The Maid In The Reverse Harem Game Wants To Quit - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“You like my face, don’t you?”

‘Did I stare too hard?’

Irene was taken aback and stepped back.

“You came so close and just looked at me.”

“It is just… Since I do not think I will see you in a month, I wanted to see you up close for a bit.”

“Stare a lot, then.”

The embers ignited as she flipped the fire with the iron skewer.

Irene was so focused on picking and storing charcoal for the fireplace that she had no interest in what kind of expression Otis, who was behind her, has.

But, his face was far from heartbroken.

Originally, Irene and Otis had a relationship like this.

A one-sided relationship where Otis would follow Irene, who would be working, joking around and saying he had folded pretty cranes or roses, and putting it in her apron whenever he was in a good mood.

‘…Since when did it start?’

He looked back at his memories. Though he could not remember clearly, it was probably when he was very young.

From the day he found out Irene’s tea was good.

Since then on, Otis has always liked Irene.

There was no hope or desire in her eyes.

Despicable as it is, of course.

He knew himself well that his appearance was outstanding. That is why, in the eyes of those who look at him, there is always a young desire or resentment of similar things.

However, Irene did not have that.

Otis liked her indifference. It was very comfortable.

They said that love is an illusion created by the brain, but if he had someone to spend the rest of his life with, I thought it would be nice if it were Irene.

Knowing that Irene was indifferent, he thought that she would not be interested in lies such as love like himself.

It was before she said she loved Louise.

“Irene. I have been collecting money today and putting the useless organs of bad people into something a little more useful.”

“That must be why you are in such a good mood.”

“Do I look that way?”

Irene was right. He was not initially in a good mood, but he got rid of his stress by tearing off the limbs of useless bastards.

It was because of Louise.

The mere fact that Henrietta had sent her was bothersome enough, but she had taken Irene’s love as well.

Otis wanted Irene by his side for the rest of his life without knowing the word love.

“Actually, it does make me feel better. Have you ever strangled someone?”

Irene, who was picking up charcoal, turned and gazed up at Otis instead of answering. She seemed a little frightened but also wore a curious look, asking what he was talking about.

Well, the question probably meant the latter.

In fact, Otis was often annoyed with Irene.

She has never been scared at all.

He blamed her personality for the lack of emotional expression, but how would she not be intimidated by this?

So, he would sometimes induce her to panic.

He thought that her amethyst eyes would look ecstatically beautiful if they were frightened.

“When strangling, you have to hold it here and press down.”

Otis smiled tenderly and wrapped one hand around Irene’s neck.

He loved the feeling of her thin neck wrapped around his hand. He loved it as much as the tea that she brewed.

Of course, he did not really want to kill her.

He was not an idiot who would ruin a toy that was not in his hands yet. Instead, he wanted to kill the person in possession and take away the lost toy.

So, this was just a joke.

As he was a little grumpy about Irene since she loves Louise, Otis’ thumb swept down gently just below her neckline.

It was a frightening position, but Irene still stood silently.

‘I don’t know why he is doing this to me all of a sudden…’

That was what she thought.

Irene rolled her withered eyes. She thought about putting on the fire quickly and leaving, but what is with this anxiety that is stirring up in her chest?

‘Should I ask why wouldn’t he let me go?’

Irene, who rolled her eyes and looked up at Otis, was about to open her mouth.

“Miss Irene! Come look at my organization…!”

The door suddenly bursted open, and Louise appeared with a proud expression.

Louise had a proud expression on her face since she had finished her cleaning up early, but as soon as she saw the two of them in the room, her expression hardened in an instant.

And then, the scream erupted.

“Sec-the Second Master is killing people!”

Argh!

Louise’s scream swept through the mansion.

* * *

Essentially, Otis was indeed grabbing Irene’s neck, but he had no intention of strangling her in the slightest.

It was just an excuse to scare her. He wanted to hold Irene’s tender neck for a moment, though he had no intention of harming her.

