Side Story – The Owner of the Box (2)

I didn’t open it. The lock just fell off on its own.

But it was enough of a change to shift the atmosphere. After all, the contents of the box I was curious about had opened on their own.

“…….”

“…Lilith?”

“I-I didn’t break it! Th-the lock was old and just fell off on its own.”

“Hmm…. I saw that too, so I know….”

“…….”

I’m curious.

Honestly, I’m really curious.

What on earth could be inside the box, and why it had been left untouched for so long.

All those questions flooded my mind at once.

“Are you going to open it…?”

“…Aren’t you curious, Isabelle?”

“I am curious, but… it’s not my item, after all….”

-Screech.

“W-wait a minute…! I-I didn’t say I’d look…!”

“It’s fine, I’ll take responsibility.”

Honestly, it’s partly the owner’s fault for leaving it in such a dilapidated state.

I’m not looking to steal anything from inside, just to satisfy my curiosity. Even Harold wouldn’t say anything for just that much.

As I thought that and opened the old box, the first thing that caught my eye was….

“…A collar?”

“…….”

It was a collar.

“A collar…. Why would something like this be in an old box…?”

“…….”

“Oh, I see something like dog ears and a tail here too. Is it a headband?”

“………….”

“Hmm, but what’s this round thing at the end of the tail? Lilith, do you know what this is?”

“…………………….”

Was this how Pandora felt when she opened the box that should never have been opened?

Separate from Isabelle, who was innocently questioning the white ears, tail, and collar, I was feeling quite a bit of confusion.

And for good reason, the items inside the box were things I had already encountered many times in this world… or more precisely, things I had ‘experienced’ many times.

“I really don’t know what the collar is for. Could it be something for a pet that Master-nim used to raise?”

“…Well, if you call it a pet, then maybe it is a pet.”

“But what are these dog ears and tail? Do pets really need things like these?”

“…….”

“And how do you attach this tail? Do you know, Lilith?”

I know very well. Ethan has already forced me to wear them several times.

…In fact, I’ve worn them voluntarily more often than by force.

‘No way, the root of Ethan’s Libido….’

Knowledge that should not be known. And a situation where I had learned knowledge from behind the game, which should have been buried forever.

“What’s this round bell-like thing? Is it a toy….”

-Thump.

“…Lilith?”

“Ah, it seems like these were things we shouldn’t have seen. Let’s just put them back, Isabelle.”

As someone who poured their life into Lumia Academy in my previous life, I was naturally happy to learn a hidden setting I didn’t know about.

But right now, I couldn’t fully enjoy that joy. My purest friend, Isabelle, was right next to me, on the verge of acquiring dirty and corrupted knowledge.

Thinking that one person in the world was enough to earn the dishonorable title of ‘Lewd Maid,’ I hastily closed the box and shoved it into a corner of the bookshelf.

“Ah, maybe they were items for a pet Master-nim raised before we came here. Perhaps he kept them for a long time as a memento or something?”

“Y-yes, that must be it. Then it’s probably best not to touch them.”

“Yeah, I think that’s best.”

…Fortunately, Isabelle innocently accepted the contents of the box as pet items and moved on.

Depending on how you interpret it, about 80% of that is correct. Both the ‘pet’ part and the ‘memento’ part.

“But what were the ears and tail?”

“…C-could they be the taxidermied ears and tail of a dead pet? M-maybe it was a bit difficult to taxidermy the whole body….”

“Hmm, is that so? Then that round bell earlier…”

“A-a toy, of course! Animals usually get interested in things that buzz and move, don’t they!”

“Huh? How do you know it moves?”

“…W-well, I think I might have seen something like it before. Ah, I think it was in the Dungeon City….”

…Actually, there are quite a few hidden in my and Ethan’s bedroom too, but.

To protect Isabelle’s innocence to the very end, we hastily finished cleaning the storage room and went upstairs.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Three days later, Blackwood Mansion.

“It’s been a while, Ethan. And my new daughter-in-law.”

“Welcome back, Father.”

“W-welcome back, Father-nim….”

As announced in the letter, Harold returned to Blackwood Mansion for the title succession ceremony.

I forced myself to suppress my awkward feelings and carefully bowed my head in greeting before him.

