My lady is worried
"This is awful."
In the part of the vast estate of the Valiaz Duke's residence, designed to showcase their power even among the many mansions in the noble district, Isabella, who had just taken her lips off her teacup, uttered these words as if in disgust, while colorful flowers beautifully maintained by gardeners bloomed in the garden.
"I apologize, Mistress" said a servant respectfully.
"How dare you serve me such muddy tea? Do you think you can mock me?" Isabella exclaimed.
"I'm... terribly sorry..."
The maid girl bowed her head and apologized, she was drenched with the scalding hot tea as it was nearly boiling. She shivered for a moment but quickly resumed her apologies.
"Crow! Hurry and prepare a fresh one..."
Isabella began to command but then remembered that the butler who should always be present was currently absent.
"Ugh..."
"I will prepare a fresh one right away, Mistress."
"No, it's fine. You can leave."
"...Excuse me."
Seeing this, Isabella interrupted the other maids who were about to make another cup of tea. She instructed the servants around her to step aside.
For now, she just wanted to be alone.
"Sigh... I'm in the mood for chocolate today..."
Alone and feeling somewhat bored, Isabella reached for the sweets laid out on the table while expressing her discontent.
Even the top-notch muffins prepared by the estate's first-class chef somehow lacked flavor.
In the past few days, minor grievances that would usually go unnoticed had been piling up, unsettling Isabella's heart.
She knows the cause. That's because that butler who used to take care of her is not here anymore.
"Really... It's a disgrace for a butler to be absent from his master and keep sleeping like this."
While expressing her discontent and glancing in the direction of Crow's room where he's still asleep, Isabella wears an anxious expression that contradicts her words.
On the day of that exam, Crow, who had suffered life-threatening injuries, miraculously survived thanks to the efforts of the doctors. However, even after his injuries had healed, he remained unconscious.
According to the physicians, the blow to his head when he shielded someone had caused this condition. They couldn't predict when he would wake up, and there was even the possibility that he might never wake up again.
"Oh, goodness! This is so infuriating! Why should I even bother about someone like Crow?"
She had initially regarded him as just another disposable commoner without any magical ability. However, as other attendants assigned to Isabella quickly left her side, Crow remained steadfastly by her. Before she knew it, he had become an indispensable part of Isabella's life.
Hearing the news that he might never wake up, Isabella felt a shock similar to when she had once accidentally broken her favorite doll.
However, she couldn't admit it. Allowing herself to be emotionally disturbed by a mere commoner was not the way of a noble.
"If you don't wake up soon, there will be consequences..."
◇◆◇◆
The man was in despair with his life.
Born and raised in an ordinary salaryman's family, he graduated from a decent provincial university and moved to the city. The company he joined, however, was what people would call a "black company."
His days were filled with long hours of hard work for meager pay, and he had to endure the unreasonable anger of terrible bosses. While those around him got married and had children, he remained alone, unable to find a girlfriend, living a purposeless life.
Regretting that things hadn't turned out as he had hoped, he had become middle-aged without knowing how to change his current situation.
On that day, too, he was burdened with work, and by the time he left the company, it was already a new day.
Exhausted, he stood at a pedestrian crossing, waiting for the traffic light to change, when a woman in a suit, with the same lifeless eyes as his, arrived beside him.
She, too, must be a victim of this wretched society. He felt an uninvited sense of camaraderie. Suddenly, his vision was flooded with a blinding light.
"What the...!"
In that moment of disbelief, a car came hurtling towards the man. The elderly driver, with a startled expression, directed the massive steel vehicle, utilizing its mass and speed, sending both men flying.
"What the hell is this!"
In a world that had suddenly slowed down, suspended in mid-air, the man felt a surge of anger, an emotion he hadn't experienced in a long time.
It's unfair, so unfair, completely unjust!
Why did this have to happen to me?
I hadn't done anything wrong!
Why... Why is this happening?
All I wanted was a normal life, and even that was taken away from me!
Damn it!
Everyone, they're all just bastards!
And so, filled with resentment toward the world, the man's life came to an abrupt end as he was thrown to the ground.
◇◆◇◆
"Uugh... Where is this...?"
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in an unfamiliar room, lying on a bed.
I tried to get up from the bed, but my body felt heavy, and I couldn't move well.
How long had I been asleep?
"What's going on?"
Slowly sitting up and looking around the room with a blurry mind, I felt an intense sense of unease.
However, I couldn't quite grasp what it was or why I was feeling this way.
As I tilted my head in confusion and attempted to leave the room, I froze when I passed by a full-length mirror hanging on the wall.
"....Huh!"
In the mirror, the reflection showed the image of a man in his twenties with black hair and black eyes – in other words, the appearance of someone completely different from my usual self.
"What... is this?"
I couldn't help but stare at the man's image reflected in the mirror.
