Chapter 21
While I was trying to think of what to say, Kid perched himself beside me.
“How can I believe words without action?”
I was panicking, worried that the magical energy shocker I’d hidden under my pillow might be discovered. I deliberately kept my gaze fixed on Kid instead of looking toward the pillow.
“…I’ve stopped Seniel from self-harming before. You know better than anyone that she hasn’t self-harmed for a week.”
Kid silently gestured for me to continue.
“It’s been quite a while since she last harmed herself. Since I stopped her, she hasn’t done it even once. That means she trusts and follows me. I won’t just leave it as words; I’ll make her trust me, little by little.”
The corner of Kid’s mouth lifted slightly. His gaze was still sharp, but his reaction wasn’t bad.
“If someone this useful dies because of a foolish thought, it would break my heart. You understand?”
He genuinely frowned as if he felt pain. I couldn’t help but think: you’re the one who kills people, so why are you pretending to care?
“I’ve never thought about running away. Really. The reason I looked happy earlier was simply because Seniel gave me a gift.”
Even with my earnest plea, the scrutinizing atmosphere didn’t subside. Still, I didn’t think he would kill me immediately. But I wanted to get out of this situation.
I thought of something that might please him.
“…Shall I play the piano for you? I practiced a lot during the day.”
“No.”
I had no idea what he wanted from me. Should I cry to show I wouldn’t run? Or should I yell, telling him to catch me and guard me?
I couldn’t believe that simply smiling in front of a murderer could lead to this level of tension.
‘Well, he’s perceptive enough to figure out I might try to run just from that.’
Suddenly, Kid pressed his palm against the crown of my head.
“You’ve given me all the information I need. Now lie down and pretend to be asleep.”
“…Yes?”
“Sleep.”
It was an order I couldn’t refuse. I awkwardly lay down. Kid got up beside me. The bed shifted slightly from the movement.
‘Is he finally leaving?’
My heart raced as I squinted, observing him. But Kid didn’t leave. He prowled around the room, then suddenly started rifling through the drawers.
‘What a madman.’
After leaving the drawers open, he went straight to the wardrobe. Clothes flew into the air and fell limply to the floor.
My heart pounded like crazy. I closed my eyes, afraid our gazes would meet. Not knowing exactly what he was searching for made it even more suffocating.
For several minutes—or maybe tens of minutes—the only sound was the room being ransacked. Only after some time did the noise subside.
I felt the mattress sink beside me.
“Nothing here.”
Earlier he had only perched, but now he seemed fully seated, legs stretched out on the bed.
“But Mrs. Seniel,”
His voice was lower than before. My neck was slick with sweat.
“The jewelry box is almost empty. Didn’t Seniel refill it?”
Madman. I pinched my thigh to hold back tears.
“…Seniel never refilled it. And I don’t really care about jewelry…!”
Suddenly, a hand shot under my pillow. I was so startled I couldn’t even scream, only opened my eyes wide.
“What’s this? Hiding something under your pillow… and it’s just this?”
I couldn’t speak from shock. Kid had seized the magical energy shocker. He examined it, turning it this way and that.
“You were just giggling over this little thing?”
My hands trembled as I tried to back away from him.
“Mrs. Seniel really has a talent for surprising people in so many ways.”
“…”
“Better hire a priest or a competent guard. This won’t work on me anyway. Though if you did hire someone, the body count might go up.”
“S-Sorry…”
“Tch, that’s disappointing.”
Kid grabbed my head with a disappointed expression and pressed me back onto the bed. I was forced down weakly.
“Keep pretending to sleep until dawn.”
Is he… sparing me?
Kid just clicked his tongue, doing nothing. My body trembled. I forced my eyes shut, but even so, my eyelids quivered violently, as if my face would cramp.
I prayed silently for him to leave, but Kid showed no intention of leaving.
I heard rustling nearby. He must have grabbed something from the nightstand. There were only the newspaper, the sheet music Seniel had given me, and a rose, so I didn’t know what he took.
The rustle of paper sounded unusually loud.
Caught in this frustrating limbo—unable to sleep, unable to open my eyes—Kid spoke chillingly:
“Do you need me to put you to sleep? Should I put you to sleep?”
Anyone would take that as a threat to send me into eternal sleep.
“You can sleep. I just take longer to fall asleep if someone’s next to me, that’s all.”
Please just go away. I asked politely, but Kid didn’t get it.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I might die if I tried to sleep like this. Tomorrow was my escape, and I couldn’t die now.
