Chapter 10

Chapter 10

One day, an unexpected visitor came to call.

Even more unexpected? They weren’t here to see Father. They came here to see me. So, at an ungodly hour, while I was still happily wandering through dreamland, Ashley came into my room to shake me awake. After rousing me from sleep he just curtly told me to get dressed and then left.

‘Couldn’t you have woken me up a little more gently?’ I want to complain…. But if I said that, he would just refute with something like ‘If I would have been gentle about it, you would still be sleeping right now,’ so I just let him leave and reluctantly get ready. Once I’m presentable, I head over to the guest room.

When I arrive, I can’t help but suck in a breath.

In the parlor sits a pretty, fragile looking girl. She wears glasses and has red hair (just a shade lighter than Oswell’s) styled with a short cut. And she’s someone I know…. Though I never expected her to come visit me.

“Miss Alldington!” she cries, her face breaking into an ecstatic smile when she spies me standing in the doorway. Although I said she appears fragile, don’t let that fool you. She has quite the mouth on her! She is not afraid to say exactly what is on her mind. It also goes without saying that I have never once talked to her at school.

Her name is Sarah Cosgrove. In the game, her role is being a friend to the heroine. So… she’s a supporting character. Basically, when the main character is not progressing in the game Sarah gives her a helping hand. And when Cecile would bully the heroine, Sarah would be there to protect her a majority of the time.

Which brings me to the question: why would she come to visit me? I haven’t bullied the heroine at all, you know.

“Miss Cosgrove…. What brings you here? And, if I may ask, how do you know me?”

“So you knew who I am already! I’m honored. And, you know! Unlike my family, part of the nouveau riche, your Father is a Viscount and your family has a prestigious lineage, how could I not know of you.”

Well, as a noble lady herself, I guess that’s only to be expected.

All of a sudden, Sarah Cosgrove jumps up from her seat and catapults herself into my chest, rubbing her face into me.

(T/N: something like this)

“Ohh, ohh, thank goodness! I was so scared that I was going to have to start the next semester all alone!”

“Miss Cosgrove? Would you please calm down for a moment?”

“You can call me Sarah, Cecile.”

She is acting like we are close friends, but please don’t forget…. This is the FIRST TIME WE HAVE SPOKEN…..

Just when I was at a loss for what to do, Ashley came into the room to serve us tea. I felt relieved thinking that he would detach her from me but…. All he did was look at me expressionlessly.

“So you leaned that way?”

“Noooo!” I cry.

Though a rumor like that did spread throughout the academy…. And it’s not like I’m against two girls being together or anything…. But I’m not like that!!

“Then, um, Sarah. What brings you here? I don’t believe we’ve ever formally met.”

“Yeah! I know!” she says excitedly, bordering almost on hysteria. Her obvious agitation contrasts the demure image that she exudes so much that even Ashley looks a bit taken aback.

“Is it true that you are interested in Leila?”

Clash

Ashley drops the teacup he was holding with a clatter and then promptly looks over at me as if to say that it was all my fault.

“Ojousama….”

“It’s utter nonsense!!”

I do enjoy looking at her, since she’s as pretty as a picture, but I swear that’s it!

“Please help me, Cecile!”

“Wah, again, can you please calm down…..”

Even if she is from an upstart family, she should still be considered part of the nobility…. but she isn’t portraying that sort of dignity at all.

“I don’t want to have anything to do with Leila anymore!!”

…………………..!?

“Umm, I had thought that you and Miss Morton were close……”

According to the game, Leila and Sarah should have become friends with each other during their first year at school. So why has it become like this?

“We were! At first. That was before I knew anything. Originally, she was so nice to me even though she’s a Baron’s daughter and I’m merely part of the nouveau riche. We became close almost instantly. I thought she was an amazing person because she didn’t judge people based on their pedigree.”

“Then why…..”

“But I was wrong!”

Suddenly, Sarah bursts into tears. She starts wailing loudly. This girl is really all over the place, isn’t she?

“Something is off about her! She’s crazy!”

“Uhhhh….. What…..?”

“So, yeah, you were interested in Leila, right?” she asks, drying her tears. “Then, can you be friends with her in my stead? If you don’t, she is definitely going to end up stalking me. She just won’t leave me alone! But don’t worry, Leila is also extremely interested in you!”

Having finished her piece, Sarah squats on the ground, hugging her legs in an attempt to comfort herself. In the mean time, Ashley is just staring down at her in amazement while I wrack my brain, completely at a loss for what to do.

“But the two of us are not even acquaintances….”

Leila is interested in me? That makes no sense….. Even though we’ve never come into contact before?

“Can you explain everything from the beginning in a way that I can understand?”

