Chapter 4: The Hero’s New Job (3)

　　“Mr. Rei! Close your eyes!”

　　Splash—!

　　Holy water was thrown. The bone-chillingly cold water soaked me from head to toe. Oh. What is this?

　　“Y-You…! You idiot!” Sedian shouted

　　If he’d called me a drowned rat, I would have understood. But an idiot? I’m the one who got a faceful of water for trying to treat him.

　　“What were you thinking, touching my body? What if the curse spreads to you, you idiot! Damn it! I knew it, you idiot! I knew it from the moment you applied for this position. I knew you were a goddamn idiot!”

　　How many times is he going to call me an idiot? The real fool is Sedian, with his bizarre idea that a curse is contagious. I’d never been called an idiot so many times in my life, and the situation was so unfair that I snapped back.

　　“Who says so?”

　　“What?”

　　“Is a curse some kind of infectious disease? Does it spread just by touching? Why not just say it spreads by breathing the same air, like a cold?”

　　“What are you—!”

　　I paid no mind to his dumbfounded expression and strode toward him. Then…

　　“Ack! What are you doing! Hands off, now!” he yelled.

　　I poked his body here and there.

　　“No.”

　　“Hey!”

　　Sedian foamed at the mouth, waving his hands to try and push me away. But there was no way I’d be overpowered by someone so weak. I was only pushed away before because he caught me off guard. I lightly dodged him and continued to touch his body. Poke.

　　“H-How dare a mere servant touch his master’s body!”

　　Having decided he couldn’t beat me, Sedian stopped moving and pointed a finger at me, his face red enough to burst. I shrugged.

　　“I haven’t been hired yet, so I’m not your servant.” If you don’t like it, then hire me.

　　As I retorted, Sedian seemed at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing while his body trembled. So I touched him one more time.

　　“You!”

　　Sedian slapped the back of my hand and glared. “Do you want to end up as a monster like me? Is that why you’ve gone mad?”

　　“I am not mad.” I heard the maids whispering, “I think you are mad…” but I ignored them and continued firmly. “And you are not a monster, either, my lord.”

　　I saw his blue eyes waver slightly. I knew that look well. In my past life, I’d seen countless people who considered their different, sick selves to be ‘monsters’ and isolated themselves. Certain he was wavering, I touched him once more. This time, he didn’t scream or push me away.

　　“Look. I’ve been touching you this whole time, but there’s nothing wrong with me, is there?” I took my hand off him and rolled up both my sleeves, waving my hands and arms in front of his eyes. “From the very beginning, a curse isn’t a disease. It’s magic directed at a specific person. It doesn’t spread just by touching someone.” I said it deliberately loud, making sure my voice carried to the maids stamping their feet behind me.

　　“And so.” Then I gently took hold of his flinching wrist. “It’s alright, my lord.”

　　He fell silent.

　　“Keep me by your side.”

　　Even after I had finished speaking, Sedian remained frozen. The wild tremor in his eyes had stilled. He looked up at me with a shocked expression, as if he’d been struck by a hammer.

　　Hmm. Is he moved? I was just starting to feel pleased, thinking I’d scored some points in our very first meeting.

　　“…You.”

　　His face, which had been slack with shock, hardened once more. He scowled.

　　“Get out.”

　　Well. This prickly cat hasn’t lost his claws, I see.

　　Of course, getting him to lower his guard from the very beginning was going to be a challenge. I nodded in understanding and quietly made my exit.

* * *

　　The moment I stepped out of the room, a maid struck my arm.

　　“What in the world were you thinking?!”

　　Ouch. I clutched my stinging arm and recoiled.

　　“What was that for?”

　　“What was that for? Do you have any idea how terrified I was in there? Why would you touch the young lord? What if something terrible happened!” she shrieked, practically jumping up and down. She moved to strike me again, but I deftly sidestepped. That hurts, you know.

　　“Did I not tell you inside? The curse isn’t contagious.”

　　The maid’s face crumpled into a fierce scowl as she yelled again. “Then what about the butler who died recently, sick with the very same symptoms as his lordship?”

　　“Pardon?”

　　“You mean you didn’t know?” When I feigned ignorance, the maid stared at me, dumbfounded, before continuing. “It was just a short while ago. The butler tripped in front of his lordship, who had stepped outside for a moment, and he helped him up. From that day on, the butler started wasting away. His skin peeled off, and he was burning with a fever. And then… he passed away.”

　　I mulled over her words, trying to recall the original story. Did something like that happen? The novel hadn’t gone into much detail about Sedian’s past before he met the heroine, so my memory was hazy. No matter how hard I tried, the only thing that came to mind was a line about how Sedian chose even deeper isolation after someone died because of him.

　　I suppose that person was the previous butler.

　　“It’s obvious the curse was transferred to him! Isn’t it? That’s why we’ve all been so careful…!” The maid was on the verge of tears, but then she clenched her fists as if steeling herself and shot me a glare. “You’ll be fine this time since we immediately doused you with holy water, but you must never do that again. We’re always short on it!”

　　Holy water was necessary to calm the seizures that periodically wracked Sedian’s body, and the ducal family paid a significant sum to the temple for a regular supply. And they had just poured some of that precious liquid all over me.

　　So he reacted so defensively because he thought the previous butler died because of him. I crossed my arms, considering this.

　　“For now, I’ll look into the matter,” I stated.

　　“Look into what?”

　　“Whether or not the previous butler’s death was caused by the curse.”

　　“I’m telling you, it was the curse! Goodness, you’re frustrating! Oh, forget it. Talking to you is going to give me an ulcer.” Muttering to herself, the maid sighed and shook her head. “If you go down to the basement, there’s a private room. You can use that one. You can change into the tailcoat you’ll find there. The head maid will come later to explain your duties.”

　　Her next words sparked a question, and I inquired, “Does that mean I’m hired?”

　　“Excuse me.” The maid looked utterly exhausted as she gave me a pathetic stare. “You were the only applicant, so isn’t it obvious? After everyone found out how the previous butler died, no one else applied.”

　　“Ah, I see.”

　　“Don’t give me that nonsense… Anyway, just be careful. We can’t afford to lose another butler that was so hard to find.”

　　Though her tone was blunt, she seemed genuinely worried. And the fact that she remained by Sedian’s side despite believing the previous butler died from the curse spoke of a certain loyalty. Thinking she wasn’t a bad person, I headed for the basement where my room was located, calmly organizing my thoughts.

　　Why did the previous butler die?

　　He didn’t die from the curse. For one, the curse isn’t contagious. Besides, if a mere touch of the hand could transfer it, wouldn’t the entire world be cursed by now?

　　But since the butler died while everyone believed it was contagious, the rumors must have solidified into fact.

　　As a result, Sedian was now burdened with the guilt of thinking someone had died because of him—a guilt that had twisted into an anxiety so severe that he’d wasted precious holy water over a single touch. Right now, Sedian was probably thinking: I poured holy water on him, so Rei won’t die. He’ll be fine. No, what if he dies? Would it be my fault? What if he dies, too?

　　I need to reassure him first.

　　We couldn’t afford to waste holy water like this every time I touched him. And I had no desire to get soaked again, either. If I could prove that the previous butler didn’t die from the curse, perhaps Sedian would feel some relief and stop blaming himself.

　　But how do I figure out why the butler died?

　　It was never mentioned in the original story. I felt a bit lost, but what choice did I have? I had to try something. Deciding to go to my room and reassess the situation, I threw open the door.

　　And in that instant, I knew exactly why the previous butler had died.