However, Louise, who appeared out of nowhere, screamed in a high-pitched tone, which made Otis give his hand some strength due to the surprise.

“Gasp!”

With the grip suddenly strengthened, Irene did not know what to do. As her throat tightened, she unconsciously let out her breath and frowned.

‘Otis certainly had a knack for strangling people.’

When the place where he had been swiping with his thumb a while ago was pressed down, her tears gushed out along with an intense pain.

“Ahh! Miss Irene!”

And, of course, Louise’s high notes went up a notch.

‘Oh, I am going to die—’

Irene was about to lose her mind. Otis strangling her, Louise screaming at the top of her lungs made her eardrums feel like they were going to burst, and there is a hot fireplace right behind her.

Besides, the biggest problem is something else.

‘Why is Louise appearing now…?’

As it was supposed to be, Louise would not have entered Otis’ room now.

‘It should have sent her through the Rodion Route.’

When she enters Rodion’s room, it is usually just Louise quietly finishing tidying up the room, then returning to her bedroom. She should not be coming to look for her like this.

‘When this happens, I am not sure whose route it is now…’

While still in the mansion, Irene wanted to help her see the happy ending as much as she could.

If you are struggling to get all the flowers in both hands for nothing, you are bound to go straight to the Die Ending.
[ T/N: “Grabbing all the flowers all with your own hands for no reason,” means she will be doomed. It is saying that a person should not be too greedy about something that is not necessary or else they will be put in a result that is not favorable for themselves. ]

‘What should I do about this?’

Since it is still the beginning, should we proceed with both routes?

‘After all, there is a turning point where you can choose the male protagonist one more time… Oh, what should I do?’

Exhausted by the heat of the fireplace and worries filling her mind, Irene was agonizing.

The good news was that the condition did not last very long. This was because Otis finally realized that he had unwittingly strangled Irene without realizing it.

“Hey, Irene.”

Otis let go of his hand in a hurry.

Even with tears swelling from her eyes, Irene could see Otis’s visibly bewildered expression.

It was the first time that Otis, who had always been relaxed or chilled out, became like that. Irene thought that it was a miracle despite the unrelenting pain.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to hurt you…”

Obviously, it was her who was strangled, but Otis was the one who was crying instead. The strangulation was short-lived, so technically, it was not life-threatening or anything.

Finding her voice, Irene stroked her freed neck.

‘I have to say that I am okay, otherwise, he will just keep crying like that.’

Above all else, Irene had a habit of not knowing what to do when she sees people crying in front of her.

‘It is too much for me, so I need to say…’

“Stand back, Irene!”

As soon as she was about to open her mouth, Louise, who had been screaming in the mansion with the three-tiered high-pitched note, intervened.

Thanks to this, Irene, who was about to fall into the fireplace if she took one more step, moved back.

“Huh… Hey, Louise—Oh, it is hot…”

“Yes, I know! The Second Master tried to grab Irene by the neck and throw you into the fireplace!”

Huh…?

“How could you do that! The First Master said that it is difficult to deal with people dying in the mansion! If the first master knows, I am sure you will be in trouble!”

‘What is going on here?’

“I do not know what Miss Irene did wrong that you wanted to do that, but you cannot do that to her!”

‘Excuse me? I did not do anything wrong—’

“What would have happened if I had not come! You do not have to worry anymore, Irene!”

“I think there is some misunderstanding, Louise…”

Well, there is a lot of it, actually.

Eventually, Irene took a step aside from the fireplace and let out a sigh. She could not understand what kind of life Louise has been living.

Still, she somewhat noticed it was mainly because of the angle and moment she appeared.

Once she thoughtlessly opened the door, Louise should have been surprised to first see Otis holding her neck. And, the second factor, she must have been surprised that they were in front of a fireplace as well.

Thus, these two surprises led to one conclusion—

—She does not know why, but Otis was so angry that he grabbed Irene’s neck and tried to throw her into the fireplace…