“Fine, I will, but let me ask you… Do you know what she is truly like? She’s…. that girl is… She’s a freaking pervert!!”

……

“You… you guys were actually friends, right?”

“No! She just keeps one-sidedly sticking to me!”

That is something I never thought I’d hear a support character say….

“Well, that doesn’t really explain anything to me…. How about you have some tea and try to calm down a bit?”

Without me even noticing, Ashley had prepared another cup of tea to replace the one he dropped earlier, which he gives to Sarah. At the same time, he also helps her up from the ground and onto a seat, pulling her a bit farther away from me. I sit down across from her and accept my own cup of tea from him. The temperature is perfect and he made it just strong enough. He even used my favorite tea leaves. Sarah also seems to be entranced by Ashley’s black tea. She is breathing in the lovely scent and looking a lot more calm now.

As expected of my servant.

“The tea is exquisite, Ashley.”

“Would you care for some tiramisu teacakes to go with it?”

“That sounds perfect.”

Ashley expertly serves the cake to us on two little plates. As soon as I take a bite, the perfect amount of sweetness spreads across my tongue in an irresistible wave. And by the way that Sarah is scooping each forkful into her mouth, I would say she is enamored with the taste as well.

“Are these Rina’s handiwork?”

Rina is the name of the maid who works in the kitchen on the estate. She’s typically the one in charge of making all the sweets and is a complete pro at it.

“No…..”

“Daniel then?”

He’s the head chef’s son, and although he hasn’t been working in the kitchen for long, he has already shown that he’s more than skilled enough to take over for his father one day.

“No…..”

“Then who….?”

“I’m delighted that it seems to have suited your tastes.”

“Don’t tell me…. you actually made these cakes?”

He averts his eyes from mine, neither confirming nor denying my suspicions. And since Ashley, ever since he was a little boy, has had the habit of doing this whenever he was embarrassed….

“That’s amazing, Ashley! You really are my pride and joy.”

Feeling overly moved, I spread my arms open wide and make a move to hug him, but before I get the chance, Ashley ends up brushing me aside. I guess that’s puberty for you.

“You’re exaggerating.”

“That’s not true. This is the first time I have ever tasted something so delicious in my life. And I’m sure that’s because you were the one who made them for me.”

“Well, I’m sure that you think that way merely because you ate them when you were feeling hungry.”

“There you go again, acting all humble,” I say, lightly batting at his arm. He’s clearly displeased by my jest, but I don’t really mind. I’ve already gotten used to him pouting like this whenever I tease him even just a little bit. What a terrible thing for me to get used to.

“Umm, excuse me….”

Sarah cuts in, clearing her throat. Her cake and tea are both gone already. It seems that she was finally able to return to her senses and calm down while she was eating.

“I have two things that I want to say. One, that girl is not normal. Two, I’d like you to take her off my hands. Does that make any more sense now?

“In reply, I likewise have two things I’d like to ask you, Sarah. One, I’ve heard (through Oswell’s casual observances) that Miss Morton is a nice girl. So I’d like to hear about why you seem so averse to her. Two, what made you decide to come to me for this request? I’ll have you know that I’ve never even spoken to Miss Morton before.”

Sarah chuckles knowingly. This girl….. seems very emotionally unstable. Her mood changes so quickly. Don’t tell me, this is also because of Leila? In the game, she seemed so soothing. I always had the impression that she had such a strong mentality….

“The reason that I came to you is very simple. But let me answer your first question first. That girl, Leila…..”

Leila pauses, closing her eyes tightly. She is gripping the skirt of her dress which happens to be the same shade as her hair.

“She won’t stop touching me…..!”

“….Ojousama also likes to have an excessive amount of skinship.”

“That’s not true. I am only like that with you, Ashley.”

Bam! Sarah slams her palms down on the table.

“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!!”

“If that’s all, don’t you think it’s a bit rude to be saying Miss Morton isn’t normal and calling her a pervert?” I ask.

“So is it normal for a lady to grab another girl’s breasts!?”

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

“Isn’t she just messing around?”

If it was a man, then of course that would be a problem, but between two girls that sort of thing is merely being playful and shouldn’t be considered that out of the ordinary.

“Even if she puts her hand inside of that girl’s dress!?”

“Umm, well, that’s…..”

Not so normal.

“What about when she starts panting from watching other girls changing!? That lunatic! And I’m not the only victim. All of the girls living in rooms near to hers in the dorm are being harassed like this, you know!?”

“But, umm, it’s a bit difficult for me to judge the situation just based on that…..”

Did the heroine from the game do things like that….? Well, even just from hearing this much it’s pretty obvious that her preferences lean in that direction…… But no matter what, she is still the heroine. She is, after all, someone who was able to fall in love with handsome and abusive yanderes. She was never normal to begin with. This sort of reaction is not altogether unbelievable if she were to not take any of the designated male routes….

