# 100
100. That Still Strange Guest (14)
Today as well, Ethan lazed around until lunchtime. Since he had skipped breakfast, I coaxed and persuaded him to eat lunch. After finishing his meal, he buried himself back in bed, but I didn't scold him this time. Ethan was the type to charge headfirst into any situation, so seeing him so deflated meant it definitely wasn't an easy problem.
The conversation I had with Vincent yesterday ended vaguely.
Before leaving, he left me with one remark.
'Don't tell Ethan.'
I could understand without him specifying what not to tell. He meant not to say that he had been worried. Truly, such dishonest people. I only hoped that their relationship would recover smoothly.
With Ethan holed up in his room, the day felt leisurely. So in between, I went to see Robert. However, Robert was taking a nap again, and only Nanny welcomed me.
"Welcome, Anne. Where is Count Christopher?"
"He's taking a nap."
"Then, since both you and I are free, shall we snack on something?"
Nanny lifted a plate filled with cookies. I readily nodded.
Sitting across from each other at the table, we picked at cookies and chattered about this and that. Nothing significant, but quite enjoyable.
While talking away like that, yesterday's events suddenly came to mind.
"Nanny. Have you ever fought with someone close to you?"
Nanny's eyes rounded, and she set down her teacup. Then she gazed into empty space for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.
"Hmm, it was a very long time ago, but I did have a big fight with a close friend."
"How did you make up?"
"Well, I don't think we ever properly reconciled or anything."
"You never made up?"
Had they simply drifted apart? As I asked in wonder, Nanny smiled slightly.
"We just somehow kept going, and it seemed like we were on good terms again. When you spend a long time together, things resolve themselves without either person having to say this or that."
Nanny wore a slightly bashful expression and sipped her tea again. So it was possible for things to resolve without deliberately trying to make up. I nodded, ruminating on a kind of relationship I hadn't considered.
After parting with Nanny, I was strolling down the hallway when I ran into Johnny for the first time in a while. Johnny was also one of the few servants remaining in the mansion. Surprisingly, he must have been quite good at his work.
Johnny was carrying a silver tray. On the tray sat a tiered plate of cake and cookies along with a teapot. I could easily guess where he was headed.
"Where are you off to?"
Johnny asked.
"Just around. You're delivering that, I take it?"
"Yeah."
Answering, Johnny started walking again. I watched him for a moment before casually following behind.
"Hey, have you ever gotten into a big fight with someone and then made up?"
"What are you suddenly talking about? Fight with who?"
"Just, like, a close friend or something."
"I don't have anything like that."
The nonchalance with which Johnny announced he had no friends was absurd. Impressive, really. Then I realized I also had no one I could call a friend, and fell silent.
"Nothing similar either?"
"Hmm. I did fight with a coworker once."
"How did you make up?"
"We didn't make up."
I vaguely understood why he had no friends. Out of pity, I rose onto my tiptoes and patted Johnny's shoulder. At that, Johnny aggressively shrugged his shoulder and brushed my hand away.
"What about you? Have you ever fought with a close friend and made up?"
"……."
"You're making a fuss at me when you don't have one either."
No, I wouldn't call it a fuss. I muttered gloomily, then suddenly realized Johnny seemed to be in a bad mood.
"Did something happen?"
"……No."
It was a voice that, to anyone listening, clearly indicated something had happened.
No, my foot. Just as I was about to ask what it was, Johnny changed the subject.
"Come to think of it, aren't you close with that man?"
"Who."
"That man, Count Christopher. I heard he's very close with the master here. There's a lot of talk that he personally designated you as his attendant. Is that true?"
So the rumors were going around. Come to think of it, lately when walking through the hallways, I had felt the gazes of other servants. I was already accustomed to looks that seemed to find me strange, and since no one bothered to talk to me, I hadn't paid it much mind. But it was certainly something that could be misunderstood. Even Alicia kept demanding every night what kind of relationship we had, and I was barely managing to ignore her.
I sighed and shook my head.
"It's true, but don't misunderstand. We just have some connection."
"Wow, really? How did you end up connected?"
"Something like that happened."
"Have you ever worked in a mansion like this before?"
I suddenly stopped walking.
"Why do you ask?"
"For people like you and me to have any connection with nobles, is there any other way besides that?"
Fair enough, he had a point.
"And you seem pretty used to this kind of work too."
"You seem pretty used to it yourself."
"Well, I've done all sorts of things."
"Then, have you done this kind of work before too?"
"Well……."
The casual answer leaned closer to an affirmative. I was a bit surprised. Come to think of it, since he could read and write, it didn't seem like he had only done manual labor.
"That's unexpected. You probably would have been pretty good at it. But why did you do that kind of labor?"
"Because it didn't end well……. Ah, forget it! Just putting me in a bad mood for nothing."
Johnny shook his head vigorously. The conversation came to an abrupt end. Only making me more curious for no reason.
Walking while talking, we somehow arrived in front of Joelly's door. Johnny knocked twice and immediately threw the door open. I was about to turn around to go do my own work when Joelly's vivacious voice burst out through the gap of the open door. Without thinking, I glanced in that direction and paused.
