It Seems Like I Fell into a Reverse Harem Game - Chapter 2

‘I just wanted to retire. Though why is he saying the same lines as when he was betrayed…?’

Irene stood still and blinked her eyes confusingly.

The eldest son of the Lavrenti family, the soft-spoken protagonist who allowed her to enter the room a while ago, has now turned into a gentleman with an unceasing sense of pressure.

“I will pretend I never saw this resignation letter.”

“But, I am leaving this mansion.”

“I can’t allow it.”

“W, why?”

The moment Irene uttered a voice of protest, her hands were caught.

A smile as luminous as the sunlight.

It was Otis Lavrenti, the second son of the Lavrenti family, who grabbed her hand. He was also a man who knew the joy of life to often fold a bunch of roses out of colored paper and left them in Irene’s pocket unnoticed.

And Otis, who has such a scary and composed look in her seventh life in [ Love or Die, ] has never seen Irene in his eyes before.

“Irene, are you really going to leave?”

“Yes.”

“Then, take me with you.”

“…Yes? That is impossible.”

“I will buy you a house.”

Oh, that’s a bit harsh.

When Irene couldn’t refuse right away, Otis took another sip and began to lay down his words.

“Irene, you don’t have to work. As long as you have tea time with me once a day, I will get you a luxurious four-story mansion and decorate the house with different roses every day. Do you like fountains, too? What about the garden? If you desire, I will also build a horseback riding course in the mansion as well. We will hire three of our best chefs so you can enjoy a different dinner every day.”

Oh, that is really hard…

“Otis. Shut up and get out.”

She was awakened by the sound of a cold voice that scratched the nape of her neck as if growling. Irene almost replied that she would do so inadvertently.

As soon as she realized the situation a while ago, a cold sweat ran down her spine.

‘I almost fell for it…’

When he whispers in a languid voice, it was as though she was possessed without realizing it. Besides, she couldn’t deny that the offer was too sweet. If it hadn’t been for the sudden interruption, she might have accepted the offer of his proposal.

The owner of the voice was, of course, Ahivalt.

Ahivalt, who had been sitting at the office desk a while ago, pushed Otis away and approached her.

“Irene. Ignore Otis’ fuss. A guy who doesn’t have that kind of money is just bluffing.”

“What do you mean, brother? Do you think I don’t have that much money?”

“I don’t know, but I’m certain it’s less than mine.”

He replied indifferently before bowing his head and made eye contact with Irene.

“Did I do anything to upset you? Or was it someone else? You seem to be doing well, what’s the problem?”

“There is nothing saddening that is happening. It’s just time for me to leave now.”

“I know that you don’t have anyone else.”

That’s right. It was bothersome to give a family to an extra like Irene. So, she was an orphan who had been working here since she was a child.

“I think I will be able to set up a small cafe if I get paid for my retirement. I could get a house available for rent as well.”

“… So, you mean. After leaving this place, you plan to live in a rented house?”

“Yes.”

Obviously, the three brothers were having the same thoughts, ‘Why a cafe? Why does she want to live in a rented house?

As Irene stood silently, trying to grasp what was happening, she could hear the sound of crumpled paper. The sound came behind Ahivalt.

“No way, Rea. Why do you have to live like that?”

Rodion Lavrenti, the youngest member of the Lavrenti family and the little devil character, was seeking Irene’s resignation letter.

“…Third Master. Isn’t that my resignation letter?”

“No, isn’t it garbage?”

‘No matter how you look at it, this is definitely my letter of resignation…’

Still, Irene couldn’t say anything in front of Rodion, who was casually referring to her letter as trash without any remorse. Because the people here were people who killed dozens of people on a regular basis.

She never thought that it would be so difficult to retire.

‘No, I had thought of holding on… Because I grew up with the male protagonists from a young age.’

She grew up together and took care of them. Since Irene was the only child working in the mansion at the time, she was often their playmate. Perhaps, it would have been possible to use the title ‘friend’ if it had not been for their position of master and maid.

Of course, she didn’t do it with her pure heart from the beginning of her life.

‘At that time, there was another purpose…’

Later, however, the purpose seems to have become rather unclear.

‘But, I didn’t expect to be rejected so fiercely.’

Because, friends and things like that are all a thing of the past.