There was no doubt that the man in the mirror was named Crow.
While I recognized the familiar image as myself, there was also a part of me that couldn't believe it.
I couldn't make sense of what was happening.
Thinking calmly, just a while ago, I also considered this room to be my room, yet at the same time, I thought of it as an unfamiliar room.
What is happening?
Right, what was I doing before I lost consciousness?
"I remember, I was..."
Yes, I had been hit by a car while waiting at the traffic light...
"No, that's not it!"
No, it wasn't that. I had taken the full force of Lady Maria's magical attack while protecting Milady.
As I think about it, what is a car anyway?
No, what exactly is this memory I have now?
...Memory?
"What... is this?"
I searched my mind and was shocked.
Inside me, there are memories other than my own.
Memories of a different person, in a different world. And somehow, I recognize those memories as my own.
Then, who am I now?
"I am... Crow..." I muttered, almost trying to reassure myself.
However, another set of memories strongly argued otherwise.
"I am Milady's... butler..."
No, I'm just an ordinary, unremarkable salaryman, a slave who commutes between work and home every day with dead eyes.
The voices in my head grew louder and louder.
"...up"
What a convenient dream this is. I'm probably just going to wake up in a hospital bed, right?
"...Shut up."
And this Milady person, it's just a fantasy.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up."
Because there's no way there's anyone who needs me...
"I said shut up!"
I shouted, trying to drown out the voice echoing in my head, and slammed my head against the mirror.
The mirror shattered into pieces, and blood trickled down from my forehead.
"Haah, haah, haah... Damn it!"
The pain helped me regain a bit of composure, but the voice in my head still wouldn't disappear.
"Ugh... Ah..."
As if trying to escape from that voice, I fled from the room.
"Here.. is...?"
I wandered aimlessly through the mansion, and before I knew it, I found myself in the garden.
The voice in my head continued its relentless assertions, wearing away at my sanity.
At this point, I couldn't distinguish between my own memories and this uncertainty, which filled me with fear to my core.
Clutching onto a glimmer of hope, I followed my unreliable memories to navigate through the garden.
"Mi...lady..."
"... Crow?"
As I passed through the arch of flowers, the person I wanted to see the most was there.
Perhaps she had been enjoying her tea time, as Milady, still holding a half-eaten muffin, stared at me with a surprised expression.
Seeing her in that moment, a surge of emotions overwhelmed me, and I couldn't contain myself.
"Mi..lady... Miladymiladymilady!"
"Wait! What's going on all of a sudden?"
I clung to Milady's legs, acting on impulse. She exclaimed in surprise, but at this moment, I couldn't afford to care about her reaction.
"Who am I... exactly?"
"Huh?" Milady looked bewildered, but even I had no idea what was happening anymore. Memories had become a jumbled mess, to the point where I couldn't even figure out who I was.
"Please tell me!"
"F-f-for now, calm down."
"But, Milady, I..."
"I said, calm down!"
"Ackk!"
Ignoring her plea, I clung to Milady, and it seemed she had reached her limit. Her hand came crashing down on my head with visible frustration, causing me to tumble to the ground.
My head... doesn't feel great, Milady...
It seemed like the blood that was already rushing to my head was now even stronger.
"You've been sleeping for so long, making your master wait, and now that you've finally woken up, you're covered in blood and making a fuss about things I don't understand! Don't you know who you are? You're Crow! You're mine, my butler, and nothing else! Do you get it? Answer me now!"
Perhaps due to accumulated stress, Milady abruptly rose from her chair and pointed her finger at me.
It was quite a rough and chaotic situation, to say the least.
However, the moment I heard Milady's words, it felt like a misaligned gear within me suddenly clicked into place. Along with that, the fog that had clouded my mind dissipated, and my thoughts became clear.
That's right, why was I even bothering with such trivial matters? I belong to Milady. Who I am doesn't matter at all. I just need to think about Milady and nothing else.
The voice in my head had disappeared.
"W, what on earth... what's happening to you now!" Milady stepped back in confusion as I suddenly burst into laughter.
Now, now, that won't do. Ignoring Milady like this is unforgivable for a butler.
"I apologize, Milady. It seems I was a bit confused. I'm sorry for causing you any worry."
"I, it's not like I'm worried about you or anything!"
As I apologized and bowed deeply, Milady shouted in a fluster. It was quite obvious that she was trying to hide her embarrassment, but I chose not to comment on it.
"I see... Still, thank you very much, Milady."
If Milady hadn't been there, I wouldn't even know what would have happened to me. No amount of gratitude could ever be enough.
"Hmph, instead of wasting time saying that, you should get to work for my sake. After all the time you spent sleeping, I'm going to make you work hard" said Milady, turning away after hearing my gratitude.
But when I noticed her ears turning red, I couldn't help but smile.
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