My Maid is Cute Chapter 104 : Wendy's Dream (Patreon)

*Wendy's Dream*

The sound of metal clacking resonated: Clack, clack.

In a quiet room, Wendy was typing on her typewriter. Her hair, which had grown out a little, was tied back in a single bundle, and her gaze was fixed straight on the sentences she was spinning.

Her fingers moved for a while, but eventually, they came to a sudden stop. She closed her eyes as if to think for a moment, but soon opened them and glared at the typewriter in front of her.

"Hmm..."

Wendy voiced her worry. She was currently very lost about the development of the novel she was writing.

What she was writing now was a fantasy novel aimed at teenagers, and also a sequel in a series. Originally, it was a work that was supposed to end with just one book, but it became more popular than expected, and due to requests from readers and the publisher, it was decided to turn it into a series. It was a story with a grand-scale world setting, an adventure story which was Wendy's forte.

"..."

Wendy silently stared at the work she had written and let out a small breath. She had decided on the plot development; all that was left was to express it in sentences.

—However.

"...Is this interesting?"

Thinking such a thing, she voiced it aloud. As a novelist, she had achieved success and released numerous works to the world. Yet, no matter how many times she wrote, such doubts would float into her mind.

"..."

There was no use thinking about it. Let's take a short break.

Wendy stood up, opened the door of her private room, and called out.

"Becca."

She called the name of her lover who lived with her.

Usually, she would come immediately when called, but she didn't come.

Wondering why she didn't come, she tilted her head, but...

"...Ah."

She remembered immediately.

Today, Rebecca was absent. She had gone to visit their housekeeper Dorothy's house in the afternoon. Apparently, a large number of potatoes could be harvested from the field owned by Dorothy's husband. Invited by Dorothy, Rebecca had laughed happily after lunch and said,

"It's a potato party tonight! Please look forward to it."

Saying that, she had left the house looking excited. Most likely, she was happily digging potatoes right about now. Wendy pressed her hand to her forehead and dropped a light sigh. Reluctantly leaving the room, she headed to the kitchen herself. Rummaging through the cupboard filled with groceries, she discovered crackers and took them out. She hesitated for a moment whether to make tea, but in the end, she prepared wine and a glass. It was daytime, but a little wouldn't hurt.

Sitting down on the sofa, she opened the wine and poured it into the glass. After taking a sip, she nibbled on a cracker. The scent of spices and cheese spread in her mouth. The rich flavor matched the wine and was delicious. Wondering where these crackers were bought, she muttered in her head, and immediately after, she remembered Rebecca's words.

'Riesy bought them for us. Please eat them whenever you like. I hear they go well with alcohol too.'

Remembering Rebecca's smile at that time, Wendy involuntarily made a bitter face.

Wendy absolutely hated that Rebecca got along well with Rieserago. To her, Rebecca was number one, and she couldn't stand it unless she was number one to Rebecca. Of course, she knew Rebecca loved her. But most likely, the "closest friend" inside Rebecca was Rieserago.

Wendy downed the wine in one gulp with a frown.

"...Tch."

Making an expression she could absolutely never show Rebecca, she brushed back her hair and clicked her tongue.

She hated, absolutely hated, that Rebecca was close to anyone other than herself. But that didn't mean she could refuse Rieserago's visits. If she did that, Rebecca would be very sad. That was absolutely out of the question. She disliked Rieserago, but she would rather endure it than see Rebecca's sad face.

Holding onto her gloomy feelings, she continued drinking wine.

Wendy wanted to grant any wish Rebecca had. In the first place, moving to this quiet island was Wendy's selfishness. Rebecca threw away a stable life for Wendy and followed her all the way here. Wendy liked the calm life on this island very much, but living here had its inconveniences. Surely, Rebecca was struggling in ways she didn't know. Even so, Rebecca continued living on this island without a single complaint or grumble. She was grateful to her from the bottom of her heart. That's exactly why Wendy wanted to grant Rebecca's wishes as much as possible.

—She thought so, but.

"...I wonder when that person will come next."

Still, what she disliked, she disliked. Annoyingly, Rieserago visited here frequently. Apparently worried about Rebecca, she seemed to visit this mansion to check on Rebecca's condition. Every time she came here, she brought rare foods and small items as souvenirs. The crackers currently in Wendy's hand were one of them. She was grateful for that, but her honest feeling was that she wished she would refrain from coming here if possible.

Wendy finished the wine poured into her glass and lay down on the sofa. Hugging a cushion, she closed her eyes.

