The Maid In The Reverse Harem Game Wants To Quit - Chapter 25

“—tis, Otis!”

The sound of someone calling him loudly distracted Otis from his thoughts. When he glanced up, his older brother, Ahibalt, was frowning slightly.

Like a shadow and tag, someone had been flowing to him since childhood.

“What are you thinking so deeply about? You didn’t even know you cut your hand.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did he realize that Ahibalt was holding his hand. Not only that, but his fingertips that were caught bleed. There were a lot of paper cranes where the gaze dropped. And, above it was a square piece of paper with a little blood on the edge.

When Otis raised his head again, there was Ahibalt, with a straightened forehead, and Rodion, who had a worried face.

It seemed that he must have been immersed in deep thought.

Otis sighed as he wiped his face with his uninjured hand.

“I am sorry for worrying you. I was thinking about things when I was young, but it seems like I was more absorbed than I thought.”

“It was not the level of preoccupation, little brother. Do you know how many cranes I have folded already?”

“I do not know. Did you fold about twenty?”

“Forty-two. I was counting, so it is accurate.”

“Damn it. ”

“What did you think of when you were young?”

At Rodion’s question, Otis’ expression darkened. As he seemed to be finding a word to explain, he eventually replied.

“Throwing a lemon madeleine on the ground.”

This time, Rodion’s expression changed to an unknown tone.

It was another listener in this room who mediated their conversation.

“Whatever you were thinking, stop folding the paper for now. At least, until it stops bleeding.”

“If I leave it, it will stop, anyway. I do not care about a wound like this.”

“As soon as you started to belittle the wound, you would not have learned that life was a death scene, Otis.”

“There are people who have fallen, and there are some who have holes in their stomachs. Such wounds are not a big deal.”

In his words, the eyes of the three men turned to the white curtain side by side. To be precise, the person who was sleeping over the white curtain.

Around the time Otis had not yet surpassed twenty paper cranes…

Clattering.

Lavrenti’s physician said as he was putting the medicine vial back into the box.

— I will not have to amputate her limbs. It is in good condition, considering that she has been paralyzed.

Rodion was visibly pleased with the doctor’s words. However, Otis and Ahibalt were not. Because the premise was attached to the word ‘because of the scent of paralysis incense’ before the word that she was in good condition.

— I heard that Miss Veronica had numbing incense in her carriage, is that correct?

— She smoked.

— By consuming it directly would be very problematic for the body. So, it was often used the latter way, as a drug.

When mixed with other medicines, including tobacco, the effect is greatly reduced. Therefore, it only gives a slightly dizzying effect to a healthy body.

However, in the case of Irene, the problem was that she had already suffered from the smell of paralysis incense to some extent.

— Perhaps Miss Veronica thought Miss. Irene was drinking the tea.

— You mean, she did not drink tea? There were traces of drinking.
​​
— I heard that was the case. However, if she drank it, her condition could not be this good.

— Irene would not know the smell of paralysis incense, would she?

At Rodion’s question, Otis shrugged his shoulders with a better expression than before.

— Even if you did not know the smell of paralysis, you might have assumed that it might have been poisoned. It is Irene, not anyone else, right?

— Well, that is possible.

— Rea is always quick-witted.

The attending physician, who briefly organized the visit bag, nodded slightly at the conversation between the three of them.

— If you drank tea with a paralyzing scent, the paralysis rate would be much faster than it is now, and it would be closer to the heart. That is fortunate. The severity was not severe, so I quickly took the medication and passed the hurdle.

— However…?

— There may be some damage to the head. That is the scariest thing about incense.

The physician further explained.
​​
It was said that people who suffered from the paralyzing scent could live half-deaf even after waking up. There were also chances that they could suffer memory loss, or even dementia due to damage to the head as well.
​​

— In the worst case, you can become a vegetable who can only breathe.

— ….

— Hopefully, that should not be the case.

For the Young Masters, and also for Miss Irene…
​​
Eventually, the attending physician ended his treatment with those words.

It means that while Irene was asleep, he had done everything he could. In other words, it meant that there was nothing they could do now but to wait for Irene to wake up. This was also the reason why Otis had not been able to leave his seat and kept on folding paper cranes until now.

He took out his handkerchief and breathed out a small breath, wrapping his bloody fingertips.

