Chapter 45: Leia’s Antics, A Jealous Maid, and a Surprising Revelation

The intense gaze from beside her was almost palpable. Sayo tried to ignore it, keeping her head down and pretending to be engrossed in her book, but the girl watching her wasn’t easily deterred. Sayo didn’t dislike Leia—in fact, she rather liked her—but having captured Leia’s attention and having her constantly cling to Sayo was a bit… much.

“Hoo~”

“Eek?!”

“My Lady…?”

“Leia, what was that?”

A sudden puff of hot air against her ear startled Sayo. The strange sensation sent a shiver down her spine. She almost cried out, forgetting they were in a library, but managed to swallow the sound. ‘That was… weird. Why did she suddenly blow in my ear?’ Even Ahrin, standing quietly behind her, looked surprised.

“Because, Sayo was so deep in thought, I thought she didn’t notice I was here~ So I wanted to let her know~!”

Leia grinned, a picture of cheerful innocence. That face, that innocent, childlike smile, was the problem. It disarmed Sayo every time she was about to scold Leia. ‘Well, she is cute, and I can’t bring myself to be mean to someone smiling so sweetly.’

“Anyway, please be quiet. And don’t just stand there hovering. Sit down. We’re in a library.”

“But~ there’s no point in being here if Sayo doesn’t play with me~”

“Well~ I don’t even know what’s so fun about this place, and honestly, it’s not that fun~”

Leia seemed to comply, pulling up a chair next to Sayo and sitting down, resting her chin on her hands. She continued to stare intently at Sayo. ‘Having those sparkling eyes on me for hours is going to be a bit much.’

‘Sigh…’ Sayo inwardly sighed and closed her book. Even though Sayo hadn’t invited her, Leia had followed her to the library, so Sayo felt obligated to entertain her, at least a little. ‘If I can find something to pique her interest, maybe she’ll stop staring at me.’

“Leia, follow me. Let’s find a book for you.”

“I said I don’t like them~, but… fine. I’ll give it a try since you’re choosing~”

‘Let’s think as we walk.’ ‘What kind of book would Leia enjoy?’ Magic, math, and philosophy were definitely out of the question… ‘History? I like it, but would Leia be interested in past events?’ ‘World cultures? That might be interesting, but I doubt Leia would want to read about it when she could experience it firsthand.’ ‘The only option left is fiction, I suppose.’ Sayo took Leia’s hand and led her to the fiction section.

Unsure of Leia’s preferences, Sayo grabbed several books at random—romance, biographies, mysteries, political thrillers—and handed them to Leia. Leia’s pout as she reluctantly began to read was rather cute. ‘At least she’ll be quiet for a while.’ Sayo picked up her own book again.

In the end, Sayo succeeded in keeping Leia occupied in the library. However, instead of being captivated by the books, Leia started nodding off while reading. ‘Well, as long as the end result is the same, the method doesn’t matter.’ Sayo had accomplished her goal.

Time passed, and when Nell arrived, Sayo woke Leia, who had slumped over asleep. Nell’s expression hardened momentarily upon seeing Leia, but she quickly composed herself and greeted Sayo as usual. ‘They’re still awkward around each other, probably because they haven’t spent much time together.’ Nell was shy, and Leia didn’t pay much attention to people she wasn’t interested in, so it seemed like it would take a while for them to become friends.

Euru arrived shortly after, and judging by her reaction, she and Leia wouldn’t become friends easily either. ‘But if they spend time together like this, they’ll eventually warm up to each other.’

Sayo had been spending her days with Euru and Nell, and now with Leia added to the mix, things felt a bit more lively. ‘Knowing Leia, she’ll probably visit me every week now.’

“Sayo~!” As they left the library, Leia hugged Sayo from behind. The slight weight and soft sensation against Sayo’s back were… quite pleasant.

“Ooh, I sense some burning stares~” Leia’s voice, right above Sayo’s head, was laced with amusement. ‘This is not appropriate behavior on the street, so I need to say something.’

