My Maid is Cute Chapter 75 : Two Close People (Patreon)

*Two Close People*

"Throw it away."

Wendy spat out the words curtly, handing the letter to Jeanne. Seeing the characters written in the letter, Jeanne's eyes popped wide in shock.

"M-Milady, this is...!"

"I said, throw it away."

Wendy repeated the same words with a sigh. Jeanne looked at the words on the letter in bewilderment and replied.

"Um, but..."

While taking off her jacket, Wendy directed an annoyed gaze at Jeanne.

"Leave it be."

"...Excuse me?"

"I said, leave it be. Whoever sent that letter is just some female student who's unhappy that I talk often with Nicholas Lambert, anyway."

Wendy continued, sounding fed up.

"It's not like it's the first time. Corin... that person is very popular... so when I get along with him, I've had minor harassment or bad-mouthing directed at me before... Although it is rare to have malice thrown at me this blatantly."

Wendy shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't particularly care. Just throw it away quickly. More importantly, I want to write a letter to Becca. Prepare some stationery."

"...Understood."

Jeanne bowed deeply, still looking flustered.

***

To my dearest Becca,

Thank you for your letter. I dream of you often, too. Last night, I dreamed we were taking a walk together. Once exams are over, I'll have a short break. I'll definitely return there then, so let's go out together.

Come to think of it, I heard about the baby from my sister-in-law's letter. You already know too, right? It's very joyful news—

Reading the long letter sent by Wendy, Rebecca smiled.

The other day, the news of Lisette's pregnancy had been announced to everyone by Christopher. The mansion was abuzz with the bright news. Even among the servants and maids, talk of the unborn child was increasing.

"Lord Christopher's child, huh... I wonder if it'll be a boy or a girl?"

During lunch break, Carrie said this happily, and Rebecca smiled wryly.

"We probably won't know yet, right?"

There was no visible swell to Lisette's belly yet. Carrie continued while tearing off a piece of her lunch bread.

"I suppose so, but... you can't help but be curious."

"That's true."

Rebecca nodded lightly.

"Either way, they'll definitely be a beauty."

"That's for sure. Whether they resemble Lord Christopher or Lady Lisette. Ah, but if it's a boy and he takes after Lady Lisette, he might grow up to be incredibly strong."

"Strong...?"

Rebecca tilted her head, finding Carrie's words strange. Carrie answered with a laugh.

"Lady Lisette's family, the Bramfields, are apparently a family of knights for generations. Her father and brother are incredibly muscular and excellent knights, I hear."

"Heh..."

"It's not widely known, but apparently Lady Lisette is a master of swordsmanship too. She's incredibly strong; they say even the male students couldn't match her sword skills back in her school days. If she hadn't married Lord Christopher, there's a high chance she would have joined the knight order and become the first female commander."

"Ah..."

Recalling how Lisette had easily lifted her body before, Rebecca voiced her understanding. Learning of the gentle Lisette's unexpected special skill, Rebecca muttered softly.

"That is amazing..."

"It really is."

At Rebecca's words, Carrie nodded and continued.

"Well, if it's Lord Christopher, he'll likely dote on the child excessively whether it's a boy or a girl."

After saying that, Carrie suddenly looked at Rebecca's hands and asked.

"By the way, Rebecca. I've been wondering for a while, what are you doing?"

"Eh? Ah."

Rebecca stopped knitting the thread and smiled.

"I'm braiding thread to make a bracelet."

"A bracelet?"

"Yes. Lady Lisette taught me how to make them. She gave me some thread too, so I thought I'd try making one..."

Ever since she received the thread from Lisette, Rebecca had been making the bracelet little by little during breaks in her work. At first, she couldn't do it well and had to start over many times, but gradually she got used to it, and now she was able to braid beautifully.

"Heh."

Carrie voiced her interest.

"For yourself?"

"Ah... no."

At that question, Rebecca answered shyly.

"...Um, actually, I was thinking I'd like to give it to Milady. I don't know if I can make it well, though..."

At Rebecca's words, Carrie made a somewhat complicated face for some reason. Then, staring at Rebecca's face, she said,

"...I see. I hope she likes it."

At Carrie's words, Rebecca imagined Wendy's smile and nodded, saying, "Yes."

***

—You are mine

Please, stay by my side

Don't leave me alone

Nicholas Lambert abruptly awoke from the depths of a deep sleep. He slowly sat up on the bed. His whole body felt numb, and he felt as though sleepiness was still clinging to his mind.

"..."

Even though he should have gotten enough sleep, he felt as if fatigue still remained. Holding his head, he closed his eyes. His whole body felt sluggish, and moving was painful.

Nicholas took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and moved his body. Then, he slowly got out of bed.

***

"What's with that face?"

In the academy classroom, seeing Nicholas's face, Wendy said this first thing, causing Nicholas to smile wryly.

"Is it that bad?"

"...If you're feeling unwell, you should rest."

He had, of course, noticed that his complexion was pale and he had bags under his eyes. However, he didn't feel like missing class over something like that, and more than anything, he had a promise to go out with Wendy, so Nicholas had forced his sluggish body to move and come to school.

