The Young Lady Has Disappeared

“Catherine. Go check if the young lady has coughed.”

“Yes, Susan.”

While fixing my appearance in the mirror, I reflexively answered to the voice calling me. Long black hair as if painted with night, bright red irises like blood, a high nose bridge. Skin as white as snow without a single blemish. An appearance more beautiful than most nobles, which honestly wasn’t an appearance I particularly liked.

I walk on the antique wooden floor without making a sound, taking small steps. In the past, just walking on this floor would make creaking sounds and I’d get scolded for being noisy. I walked down the corridor reminiscing about those times. 

The morning sunlight peeking through shines on me, pouring in through the huge windows. This light used to startle me when I was young, making me fall and bloody my nose, but now that I’m older I no longer make such mistakes.

At the end of the corridor is the young lady’s room. The young lady I’ve been exclusively attending to for 15 years since I entered this mansion.

“Young lady. Did you cough?”

“…Catherine?”

“Yes, young lady. It’s Catherine.”

A stiff manner of speech unbefitting a maid. Though Susan and the young lady tried to correct it every time, I couldn’t let go of this way of speaking. Though I wore a maid’s uniform and had my masculinity castrated, I didn’t want to forget the fact that I was a ‘man’ in my previous life, so I stubbornly maintained this way of speaking.

“Come in.”

With the young lady’s permission, I slowly opened the door and looked at the young lady who was dozing with her eyes half-closed. Though her eyes were half-closed, her silver-white hair shining in the sunlight coming through the window and the blue eyes visible between her half-closed eyelids were displaying their beauty. 

Usually, the young lady would greet me while nodding off, but today she was strangely looking at me with a cautious gaze.

“Young lady?”

As I tilted my head and called her, the young lady took a small step back. Why? It was the first time she avoided me since that day when she was thirteen.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’d like to be attended by a different maid today, could you withdraw?”

“…I understand, young lady.”

I lightly bowed my head and turned my gaze away from the young lady’s cautious expression.

“Bessie. Attend to the young lady.”

“…What?”

“Please.”

After asking the maid, Bessie, who was standing next to the door, to take over the work, I started walking back to my room with small steps. Creaking sounds come from the wooden floor, but paying no attention to it, I quickened my pace.

The young lady doesn’t use honorifics with me. The young lady doesn’t look at me with those eyes. The young lady is uncomfortable being attended to by maids other than me. The young lady’s stride is not that wide. The young lady drinks water as soon as she wakes up. But even though 5 minutes have passed since the young lady woke up, the water bottle is still full.

Then, who are you?

* * *

The appearance is of course the young lady’s. 

Lillian von Fortus. 

The legitimate daughter of Marquis Fortus and the person I’ve been serving in all sorts of ways since I was six years old. That’s why she doesn’t trust anyone except me. If any maid other than me tries to serve her, she would definitely hurt them.

The young lady’s ferocity is well kept in a corner of her heart’s box, and it is unleashed when I disappear. Whenever she stands in social circles or public places where I can’t accompany her, the young lady always fully displays that ferocity. She pours hot tea water on young ladies from other families, and kicks the shins of young gentlemen she doesn’t like with all her might.

Marquis Fortus has no interest in such a young lady. Marchioness Fortus is a very busy person meeting young men.

There’s a reason why a mere maid, not even a nanny, has been serving the young lady since she was six years old.

When the young lady was six years old, ‘Catherine’ was ten years old. It was like a child raising a child. Looking back now, it’s laughable, but I was serious at the time. 

Taking care of a six-year-old child with a ten-year-old body. No matter how much I had the mind of someone in their mid-20s, there are limits to what you can do when your body is that of a young child.

“Catherine. Susan is calling for you.”

“Yes.”

“By the way, where’s Sally?”

Sally. As the name of my roommate and cleaning maid came up, I flinched.

“I, I don’t know.”

“…Catherine, you’re still terrible at lying.”