“All right. Rather, was not there something we were talking about? How far have you been talking?”

“If you are talking about a letter from your little brother’s mother, he stopped when he closed his thirtieth crane.”
​​
“Why did we stop for so long?”
​​
“Since then, Otis, you have not been able to concentrate on the conversation at all.”
​​
Ahibalt paused slightly.
​​
The brown envelope in his hand was tossed onto the table between them.

​​“You seem to have come to your senses now, so I will just continue. Now, you know that the grace period for succession to the household head is coming to an end.”

“Yes. Isn’t there three months left?”

“A little less than a fortnight is left before three months. The grace period is not very long.”

“It is understandable that aunt is so upset.”
​​
“So, my stepmother told me…”

Saying that, Ahibalt paused his speech for a moment, then let it out as if unwinding.

“They told me to get married.”

“What?”

“…What?”

Otis and Rodion responded with the tone that they heard something they could not hear. Still, Ahibalt was silent. Instead, he pointed with his chin towards the envelope he had placed down a while ago.

“If you do not believe it, read it. I am planning to take up the position of head of household soon, though it sounds like there is a problem that there is not a hostess to manage the mansion.”

“No. Suddenly, someone who does not even like big brother is all right with you becoming the head of the household…?”
​​
“Isn’t it supposed to be a conspiracy that someone who has never been a mother in their entire life abruptly stepped in like this?”

“Of course, it would be strange to see that Otis is not questioning her intentions.”

“Then, are you going to refuse?”

“The problem is that there is no justification.”
​​
At that, Ahibalt shrugged his shoulders, and Otis smirked and pulled out a letter from his envelope.

The content inside the letter was not much different from what Ahibalt had said.

「 …Even though all the three sons have reached the age of marriage, it bothers me that they do not have a single mate.
​​
Does it make sense that the children of other families are already in sweet love with their fiancés or spouses, and only our children are desolate? 

Even if your deceased father blames me, there would be nothing I could say.

Besides, Ahibalt will soon become the owner of Lavrenti, and without a hostess, his prestige would not stand tall.

A good marriage partner has just arrived, so let’s start by talking about the marriage of Ahibalt. 」

“I will send you a talented painter, so send me a portrait. With affection, from Henrietta Lavrenti…”

Crush. Otis clenched his fist that was holding the letter and crumpled it.

Beside him, Rodion was nauseous.

“Yuck…”

“I have never seen such a disgusting letter in my entire life.”

“I agree. But, like I said earlier, there is no justification for rejection.”

The current owner of Lavrenti was Henrietta Lavrenti. Her role also determines the marriage of her children, including the family’s affairs.

“The fact that a woman who was qualified for the marriage has now arrived means that the marriage is already in progress. So, I must have a good reason to reject it from my side.”
​​
“…Really, there is no reason.”
​​
“Therefore, we have to start first. As we do that, we will find out what her intention is.”

“Then, are you going to get married?”

“If there is no change, that would be the case.”

His forehead seemed to have some wrinkles when he uttered that. Although it was so instant that no one seemed to notice.

Then, Ahibalt, who wore the usual gentlemanly expression again, slowly pointed at the desk and raised the corners of his mouth.

“For this incident, she will have to pay for it.”

“Haha.”

Hearing his words, Otis smiled dryly and leaned back against the backrest.
​​
It was the meaning of consent.

Crossing his legs loosely, he flicked the tip of his slender shoes.

“If it goes like this again, I thought I would have to go to Lichpen shortly. As expected, you do not disappoint me, brother.”

“There are lines that can be crossed. Touching my person is unacceptable.”

“That is right. Even more, I am so nervous that Rea might say she is going to leave the mansion now because of this. How dare she pull that sh*t?”

Even if the bones were broken, that insignificant thing dared to invade their little sanctuary…

‘You have to pay the price.’

Rodion’s black eyes flashed violently—eyes reminiscent of his nickname, mad dog. It was the gaze that frightened those who found him at the blood-stained scene.

1STKISSNOVEL. DO NOT STEAL MY TRANSLATION!

Nevertheless, there are facts that the public does not know.

All three Lavrenti men with different atmospheres surround them, even the gentlemanly-looking Ahibalt…

…They all have the same eyes.