"I'm not feeling sick."

Clasping his fingers on the desk, Nicholas added.

"Just a little... bad dreams."

"Hmm."

Wendy glanced at Nicholas's face but looked away immediately as if she had lost interest. Then she continued speaking flatly.

"In that case, our outing today is cancelled."

"No, but..."

"Instead, let's go to the library. I was just thinking I wanted to study. If we're there, you probably won't get too tired."

At those words, Nicholas smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Wendy."

"...Whatever. I just wanted to do that."

"I'll make it up to you on our next date."

At the word "date," Wendy's shoulders twitched in reaction. However, without saying anything more, she looked away from Nicholas.

***

In the library after classes ended.

Finding a small table, Nicholas and Wendy sat facing each other. The surrounding students sent flickering glances their way.

As Nicholas tried to spread out his textbooks and notebooks on the table, Wendy spoke to him quietly.

"Recently, I've been receiving letters from some foolish students."

"...What's that?"

When Nicholas furrowed his brows, Wendy shrugged her shoulders and continued.

"Don't get close to you, or don't talk to you. Letters like that."

Several letters warning her about her relationship with Nicholas had arrived after the first one. All of them contained messages like,

Stay away from Nicholas Lambert

You are not worthy of Nicholas Lambert

written in messy handwriting. Each time, Jeanne would suggest with a worried face that they should report it to a teacher, but since Wendy herself didn't care that much, she had left the situation alone.

"...Is that going to be okay?"

Nicholas's face clouded over.

"It's fine. Nothing weird has been done besides the letters. I just thought I should tell you, just in case."

"Who would do such a thing..."

"I don't know. But really, it's fine. If anything happens, I'll deal with it. Don't worry."

Saying that, Wendy took out her own textbook and opened it on the desk.

***

That night.

When Nicholas was eating dinner at the dormitory, someone sat down in the seat opposite him. Seeing the person, Nicholas spoke.

"Hey, Brooks."

It was his classmate, Brooks Armand. He stared straight at Nicholas from the front. Then, he broached the subject with an awkward face.

"Um... Nicholas..."

"Yeah?"

"...I know you don't want to say, but I just had to confirm..."

Brooks continued without even touching his dinner.

"About the Count's daughter, Caldwell..."

"Ah, her."

Nicholas looked away from Brooks and sipped his dinner soup.

"Recently, I heard rumors. That you've become intimate... that you've gone out alone together many times..."

"Well, it's true that we spend time together often."

Because Nicholas nodded lightly as if it were nothing, Brooks grimaced.

"...Lady Estelle is worried about you, too."

At those words, Nicholas's hand stopped abruptly.

"...Sister, huh."

"Recently, the content of the letters Lady Estelle sends me is nothing but about you and the Count's daughter... She apparently asked you directly in a letter too, but you didn't answer anything..."

Brooks continued with a stern expression.

"—Rumor has it you intend to announce your engagement at the graduation party."

Nicholas opened his eyes wide at Brooks's words.

"...I see. So there's a rumor like that."

Brooks, looking slightly irritated, said,

"I won't tell anyone, so I want you to tell me... Do you really intend to do that? Get engaged to her, to the Count's daughter?"

Nicholas exhaled lightly and stood up from his seat.

"I'll leave it to your imagination."

"Nicholas!"

Because Brooks raised his voice loudly, students eating at other tables glanced over. Ignoring their gazes, Nicholas spoke so that only Brooks could hear.

"Let's see. Indeed, you could say I have a special relationship with her. Satisfied now?"

"...!"

"I don't know if my sister asked you to do this, but I don't want to answer any further. Leave me alone."

Saying that, Nicholas walked away.

***

At the Caldwell residence.

While walking down the hallway carrying cleaning tools, Rebecca was thinking about the bracelet she was making.

"It's almost finished..."

She thought she had managed to make it quite carefully. Just as she was thinking about whether to send it to Wendy with a letter or hand it to her directly when she returned during the break...

"—"

She heard muffled voices. It was the voices of Christopher and Lisette. Apparently, they were conversing in a room just nearby.

Rebecca didn't pay particular attention and was about to continue down the hallway when...

"...Wendy is—"

Suddenly, Wendy's name flew from Christopher's mouth. Rebecca's feet stopped dead. She turned her face toward the door of the room from where the voices were leaking.

"..."

She knew she shouldn't, but hearing Wendy's name made it impossible to resist. Approaching softly so as not to make any footsteps, she pressed her ear to the door.

"...Recently, it seems strange letters are arriving for Wendy."

At Christopher's words, Rebecca opened her eyes wide.

"Strange letters?"

She heard Lisette's surprised voice.

"Yeah. Wendy's personal maid secretly informed me. Recently, my sister seems to be close with the son of the Lambert family..."

"Ah. I've heard that rumor. ...Since they get along so well, people think they might get engaged."

At Lisette's voice, Rebecca felt a sensation like her heart freezing.

"What do you mean by strange letters...?"

"Letters like smear documents. Apparently, they are warning documents telling her not to get close to the Lambert son, or not to talk to him."