“She has even pretended to lose her balance in order to touch my b-…. butt….. I’ll admit, even that could happen merely out of curiosity and be pure in nature but….. that’s not her! She’s a complete pervert!”

“Did you never consider just putting some distance in between you and her?”

“I thought about it. I agonized over it! I can’t stop thinking about it, even now. But she’s Sir Morton’s daughter, you know? She’s not someone I can afford to offend. I can’t cause problems for my family.”

In other words, you don’t know what to do because you’re afraid of the backlash if you were to provoke her.

“But there is still someone who could save me! You, Cecile!”

“……”

If at all possible, I don’t want to get involved in this.

I already know that I won’t be in the same class as either Sarah or Leila, since that’s how it was in the game. But if I continue to follow the scenario then I would meet Leila during that incident. I would start to bully her. And I would get mercilessly killed for it.

So, working backwards, if I just don’t get close to Leila, I will be that much closer to surviving my school life.

“That’s the part that I really don’t understand though…..”

“Well, if you have that sort of inclination already, then Leila is the perfect match for you, right?”

That’s why I’ve been telling you that whole rumor is false!! Gahh!

“Leila has also already showed quite an interest in you. Your voluptuous chest is right in Leila’s strike zone. She talks about it a lot. Indirectly of course, but she says that’s your body’s best asset.”

And that is sexual harassment.

“Therefore! You should take my place a be good friends with Leila!”

“Were you thinking that I would just say, ‘Sure. No problem.’ or something? After hearing all of that?”

Even without hearing all of those awful things, I wouldn’t have agreed.

“I’ve been thinking and thinking about it to the point where that’s all I’ve been able to doing this break. I was able to easily come up with the idea to put my hopes in you but still I was unsure. I wasn’t confident that I could ask this of you when we’ve never even spoken before. And to make matters worse, you’re the daughter of a Viscount! I’ve been agonizing over this decision for three whole days. And today I finally gathered up the nerve to come here! Are you going to completely disregard the courage that it took me to meet with you!?”

Even if you say that….

“Ashley, Miss Cosgrove will be leaving now. Please see her out.”

“I’m not leaving! Not until you agree to my request!”

So. Unreasonable.

“If that’s so, then I will just return to my room. Once you are finished with your tantrum, would you kindly show yourself out?”

“Have you no compassion!?”

Having compassion and conserving one’s own life are in no way comparable.

“In general, as a friend, wouldn’t it be best for you to be focusing your attention on finding good things about Miss Morton’s personality?”

“I have. I tried and failed to do that long ago!”

Somehow I figured that was the case.

“While I do find your situation to be rather pitiable, the most I can do for you is listen to your complaints. Please feel free to let them all out.”

“I don’t need that sort of half-baked sympathy!”

“For a girl who wants to push her own outrageous friend onto me, I’m sorry, but this is about all I can do for you….”

Sarah is bawling her eyes out in front of me now, but really I am the one who wants to cry here.

Why does she have to make it out like I’m the bad guy? Please don’t forget the real reason she came here. She wants her peaceful life returned to her at my expense by forcing me to take care of her perverted, burdensome friend!

“Are you telling me to become her victiiiiim….?”

“……”

“You are my only hooooope……”

“……”

“I’ve already suffered with this for a whole yeeeeeear…..”

“……”

“Are you saying that all the nouveau riche deserve this sort of miseryyyyy….?”

“……Sigh… Fine.”

If I do nothing, Sarah’s never going to leave me alone.

“So stop crying, okay?”

“Then you’ll take Leila off my hands for me, right Cecile!? You’ll set me free from her!?”

Don’t be ridiculous. I absolutely will not allow you to go off and be safe all by yourself.

“You can hand her off to me when, and only when, your hands are tied. Like once a week at most.”

“Wh- What’s with that……!? Then what am I supposed to do the rest of the time!?”

“We don’t have to cooporate at all you know?”

“…. I- gulp– I understand…… Let’s…. do it that way then….”

As long as I can keep some distance between us, I should be fine. I would say that if we stay as mere acquaintances, I shouldn’t be killed! And, worst case scenario, I can always enlist Senpai to help me out too. He can at least act as a sort of buffer between us….. How nice. This is the first time I have felt like his existence is truly beneficial for me…. I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine…. And as long as the heroine doesn’t go down Alec’s route, Senpai won’t have even one flag signaling his possible demise. Although if she does take Alec’s route, it will become a bit dangerous….

With everything decided, Sarah finally leaves the guest room to go home. Ashley, having watched the whole ordeal, standing off to the side mutters,

“You’re too nice for your own good.”