Volume 3 Chapter 4: My Life as a Captive Continues Part II (1/2)

Topic: The bread from the light meal

“Hey, who made the bread that you gave me in that light meal earlier?”

“Ah, I bought that from a bakery in the outskirts of town, but I guess it wouldn’t fit the tastes of a high and mighty noble lady –”

“What? A bakery in the outskirts of town!? Where is it!? It was really good, so I want to go buy it myself sometime if I can!”

“… You’re really strange.”

Topic: My interests and talents

“I like taking care of my field.”

“Field? A flower field?”

“Mm, no, a vegetable field.”

“… Why?”

“Why? Because it’s fun.”

“…”

“I’m also sure that I’m the best at climbing trees and fishing.”

“… Are you really a noble lady?”

Topic: The other countries Rufus passed through before coming to this country

“Hey, you said that you passed through a lot of different countries before coming here, but how many countries have you been to exactly?”

“How many exactly? Well, I guess all of them in the area.”

“Hey, what kind of countries have you been to? I want to hear about them.”

“Alright, but I don’t think they’ll be the bright, sparkling stories you’re imagining. I travelled through the dark, dirty underside of society, after all. Do you still want to hear about them?”

“The underside of society!? A hardboiled world, right?!”

“‘Hard’, huh… and why are your eyes sparkling? What the hell are you expecting?”

************

I was very interested in Rufus’ stories – they were filled with things I had never even heard of before. As I begged him for more and more stories, a great deal of time passed before I even realized it.

“Wait, if you aren’t actually a butler, does that mean that Rufus is a fake name too?” I asked, wondering about it all of a sudden.

“Yeah, what would be the point my infiltration with dark magic if I used my real name?”

I guess that makes sense.

“Then what’s your real name?”

“I have plenty of names. I use whichever one suits me best at the time.”

Ooh, as expected from someone who lived their life in the hardboiled underside of society!

“What’s your original name?” I ask.

Rufus draws up close. Before I could react, Rufus’ face was right up in front of mine. Ooh, this is the first time I’ve seen his face from up close. I can really make out his lady-killer looks well from this distance.

“I don’t have an original name. After all, I’m not like you people – I don’t have parents. The first memories I have are of scavenging through garbage in the slums.”

Ooh, he even has a mole under his eye – a standard feature for a lady-killer. Amazing, this guy even beats out Keith, who’s a lady-killer archetype just like him. And those eyes I can see through his lenses…

“He-e-y. Why are you all frozen? Was it too shocking of a story for a young noble lady?”

“… Really pretty…”

“… What?”

“Your eyes! Your eyes are really pretty, they’re the colour of a clear sky.”

“…”

When I look at them up close, I can see that Rufus’ eyes are clear and blue like an unclouded sky. They were incredibly pretty, lit up by the sun that was gradually setting. I end up transfixed despite myself.

“… You’re really…”

“Hm?”

Rufus reaches out a hand to softly touch my cheek. It makes me feel a bit ticklish to be caressed by his pretty fingertips.

Were there crumbs on my cheek or something? And I feel like Rufus is slowly getting closer to my face… but is it just my imagination?

That’s when my stomach gives a gurgle. Even if I had been snacking, it was dinnertime. It looks like my stomach is telling me that it’s time to eat.

At the surprisingly loud sound, Rufus stops moving. His shoulders begin to tremble again. After a little while, the trembling dies down and he says ‘Shall I have people bring up dinner?’ with a laugh.

************

Yesterday, I had to move to a different room to have dinner, but today it seems it’s alright to eat in the room. At Rufus’ orders, the servants that had brought in the food yesterday brought dinner up to the room.

But since eating alone is generally dull, I invited Rufus to eat with me. He agreed readily.

“Oh yes, what is Lana doing? I don’t see her.”

Rufus is doing mostly everything that Lana did yesterday. I haven’t seen her since she brought in Selena last night.

“Ah, I’m just having her do a different job. Nothing to worry about.”

I see, that’s good. But I do want to talk with Lana again.

After that, I begged Rufus to tell me more about the foreign countries he went to.

He talked about towns where all the houses were made of stone, about a town with a river flowing through it where everyone travelled with boats, about the thrilling things he did where he worked. It was all incredibly fascinating.

“Ah, your stories of foreign countries are really interesting.”

“Your stories are interesting too. It’s a total waste that you’re a noble lady.”

That was a compliment, right? I assume that it’s a compliment and thank him.

“I’ve never travelled abroad, but hearing your stories makes me want to.”

I never took a step outside of Japan in my previous life too, so if possible, I want to travel outside of my country in this life.

“Ha ha, I’m starting to feel like I might like travelling around to all those different countries again, if it’s with you.”