From a moment when they became adults, the male protagonists of 〈 Love or Die 〉 began to distance themselves from her. Maybe they thought it was the right distance to take with Irene, the maid, as an employee of the mansion.

‘It’s not unusual for the male protagonists to change their minds like that in the meantime since they have been away from the mansion for several years.’

So, Irene kept her distance without saying a word. After all, it was not her friendship with the male protagonists that mattered anyway. She had been maintaining a relationship that’s just moderately sweet.

‘Then, why are they holding on to me like this…?’

Irene only blinked her eyes before taking a step back.

“My resignation letter is crumpled, so I will write a new one. Please wait.”

“Rea, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

Rodion, who threw the crumpled resignation letter into the trash can, approached with a grin on his face.

“What’s the point of living out there like that? Huh?” He continued, “…All right. Do you have to go out to live? If you ask for a raise, I can give it to you.”

‘If you ask me this, I have nothing else to say…’ Irene’s eyes fluttered.

What should she answer here to get permission to retire safely?

When you can’t think of something right, it’s always better to just make excuses for your dreams.

Finally, she opened her mouth casually. “I wanted to open a cafe. I have always wished to decorate the interior my way and serve the coffee and tea I wanted.”

“So, you are not leaving because you don’t like us?”

“Of course.”

At the obedient acceptance, Otis hid his ferocious look and smiled brightly like an angel again.

“Well, that’s fine. What do you have to think about? Isn’t that right, brother?”

“Yeah.”

Ahivalt gave a rare, soft smile.

Even though he was under pressure, he seemed more merciless than most people. However, when he smiled softly like that, he resembled a well-rounded gentleman.

“Why didn’t you just say that earlier, Irene?”

He added briefly, before waving the bell that had been placed on the table.

The butler, who heard the bell, ran quickly and opened the door.

“Did you call me, Master?”

“Yeah. I know that the annex on the west side is empty now, but is there anyone else using it?”

“Not yet. I was thinking of converting it into a warehouse.”

“You can’t turn it into a warehouse—”

With that, Ahivalt smiled loosely and turned his gaze towards Irene. He opened his mouth while fixing his gaze on her.

“Decorate it into a cafe.”

“Yes…?”

This was said by Irene, not the butler.

‘I just want to get out of this house…?’

Though, it seemed like she had no choice.

When he came behind her, Otis grabbed her shoulder from behind and said with a smirk. “Come on, Irene. Do you want to come with me? Let’s decorate the cafe together. I will get anything Irene wants.”

“What? No, I…”

“Only you? I’m coming, too. Rea, let’s go together.”

“Rodion.”

A threatening voice came from behind Irene’s shoulder.

It was obviously Otis. Though for some reason, it felt like Ahivalt?

Irene wished she could have seen his expression, but unfortunately, Otis was standing behind her, so she couldn’t see his face.

One thing is for sure, it couldn’t have been a very good look. As Rodion, who was trying to follow them for the moment, immediately lowered his tail.

“…I will look for coffee beans.”

“No, Rodion. You have a place to go today. It looks like there’s a fight in Delton. They have been attacking first.”

At Ahivalt’s words, a bloody aura rose in Rodion’s innocent eyes.

“Delton? Are those bastards crazy?”

Irene, who has worked as a maid for three years and has lived in 〈 Love or Die 〉 seven times, knows fully well what ‘Delton’ means.

A miscellaneous gang that formed a gang in the Southern section of the underworld. It was famous for gathering only sinful people, and this is the first episode allocated to Rodion.

Rodion comes back with an arm injury after wiping out Delton, and Louise takes care of him.

And it is the first event that Rodion and Louise’s love began to blossom.

Otis interrupted the conversation.

“Well, there has got to be a guy who’s been inciting this. Why are we sending the little ones in first?”

“Yeah. So, Otis, you should go, too.”

Hmm?

Irene blinked her eyes.

Originally, it was only Rodion, right? Why is Otis going as well, now? Does Louise have to take care of both of them, then…?

But, there was no time for Irene to wonder. It was because Ahivalt, who had finished his neatly spoken words, approached Irene and removed Otis’s hand, which was holding her shoulder, like dust.

His face was painted with a graceful smile.

“Irene, I’ll decorate the cafe with you.”

Is it just my feeling that Ahivalt is trying to kick Otis out, somehow?