Chapter 47 : Playing Such a Cruel Prank

While Ershi was away from the mansion, Serena managed fairly well on her own.

She spent time reading books she liked, practicing magic alone, and chatting with the servants, so she wasn’t lonely.

At least, for two days, she held up just fine.

“Hey. Where’s Ershi?”

“Young Miss… If you’re asking about the Head, she went far away on business, remember?”

“Oh, right…”

But after three days had passed, Serena began to show strange symptoms.

She would wander around the mansion aimlessly, as if searching for someone, and she often zoned out while reading or doing other activities.

If it had stopped at that, it would have been fine.

It wouldn’t have escalated to her forgetting that Ershi was away, or filling the margins of her study books with Ershi’s name.

However, after a week had gone by.

“What? I look lonely? Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not lonely at all without Ershi! …What do you mean I should be a little more honest? Are you just going to keep saying nonsense?”

She even started talking to Pumpkin.

Naturally, no response came back, but seeing her talk to herself as if she were hearing voices made it impossible not to worry.

“Oh, what should we do about our poor Young Miss…!”

And so, Mary, who had been secretly peeking through a crack in the door, couldn’t help but cover her mouth.

Wasn’t it truly pitiful? 

To miss someone so much that you lose your mind?

“Without the Head’s love and affection, she’s become a hollow shell… Our poor Young Miss…”

“Did you really have to put it that way?”

Lynn retorted at Mary, who was wiping away tears.

Lynn, too, was just as worried about Serena. 

So was Eddie, who stood nearby.

“Isn’t there anything we can do for her? Eddie, you’ve got younger siblings about her age, right? What do you do in situations like this?”

“What do you mean, ‘what do I do’? None of my siblings have ever acted like that, so I wouldn’t know.”

To keep Serena from getting even worse, they tried every game they knew to keep her entertained.

But even Eddie, who had plenty of experience dealing with kids, eventually had to give up when faced with Serena’s condition.

“Just leave her be. Even if we brought in a doctor, it wouldn’t help. She’s probably going to stay like that until the Head comes back.”

Lynn’s words were correct.

If Ershi’s absence was the cause of Serena’s breakdown, only Ershi could bring her back to normal.

But simply waiting for her to return, when no one knew how long it would take, wasn’t an option—at least not for the three who were looking after Serena.

“Our poor Young Miss. To think the side effects of being so dearly loved by the Head would be this severe…”

In Mary’s eyes, her dear mistress was simply pitiful, but Lynn and Eddie had slightly different thoughts.

They understood the concern, but they couldn’t believe Mary saw Ershi’s actions as mere affection.

‘Tsk, haah~. I keep telling you, Serena needs to be filled up first thing in the morning.’

‘Are books fun? I can show you something even more fun…’

‘I’ll make you all soft and squishy. Fufufu.’

Though they respected Ershi as their master and acknowledged her as a good employer, her excessive affection was another matter entirely—they couldn’t excuse it.

If she weren’t the Lord, she probably would’ve been thrown in prison a long time ago.

Anyway, they needed to find a way to help Serena before things got any worse.

At that moment.

Bang!

“Where’s Serena?!”

With a loud bang, an all-too-familiar voice rang through the mansion from the first floor.

Everyone was startled by the sudden shout, but one person reacted faster than anyone else.

It was none other than Serena.

Throwing Pumpkin aside — who she’d been chatting with — she dashed out of the room, her short legs moving with impressive force.

“…Ah, wait a second.”

Watching her back, Lynn had a sudden, uneasy feeling.

Ershi must have missed Serena just as much — no, maybe even more.

When it came to Serena, Ershi could easily turn into a complete pervert.

If the one she’d missed so much suddenly appeared before her eyes.

“Hey, catch the young lady!” 

“Huh? Why?” 

“If we leave her alone, our lord’s gonna become a criminal!”

They rushed after her, but it was already too late by the time they caught up.

“You…! Why are you only coming back now—?!”

Because the moment Ershi saw Serena, she scooped her up and sprinted to her room.

Like a person possessed by madness, Ershi lost all reason, and the first thing she did upon entering the room was lock the door.

“Huff, huff…”

Lynn followed to the door, wondering if there was still a chance to save her.

“I can’t hold back anymore…! Come here!” 

“W-What are you doing?! Are you crazy?!” 

“Yeah! I’m crazy! Ahh, this squishy softness… smooch!” 

“Hyaah…! N-No, stop…” 

“We’re not done yet! Show me that plump little belly right now!” 

“Kyaaah!”

Only desperate screams hinting at a terrible scene inside could be heard.

Ahh, it was too late.