I was surprised. My father’s overprotective, and my mother doesn’t approve of me going outside. She always says that ‘Our shame will become publicly known,” or something like that. I don’t really get it.

I always thought that travelling abroad was a pipe dream. So I was really happy to hear him say that.

“Really!? Then please, bring me with you next time!”

When I look at Rufus with sparkling eyes, he looks troubled. Huh? Oh no. I took him seriously, but I guess he might’ve just been being polite.

“I’m from a different world than you. There’s no way we could go together,” Rufus responds.

A different world?

“A different world? What are you talking about? You’re right in front of me.”

“…”

“We’re talking together and eating together. We’re in the same world, aren’t we?”

I look at Rufus in confusion – I have no idea what he’s saying. He still looks troubled. Hm? What’s the matter?

“You’re really a strange person. Alright, I get it. I’ll bring you with me next time.”

Yay! I got a travel buddy for going abroad!

“Alright, it’s a promise. Pinky promise!”

When I hold out my pinky to him, he looks confused.

Oh right, that’s not something people do in this world. Uh, how did people make promises in this world…?

Oh right! I head to the shelf that held the dress I wore when I arrived here. I stick my hand in one of its pockets. It’s there! I take it out and head back to Rufus.

“Here you go. I’ll give this to you as a symbol of our promise.”

There’s no such thing as pinky promises in this world, but there is something like that. You just give the other person something of yours.

“… This is a brooch?” Rufus asks, gazing at the item I placed in his hand.

It’s the brooch with a beautiful blue stone I had bought at the school festival at the urging of my friends.

“It’s a very pretty colour right? It’s even similar to your eye colour. The colour of a clue blue sky.”

“…”

I take the brooch from Rufus’ palm.

“And see, if you make the light hit it like this, it turns light blue. Just like my eyes.”

I place the brooch back onto Rufus’ palm.

“It becomes both your eye colour and mine… I think it’s perfect as a symbol of our promise.”

I thought it was a pretty good plan so I look towards Rufus expectantly. But he just looks genuinely troubled.

Wait, why? Was something wrong? As I was wondering, confused, suddenly, Rufus’ arm snakes out towards me and pulls me towards him. Before I realized it, I was pressed against his chest.

The next moment, he lifted up my legs as well – in the end, I was held up completely in the air.

And I feel like the way he’s carrying me is something I’ve only ever seen in manga and games… a princess carry.

Wait, what, what is this? As I was panicking, for some reason, he took me to the bed and placed me down.

“When I’m with you, for some reason, my chest grows hot. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this way.”

Huh? What’s with this position? Before I realized it, I was lying face-up on the bed. And Rufus was leaning over me. Rufus had ditched his glasses at some point too, and I could make out his blue eyes very clearly without the lenses.

Ah, his eyes are really pretty. For a moment, I forget about this situation that I don’t really understand and lose myself in his eyes.

“Hey, won’t you become mine?”

A clear sky blue – a very splendid colour.

“If you look at me with those sparkling eyes, I won’t be able to complain no matter what you do to me,” Rufus says, burying his face in my neck. I returned to my senses at the sensation of his breath on my skin.

W – what is with this situation… wait, could this be…!? Pinning me against the bed like this… could he be trying to make me sleep with his dark magic!?

I had completely let my guard down, thinking that he was a good person, but he was the mastermind behind my kidnapping, and he did say that he would make me disappear… at this rate, I’ll end up sleeping for days again!

Well, I guess I did feel really refreshed after being forced into a two-day sleep last year, but my body got all stiff. I’ll probably be fine if it’s just for another two days, but if it’s for numerous weeks, I’m worried that my muscles will deteriorate…

“Um, Rufus… wait a second… ow.”

When I try to open my mouth, a small jolt of pain shoots up my neck. I feel like it’s a sensation I’ve felt before… what is it? Was I bitten by a bug or something?

While I was distracted by the pain I felt, someone knocked loudly on the door.

“Rufus-sama, are you there?” Lana says in a loud voice.

Rufus, still draped over me, clicks his tongue in irritation.

“I’m busy,” Rufus says.

“It’s a very urgent matter,” Lana insists loudly, refusing to give up.

In the end, Rufus is the one to give in. He gets off of me and heads to the door.

“It was just getting to the good part,” he sighs, opening the door.

“An urgent letter has arrived for you,” Lana says with a smile.

“Where is it?” says Rufus, looking displeased. Lana’s smile doesn’t falter.

“I’ve prepared it in your room. I believe it’s for the best if you verify its contents as soon as possible,” says Lana. Rufus’ eyes widen.

“… You… could you be possibly… well, I guess it doesn’t matter anymore,” sighs Rufus deeply, leaving the room.

Lana enters the room.