Botsuraku Youtei Nanode, Kajishokunin wo Mezasu - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Volume 4 Chapter 18

After finishing my bath, I wore the substitute clothes which were probably made with the best materials and followed the attendant to where Rahsa was.

I don’t have the slightest idea about where we were in the castle but the attendant had it all covered. I was escorted into the living room, where Rahsa sat comfortably, drinking tea, and Iris, who was blown away by the luxury of the room.

“Iris! I am glad. I thought you were kidnapped by prince Arch.”

“He isn’t that much of a dangerous person. But I guess it is true that I was saved by prince Rahsa. At that rate, he was going to make me stay at a very luxurious room where only royalties stay.”

So he really planned on doing it, that prince….

“Seriously, brother doesn’t know his limits so it’s troubling. I decided to look after Iris-san as long as she is in the castle. I can’t leave her to brother. There’s no way she would feel comfortable in a room like that. Brother could have at least thought of that much.”

You tried to do the same thing to me too, Rahsa-kun. I guess they are related after all.

“I heard you wanted to work at the castle during the winter break, Iris-san. I shall make arrangements for it. When do you wish to start?”

 
“Nn, as soon as possible. Being in this room for free for a few more days would burst my sorry heart.”

“Hahah, there’s no need to think of such things. But even still, I shall prepare for it as soon as I can then. You could also be able to work from tomorrow.”

“Really?! Ah, I am glad. Thank you, prince Rahsa. I am grateful to you as much as I am to Kururi. I will definitely, definitely return this favour!”

“You also don’t really have to worry about that. Being of the same rank as Aniki itself is.. very much an honor.”

He ended up blushing a little at the end there. Such a cutie.

“Iris-san, there’s one thing I must apologize for. Since you will be working for us, I wanted to make you do something meaningful but as a condition for taking you back from my brother, he told me to definitely give you work at the 6th floor of the castle.”

“Hmm? No, I am completely fine with it. I am grateful as it is.”

“The 6th floor of the castle isn’t normally open to people. Publicly, this castle is built up to the 5th floor. I want to request you to not tell anyone about it since it is what you would call a secret floor where only a portion of the important people can enter. I definitely feel there must be some kind of a reason behind brother wanting you to work there but, could I still ask you to do it?”

So he really did it, that prince. I kinda was half-joking about it….

I wonder what kind of a person the king is.

Is he the type who would easily support his son’s decisions?

I want to at least expect him to be very majestic. Be a king who doesn’t even pay any attention to the sweet girl sweeping the floors!

“Being able to work at such an amazing place, it would be great. I am good at cleaning so leave it to me!”

“Having you say that lifts a heavy burden off of my chest. When you get tired, please do not forget to rest. Of course, I have planned off days as well.”

“Yes!!”

Iris’ determination is dazzling. I won’t work, you know?

And it doesn’t pain me in any way doing so. Free food? All you can eat? I am not ashamed of it. In fact, I am such a person who would even request desert on top of that!

“I am glad that you’re fine with it, Iris-san. Aniki, how do you like our house? It is pretty nice, isn’t it? We had even hired the top designer to design the bathhouse.”

“Ah, yes, it is pretty nice. That bath too, it is of the level which you would be lucky to even use once in your lifetime.”

…..Although there was a weirdo there.

“I am glad you think of it that way. The baths in the Helan territory were the best. When I told my father of them, he was burning with passion to make an even better bath, so he even increased the quality of the hot water. If you, the hot spring god, say it is good, then it must have turned out pretty well.”

Hot spring god? Me? Dear me, I had become a god before I even realized….. Would it be too much to ask if I wanted to be a bit more cooler god? I guess it is, huh.

 
“If you’re not tired today, I would like to guide you through the capital. There are quite a lot of places I wanted to show you. Really, there are so many places!”

“Your feelings have reached me. I will probably be fine after a night’s rest so, I guess I will count on you for tomorrow.”

