༺ The Lord Is With Us (32) ༻
My new life at the orphanage could only be called monotonous.
Rising at the crack of dawn, I practiced my swordsmanship with Celine and Seria. It would have been nice to have Senior Delphine join us, but she scoffed at the idea and refused.
She believed that we weren’t on the same level to train together.
If I really wanted to, a single brandish of my hatchet would fix her attitude, but doing so just when her fear of me started subsiding sounded like the worst outcome.
Not to mention, she had spent her entire life honing her swordsmanship and was likely to have her own routine. There was no need to force her to break away from her routine just to join our training.
If there was time after training, I’d spend the rest of the day observing the forest or helping out with the chores at the orphanage.
I was already quite close to the children. In fact, not just me but everyone else as well.
Even Senior Delphine was strangely cooperative in doing her fair share of the chores despite how disgruntled she was at the beginning.
And Seria was especially shocked when she witnessed her lofty sister do menial chores.
“……S-sis, you’re doing the laundry?”
Seria froze upon seeing her prideful older sister twisting and wringing out the soggy laundry before turning to look at me with a tearful expression.
“S-senior Ian…….”
Her eyes were begging me to do something about it. Her sister doing laundry came as big of a shock to her as hearing that the world was coming to an end.
It was understandable. Seria was practically a vassal of the Yurdina.
Although she was an illegitimate child born of a maid, the fact that she was a skilled swordswoman made her the perfect vassal to serve as Delphine’s closest confidant.
She held various feelings towards her sister. While she was fearful of Senior Delphine, she also admired her and harbored some degree of sibling affection.
That was why, to her, this situation was no different from a servant watching her master do trivial chores.
Senior Delphine was to succeed as the next head of the Yurdina, but here she was, using her noble body to do laundry. However, none of us could do anything to change her mind. There was no stopping her once she set her mind on something.
Once I shook my head, Seria restlessly rushed to her sister’s side.
Perhaps due to her nervousness, her usually expressionless face seemed even colder than usual. After a brief hesitation, Seria cautiously called out to Senior Delphine.
“……S-sis?”
“What’s the matter, Seria?”
Faced with Senior Delphine’s calm voice as she continued to wring the moisture out of the laundry, Seria began to feel even more intimidated.
“No matter what, you’re still the next head of Yurdina… P-please hand it over, I’ll do it instead!”
“……Seria.”
Her voice was quiet, but Seria still immediately shut her mouth.
.
Despite eking out a victory against her sister in the Hunting Festival, traces of fear lingered, and their relationship was still strained. Seria was visibly dominated by a single word from Senior Delphine.
Senior Delphine momentarily glanced at her younger sister before returning her impassive gaze to the laundry.
“It’s because I’m the heiress to the Yurdina family that I have to do this. Do you want me to become an incompetent lord incapable of even basic tasks?
“N-no, t-that’s not it…!”
“….I’m aware of your worries.”
Her words were accompanied by a sigh.
Seria avoided her sister’s eyes while fidgeting around.
I felt a sense of deja vu upon watching Seria’s fidgeting figure.
Right. Although it was impertinent of me to think so, their interaction reminded me of how Senior Delphine behaved in front of me.
“But if you can’t do the little things, you won’t be able to accomplish bigger things. Refusing to work when we’re short-handed is a luxury we can’t afford.”
“Sis…….”
Seria looked impressed as admiration filled her eyes. Then, she quietly turned back towards me.
“Senior Ian, I was wrong. As expected, my sister is a strong person.”
I pretended to nod in agreement in an attempt to salvage what remained of Senior Delphine’s face. I dreaded the day when Seria would find out the truth about her sister.
My gaze drifted to Senior Delphine, who was still silently wringing the water out of the laundry.
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as our eyes met. She cleared her throat, trying to regain her dignity, but to me, it only made her look cute as the memory of the small argument over a mere glass of water floated into my mind.
**
All I did was ask for a glass of water.
But just by Senior Delphine handing me a glass, the surrounding air grew colder by the second as Senior Elsie glared daggers at her.
Relishing in Senior Elsie’s anger, Senior Delphine’s lips formed a charming smile. Then, with smug confidence, she taunted the petite girl in front of her.
“What’s the matter, Rinella? The Hatchet Lord got what he needed, and you don’t have to go run an errand. That can only be good for you, right?”
A sassy voice accompanied her smile. It was a voice that reflected the pride and arrogance of the heiress of Yurdina.