"Oh my... Shouldn't we report this to the academy and have them investigate...?"

"Wendy herself doesn't seem to care and is apparently leaving it alone. She says she's had minor harassment and bad-mouthing before, so..."

Rebecca gasped at the unexpected story.

Meanwhile, Lisette voiced her understanding.

"Ah, I understand. back in my school days, when I was getting along with you, I was often bad-mouthed too..."

"Really!? When!?"

"We'll talk about that later. More importantly, what are you going to do?"

"Hmm..."

Christopher groaned as if troubled.

"...Wendy would probably get angry if we acted on our own."

"That... is true..."

"Should we investigate in secret... No, there hasn't been any harm besides the letters, so let's watch the situation a little longer..."

She sensed Christopher standing up and walking toward the door. Rebecca hurriedly pulled her ear away from the door and quickly left the spot.

After getting away from the room, she exhaled in a corner of the hallway. Leaning her back against the wall while holding the cleaning tools.

"To think such a thing is happening to Milady..."

Rebecca muttered quietly. She felt anxiety spreading in her heart like rain clouds.

"...Smear documents."

Who on earth would send such things to Wendy?

As Rebecca was thinking with a grim face, a voice called out to her.

"Ah, Rebecca! What are you doing?"

Because Carrie came running up noisily, Rebecca hurriedly pushed herself off the wall.

"You're late. Where have you been?"

"I-I'm sorry!"

Rebecca hurriedly handed the broom to Carrie.

"I was just zoning out a bit."

"Let's finish the cleaning quickly."

At Carrie's words, Rebecca nodded.

After that, she started cleaning with Carrie, but Rebecca's heart was full of anxiety and worry the whole time.

***

That night, she was worried about the smear documents sent to Wendy and could barely sleep. Tossing and turning repeatedly, morning came, and Rebecca got up with a sigh.

Sluggishly fixing her hair, she put on her dress and apron. Rubbing her eyes from lack of sleep, just as she opened the door and left her room...

"Good morning."

Someone called out to her.

Seeing the person who seemed to have been waiting in front of her door, Rebecca opened her mouth in a gape.

"Leesy!?"

Leeselago was standing proudly with his arms crossed.

"W-Why are you here!?"

"Apparently, he arrived here last night."

The one who answered was Christopher. He was smiling wryly behind Leeselago.

"He says he came to see you."

"No, but even so, this early in the morning..."

At the abrupt reunion and Leeselago's lack of common sense, Rebecca held her head in her hands, dumbfounded. Ignoring that, Leeselago spoke to Christopher.

"I'm borrowing her for the day."

Saying that, he grabbed Rebecca's hand.

"Excuse me!?"

Rebecca blinked and turned her face to Leeselago.

"Um, by borrowing, you mean...?"

Christopher asked back in confusion. After making a face like he was thinking a little, Leeselago spoke flatly.

"As a doctor, I want to check the condition of her body a bit."

"L-Leesy!?"

Ignoring the bewildered Rebecca, Leeselago continued. Christopher seemed a little surprised, but he nodded agreeably.

"O-Oh, yes. I understand."

Leeselago nodded lightly as well and dragged Rebecca along.

"H-Hey, Leesy! Why so suddenly—"

Once outside the Caldwell residence, Rebecca raised her voice at Leeselago. Leeselago answered aloofly.

"Sorry. I really intended to contact you before coming. But the play I was supposed to see today was cancelled suddenly because an actor got sick or something. I thought it was a good opportunity, so I came here."

"Even so..."

Ignoring Rebecca's exasperated voice, Leeselago grinned.

"Well then, shall we go?"

Rebecca tilted her head.

"...Go where?"

"To your Milady's place."

"Huh!?"

At those words, Rebecca let out a shocked voice.

"R-Right now!?"

"Didn't you say you were unbearably lonely and wanted to see her?"

"N-No, well, that's true but... No, wait, you just said you were going to check my body."

"Obviously I just made that up to smooth things over."

Leeselago shrugged his shoulders, put his hands on his hips, and looked down at Rebecca.

"I came all the way here because you were crying peep-peep about being lonely, you know."

"I wasn't crying that much!"

"You did cry. More importantly, are you going? Or not?"

"Uh, umm..."

Seeing Rebecca utterly bewildered by the sudden turn of events, Leeselago tilted his head.

"What? Did you change your mind? Don't you want to go?"

"No, um, it's not that..."

"Today is the only chance. Starting tomorrow, there's another play I want to see."

"U-Uuughhh..."

Rebecca held her head and agonized. Honestly speaking, she wanted to go very much. She was worried about the smear documents Christopher spoke of, and more than anything, she wanted to see Wendy's face. But wondering if it was okay to skip work and do something like this, Leeselago continued to the brooding Rebecca.

"Just go secretly and come back immediately. You'd be satisfied just seeing her face, right?"

"...!"

At those words, Rebecca looked up and finally gave a small nod. Seeing that, Leeselago grinned again.

Then, picking Rebecca up, he spoke happily.

"Alright then, departure time!"