“Alright! Then it’s settled. I think I am quite aware of the things you might like so you can look forward to it!”

Seeing Rahsa speak so happily of it even made me happy.

I probably won’t find anyone else who would be this welcoming of me. I need to take good care of him.

After that, Rahsa, Iris, and I talked about different things and laughed together.

What drew my interest among them was the ghost stories Rahsa spoke about.

It looked like Iris was not so good at ghost related stuff so she shut her ears but I listened to all of it. And this……

“Since the construction of this castle, it has been a few hundred years and during this time, there have been various different dark incidents. Of course, since then it has been renovated and buildings have been added to it so you might not get that feel anymore.”

“Hoho? Well, in nobles’ residences there are numerous stories of the sort so, can I really expect something better here?”

“…….Ah-ahh, I can’t hear you”

Iris closed her eyes and shut her ears. I don’t think there is a need to close her eyes though.

From here on out, it will be among the two of us guys. It is completely fine if you add the indecent parts now.

“Then I shall talk about a certain woman’s episode today. A story about a waitress who looks really good in a white apron.”

As Rahsa snapped his fingers, all the lights in the room turned off and a candle on the table lit up.

“Heee!”

Iris, who is supposed to have closed her eyes, let out a light shriek.

Wait, how did he do that just now?! What kind of a trick is it?! I am more interested in that!

“That woman is called Chauvier. She was a commoner but after getting a job at the castle, she was very earnest every day about working. The woman who looked nice and clean, worked diligently without asking for any luxury, had attracted everyone’s attention and became an idol-like existence in the castle.”

*Gulp* I could hear Iris’ throat. So you are listening?

“Chauvier’s existence became more and more known around the castle and the nobles had started to visit the dining hall where she worked. One of those nobles fell in love with Chauvier and confessed his love. She had been rejecting at first but lost to the man’s love and decided to answer to his feelings. Both of them were close in age and soon got caught up in the whirlwind of love and entered their own world….”

“Hiiiii.. haa-haa..”

You’re listening with all your heart, aren’t you? And this isn’t even the scary part yet. Iris’ appearance was too interesting I couldn’t even properly pay attention to the story.

“But their happiness did not last long. The man with whom Chauvier fell in love with was from a family which was noble only in name and not wealth. And so the head of the family urged his son to marry a daughter of a wealthy merchant. A merchant who wants the name of the noble, and a noble who wants money. The arrangements had already been done and the man had no say in it. The two chose to break up as they had no choice. The man left the castle saying ‘I will never forget about you.’. After that, Chauvier couldn’t hold back her tears every night because of the sadness.”

“Awawaawaaa”

Iris became pale and started shaking.

Why?! It is still not the scary part! Block your ears properly too!

“The two kept living their lives, having such a sad fate, and before one knew it, a few decades had passed. The man had children with the daughter of the merchant and was living happily in his own way. But one day, he suddenly remembered about the woman he loved long ago. Then the man went out to look for Chauvier. But, Chauvier was no longer in the dining hall….”

Did Chauvier-san die? Hmm? Is this a sad story?

“But the man didn’t give up and searched for people who knew Chauvier all around the castle. But for some reason, when he mentioned that name, the people were afraid. Why? What happened to her? After asking around for a few days, he finally got the answer. He was told by a person who had a really menacing look- ‘Chauvier… don’t speak of that name. Something bad will happen’.”

Iris started hyperventilating. Are you okay?! Won’t it be better if you just didn’t listen?!

 
“He fell into despair. He realized that something must have happened to her. But even still, to not even speak of her name, is it some sort of a curse? He was also afraid but he couldn’t stop until he knew the truth of the story. Suppressing his fear, he sought after the truth. Then he got to know…. about her completely changed appearance.”

The story is entering its climax. Even I was a little on the edge now.

Iris… just let it go now.

I feel like, despite all she says, she might actually like this type of story.

