The Male S*ave of the Count Sianella Family

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“I didn’t share anything in particular. I just asked how long I had been lying down and where Princess Shione was.”

“Hmm… Was that really all?”

Shione shot me a suspicious look, which was unlike her.

“It seemed like you were very close to Siabel just a moment ago…”

“…She just wanted to see how my left arm was doing, so I showed it to her.”

“Is that truly all?”

“How could I lie to Princess Shione? Would you like to take a look too?”

“No, that’s fine.”

I showed her my left arm, but she raised her hand to stop me, as if to say she was done.

Then Shione sighed in relief for some reason and spoke.

“I’ve confirmed with my own eyes that your arm has regained its form multiple times. The priest said you might need to receive divine power a few more times… But tell me, can you move your arm at all?”

“The wound has healed, but I still can’t move it. Even when I try to apply strength, it just droops.”

“…That’s troublesome.”

Shione breathed a small sigh upon seeing my limp arm.

It seemed she felt some guilt regarding the state of my arm.

If this kept up, she’d likely wear that pathetic expression every day until my arm fully healed.

That kind of face might be tolerable for a time, but if it continued, it’d just be annoying for me.

I decided to break the ice to ease her guilt.

“Please don’t worry about my arm too much. It was an unavoidable situation, wasn’t it?”

“But if I could have helped just a bit more—”

“It’s alright. It’s much better for me to get hurt than for Princess Shione to be harmed.”

“…What is your reason for this?”

“My reason?”

“The reason for protecting me.”

Protecting Shione was nothing special.

It’s simply because I need her to survive in this hellish world.

Besides, if I just run away in every dangerous situation, people would come from all sides blaming me for not protecting her.

If something happened to Shione and she died, I would have no choice but to witness the world crumble before my eyes.

And, well… I’ve grown somewhat fond of her.

Shione was an important existence.

To me, and to this miserable world.

“At least for me, Princess Shione, you are more important than anything else.”

“…What?”

“I mean it.”

Shione’s eyes widened in surprise.

Seeing her pupils shake a bit, it seemed my answer completely caught her off guard.

She tried to hide her embarrassment as best she could.

But unfortunately, the effort was painfully obvious.

It was strangely amusing to watch her futile struggle, and I let out a small laugh.

Seeing her reaction made me want to tease her a bit more.

“If you weren’t important, how could I willingly sacrifice my arm to face that giant spider?”

“Well, that’s…”

“If I were to see you gravely injured, I believed it would be much easier on my heart to give up my left arm instead.”

“…”

Finally, Shione lowered her head and avoided my gaze.

She flinched a bit and her ears turned red.

It seems she’s completely unaccustomed to such embarrassing words.

I felt a bit shy saying those things too, but seeing her react like that felt rewarding.

I asked her then.

“By the way, are you alright, Princess Shione?”

“…What about?”

Shione lifted her head slightly, looking up at me.

“Given the circumstances, it was unavoidable, but… I did throw you, Princess.”

“…You idiot.”

“Pardon?”

I was just asking because throwing her down that treacherous mountain path weighed on my mind.

Is she really scolding me for that?

Of course, I know “idiot” is a cute little insult.

But to be blatantly called an idiot after worrying about her?

“Are you really worrying about something so trivial? You should be more concerned about yourself than me…”

In that moment.

I couldn’t quite understand her behavior, but I saw tears welling in her eyes.

…Why is she almost crying again?

This is baffling.

I never imagined that a few loyal words would lead to her shedding tears.

Maybe if she were a more sensitive person, it would make sense, but Shione, crying like this is surprising.

Her sudden tears left me stunned.

“…Are you okay?”

Shione seemed like she was about to say something in response to my question, but…

“…I’m fine. I just want to be alone for a moment, could you step out?”

In the end, she couldn’t finish her thought and just issued that command.

As I was getting up from her bed to leave the room, Shione grabbed my sleeve tightly.

“You don’t need to visit me today.”

“So you’re saying I shouldn’t come?”

“Just for today, I want to be able to rest without thinking about anything. The priest said he would stop by right after lunch, so just keep that in mind.”

“…Thank you.”

“Then see you tomorrow.”