To be completely overwhelmed by the very person she had longed for — if that wasn’t a tragedy, then what was?

“Lee-Lynn? What’s happening to the young lady right now?” 

“I don’t know. Anyway, go call the butler. If this keeps up, it’s seriously going to cross a line.”

It’s said that Ershi’s harassment finally ended after about ten minutes.

When Ord, who came late to the scene, scolded her heavily, Ershi only smiled happily, as if all her accumulated fatigue had melted away.

“Pervert…! Beast…!”

Of course, Serena beat her up thoroughly afterwards.

*

“Hmm. Home really is the best.”

Maybe because she’d been away for so long, the office chair felt particularly comfortable.

They say life outside is hell — and they weren’t wrong.

At least in this mansion, there were no people like Princess Rosiria.

Just thinking about that woman made her blood boil again.

The comfort she had regained thanks to Serena began to waver once more.

Forget it. 

She’s someone I’ll never have to see again anyway.

“Ord, nothing happened at the mansion while I was away, right?”

“Yes. Except for the part where you relentlessly tormented Miss Serena.”

“‘Tormented’ sounds harsh. I was just celebrating our reunion in my own way.”

Especially since it looked like she had eaten and slept well without me, her body was slightly chubbier than before.

Yet when I hugged that still-delicate body…!

“…Ahem, ahem. Well, maybe I did go a little overboard. I should’ve been more restrained.”

When Ord showed his clenched fist, Ershi’s briefly wandering reason returned.

Right. 

No matter how much I missed her, that was going too far.

Feeling genuine remorse, she sincerely reflected on her actions.

Seeing that, Ord also unclenched his fist and sighed.

“So, did you get what you were after?”

“Of course. What do you think I suffered all that for?”

Out of pride, I pulled out the Endrago from the subspace magic hole and placed it on the desk.

It was the size of a human forearm and as thick as a thigh.

Despite looking like a turnip or kudzu root, its pure white surface was so sleek it almost seemed to glisten.

“Hah. I, Ord, never thought I’d see this with my own eyes in my lifetime.”

Even Ord, who had lived for over 60 years, widened his eyes at the sight of the Endrago.

It made sense — normal people might not even see one in their entire lives.

If I told him I actually found two of them, he’d probably be even more shocked.

“Are you planning to feed this to Miss Serena?”

“That’s right. Why? Are you feeling reluctant or something?”

“As if. I was just wondering if Miss Serena would eat it willingly.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to turn it into a potion.”

I had tried it myself, and honestly, the taste was awful, even if the effects were amazing.

It felt like chewing on tree bark — not that I’ve actually done that — but it was that hard and tasteless.

There’s no way Serena would eat something like that easily, especially when she even refuses to eat carrots sometimes.

“But today, I’m just going to rest. After riding in carriages every day, my butt feels like it’s about to explode.”

“Understood. Then I’ll go prepare some tea and dessert.”

“Ah, thanks.”

After Ord left the room, I put the Endrago back into the subspace magic hole,then dove into bed and lay on my back.

Yeah, even if it’s a little smaller, my bed here feels way comfier.

But still.

‘…That’s odd. Why does the blanket smell like Serena?’

Did she sleep in my bed while I was gone or something? 

That little rascal.

Thanks to that, my mood improved a lot, and my eyelids started to feel heavier.

Ah… Ord said he was preparing snacks.

Even if I’m tired, I shouldn’t fall asleep yet.

“…Well, just for a little while should be fine.”

Though my mind told me to stay awake, I couldn’t resist the fatigue and eventually closed my eyes.

And when I opened them again.

“Ah…”

I found myself making eye contact with Serena, who was holding a fountain pen in her hand.

Still half-asleep and groggy, I froze — giving me just enough time to guess what had just happened.

Let’s see. 

She was standing there with a pen, right in front of me while I was sleeping.

Plus, judging from how Ord was desperately holding back laughter beside her.

“…Bring me a mirror.”

“H-Here you go. Pfft.”

Hoping against hope, I took the hand mirror and checked…But my hopes were quickly crushed.

Either I had slept for a really long time, or Serena had just been really quick.

My face was covered with ink lines, and worst of all, the word “Pervert” was written huge across one cheek.

Ha. 

What a cute little prank she pulled.

Cute enough to make me want to smack her!

“What are you going to do about this?! You know this kind of ink doesn’t come off easily!”

“Not my problem. It’s punishment for manhandling me!”

“You little…!”

I went all the way to a foreign country for her, and this is the thanks I get?!

“Hmph! Bleh!”

Whether she heard me or not, Serena stuck her tongue out at me and ran away.

Ah, seriously… that little brat.