Chapter 31
She wasn't wearing the familiar nun's habit, so I couldn't recognize her right away, but looking at her features, it was definitely Daisy.
This didn't even seem to be near the orphanage, so why was Daisy sitting here in the rain, looking all melancholic?
"How did you recognize her?"
It was raining and must have been hard to make anyone out.
"Mr. Jelly recognized her."
Aha. I nodded in understanding. Last time when I almost got lost at the temple, Jelly found the way for me. He must have found her by scent this time too. As expected of a werewolf, it's all about the sense of smell.
Then is this an event? Jelly discovering and saving a despondent Daisy in the rain, building up something between them... Daisy must have been a character scheduled to appear briefly as a sub-couple with Jelly in the original work or a side story. Now she's become a character interfering with love because I ruined the original story.
Aha.
"Jelly. Will you go out and bring her here?"
"Me? It's cold so I don't want to."
Jelly buried himself in some fur he'd gotten from who knows where. Where did that come from? Don't tell me he secretly slipped one in at the clothing store earlier? How fitting. Well, buying him one piece of clothing isn't a waste...
But saying he doesn't want to go because it's cold is a bit annoying, isn't it? Is this guy really the sub-male lead? A werewolf, a mage, and even that rascal-like appearance—he's got all three qualities, and yet he's throwing a tantrum saying he doesn't want to go out when his partner is standing in the rain? No, this isn't Jelly's fault. It's all my fault for monopolizing the route and twisting the flow.
I'm too annoyed. I'll just go myself. Let me try to get on Daisy's good side and clear up the past.
"Miss, I'll go instead."
"It's fine. Stay with Pudding."
I handed Pudding, who was sleeping on my lap, to Kanna and got off the carriage, opening an umbrella. I really need to thank the clothing store owner who gave me the umbrella earlier. I wonder if she made it home safely?
I strode up and stopped right in front of Daisy. Her lips were blue from being out in the rain for who knows how long. She's going to collapse with a fever tomorrow at this rate. I tilted the umbrella toward Daisy.
Daisy seemed to think I was a passing stranger, apologizing and saying she'd move aside. Who is she worrying about right now?
"Daisy."
Whether she recognized my voice or because I called her name, Daisy, who was half out of it, slowly lifted her head.
"Lady Evangeline... How did you... how are you here..."
She was trembling last time, and she's still trembling. How terrible was the original Evangeline's personality before the possession? She just implanted trauma into a perfectly normal child.
The fact that I'm the one who has to clean up that mess was disheartening.
"I was looking for you."
It's a miracle we actually found her. If I hadn't come with Jelly, I would have just waited at the orphanage in vain, and Daisy would have been sitting in the rain all day. This is why one wrong step makes romance fantasy protagonists go completely off track. It really hit home that this is a romance fantasy world.
Now I need to coax Daisy to open up. First, let's get her on the carriage, and it would be better to take her to the Rohanson mansion.
I tried to help her up, but suddenly Daisy grabbed my skirt tightly.
"I have a favor to ask. You said you'd grant me a wish."
What? Oh. Before we parted, I did say that. I wanted to compensate for the bullying and come to some agreement for her not to go around talking about what Evangeline had done.
I was about to ask what the favor was when suddenly I had a good idea. No, not good, but a bad idea.
I was going to propose first, but Daisy said she had a favor to ask first. Plus, I already badmouthed myself to Gabriel and Hena, so the scales don't balance.
So instead of granting the wish unconditionally, I should say I'll grant the wish if she tells me what she said to those two.
"Alright. But there will be a price."
It felt like I was finally living up to the Evangeline name after a long time. I abandoned my conscience ages ago, so I'm fine.
"You know what I want, right?"
How would she know. I just asked that to get any answer. Evangeline looks like she'd want something like a massive amount of gold coins! Become my servant! So I'll pretend to want something big, then later scale it down and ask her to tell me the content of the conversation, and she'll think that's acceptable and spill everything!
"I'll... I'll give you myself."
Cough. I almost choked on nothing. That... that is a big thing.
But why is Daisy saying she'll give herself when she's still scared of me? Don't tell me the shaky bridge effect got mixed with a romance fantasy device.
"So please, help me."
I couldn't tell if Daisy's face was wet from rain or covered in tears. Her desperate voice made the words I was about to say disappear.
"Alright, fine. I'll listen."
I reached out my hand, telling her to hold on and get up. Daisy hesitated for a moment, then took my hand.
"First, get in the carriage."
Daisy, having boarded the carriage, looked at Kanna in shock, and by the time she saw Jelly, she had no strength left to be surprised, so she sat quietly in the corner.
