Masters, Are You Going To Imprison My Sister? - Chapter 25

Who knows?

How I felt when the resignation letter I handed over yesterday came back to me.

“… Why are you giving this to me, Head maid?”

I stared blankly at the resignation letter that had been pushed in front of me. This was my resignation letter, with the words “Layla Hanson” dripping on the envelope in ink. The head maid with an unknown expression opens her mouth and begins to say unbelievable words.

“Layla, the duke said that she would not process the resignation letter.”

“Yes? that… What do you mean? why…? Why didn’t the Duke process the resignation letter?”

“I don’t know either. because this is the first time. She said I can take care of Yuria’s stuff, so why only yours…”

“… Did she misunderstand something? This… It’s so weird. Why all of a sudden… The Duke…?”

“With that, there is nothing more I can do. If the Duke said no, there must be some reason. If I know anything, I’ll tell you, so go ahead.”

It came out like that. I couldn’t come to my senses for a long time. what? What happened? Why doesn’t she allow me? There’s no reason, no reason… I thought I could escape. why? Everything was going well. Then why?

It felt like my stomach was twisting. As if wearing glasses that don’t fit, my eyes become hazy. Did I do something wrong?

Did I write the format wrong? Were there any words in the resignation letter that upset the Duke’s heart? When I opened the document and looked at the contents inside, nothing stood out.

If my sister’s thing had been returned, I would have thought that one of the masters was doing something strange. But  it was my resignation letter that came back, I had no idea why.

I walked down the hallway trembling while holding my resignation letter tightly. I don’t know what to do in this case. Should I go and ask the Duke directly? I don’t know if she’ll meet me, a maid, just because I went looking for her. But, I still had to meet and ask.

When I realized, I had arrived in front of the Duke’s office. I approached the huge door, which looked twice as large as the other room, and was carefully engraved with roses.

There was a gloomy atmosphere that seemed to cause great harm if it entered without permission.

The moment he reached out to knock, Osses opened the door and came out. Through the gap in the slightly opened door, a figure of someone in a Duke and a suit could be seen secretly. Are you a guest? It may be the butler, as I have no memory of meeting someone at the front door. It was such a gorgeous suit for a butler. As I was immersed in those thoughts, Osses called out my name. He looked at me and opened his eyes wide as if surprised.

“Layla?”

“Hello, Master.”

“What is going on here?”

“I want to meet the Duke. I have something to tell her…”

“The Duke is very busy right now, so it will be difficult to meet her. Do I have to tell the Duke? It’s okay if you can tell me.”

Osses smiled and looked at the resignation letter I was holding. The mysterious smile was strangely unpleasant, so I had no choice but to secretly hide my resignation letter behind my back.

“No. The Duke is very busy, so I’ll see her next time. Then I just… “

“By the way, you’re thinking of leaving the mansion?”

As I was about to greet him formally and turn around, he spit it out like a thoughtful person.

“That’s too bad. that you are leaving It’s not just me. Arthur was also very sad that Layla was leaving.”

And Osses lowered his waist to the level of my eyes and began to whisper.

“So did it Arthur tell the Duke not to accept Layla’s resignation letter?”

“Yes? Master Arthur…  What do you mean? young master?”

I asked several times, but Osses did not give an answer. He closed his eyes again, smiled, and left. I was startled by his actions of unconsciously grabbing his clothes and daringly touching the nobleman’s body, so I apologized quickly and released my hands.

I crumpled up my resignation letter, looking away from his back. The Duke did not love his sons, but she did almost all their wishes so long as they did not interfere with her work. If that was true, the Duke would have listened to Arthur and immediately stopped my retirement. But even if it is true, doubts remain. Why is Osses telling me that, and why did Arthur ask her to refuse my resignation letter?

That’s weird. That doesn’t make sense. There is no reason to stop my retirement, why? It would have been convincing if he had prevented my sister from resigning. However, I couldn’t think of any reason why she wouldn’t receive the resignation letter from the maid. So I decided to meet Arthur.

Hah, is that true? Did the master really tell the duke not to accept my resignation letter? If that’s true, why? Did he not like the fact that he had a riot in his study? Did you feel bad that I fell on the master’s body, saying I was going to save the cat? Or did I do something disrespectful in the garden? So, are you doing this on purpose to annoy me?

Swallowing questions that seemed to come out of my throat at any moment, I went straight to Arthur’s room. But Arthur was not there. I asked the servants where Arthur was, but I couldn’t find Arthur in the study, in the quiet parlor, or even in the garden.

I sat down in the back of a quiet mansion without anyone. Where the hell did you go? When I didn’t want to see him it was easy to meet him, I felt like I wanted to shout. It was frustrating.

At that moment, I heard the rustling of leaves of grass rubbing against something next to me. I turned my head to where the sound was coming from and fell.

“… Master Isley…?”

There was Isley Emers.

“… Why… Are you here?”

His hair, which was not usually tidy, was still brittle, and his clothes were wrinkled and dirty.

The dazed expression on his face, as if possessed, did not seem sane at all. He didn’t answer my question and started to say something else.

“Why are you leaving?”

“… Yes?”

