I am now in the middle of moving while being carried on Colonel Karnak’s shoulders.
I couldn’t see the surroundings since I was being rolled inside a carpet.
Only the sound of Colonel Karnak’s military shoes was awfully resounding in my ears.
It was quiet, but it didn’t seem to be uninhabited at all. After going out from the room, I could hear the voice of a palace guard greeting Colonel Karnak (suggesting how he would help carrying the carpet, but Colonel Karnak immediately refused it), and after every short walk, there was the sound of the heels turned silent (perhaps they stopped to salute each other), voices that said: “Thanks for your hard work”, and the presence of a considerable number of people. They must be the soldiers assigned for the defense. They surely felt that the colonel who was shouldering a carpet in the middle of the night was so out of place, but nobody tried to ask the circumstances, or should I say that it was to be expected? They didn’t bother having an idle talk. They had been trained well.
After walking through the long hall, descending through several steps of the stairs, and after the sign of turning at several corners, finally there was a sound of the door being opened, and I could tell that we were entering the room.
“Emil-dono, should I take you down to the bed?”
(T/N: -dono is a Japanese suffix with a rough meaning of “lord” or “master” but it lies below -sama in the level of respect given.)
Colonel Karnak asked with a voice devoid of feelings.
“…No need, please leave me on the floor.”
I answered in a fluster. I do not wish for the carpet that was just lying on the floor until just now to be put on the bed where I would be sleeping on from now on. I could understand the reason behind hiding in the carpet in order so they could carry this [person with no record of entering and leaving the castle], but actually, it felt unpleasant to be inside a carpet that I didn’t know where it had been placed.
“Please put me on the floor and don’t roll it over. It’s quite hard trying to go out of the rolled carpet by myself…”
“Understood.”
After the carpet was taken down carefully, I slowly unfastened it. I closed my eyes as it was lightly rolling over, and I was finally released.
As I was reflexively extending my limbs in order to support myself, I turned my eyes in order to thank him who carried such a heavy luggage.
My eyes met his sharply shining purple eyes.
The eyes that were like first-rate jewel slightly narrowed.
“?!”
I turned my body around at a hair’s breadth, avoiding his hands.
I jumped up, lowering my body in preparation for the next attack.
He silently sent out the next attack. Many, many times over.
If only we weren’t in this situation, then the figure of the man who was quietly using his long limbs to submerge me to the floor would be so beautiful that could make one be fascinated. I might even find it agreeable that his movements were just like a dance.
As I was thinking of that, I dodged all attack with the lowest possible movements.
I could tell. His skills and his agility were so amazing that it was terrifying, but he wasn’t being serious.
It was all to see my movements. His movements were done in order to measure my ability.
In the very short moment his attacking hands slackened (I think that it was certainly on purpose), I did a backflip and put a distance from him.
“…What do you intend to do?”
“You have good skills, Emil-dono.”
“Can’t you not do it now?!”
I scowled at Colonel Karnak with all my might.
The thing I couldn’t accept was how his breath didn’t seem to be thrown out of order one bit.
Well, I was the same, though.
“You were testing me out, weren’t you?!”
Though it might be too late now, but fighting me who wasn’t wearing anything other than a man’s robe posed handicap to me in various meaning.
Since I wasn’t dressed properly, my breasts could be exposed, and every time I raised my legs, my private part would catch some wind, and there was nothing more uneasy than this.
“How could you do this to a woman who just received a shock in body and mind immediately after she had transferred to a parallel universe…? I’m going to remember this, I’ll detest you.”
“Being detested by you brings me satisfaction.”
“Wha?! …Y-you…”
Stupid, or rather, cajolery, and it could be said that all of the abusive language disappeared from within my mouth.
Colonel Orgueil do Karnak loosened his fiercely beautiful face and gently smiled.
It was as if life was enshrined in a sculpture made by the God of Beauty. Its value was far from a thousand pieces of gold, or it could be said to be priceless…
I heard the sound of 2-3 screws in my head flying.
“…”
Before me who was being befuddled, Colonel Karnak elegantly fell to his knees, helping me up in what could be said as a respectful gesture.
Obviously, I was still being absentminded in my great admiration.
“…”
“Emil-dono was telling a lie earlier, right? About how you had nothing you excelled in, and how you wished to just become a maid.”
…Right. Earlier, when I was asked about what I could do, in the end I couldn’t say the truth and answered that I wished to work, even if it was just as a maid. And how although I might not be particularly good at anything, I had the confidence that I would be able to do my job sincerely. And how I only thought of being a maid, but obviously I could also do a subordinate work or even anything else would be fine.
He softly took my hand and kissed it.
“…Please do not misjudge us. There was no way you couldn’t do anything. Your watchful eyes and your behavior weren’t those of an ordinary person.”
He let go of my hand that he just kissed and quietly continued his speech while gently still holding on to my hand.
“I still think there’s a slight possibility that you might be some sort of a spy. However, it seems that his Excellency already has no doubt of you. On top of that, he is thinking of putting you beside him in some sort of a way. If that is the case, it is necessary to measure your power. In addition…”
He stopped talking there for a while before he turned towards me with his purple eyes that contained smile.
“It’s an ironclad regulation here to arrange the right person in the right place. I do not think that you can be a maid at all.”
…Somehow, I felt that he said something very rude, but could it be just my imagination?
Author’s Note:
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Translator’s Note:
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