CH 35

I stared out the window, waiting for Persis to arrive as night fell.

Didn’t Persis put me to sleep yesterday?

Unexpectedly, he even carried me to my room and tucked me into bed, covering me with a blanket. I remember falling asleep quickly in that state, feeling drowsy.

Why was he being so kind? It was too much kindness to attribute it simply to the gift of chocolate.

“Could it be…?”

Could it be a sign that Persis was becoming affectionate? Just like he did to Stella in the original!

The faint hope that emerged last night quickly deteriorated into a terrifying time bomb of expectations.

“Since I slept well, I should thank him.”

That was the reason I was waiting for Persis, who had gone out.

“Young master, the master has arrived!”

Persis finally returned home late at night. Outside, heavy rain was pouring down.

After receiving the news from Joan, I quickly went down to the courtyard. I rushed down the stairs and warmly greeted him.

“You’re back— 

Whoosh.

“Huh…?”

Persis completely ignored me as if I was insignificant. I didn’t expect to be ignored when greeting him right in front of him. I felt a little perplexed.

‘Did he not hear my greeting? It’s not like he couldn’t hear me…’

But if he didn’t hear my greeting, there was no reason for him to ignore me. After all, he was the one who personally put me to sleep just the day before.

It’s clear that he definitely didn’t hear me.

I walked alongside him and greeted him again.

“You’re back? Did you go monster hunting?”

“… “

Silence. Once again, he didn’t respond. He had spoken in a loud voice right next to me, so it couldn’t be that he didn’t hear me.

His expression was cold, unlike yesterday. Did something bad happen outside? Or maybe he’s feeling unwell?

Worried, I tried to speak to him again.

“Are you feeling unwell…?”

Stop. Persis abruptly stopped, and his voice came out frigidly.

“What time is it now? Stop bothering me and go inside.”

His response was surprisingly cold and harsh, and I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression.

Why is he speaking to me so coldly? Did I do something wrong…?

As Persis walked down the corridor again, I stood there, trying to figure out what I had done wrong.

Boom!

Roar, clank, clank!!!

A loud thunderclap echoed as if it would swallow the mansion whole, and at the same time, the Flotina Mansion lost power.

The blackout plunged everything into darkness. I couldn’t see a thing.

I cautiously took a step forward, feeling my way with my hands, but I slipped on the rainwater that had followed Persis’s shoes.

“Ugh…!”

Just before falling, a large and strong hand grabbed my arm.

I, I’m alive…

Thanks to someone holding me, I fortunately didn’t fall.

Just as the lights came back on inside the house, I looked up and confirmed the person who had grabbed me. I wondered if it was Persis, and indeed, it was him. So, maybe he’s not angry with me or doesn’t dislike me?

Because he was holding my arm up, I was half-hanging on him, allowing me to see his face more clearly. The eyes still lacked expression and warmth. The coldness from earlier seemed insignificant on his seemingly unchanged face.

“Thank you for holding me. But your hand…”

He abruptly brushed me off when I was about to say the word “hand,” as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have. Like someone who had done something they shouldn’t have.

“Huh?”

He suddenly let go of me, causing me to fall backward and hit my tailbone.

“Ouch-!”

A stinging pain followed, and my buttocks began to itch. In pain, tears welled up as I looked at him, and he seemed surprised as well.

However, he quickly hardened his expression and turned his back to me. Without showing any signs of concern or apology, he went on his way. The sound of his wet shoes hitting the floor echoed in the corridor.

What the…? He just walked away after seeing me fall? And I hurt my tailbone because of someone.

As if manners like helping someone up were non-existent, he completely disappeared from my sight, as if it were a trivial matter.

It was a completely different coldness from the momentary kindness he showed when he personally took me to my room yesterday. Somehow, it made me feel a little disappointed.

“What the… This is too much…”

***

If yesterday started the day off on a good note despite the gloomy weather, today started off gloomy despite the good weather.

The events that took place in the courtyard last night lingered in my mind even after sleeping and waking up.

Why did he act that way yesterday? I can’t ask him now because he’s not at home…

Lately, Persis has been going out frequently, so it hasn’t been easy to see him.

“What a strange person. When will he be kind again…”

I grumbled quietly while taking a walk alone in the garden. When I saw a puddle left from the rain the previous day, an evil thought crossed my mind, tempting me to lure Persis into it and see him get splashed.

“If he falls into the puddle and gets his feet wet, he’ll be all colorful, won’t he?”

Hehehe. As I imagined it, an evil laugh slipped out involuntarily.