She was overly smug for someone who had simply retrieved a glass of water, but Senior Elsie was successfully caught up by the obvious provocation.
Much like an angry cat, a threatening growl leaked out from between her clenched teeth.
“……I thought simple chores were beneath you, Yurdina? Did you finally realize your position?”
“Hm, well, it’s not bad. Especially since I get to see you squirm.”
What was wrong with these two seniors again? I would’ve intervened if I knew where to start, but at a loss as to what to do, I simply held my head in frustration.
Would asking for another glass help?
While I was considering my options, their argument intensified.
“Ha! How nice, Yurdina. Become a maid then. Maid Delphine Yurdina! Must be nice, it has a nice ring to it.”
“Sure, I’ll be a maid. I’ll be Sir Ian’s maid, so why don’t you see yourself out?”
“……What?”
Senior Elsie’s face scrunched up, not expecting Senior Delphine to go that far, but Delphine continued brazenly.
Her crimson-red eyes blazed with a competitive spirit.
“I’ll take care of your part as well, so just screw off.”
“Y-you……!”
Senior Elsie’s sapphire-blue eyes shook wildly. Everything would’ve been over if she simply walked away, but she wavered in her spot.
Senior Delphine’s lips lifted into a smirk, knowing she had cornered her rival.
In turn, Senior Elsie briefly snuck a glance at me before flying into a sudden fit of anger.
“……I-I said I was going to be his maid first, so why are you being like this now!?”
“Well, that was back when there was no competition for the spot. Don’t you think the most capable person should be chosen? No matter how I look at it, I’m simply better than you.
The sound of Senior Elsie gnashing her teeth rang out in response to the blatant provocation.
Her blue eyes were already marked with hatred, and I was still just as lost as I was when this all began.
What were they doing? Were they competing over who would be the better maid?
Not to mention, it just had to be the two of them. I groaned just thinking about it
There was only one thing on my mind right now. It was that no one should see them like this.
It wasn’t just the honor of their respective families at stake, but also my public image.
Not only that, if anyone witnessed two of the Academy’s top students behaving like this, it would also put the Academy’s reputation in danger.
Frankly speaking, only bad outcomes would result from them acting like this.
“This bitch… Acting out just cause I held myself back!”
Pajijiiiiik!
Sparks of electricity flashed across Senior Elsie’s fingertips while Senior Delphine’s hands moved to her waist.
“I was caught off guard last time, but I wonder what will happen now?”
“Obviously, you’re gonna end up crying yourself to sleep after I finish beating you down!”
Senior Delphine’s relaxed expression crumbled as she glared at Senior Elsie with bloodthirsty eyes.
“……Alright. Then, whoever wins will be the maid.”
“Maid? Hmph! I’m fine with being a slave.”
Senior Elsie spat out those words as if they were supposed to be a provocation. If a retainer of the Rinella family were here, it wouldn’t have been surprising for them to commit suicide after hearing the words coming out of her mouth.
At this point, my voice escaped my mouth.
“That’s enough…….”
But perhaps due to the heated atmosphere, my words fell on deaf ears.
Senior Delphine frowned momentarily before flashing a provocative smile.
“……Is that so? Then I’ll be a dog. Arf, arf!“
“Then I’ll be a cat, meow!“
“Please stop…….”
I had to cover my face while begging them to stop.
There were untold levels of shame in witnessing the two best students of the Academy go at it like kindergarten children. I wanted nothing more than to shut them both up, but seeing how heated they were, it seemed like no amount of words were going to reach them.
“Really? Then I’ll-“
Bang!
“I said stop!”
Right as Senior Delphine pursed her lips to make a comeback, the sound of a wooden table shattering echoed through the room.
The table snapped in half with one swing of my hatchet. Waterdrops rained down on us as the glasses of water shot up into the air, unable to withstand the impact.
The two women treated me like air when I spoke, but the moment I moved, their reactions changed instantaneously.
Both their bodies trembled as they immediately groveled on the floor and began mumbling gibberish.
“P-please forgive me… I was wrong… D-don’t hate me! I’ll be a piss baby, so…….”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’ll never act so arrogantly again… P-please end it with only one arm…….”
Wrecked remains of a broken table, spilt water from toppled glasses, and two sniveling seniors stuck to the floor while stammering nonsensical gibberish…
A hollow laugh left my lips as I raised my hand to my forehead.
“……What a damn shitshow.”
I couldn’t find a better word for the situation.
And now, I was the one who had to clean up after this shitshow.
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