‘This guy, who suddenly looks so dignified, was doing *those* kinds of things with Tanathia behind the scenes….’

It was hard to meet his eyes because of what I’d seen in the storage room a few days ago. After all, it meant he was just as much of a perverted sexual deviant as the original Ethan.

Moreover, the origin of the items Ethan used to train Lilith in the original story was naturally revealed at that moment. If they were tools Harold originally used with Tanathia, it wouldn’t be strange for them to be in Blackwood Mansion.

Furthermore, there was also the possibility that the original Harold had simply left Lilith to be trained by Ethan because he himself was aroused by the sight and simply neglected it….

‘Ugh, that’s creepy.’

Even though it’s a future unrelated to me, it means such a possibility existed.

Honestly, treating him like before was impossible. To be frank, I never really felt comfortable around Harold to begin with.

As I thought that and shifted my gaze slightly downwards from his eyes.

-Peeking.

“Oh, it’s been a while, son…. N-new daughter-in-law, have you been well…?”

The mother-in-law Hosoin, peeking out from behind Harold and greeting Ethan and me, also came into view.

‘That one is still clinging to Harold like a barnacle wherever he goes.’

Does she really think she’s his wife just because Harold doesn’t say anything?

Well, if she’s choosing a path of hardship for herself, there’s no particular reason to stop her. We’re not attending the Academy together anymore, so she has to forge her own future.

…It certainly feels like they’re closer than last time, but Mezlen is probably just being unreasonable.

“It’s been a long time, Princess Mezlen-nim.”

“Welcome, Princess Mezlen-nim.”

“P-Princess-nim, not Mother-nim….”

“…Not yet, my dear.”

“……Yes, Harold-ssi.”

Harold cut off her usual ‘mother’ plea with a short reply.

…But the atmosphere was distinctly different from usual. It was a completely different side of Harold than before, who would always cut Mezlen off coldly and decisively whenever she acted like that.

‘……Wait, no way.’

At that moment, enough suspicions flowed through my mind to warrant doubt.

It didn’t take long for that doubt to turn into certainty.

“Princess-nim, I will guide you to the guest room. Your luggage, please….”

“No need for that, Dietmeyer.”

“…Yes. Understood, Master-nim.”

“Let’s go up, Mezlen.”

“Y-yes, yes… Harold-ssi….”

Harold’s statement that there was no need to guide her to a guest room.

The way he clearly called Mezlen by name instead of his usual pronouns, and even the way he ascended the stairs alongside her, matching her pace.

“…….”

“…….”

Faced with a difficult sight that was hard to believe even with their own eyes, Ethan and I could only stare blankly at the backs of the two.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Ethan, did you just see that?”

“…Yeah.”

Harold’s suddenly changed attitude towards Mezlen, and various other circumstances that could be felt.

Even with the average perceptiveness of an Imperial noble, it wasn’t difficult to infer the relationship between the two, so Ethan naturally felt certain about Harold and Mezlen’s relationship.

“No way, Father…. to take a stepmother….”

“…He said ‘not yet,’ didn’t he? And he didn’t even mention an engagement in the first place.”

“Still, it’s true that Princess Mezlen-nim moved Father’s heart the most. He’s never shown that kind of reaction to any woman other than Mother until now.”

“…….”

“He suddenly told us to prepare for the coronation ceremony in a hurry, so could this be the reason…?”

If he were to transfer his title after marriage, there would be many things to worry about.

In matters like the distribution of the ducal family’s assets or the transfer of power, the ‘wife’s’ share cannot be omitted. Even if the wife has no intention of receiving it.

So, he wants to quickly transfer the title to Ethan and get it over with. That way, he can be relatively free to get engaged or marry Mezlen.

“I’ve often thought that Father was immersed in the shadow of our deceased mother, but I never imagined he’d get a stepmother like this….”

“I-it’ll be fine, Ethan. Even though Princess Mezlen-nim is tactless and arrogant, she’s still a good person….”

“I know. I do know, but….”

“…….”

“Indeed, my head is quite complicated with all this.”

He wanted to support his father’s new beginning, but he was deeply confused about accepting a stepmother younger than himself.

Even after this coronation ceremony, the Blackwood Family was destined to be noisy for a while.