“Lei, please refrain from excessive displays of affection in public spaces.”

“I waited for you like you asked, and now you’re telling me to stop again~”

‘Well, you keep doing these things, so I have to keep telling you to stop.’

“By the way, this has been bothering me for a while now, but what’s with calling you ‘Sayo’?”

“It’s just a nickname! ‘Sayoreinne’ is too long and not very cute~”

“…You haven’t known each other long, but you’re already calling each other by nicknames?”

“Leia just decided to call me that. And what do you mean, ‘calling each other by nicknames’?”

“You’re calling Leia by the nickname ‘Lei,’ aren’t you?”

“Was I?” Sayo hadn’t even realized she was doing it. Being constantly called “Sayo” by Leia must have influenced her subconsciously.

“Then, would it be alright if I called Sayoreinne by a nickname too?”

“Me too.”

“I don’t mind what you call me. Call me whatever you like.”

“And like ‘Lei,’ it would be nice if you called us by nicknames too.”

That was fine, but…

“But Nell’s name is already short.”

“…I’m fine. Please treat me as you always have.”

Nell opted out. Next was Euru.

“Euru, do you have a preferred nickname? If so, I’ll call you that.”

Sayo couldn’t think of anything. ‘Eu…? That’s weird. Uro…? Like a snake? Also weird. Ero…? Definitely not.’

“I… don’t have one.”

“Ah, do you have a nickname you’d like?”

“…Nothing comes to mind.”

‘Seriously?’

“Ahaha, you’re both so silly~! Right, Sayo?”

Sayo agreed but couldn’t say it out loud.

Nell and Euru seemed rather disappointed that they couldn’t come up with nicknames. ‘What’s the big deal about nicknames anyway?’ A girl’s sensibilities were truly a mystery.

After another enjoyable day, Sayo returned to the dormitory. She collapsed onto the sofa, stretching out. ‘Being in my own comfortable space is the best.’

As she relaxed, Ahrin approached, her head down. ‘What’s wrong?’

Suddenly, Ahrin hugged Sayo, burying her face in Sayo’s chest. Sayo felt Ahrin’s small body trembling slightly. ‘She seemed fine just a moment ago. What’s going on?’ Ahrin’s arms tightened around Sayo. Sayo hugged her back, gently stroking her soft brown hair.

“Ahrin? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“No… It’s nothing. Nothing happened.”

“Then why are you like this?”

“I just… I just wanted to do this. Could we stay like this for a while?”

“Of course. Not just for a while, for as long as you want.”

Sayo held Ahrin close, waiting for her to calm down and explain.

“I… It’s strange, but when I see you close to Lady Nell, Lady Euru, or Lady Leia… I feel… strange. My heart races… my body tenses up… I feel suffocated, and… I want to be there with you… I don’t know. I’ve been okay until now… but today was especially hard.”

“Ahrin…”

“Why… why do I feel this way? You’re smart, so do you know?”

Ahrin looked up, tears welling in her eyes. Sayo gently wiped them away with her finger.

‘Is this… what I think it is?’ It was too early to jump to conclusions. Sayo had made… well, not many, but some precious friends recently. But Ahrin had no one. Being an orphan, she had no parents. She’d spent a short time at the Marquisate, but it was unlikely she had any close friends there.

And Sayo hadn’t seen her interact much with the other servants. Sayo was arguably Ahrin’s entire world. ‘Is that why, in the game, Ahrin remained loyal to Sayoreinne despite all the insults and abuse? Though even then, she didn’t stay until the very end.’

Perhaps Ahrin’s jealousy—though Sayo couldn’t be certain—stemmed from the insecurity of having Sayo, her only significant connection, pay attention to others, neglecting her in the process.

Without any certainty, Sayo decided to assume that was the case. Right now, her priority was to comfort Ahrin, this small, trembling girl in her arms.

‘But Ahrin said “until now,” which means she’s been feeling this way for a while… and I didn’t notice at all. Have I been neglecting Ahrin? Have I not been paying enough attention to her?’