My Lord Chapter 4

“Mr. Rey! Close your eyes!”

 

Splash-!

 

Holy water was sprinkled. The freezing water drenched me from head to toe, chilling me to the bone.

 

Oh. What is this?

 

“Y-you…! You idiot!”

 

Given that I’m completely soaked right now, I’d understand if he cursed me like a drowned rat.

 

But calling me an idiot? I’m the one who got slapped with water while trying to help, so why?

 

“What if you catch the curse by touching me, you fool! Damn it! I knew this would happen, you idiot! I figured out you were a cursed fool from the moment you applied for the butler position!”

 

How many times is he going to call me an idiot?

 

The real idiot here is Sedian, with his bizarre idea that curses can spread. I’d never heard the word “idiot” thrown around so much, and feeling a bit indignant, I asked without realizing it,

 

“Who says so?”

 

“What?”

 

“Is a curse some kind of contagious disease? Does it spread just by touching? Why, should I start worrying it’ll spread just by breathing in the same room like a cold?”

 

“What nonsense…!”

 

I didn’t care if Sedian was baffled. I strode toward him.

 

Then—

 

“Ack! What are you doing? Let go of me this instant!”

 

Heh. I touched Sedian here and there.

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Sedian flailed, trying to shake me off as if he were frothing at the mouth.

 

But there was no way he’d overpower me with his weak strength. Earlier, he managed to push me because I was caught off guard. I simply dodged and continued to touch him. Heh.

 

“How dare you touch your master’s body when you’re just a servant!”

 

Sedian, seemingly realizing he couldn’t overpower me, froze with a face as red as if he were about to explode, pointing a trembling finger at me. I shrugged.

 

“I’m not your servant yet, since I haven’t been hired.”

 

If he has a problem with it, he should hire me. My bold statement left Sedian speechless, his mouth opening and closing as he quivered in frustration. So, I touched him once more. Heh.

 

“You!”

 

Slap! Sedian hit the back of my hand and glared at me.

 

“Do you want to end up like me, a monster? Have you gone mad?”

 

“I am not mad.”

 

The maids whispered that he might be the crazy one, but I ignored them and continued.

 

“And you’re not a monster either.”

 

I could see Sedian’s blue eyes wavering slightly. I recognized that look. I’d seen countless people in my past life who isolated themselves, considering their different, sickly appearances to be “monstrous.”

 

It was clear that he was unsettled, so I reached out and touched him once more. This time, he didn’t scream or push me away.

 

“See? I’ve been touching you repeatedly, and yet nothing’s wrong with me, right?”

 

I removed my hand from him and rolled up my sleeves, waving my arms in front of him.

 

“A curse isn’t a disease; it’s a form of magic directed toward a specific person. It doesn’t spread just from contact.”

 

I spoke loudly on purpose so that the maids, who were fussing behind me, could hear.

 

“So.”

 

Then, grabbing Sedian’s hesitant wrist, I reassured him.

 

“It’s alright, young master.”

 

“…”

 

“Keep me by your side.”

 

Even after I finished speaking, Sedian stood there, frozen. His once-quivering eyes had long since turned to ice.

 

He looked up at me, his face stunned as if he’d been hit with a hammer.

 

Hmm. Was he moved? I felt a slight surge of satisfaction, thinking I’d scored some points from our first meeting.

 

“You…”

 

Sedian’s face contorted again, this time with a scowl.

 

“Get lost.”

 

Hmm.

 

Seems like his bad temper isn’t going anywhere. Well, it’s not like I could expect him to let his guard down so easily.

 

I nodded and quietly left.

 

***

 

Slap!

 

As soon as I exited the room, a maid slapped my arm.

 

“What were you thinking?!”

 

Ouch. I rubbed my sore arm and took a step back.

 

“Why are you hitting me?”

 

“What do you mean, why?! Do you have any idea how scared I was in there? Why did you touch the young master? What if something terrible had happened?!”

 

The maid was hopping mad and tried to hit me again, so I dodged a bit. It hurt, you know.

 

“I already told you inside, didn’t I? Curses don’t spread.”

 

At this, the maid scrunched up her face and shouted again.

 

“Then how do you explain the butler who died with the same symptoms as the young master?”

 

“What?”

 

“Wait, didn’t you know?”

 

Seeing my confused expression, the maid shook her head in disbelief and continued.

 

“It happened recently. The young master was out, and when the butler accidentally tripped in front of him, the young master helped him up… But since then, he started wasting away, with his skin peeling and a raging fever. And then… he passed away.”

 

I chewed over the maid’s words and recalled the original storyline. Did something like this happen?

 

It wasn’t clear because the past events before Sedian met the heroine weren’t described in detail. All I remember is that Sedian felt more isolated because he thought someone had died because of him. I guess that person was the previous butler.

 

“It’s obvious the young master’s curse killed him! Isn’t that right? That’s why we’ve been so cautious…!”

 

The maid, on the verge of tears, clenched her fists resolutely and glared at me.

 

“You’re probably safe because I doused you with holy water, but don’t ever do that again. Holy water is precious, you know!”

 

The household purchased holy water from the temple at a high price to alleviate Sedian’s occasional attacks. Some of that precious holy water was poured on me.

 

So, he must have been more sensitive because he thinks the butler died because of him.

 

I hummed thoughtfully, folding my arms.

 

“I’ll look into that matter, then.”

 

“Look into what?”

 

“Whether the butler’s death was actually due to a curse.”

 

“It was a curse! Ugh! You’re so frustrating! Ugh, forget it. Talking to you is just making me upset.”

 

The maid grumbled, sighed, and shook her head.

 

“If you go down to the basement, there’s a private room you can use. Change into the dress coat there, and the head maid will tell you what to do later.”

 

Her words made me raise an eyebrow.

 

“So, am I hired?”

 

“Pardon, Mr. Rey?”

 

The maid looked at me with a face that seemed tired, as if I were pathetic.

 

“You’re the only one who applied, Mr. Rey. Isn’t it obvious? Because everyone found out how the former butler died, no one else applied.”

 

“Aha.”

 

“Aha? Anyway, be careful. We can’t afford to lose another butler that we barely managed to find.”

 

The maid, though blunt, seemed concerned for me.

 

Despite believing that the former butler died because of a curse, she still stayed by Sedian’s side, which suggested a certain sense of loyalty.

 

Thinking that she wasn’t a bad person, I made my way down to the basement, which had been designated as my room, and took a moment to collect my thoughts.

 

Why did the former butler die?

 

He didn’t die because of a curse. Curses don’t spread, and just touching someone’s hand wouldn’t pass a curse—otherwise, wouldn’t everyone in the world be cursed?

 

But since the former butler died right when people started thinking like that, it must have strengthened the rumors.

 

Because of this, Sedian developed a sense of guilt, thinking someone died because of him. That guilt morphed into anxiety so severe that he would waste precious holy water just for a brief touch.

 

Right now, Sedian was probably thinking something like, “Since I poured the holy water, Rey will be fine. He’ll be okay. But what if he dies? If he dies, will it be my fault? What if someone else dies again?”

 

I need to reassure him.

 

After all, we can’t keep wasting holy water every time I touch Sedian. I don’t want to get drenched again, either.

 

If I can make him realize that the former butler didn’t die because of a curse, maybe Sedian will finally feel reassured and stop blaming himself.

 

But how am I supposed to find out why the butler died?

 

This wasn’t a story that appeared in the original work. Though I felt a bit daunted, there wasn’t much choice. I had to try something.

 

With the idea of organizing my thoughts in my room, I swung the door open.

 

And at that moment, I immediately found out why the former butler had died.