“Ugh.”

Avoiding Celine’s gaze, who was narrowing her eyes and pressing me, I slowly moved towards the door to hurriedly leave the place. 

However, as if she had figured out my movement, Celine firmly grabbed my arm. Her body temperature tickled my arm. Despite becoming a woman, I still had low immunity to women and flinched.

“Before you go, tell me where she went.”

“Ugh, well…”

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll keep holding onto you.”

Seeing her stubborn face as she held my arm tightly with both hands, I sighed.

“…Haa. Sally went to town. She said she had a date with Brian.”

“What? Brian? That Brian, the son of gardener Tom?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

As I nodded, Celine’s eyes grew even wider. She already had big eyes, so I was a bit worried her eyeballs might fall out. Of course, that wouldn’t happen.

“Well, if it’s a date, it can’t be helped. Then, after you go to Susan, could you come to the laundry room? If the young lady doesn’t call for you, that is.”

“Alright.”

As I nodded, Celine smiled brightly and patted my shoulder. Then she passed by me and returned to the laundry room.

Feeling like the conversation with Celine had gone on a bit long, I quickly arrived at the head maid’s room and knocked on the door. Then a voice came from inside.

“Come in.”

“…You knew it was me quite well.”

“There’s no one else who’s received my training but you, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

Susan smiled faintly and took off her glasses. Wavy blonde hair and intellectual green eyes. With glasses on she looks intellectual, but when she takes them off, Susan’s uniquely sharp gaze pierces me.

“The day for the young lady to go to the academy is approaching.”

“Yes.”

“You will be the maid to accompany the young lady. As you know, the master has no interest in the young lady, and the madam even less so. And among us, you know the young lady best… The young lady will probably designate you as well.”

I wonder about that. I muttered self-deprecatingly and nodded. My opinion didn’t matter much in this issue anyway. If Susan decides and the young lady tells me to do it, I’ll just follow. After all, I’m just a maid.

“Is there any problem?”

“No. There isn’t.”

“…You keep too many things bottled up inside. It might be good to let some out and feel relieved sometimes.”

“I’m really fine, Susan.”

Hearing my stubborn answer, Susan put on the glasses she had taken off and sighed.

“…Haa. Alright. The departure is in three days, so organize what you need to organize before then. Also, pack the items I told you to prepare.”

“Yes.”

Susan, who sighed while hearing my honest answer, waved her hand telling me to go out. I bowed deeply to her and then left the room. Next was the laundry room, right?

Remembering Celine’s request, I headed straight to the laundry room. As I was quickly turning a corner, I suddenly collided with something that popped out.

“Ouch.”

“…Young lady.”

“Catherine?”

Innocent eyes unlike the young lady. Who on earth is this person? Hiding the suspicion rising in my heart, I lightly bowed my waist towards her. Then I asked her.

“Where are you going?”

“Hm? Just walking around.”

The young lady hates going outside her room.

“By the way, this mansion is really big~”

The young lady always said that the capital mansion was bigger than the main mansion and evaluated the main mansion as too cramped.

“The flower garden is beautiful too. Right?”

The young lady always hated the flower garden her mother cherished. To the extent that she would openly say she wanted to burn it all down.

“What am I saying.”

Watching the young lady cover her mouth with her hand and laugh, I nodded with an expressionless face. The young lady doesn’t laugh like that. She was always someone who laughed in a noble, restrained manner.

“…Catherine.”

“Yes, young lady.”

I slightly bowed my head to her calling me, no longer looking at her. My young lady was no longer there.

“What do you think about being a demon lord?”

“…I don’t know.”

This was the answer that came out after hesitating for a moment at the sudden question. A more proper answer might be possible, but I didn’t want to talk to her anymore.

“Young lady. I have work to do, so I’ll be going now.”

“Huh? Uhm, okay.”

I lightly bowed to her who was looking at me with a bewildered face, and then left the place.