She wanted Rebecca to think only about Wendy forever. Not looking away, staring only at her. No, if possible, she wanted to hold her in these arms forever and dote on her. Lock her up in this mansion so she wouldn't see anyone but Wendy—

"..."

Her heart was dominated by pitch-black, dark emotions. Realizing she harbored such hard and distorted thoughts, she involuntarily laughed shortly. Then she slowly opened her eyes. Rebecca probably couldn't even imagine. That Wendy harbored such feelings.

Wendy's heavy obsessiveness hadn't changed since long ago. If Rebecca knew she harbored such feelings, she might naturally be somewhat repulsed. That would be sad, so she had to keep her emotions from showing as much as possible.

While thinking about self-control, waves of sleepiness gently washed over her. Just like that, Wendy fell into a slumber.

***

'Wendy.'

—I hear my brother's voice.

'Wendy, it's okay.'

It felt fluffy, like being on a cloud. There was a strange discomfort as if her head had become hollow. Immediately, she realized in the depths of her consciousness.

This is a dream.

'Wendy.'

Her brother's voice echoed in her head as if gently admonishing her.

'It's okay about Rebecca. We're searching hard. Surely we'll find her soon.'

—Ah, how nostalgic.

These were words her brother said to her many times after Rebecca was kidnapped by her biological family.

Honestly, she didn't want to remember those few years. Those days without Rebecca. Every day was so painful and lonely she felt like she would die.

After Rebecca went missing, when night came, Wendy would sit by the window and wait for Rebecca under the moonlight. Just Rebecca not being by her side was painful and sad, and she cried every day. Her chest felt empty, and her heart sank in solitude. She felt like she would go mad with grief. Still, believing in Rebecca, she waited and waited, forever. She believed she would definitely return to her.

The one who supported and stayed close to such a Wendy was her beloved brother.

Her brother Christopher did everything he could. He conducted investigations searching for Rebecca's whereabouts, and sometimes directly commanded the search parties. He searched desperately for Rebecca.

—For the first few years.

'Wendy. Won't you try going outside with me once in a while?'

It was a while after Wendy entered the academy that her brother started saying such things.

'There's a party. Let's attend it together.'

Until then, Wendy had avoided high society. She didn't like people other than her brother and Rebecca, and fundamentally had no interest in glamorous social gatherings. To save her brother's face, she reluctantly went to parties and tea gatherings where attendance was absolutely necessary, but even then, mostly she would just show her face at the beginning and leave immediately. Even at the academy she entered, she made absolutely no friends and spent most of her daily life studying, reading, or writing novels. She never thought that was sad. Wendy hated socializing and humans, and never thought she wanted friends.

Even though her brother should have understood Wendy's personality best.

'I'll prepare a beautiful dress. Accessories and shoes too, you can buy whatever you like, Wendy.'

Towards Wendy who grimaced, Christopher tried to persuade her while smiling vaguely as if glossing over something.

'It'll be fun, surely. There's lots of delicious food, and kids your age will come too. Surely you'll make lots of friends.'

—I have not a bit of interest in that. I don't want it at all.

Flashy dresses, beautiful accessories, glittering parties, delicious food, friends of the same age.

—I don't want any of it at all.

Even though what Wendy seeks is only that maid who is more carefree than anyone but kinder than anyone.

Why does her brother say such things?

'Wendy, little by little is fine. Let's try looking outward a bit more. There are many people who want to get involved with you and become close.'

What would come of that? Wendy has not a bit of interest in others, and has never needed friends.

The party she reluctantly attended after being persuaded by her brother was uncomfortable and painful, just as she imagined. Her brother stayed by her side and followed up the whole time during the party, but frankly speaking, it was unpleasant and disgusting the whole time. Forced to smile even though she wasn't having fun, having to talk to people she wasn't interested in. It was so unpleasant it made her nauseous.

—Ah, how terrible. Abominable.

Wendy strongly realized she wasn't suited to be a noble.

Returning to the mansion and taking off the constricting dress, Wendy immediately headed to her brother's study. When she told him she didn't want to appear in social gatherings like parties anymore, and wanted to be removed from the Earl's family register after graduating from the academy, naturally, her brother seemed shaken.

'Do you understand what being removed from the register means? You can't do that! It's impossible, isn't it!? What are you thinking!!'

Her brother, rarely exposing his anger, slammed his hand strongly on the study desk. It made a loud thud, but Wendy didn't flinch a bit.

It was the first time in her life she had such a big fight with her brother. She intended to be as calm as possible, but as they continued talking, both Wendy and her brother became emotional.

