Yandere Ojou-sama!

[Minami's POV:]

"Is she sleeping now?"

"Yes, master," I replied with my head slightly leaning forward to the person who goes by the name Rihito Takahashi and is the head of his family. The father of my mistress and the wisest person I have ever come across.

It was my admiration for Rihito Takahashi which brought me to this place before I began serving the little lady Akira. I graduated from a business institute and have learned a lot under my master's tutelage. He generally doesn't spend much time in one place but once in a while, he kept a record of my studies before I graduated and became a full-fledged maid at the mansion.

Rihito-san himself offered me a job at his company at that time with a high post and decent salary but my affection for the young lady had been elevated to the extent that I found myself rejecting her once-in-a-lifetime offer.

Akira Takahashi despite being a bright and quality potential carrying girl was still a child who has grown up without the love of a mother and I just wanted to fill that gap somehow.

Seeing how things turned out to be some years ago when her image was destroyed in middle high school and nasty rumors made the young lady fall into depression, creating a sense of hatred inside of me for Haruto.

However, things began to change when he suddenly one day appeared at the mansion in search of a job as a butler. For him, it was an opportunity to support his life but for me, it was a chance to vent all my anger accumulating all these years.

And true to my desire, the first session of sparring with Haruto turned into a torturous hour for the boy where he was practically treated as nothing but a punching bag, silently taking all my rage and in the end falling to the ground with a face which should've provided me with a sense of satisfaction but I never felt good. Neither when I was inflicting all those suffering nor when I gawked at the aftermath.

My young lady reacted differently to it and considering how her nature got twisted in those years when she was recovering from that dark phase, I understood her reaction.

Things began to clear up as days passed and slowly I realized that Haruto has changed for good. It was not enough to make me forgive him and I hoped it would be the same for the young lady as well, however, I was not able to deny the fact that he was genuinely trying to rectify his mistake and strongly clinging to this job, either out of guilt or his selfishness.

He tolerated everything Akira had to throw at him and when I thought things would finally get a little better, considering how they went as a couple in the orientation ceremony, everything fell to the dust upon the arrival of Hinoki Takahashi-san who was one of the closest person to Akira other than her father and me.

Things happened and now for three days, my lady has been searching for Haruto restlessly while ignoring all her daily work including the Academy as well. If not for Rihito-san staying in the mansion, unusually prolonging his stay this time, I doubt the young lady would not have considered wasting her time eating food.

Constant three days of search and calls all over the network she had in possession to find Haruto but all resulted in vain. After exiting the mansion Haruto seemed to vanish from the face of the earth which even made me suspicious and worried for him.

From what I could guess it was the heiress of the Ashikaga clan who must have helped and knowing how sharp young lady Akira is, she must have thought about it as well, that was why she was insisting on going out tonight only for Rihito-san put a condition and that was to eat dinner first.

Adding sleeping pills to her drink was not something I would have put my choice in but on Rihito-san's persistence, I had to go against my principles and for the second time, betray my lady.

"I would have to excuse myself and return to the young lady." Once she woke up, her mood would not be something any servant would like to face so I wanted to be on her side and ease her stress even a bit.

But just as I was about to turn my back, the familiar voice of Rihito-san who was at the table, reading a book of accountancy reached up to me, naturally halting my movement.

"Minami."

I reflexively looked at him when he spoke out my name in a softer tone this time, instantly regretting my decision since Master also had his book now resting on the table and his steps approaching me.

I had an obligation binding me to not move back otherwise I would have dashed away since knowing the deepest emotions I have concealed until now, this atmosphere and this particular man were dangerous for me to remain unchanged.

Despite my internal plea that Master walks away from me, he stopped right in front with his soft gaze looking at me with an expression of concern.

Yes, this is what I have always feared. These feelings I have long graved deep inside my heart for the man I knew I could never reach were again surfacing when he was giving me that look and was standing in such an intimate space. It was not like we were sharing indecent space but Rihito-san's mere presence around me makes my heart annoyingly faster and the look I usually carry to hide my real self crumbles at an extreme pace.

But seeing him as a man whom I desire was only limited to me since for Rihito-san, I was just like a younger sister. His hand which softly dropped over my head was a sign of it.

And it was...disheartening.

"You are doing well in those things which I should have been responsible for. Providing her with the familial warmth which Akira never asked for but desperately searched in silence. I could not find words to explain how gratified I am toward you, Minami."

He's an exceptional father, I would give him that, who worries for his daughter over the world and that was the factor which was the second reason that made me attracted to Rihito-san. His work ethic is still the first.

But truth be told, as a woman when he really doesn't see me as one, it hurts a little. However, as an ideal maid and a caretaker of the little princess I was, there was nothing that could make me feel low.

I nodded with a smile before answering in a low tone, "I am doing what I can for my lady. Thanks for your kind words, master."

Taking the weight removed from my head as a cue, I stepped back, bowed, and walked out of the room.

It would be after a long time that I would realize that this man was never dense toward my feelings rather...

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A/N: - I thought of adding another scene but writing Minami's one true POV took a long and so did the unrequited love life she carries.
Did you enjoy the little ship in this chapter? Do you guys think, it will sail or drown?

Comment down your thoughts~