Summoning all my courage, I asked him:
“Y-You aren’t going to sleep? Seems like it’s your bedtime…”
“You can even tell someone to leave? Impressive, Mrs. Seniel. But I don’t need sleep, unfortunately.”
The rustle of paper continued. Lying next to Kid made me feel like I might faint.
And he doesn’t need sleep. Then why did he sleep whenever I played the piano?
“Mrs. Seniel, if you can’t sleep well, it’ll be hard to seduce Seniel tomorrow.”
If only you would leave, everything would be fine.
Kid clearly intended to watch over me all night. He had searched the entire room yet still didn’t trust me. Such an annoyingly perceptive guy.
I gave up on trying to throw him out. I wasn’t running away tonight anyway; I’d escape in the bright daylight, so it didn’t matter if Kid monitored me.
The room went quiet. My body felt heavy, as if pinned down. I hovered between sleep and wakefulness.
Just when I thought I might finally drift off, Kid spoke again:
“I wanted to watch over you, but it’s too boring. I’ll just follow when you run instead.”
“…”
“Mrs. Seniel, try persuading me to leave this room.”
The idea that he was having fun as my personal spectator made me speechless.
But I was a hostage. If he ordered it, I had to comply.
“…You said you didn’t need sleep, but proper rest is good for your health. How about you go sleep now?”
Even I knew that was a terrible attempt at persuasion. I heard him laugh mockingly beside me. “Try harder,” Kid urged with amusement.
“You’ve been sleeping on the couch recently. If you sleep comfortably in your room, it’ll be better for your spine and relieve tension.”
“So, I should sleep now?”
“…Yes.”
At my poor attempt, Kid let out a deflated chuckle. I felt the bed shift. I couldn’t see clearly, but it seemed he was leaving the room out of boredom.
‘Finally!’
But even after a while, I didn’t hear footsteps. The side of the bed wasn’t empty. It even felt heavier.
Suspicious, I opened my eyes slightly, almost fainting.
“Why? You’re going to sleep?”
“N-No, it’s just that…”
Kid lay diagonally, resting his arm, looking at me.
“You persuade me to leave, and you tell me to sleep?!”
I wanted to deny reality, but this was it. Clinging to my sanity, I tried again:
“T-There’s only one blanket and one pillow… How about returning to your room to sleep?”
“You persuaded me, and now you’re full of words.”
Kid rolled his eyes and closed them.
I was fuming with frustration. How powerless I felt! I just had to wait for morning. I would escape and never let him corner me like this again.
I closed my eyes. I had no energy left to argue with Kid.
I mentally rehearsed my escape plan, just waiting for the morning to come.
Somehow, I fell asleep during the night.
I woke slightly to rustling nearby—morning had come.
“B… Bibi… what happened last night… how… how did this happen…”
Seniel jumped up on the bed, stammering as if broken.
Usually, I’d feel sorry for her, but not today. I remembered what Kid had done last night, and I wanted to hit him.
‘Huh. Hold it. I need to meet Ezet and get to the port. No time for this.’
I pressed my throbbing forehead with my fingers. I tried to calm myself, but my words came out harshly. The impending escape left no room for leisure.
“Kid was whining that he couldn’t sleep, so I put him to sleep.”
“…Excuse me? Put him to sleep? That makes no sense…”
“It makes sense. I’m a bit tired now. Once you’re fully awake, can you get ready for work?”
My blunt words shook Seniel’s eyes. Seeing her look so different from last night, I felt like I was taking out my frustration on a strict person. How could it be the same person?
Seniel looked at me with innocent, kind eyes, and I sighed.
‘It would’ve been perfect if we had ended yesterday like that.’
My plan for a good farewell had completely collapsed. I glanced at the sheet music on the nightstand and sighed again. Touching my forehead, I spoke more softly than before:
“Go outside.”
“….”
Seniel opened her mouth as if to speak, but then bit her lips and stood up.
I looked at her leaving and said:
“Get ready for work and have a good day.”
I gestured for her to go. Seniel stared at me silently for a long moment. She left without getting anything else from me.
Once I confirmed she was gone, my strength left me.
‘Time to prepare.’
I got up from the bed. Kid had gone to the next room to fetch the things he hadn’t found during the night.
The suitcase was packed with clothes, self-defense items, potions, jewelry, money, dried food, and the video orb. I returned to my room.
I took out the forged ID I had hidden under the bed and put it in the suitcase as well.
After placing the bag on the bed, I finished preparing to go out alone, without a maid’s help.