'Wendy, I beg you, please have a little more interaction with people. Look at the outside world. I feel sorry that you suffered from that curse because of Father. But that's all over a long time ago, isn't it? You've become an adult too. It's about time you accepted reality. About Rebecca too, just give up...'

She doubted her ears at the last words.

'...I've decided to call off the search for Rebecca.'

Everything went pitch black before her eyes. With a shock like being hit in the head, she felt her whole body temperature drop at once.

'The search costs money and takes up personnel. And, we've been searching for over two years with no clues. It's about time to give up.'

Her mouth was parched dry, and she couldn't say anything. Her consciousness felt like it was breaking apart into pieces. The figure of her brother in front of her looked like something bizarre.

'We haven't found her even after searching this much. Thinking normally, either she disappeared by her own will and went somewhere, or... she's already dead—'

Before those words finished, Wendy grabbed onto her brother.

Due to the agitation and shock, she didn't remember what she said to her brother. While she was crying and screaming and hitting her brother's chest repeatedly, her brother's wife came in and stopped her by force.

In the end, after that, persuaded by Lisette, her brother continued the search for Rebecca. However, the search itself was switched to a small-scale one.

From then on, Wendy became truly alone. She could no longer trust her brother. Until then, excluding Rebecca, her brother was her only precious existence. But giving up on Rebecca was a betrayal to Wendy.

Anger erupted violently, and her whole body trembled. Hatred pierced through her nerves.

She despised from the bottom of her heart the brother she had adored since childhood. She could absolutely never forgive him.

No matter how much time passed, her feelings for Rebecca neither weathered nor faded. Only a longing that scorched her body accumulated and grew stronger.

Surely, she must be crazy. To harbor such strong feelings for a mere maid and be so obsessed.

But it couldn't be helped. Since she was little, she loved only her. More than anyone, more than anything. She wanted only her so much she felt she would go crazy and lose her mind.

Her wish was just one thing.

Simply, to meet you once again.

Just that.

—Let's save money.

Wendy made a resolution.

She couldn't rely on anyone anymore. She would search for Rebecca herself. Preparing little by little, she would leave home once she graduated from the academy. Even if her brother tried to stop her, she would absolutely leave. And while traveling, she would search for Rebecca with her own hands. For that purpose, she would earn even a little money.

She would write novels. Novels that everyone would think were interesting. Novels that would be called masterpieces.

'My Lady.'

To find her beloved maid, she would write. Works that only she could write.

Write, write, write, keep writing.

'My Lady.'

I won't give up. Never. If it is to meet you again.

You were the light for me. That's why I will keep searching forever and ever.

I'll keep believing.

—Becca, because I want to see you.

***

"—Lady! Lady Wendy!"

The dream of sorrow receded all at once, and she opened her eyes with a start. Rebecca, who seemed to have returned home unnoticed, was peering at Wendy.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry for waking you... you looked like you were in pain."

Told so, she finally realized she had fallen asleep on the sofa and was dreaming.

Sitting up sluggishly, she turned her gaze to the window. The outside world was already dyed in twilight. Sleepiness still lingered, and her whole body felt numb. She had a slight headache too. Holding her head, she turned her eyes toward Rebecca.

"Becca..."

Rebecca was dirty with soil all over her body. The backpack she was carrying looked heavy. Surely, many potatoes were inside.

As Wendy stared blankly at Rebecca, Rebecca smiled broadly.

"Lady Wendy, I'm home!"

At those words, Wendy was dumbfounded for a moment and gasped. Something warm welled up from the depths of her chest, blurring her vision. Seeing Wendy like that, Rebecca widened her eyes in surprise.

"Eh, eh? What happened? Are you feeling unwell somewhere!?"

Rebecca seemed confused by Wendy's state. While looking at Rebecca, Wendy shed tears and covered her face with her hands. Seeing that figure, Rebecca panicked even more, flustered and confused.

"Lady Wendy, Lady Wendy!? What's wrong? Does it hurt somewhere!?"

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

Wendy desperately tried to stop her tears, but emotions welled up and it didn't go well. After a while, finally regaining her composure, she removed her hands from her face. Immediately, the figure of her beloved person with a worried face entered her vision.

Shedding tears from her green eyes, Wendy smiled.

"Welcome home, Becca."

***

Today, August 4th, marks the fourth anniversary since the serialization of "I am a reincarnated maid, but my precious young lady is acting a little strange" began.

This time, as a fourth-anniversary commemoration, I wrote a short story from Wendy's perspective. Reading through the main story again, there are very few scenes from Wendy's perspective, so it was fun to be able to write it. I will continue to update side stories little by little in the future. I would be happy if you read them. Thank you for your support.