Kanna also glanced at Daisy, then fussed over me as I followed her in.
"Goodness, you're all wet."
I just had a few drops splashed on me, but Daisy looked like she'd just been rescued from drowning. It seems that whatever Daisy said to Hena made Hena's condition deteriorate, and Kanna was treating Daisy coldly because of that influence.
Kanna took the fur Jelly was wearing, and instead of putting it on me, I draped it over Daisy. Jelly let out a hollow laugh as his coat passed through several hands and ended up with Daisy.
"Hey, your good days are over too."
"Shut up, Mr. Jelly."
What? Did I hear that wrong? Surprised, I looked at Kanna, but she was acting innocent as if she hadn't said anything harsh. I must have heard wrong, right?
"Long time no see?"
Jelly called out to Daisy. It felt like I was witnessing someone else's romance, so my heart raced. Daisy didn't respond.
"Are you ignoring our relationship?"
Our relationship! Our relationship! I pretended not to be interested in the two of them while focusing all my attention on them.
"I wouldn't exactly call it a relationship."
"We held hands and ran away together."
"Who held hands...!"
Daisy was about to shout but then closed her mouth. Last time Daisy was terribly scared so I was worried, but seeing them now, they were a perfect match for a sub-couple. A grumbling female character and a smooth-talking male character? That's a classic combination with a long history.
I thought they'd keep bickering, but Daisy shut her mouth tight, so the conversation wasn't progressing, so I decided to get to the main point.
"So what's this favor you mentioned?"
Daisy clenched her clasped hands.
"I'm... an orphan."
This is Daisy revealing her past to get closer to Jelly. It's progressing smoothly even with me getting in the way.
"I was abandoned at such a young age that I don't remember it, and I grew up in an orphanage. Fortunately, the director was a good person, so even now that I'm independent, I still visit the orphanage occasionally to see the director."
Since I already heard all this information by threatening the butler, I don't know how to react. If I say I investigated behind her back, she'll despise me as befitting a villainess. I'll just quietly keep my mouth shut and pretend I don't know.
"So I visited the orphanage today too, and everyone at the orphanage had disappeared."
What? Why is there suddenly a disappearance case in a romance fantasy?
I do have one guess. Daisy and Jelly escaped from slave traders, right? There's a possibility that incident could recur using that same material.
"My lady, this is my wish. Please bring back the director and the children."
"Wow, sounds annoying just hearing it."
That brat Jelly's mouth! Why is he stomping on the perfectly progressing romance line with all four feet?
No, thinking about it, Daisy's story is deep, but the female lead is Kanna. Sub-couples only get involved later in the story, so it makes sense that he's not interested yet. Jelly, you're going to regret this terribly later.
"Fine. I'll find them."
I answered in Jelly's place while glaring at him. Jelly is a guest at my house anyway, so he has to do what I say. Don't feel bad about being used too much, it's all for your future.
Since I ruined Kanna's romance line, I want to at least properly set up a sub-couple. Kanna, I'll find the most amazing person in this world for you. Gabriel is tied to my lifeline, after all...
But will Kanna even date anyone? Looking at what she's doing now, she's the original female lead who's obsessed with the villainess and goes around shouting "Friendship over love!"
"Do you have any guesses?"
"Troy."
"Troy?"
There was a possibility it was the same slave traders who took Daisy. I asked if she had any guesses, and suddenly a person's name came out. Is that the name of a slave trader?
"He's the director's son. Her biological son. That bastard must have done something to the director and the children."
Daisy went on to explain about Troy.
The kind director's son supposedly had a nasty and eccentric personality since childhood. She said he had a severe inferiority complex because the director loved not only her own child but also the other children equally.
Especially toward children the director cared about, he supposedly didn't hesitate to use violence.
"Once, he poured hot stew on a friend's arm who was about to be adopted, scarring them so the adoption fell through."
He bullied children who were a bit chubby by calling them pigs and not letting them eat, and whenever there was a chance to catch a noble's eye during volunteer work, he tried to take it all for himself.
"And he said it was fine since he was the director's son. No matter how much the director scolded him, he never changed."
What kind of trash like that exists in the world?
"After growing up a bit, the director and the children couldn't stand it anymore and kicked him out. Even after that, he kept coming back, telling us to stop 'this kind of thing' and demanding to shut down the orphanage."
And given romance fantasy logic, it seemed likely that Troy had close ties to slave traders. Perhaps Troy was involved in the disappearance of the children from Daisy's orphanage.
Just you wait, Troy. I've never seen your face, but I'm going to give you a taste of villainess-style justice.