What…? What are you talking about?

Isley walked through the bushes and came to me. The closer the distance with him, the more my chest creeps in. I staggered back, but to no avail. He took a step closer to me and grabbed both of my arms. I let out a short moan as I felt a tingling pain.

“Do you hate being my exclusive servant so much?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“Or is it just that you hate me so much…?”

Isley laughed as if he was about to cry. The reason why my heart sank for a moment was not because the expression on his face was pitiful. This is because the power that binds me and the emotions contained in the eyes looking at me were so unfamiliar and frightening.

“… It hurts, it hurts. let me go…”

“… Do you hate me?”

I was startled. How did you know that? Even if I’m someone who shows emotions easily on my face, would I be that offended? I tried to shake his hand, but he grabbed my arm and did not move.

“You’re leaving because you don’t want to see me. Right?”

“… It’s not like that.”

The masters at Emers Mansion were one of the reasons my sister and I wanted to go out, but the proportion was not that great. In any case, we are going out in a hurry so as not to meet Count Nigor.

But even if I hate him and say I’m leaving, what is this, treating me like this? I’m just a  a rude and ignorant maid. I mean, there’s no reason for him to care at all.

So I wanted to spit out what it had to do with it, but I couldn’t say anything about the dangerous atmosphere of Isley.

“No, not that!”

A man several times taller than me is very intimidating just by being there.

If he slapped me on the cheek with that huge hand, I had no choice but to be helpless, and if he hit my stomach with his fist, I would have no choice but to sit down and cry. Even if I struggle to resist, if you are slapped in the cheek and then pressed down with that body, I will have no choice but to become quiet.

I usually thought that getting hit wasn’t scary and it wasn’t a big deal, but I thought maybe it was because I was out of my mind or because the situation was very confusing, and I thought that I might get hit by him if I made a mistake, so I cringed at Isley’s shout. At the same time as I felt fear, I felt a cold sweat dripping down my cheeks and my body trembling. I can’t afford to be terrified. First of all, I had to calm Isley, who seemed insane at first glance.

“Did you think I wouldn’t have noticed? Haha, but I’m smarter than I thought… I don’t know if you hate me or like me. In the first place, you looked at me with eyes that you hated so much that you wanted me to die… How can I not notice…?”

“… Calm down, master. I don’t hate  master. Why would I?”

“Liar.”

Isley bowed his head.

“Why do you hate me? Why are you scared of me? We were close before. You thought of me as a friend and you liked me. But one day you got weird… you act weird…! I made you angry when I was joking and it made me laugh…! Now you put on a terrible face. You used to tell me about your daily life sometimes. Who did you play with, who you were close with, who you got along with… It was fun even without tea…. but now you… You’re just trying to avoid me….”

Yes, there were times when we had a good time. Before the novel’s memory returned, I thought, ironically, that he was a pretty decent guy. Although there was a hint of arrogance characteristic of aristocrats at times, he was always bright, cheerful, and friendly to me, making it a pleasure to be around him. He may have thought of me as a friend.

“… No. I still like the master… You might think it’s presumptuous, but I thought of you as a friend.”

Isley doesn’t listen to what I forcefully said.

“Why did you suddenly change? What did I do to you? How big was my mistake is it? Then, as usual, you can scream and ask for an apology. Do not run away!”

His voice trembled like a weeping man. When I heard the voice, I felt a little sympathy and fear.

I really wanted to ask him.

What’s wrong? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you suddenly coming and holding me? Why are you saying things like not to hate you with a face that looks like you’re about to cry? Please don’t make that face in front of me. Because it was me who really wanted to cry right now.

He put his face on me. Now instead of sadness on Isley’s face, there was anger. I pushed back and hit the wall.

And it happened in an instant.

It wasn’t until Isley’s face came close enough that I could feel his breath, and then moved away from me again, that I realized he had kissed me.

Realizing that, my eyes clouded over.

The figure of Isley Emers, no, the whole world trembles like a water surface hit by stones.

“I, I, I think I like you…”

There was a lingering warmth on his lips.

“… I like you.”

I had a headache and my legs were shaking.

Like a person who ate rotten food, my stomach ached terribly, and churned.

The feeling was pushed up to the end of my throat with an unbearable feeling of rejection.

“Then don’t leave….”

“Ugh-.”

In the end, I emptied everything inside. Shaking off the hand that was still holding me, I leaned against the wall and threw up.

Do you like me

Why?

What did I do? What did I do wrong that you like me? Why are you kissing my lips recklessly? Where did I go wrong? Where did the story get twisted? I didn’t want him to like my sister, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to like me. The story I knew was twisted.

Everything was confusing. It was now impossible for me to tell whether it was Isley Emers or James Nigor before my eyes. But do we really need to separate the two? It felt the same to make physical contact without considering the other person’s thoughts.

Are you joking? Even if I ask you to tell me it’s a joke, Isley whispers that he likes me again.

I was desperate.

It’s a nightmare.

This can’t be real.

Yes. This is clearly just a terrible nightmare, and when I wake up I will be lying in bed in my room.

I lost consciousness as I struggled to catch my breath.