While I was having wicked thoughts about Persis, Flora suddenly appeared in front of me with a quick hop!

“May.”

“A-ah, you scared me!”

Startled by her sudden appearance, my heart raced.

“Did I surprise you?”

“Well, of course! You suddenly appeared out of nowhere…”

“There’s a guest who came to see May.”

I slowly lowered my hand and asked.

“A guest…?”

Who could it be? There’s no one in particular who would come to see me… Is it Stella, perhaps?

Following Floa, we headed towards the gazebo, and there I saw two familiar faces. The moment I saw those two faces, all the gloominess vanished, and I felt overwhelmed with joy.

It was the guardian deity I saw on the train not long ago, the one who kindly shared a sandwich with me—Iris and Cassius.

Iris, who was sitting in the gazebo, noticed me and greeted me warmly.

“My dear!”

“Iris, Cassius!”

I immediately ran towards her and embraced her. Iris lifted me up and sat me on her lap.

With her radiant smile, she was a goddess in her own right.

“Dear, have you been well?”

“Yes, I’ve been well! And what about you, Iris?”

“I’ve been busy. I was leading the knights and hunting monsters. But then I had some free time, and I thought of you, so I came to find you.”

“Welcome!”

As I only looked at Iris, Cassius, who was beside her, poked my hand with his finger.

“I’m here too. Look at me too, May.”

“Welcome, Cassius!”

While I exchanged playful glances with Cassius, Floa also took a seat in the gazebo.

“Hugging May is only until this year. Starting from next year, don’t hug her anymore.”

Floa’s words made Iris react with resistance.

“It’s not your decision, is it? If our little one wants to be hugged, we’ll hug her, right?”

I vigorously nodded in agreement. But Flora remained firm.

“May is the successor of Flotina. Even if it’s you, there should be some formalities between us.”

His words left no room for disagreement, so Iris and I reluctantly accepted it. Well, maybe it won’t be like this later, but for now, I am being raised as the successor…

At that moment, Cassius twisted his expression and spoke up.

“So, does that mean… She’ll live as a man until May dies?”

Both Cassius and Iris were aware that I am a girl. In the world of magic, telepathy only works between individuals with a lesser amount of magical power than the sender. As Cassius and Iris had more magical power than Flora, they couldn’t communicate telepathically and thus knew my gender.

The air in the gazebo became heavy at Cassius’s question. It wasn’t the kind of conversation that would make the atmosphere so gloomy.

In a casual tone, I began to tell them everything that had happened to me as May, from being secretly raised by Persis to the possibility of not being his biological daughter, and how I offered to live as his son when they tried to send me to an orphanage, and then my return to Flotina after going to the orphanage.

Cassius and Iris were shocked to hear this decision and expressed their anger, questioning how such a decision could be made. They worried about me having to continue living as a man and expressed their concerns.

“It’s okay. Perhaps Dad might change his mind and raise me as his daughter.”

Iris silently stared at me as I spoke, as if she found my words insignificant. From her gaze, it seemed like she saw me in an admirable light.

Well, if I, a ten-year-old child, chose to live as a man to survive, accepting that absurd reality and speaking about it, I would probably feel a little admirable.

After a moment of silence, Iris grabbed both of my forearms and asked seriously.

“Dear, when you become an adult, would you like to join our knights?”

In that instant, I doubted my ears.

“The knights…?”

“Yeah. Come join my First Knight Order, dear.”

Goodness.

I was so surprised that my mouth dropped open, and I couldn’t speak.

The selection of the guardian knights occurs only once every few years and is limited to a very small number of individuals. Becoming a guardian knight is even more challenging than winning the lottery, and they were offering it to me. Moreover, this wasn’t even the time for knight selection, and they were proposing this to me at such a young age!

No minor had ever received an offer to join the knights. I was so shocked and incredulous that I blinked my wide-open eyes several times and asked again.

“Really…?”

Can I really become a guardian knight?

Iris’s eyes formed a gentle curve.

“The guardian deities don’t lie. Even if the situation arises, they will never ask it of you, dear.”

“Wow!”

I couldn’t contain my joy and burst into laughter, covering my mouth with both hands.

I had a vague dream of becoming a guardian knight. However, becoming a guardian knight was not something that could be achieved just by my efforts. So, during my elementary school days, it was a dream as unrealistic as wanting to become the President when I grew up.

But now, receiving an offer to become a guardian knight! The fact that I could become a knight! And not just any knight, but a knight of the Angel Sister Knight Order!

Persis would be proud of me.