lost all fame and status to be trapped in this body, shouldn't I at least have one good thing like a face?

I left the room with such meaningless thoughts.

I headed to Sione's room to wake her up as usual.

Since Sione was someone who would sleep straight through until lunchtime if I didn't wake her separately.

Though I had planned to wake her.

"You're here finally?"

...Had the sun risen in the west?

Not only was Sione already awake, but unlike usual when there should have been drool marks beside her mouth, she had a neat appearance without any.

I wonder what wind had blown for someone who usually scratched their belly while sleeping at this hour to be like this.

"When did you wake up?"

"I woke up early unlike usual. Are you surprised to see me awake?"

"...A little surprised."

"Fufu."

Sione showed a playful smile at my words.

"Since I've seen you arrive, I'll go do some light exercise."

"I'll follow."

"No, you stay here and wait."

"Pardon? Stay and wait?"

"Your left arm is still uncomfortable, isn't it? Don't needlessly strain yourself and wait here."

"...Thank you for your concern."

They say if someone changes completely overnight, their death is approaching.

Today's Sione overflowed with consideration unlike her usual self.

Even when I stared at her with a somewhat dubious look, she just smiled gently.

It was fine up until waiting in the room while skipping morning exercise like that.

The problem was that her excessive consideration continued even after the sun had fully risen.

"I'll bring refreshments and tea—"

"No, that's fine. I'm not particularly in the mood today."

"Then shall I clean the room a bit now—"

"Why try to make trouble when you can't even move your left arm... Ray, you just rest. I'll tell another servant."

"...Understood."

My joints were aching from sitting too much so I wanted to move a bit.

Whenever I tried to do something, she immediately tried to make me sit back down.

Was she that grateful that I had protected her from the arachne?

Should I call it overprotection? She was too conscious of me.

It wasn't like both arms were crippled, or I'd become one-armed with my left arm cut off. My arm was still attached well, just strength wouldn't enter it properly.

To think she wouldn't even let me do something as simple as dusting the room corners with a duster.

Should I like this or not?

It was quite novel seeing Sione staring intently while hiding under her blanket with the will to somehow not give me any work.

Then she came out of her bed and began busily preparing to go out.

I wondered where she was planning to wander off to, leaving me alone in the room again.

I asked while getting up from the chair I'd been sitting in:

"Where are you planning to go?"

"I want to practice archery so I'm thinking of going to the shooting range."

"I'll accompany you this time."

"Even if you come to the shooting range, you won't be able to shoot even once... I'm planning to stay quite a while, so wouldn't it be better to just rest in your room?"

"Though shooting might be difficult, wouldn't it be fine to watch you shoot, Lady Sione?"

"Hmm..."

"I can correct your form and tell you things that would be good to practice."

Only then did Sione nod at my words.

After receiving the okay sign, we headed straight to the training grounds.

From what I heard, quite a few knights and soldiers including Siabel and Diolia had headed to the Beltrin Mountains this very morning.

Indeed perhaps because of that, today's training grounds seemed to have fewer people than in my memory.

But that wasn't the only difference.

When Sione and I entered the training grounds, almost every woman looked me over once.

Though they should have grown somewhat used to my presence since I had been coming and going daily with Sione before.

I could constantly feel the glances of women looking at me with bright, shining eyes from here and there.

...Though I knew a man didn't belong in this sweaty training ground.

This seemed like too much attention to be simply because I was male.

Sione also noticed the unusually many gazes focused here today and said:

"...It seems it's already spread."

"What rumor?"

"There were quite a few soldiers who saw the arachne you killed when Sister and I went there after you collapsed. Even on the way back to the territory, the soldiers were gossiping about you being like a male knight from stories."

"Then..."

"Moreover, since we brought back the arachne you caught separately for investigation with the priests. Not a few people must have seen that corpse yesterday."

Sione sent sharp glances toward those watching me while saying:

"It seems the fact that you were the one who caught that huge arachne has already spread among them."

"..."

"They're probably calling you something like the Male Knight of Sianella, don't you think?"

It seemed I had suddenly become a real male knight.

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