Johnny went inside, and the door slowly closed. Through the narrowing gap, I could see Joelly, Alicia, and Vincent. Vincent might have come to see Joelly. But what stopped my steps entirely was the sight of Alicia and Vincent.
Alicia stood before Vincent with a shy expression. And Vincent was holding the end of Alicia's hair, examining it with an indifferent face. Joelly was watching the two of them with a mischievous look. Something about the intimate appearance of the three of them left me unable to move.
Only after the door clicked shut did I realize I had been standing there, not even breathing. Even after finally letting out a slow breath, I couldn't move from the door. I stood there blankly, fumbling through my mind over what I had just seen.
How long was I standing like that? The door opened again and Johnny came out of the room. Still standing there blankly, I looked up at Johnny. Johnny looked puzzled, then frowned.
"What's with you. Why do you look like this?"
"……."
"Did someone steal something from you?"
The room door behind Johnny clicked shut. I glanced in that direction and came to my senses.
"What are you suddenly talking about?"
"No, you just look like you've been robbed of something."
Me……? Wondering, I needlessly rubbed my cheek. Johnny tilted his head.
"Did something happen to put you in a bad mood?"
"Uh, no."
"Liar. Your expression is terrible."
"I said no."
When I waved my hand and turned around, Johnny blocked my way. I glared at him, asking what he was doing, when Johnny suddenly fumbled to pull something out of his pocket. Two cookies wrapped in cloth. Looking at them, they were the same cookies that had been on the plate earlier. When did he manage to pocket them?
Johnny held one out to me.
"Eat this."
"No thanks."
"Hey, don't decline and just eat it. I'm giving it to you out of the goodness of my heart."
"I said no thanks."
"You don't like sweets?"
"It's not that."
"Then eat. Here."
Johnny himself held up the cookie and stuffed it into my mouth. I bit into the cookie on reflex and glared at him. When I tried to spit it out, he said it was incredibly expensive. So I chewed it reluctantly.
"Delicious, right?"
"I suppose."
"Did someone steal something from you and you fought? Is that why you're trying to make up?"
"It's nothing like that."
I didn't know what strange misunderstanding he had, but I firmly shook my head. Johnny seemed to think for a moment before speaking again.
"I don't have any work now, so I'm going to go clear my head. Wanna come?"
It was a sudden suggestion.
He said he was going to clear his head, but it was just touring the mansion. I wondered what fun there could be in seeing places I looked at every day, but it felt surprisingly novel.
Come to think of it, I had never properly toured the mansion before. The mansion was much larger than I knew, and there were many unfamiliar places I hadn't visited yet.
It was the servants' break time now, so the inside of the mansion was quiet. It was a relief not to run into anyone. Still, just in case, I walked while keeping an eye on any presence around us. If I sensed a place seemed off-limits, I sensibly avoided it. Doing so made it feel like an adventure.
My mood lightened a bit. Johnny trotted around nimbly, leading me here and there.
"You seem to know this place well."
"That's because Alicia——"
Johnny's expression, having blurted that much, suddenly turned gloomy. He wrung his hands together. His shoulders slumped. He suddenly seemed to be in a bad mood.
I studied his face and tilted my head. Did something happen?
"Why. What is it."
"Alicia turned cold."
It wasn't the first or second time Alicia had acted cold. Since Vincent's appearance, I hadn't seen Alicia treat Johnny warmly.
Furthermore, as the provisional employment period extended due to Ethan's matters, Alicia treated Johnny even more coldly. Occasionally when Johnny greeted Alicia, she didn't even acknowledge him. As if he didn't even have the qualification to associate with her.
"She…… said she dislikes me. Said I'm annoying."
"What? Alicia said that directly?"
"Yeah. Last time I ran into her while passing by and greeted her, but she came up to me and said she really dislikes me, and to stop acknowledging her."
His drooping voice seemed like it would crawl across the floor. I hadn't expected such a thing to happen in such a short time. At the pathetic sight of a man rejected, I secretly shook my head. He looked like he would burst into tears at the slightest touch, so I couldn't even offer any words of comfort.
"She said we'll be living in different worlds from now on. What does that mean……?"
"W-well."
I pretended not to know, but in truth, I knew best what it meant. Normally I would have clicked my tongue in pity, but my mood was too foul to do so now. It was because the sight of Alicia and Vincent I had seen earlier kept coming to mind.
It was strange. Or was it normally like that? Could the relationship between an employee and an employer be that intimate? Vincent holding the end of Alicia's hair kept surfacing in my mind. It was a casual gesture, but to me it was a stranger sight than anything.
When had they gotten so close? I had never even thought about it.
"The master of this place must come to see Joelly often."
I blurted out the thought circling in my head. Johnny answered casually.
"He comes quite often. Sometimes they exchange light conversation, and occasionally they have what seems like deep talks, but at those times he sends all the servants outside, so I don't know exactly what they discuss."
"He seems close with Alicia too……."
"Does he? I did often see the three of them together. Just earlier too……."
Having said that much, Johnny grew depressed again.
"Does she really dislike me that much?"
Johnny must have noticed Alicia's feelings toward Vincent as well. I clicked my tongue.