“…. Chauvier had married a big noble who had a really important job in the castle. She was now living in quite the luxury. Hearing the name Chauvier reminded her of her commoner days so it was forbidden. One would be punished if they had not called her marchioness. The people of lower status were too afraid of that and didn’t speak of her name. And he also heard from the surrounding that she had ended up laughing, even to the point tears came out, when she got to know that the noble she was dating was just a noble in name and did not have any wealth. The man, after knowing the truth, left the castle in silence…..”

That is scary!! In a different meaning but, scary!!

I can’t sleep knowing women are so scary!!

…….Iris had already fainted. She probably didn’t even listen to the contents of the story and was probably done in by Rahsa’s tone and the room’s mood. Or rather, was it just me or did she look like she was having the most fun?

Because of listening to that weird story from Rahsa, I had difficulty falling asleep after going to bed.

And when I had finally fallen asleep, I was woken up. I heard a sound echo in the vast room.

And suddenly, I just remembered about Chauvier-san.

No, that isn’t even a ghost-related story. It was just a story of real-life scary things.

Even still, I timidly got up.

“Is someone there?”

Of course, there was no reply.

I am sure I locked the door with the key. I wonder if I am just strangely wary because I am not used to this room.

But when I looked at the window, it was open.

This is bad, it really looks like someone is in here.

I guess stuff like this also happens in the royal castle.

There were no weapons in reach. This is bad. I let my guard down too much.

Should I call someone? They said they will come immediately.

But, I don’t really want to make a big deal out of this.

Even if the other party has killing intent, if I just withstand the initial attack I will be able to deal with it.

Covering my body with magic just in case, I looked around the dark room.

Diagonally in my sight, about 5-6 meters away, I feel like someone is there behind the fat pillar.

I don’t remember incurring anyone’s wrath so soon after coming into the castle.

Just in case, I stuffed a pillow in my shirt and got off the bed.

“Come out already. Or else, leave.”

“You did well noticing. I shall praise you for that.”

Just as I had felt, there was someone behind the pillar. I had just predicted it and wasn’t sure so when someone actually spoke out, I got goosebumps.

“What do you want? I don’t remember doing anything which would bring about an assassination.”

“Assassination? I don’t plan on doing something so boring. What I want to do is, make love!”

Make love?! That is even more dangerous!!

“If that’s the case, then I shall protect my virginity. I also have a weapon at hand, I shall break that neck of yours.”

“I know you don’t have a sword on you.”

Guuu…. they know. That is quite a well-prepared attack.

More like, I don’t remember doing anything which would make someone come at night to make love either.

……, Hmm?  Could it be…. and also, that voice…

“Rail, is it?”

“Yep.”

He came out giving a refreshing smile. Ahh, so annoying.

I was really cautious and even had a pillow in front of my stomach to fight.

This bastard, his pranks are going too far.

“What did you come to do so late at night?”

I didn’t even feel like getting angry at this point so I just directly asked.

“To make love.”

When I grabbed his collar and started shaking him, he raised his hands and started to tell the truth.

“I meant to prank a little too but, assassination at night is also one of my specialties. But more importantly, Kururi-kun, you really are at interesting places during interesting times. The castle will get noisy from now but you being here would liven up the festival even more.”

“Festival? I don’t know what you’re talking about but leave me out of it.”

“That, I can’t do. This time, I purposefully woke you up as a warning. I will tell you more about it gradually depending on the situation but, do enjoy your time while you can. You have the capital date with Prince Rahsa tomorrow, right?”

“Date, you say… Well, it’s okay either way. Wait, why do you know that?”

“I have approximate knowledge of many things. Well then, it is pretty late so I will be going now.”

“And don’t come again at this time. Start from there.”

The annoying guy left.

I thought it was going to be a fun capital trip but now I am starting to feel it will turn into something bothersome.

Up till now, nothing quite good happened. I guess I will look forward to Rahsa’s reception tomorrow.

Proofreader: Ranthe