With that, the downcast Shione snuggled back into her bed.

Normally, she’d lie there staring at me as I left, but today, she turned her back and didn’t look at me until I left the room.

Once outside her room, I muttered quietly in Korean.

“…Why are the sisters acting so weird today?”

Whether it was Siabel closing in on me or Shione, who usually appeared daring and careless, looking so pitiful.

I couldn’t figure out why they were like that, so I gave up on the thought.

It wasn’t like it would harm me anyway.

I decided to head to the room assigned to me with light steps.

After all I’ve been through accompanying Shione, I planned to enjoy a day of rest without worrying about her.

*

Maybe it was because I got a full day of rest.

Today, I woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while, unlike before.

Even though most people were still asleep at this early hour, I wanted a little more sleep.

But due to Shione, who jogs every morning as soon as we return to the territory, I reluctantly prepared to head out.

Dressed in my servant’s attire and tidying my hair, I washed my face. Once I was ready, I looked in the mirror.

“Looking handsome.”

It was no empty boast.

It wasn’t for nothing that I was the owner’s body who was a knight being sold to the nobles.

Even though my appearance could come off as cold and unfeeling, objectively speaking, I looked quite good.

I smirked at my reflection.

“Well, at least I should be handsome, right?”

Even though I had died in a dungeon.

I lost so much fame and status, becoming trapped in this body, but at the very least, my face should be decent, right?

With such trivial thoughts, I left the room.

I headed to Shione’s room to wake her up.

She’s such a heavy sleeper that unless I wake her, she’ll probably sleep until lunchtime.

I was certain I was about to go wake her up.

“You’re finally here?”

…Did the sun rise in the west?

Not only was Shione already awake, but her usual bedhead was completely absent, leaving her with a neat appearance.

I had no idea what was happening since usually she’d be slumped over, scratching her belly.

“What time did you wake up?”

“I got up earlier than usual. Were you surprised to see me awake?”

“…A little surprised.”

“Hehe.”

Upon hearing my words, Shione wore a mischievous smile.

“Since you’ve arrived, why don’t you stretch a bit and go back to your morning exercises?”

“I’ll follow your command.”

“No, you should stay here and wait.”

“Excuse me? Wait here?”

“Isn’t your left arm still uncomfortable? Don’t push yourself and just wait here.”

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

They say when someone suddenly changes overnight, it means their time is near.

Today, Shione was unusually thoughtful compared to her usual self.

Even when I looked at her with a puzzled expression, she only smiled amiably.

I didn’t mind missing out on morning exercises while I waited in the room.

The problem arose when the sun had fully risen, and her excessive consideration continued.

“Shall I bring some pastries and tea—”

“No, that’s alright. I don’t feel like it today.”

“Then shall I clean the room—”

“Why are you trying to make more trouble while you can’t even move your left arm? Ray, you just sit and rest. I’ll tell another servant to do it.”

“…Understood.”

Maybe I had been sitting too long; I felt like moving a bit.

Whenever I tried to do something, she would quickly insist I return to my seat.

Was she that grateful for me protecting her from Arachne?

Should I call it overprotection? She was far too conscious of me.

It’s not like both my arms were useless. My left arm might not work properly, but my right arm was fine.

I couldn’t even dust off the accumulation of dust building up in the corner.

Should I be happy about this or not?

Whether to be pleased or displeased, I found it amusing to watch Shione peeking out from her blanket, glaring at me.

Then she sprang up from her bed, bustling around as she prepared to go out.

Where could she be going, leaving me behind in the room?

I rose from my chair and asked.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to practice archery, so I’m heading to the shooting range.”

“I’ll accompany you this time.”

“You won’t even be able to shoot a bow at the shooting range… If you’re going to stay for a long time, wouldn’t it be better to just rest in your room?”

“Even if I can’t shoot, it would be fine to watch you shoot, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm…”

“If you need to correct your posture or have tips for your practice, I could help.”

Upon hearing my words, Shione finally gave a nod.

After receiving the okay signal, we headed straight to the training area.

I heard that this morning, a good number of knights and soldiers, including Siabel and Diolia, had gone toward the Beltlin Mountain Range.

Perhaps that was the reason the training area looked a bit emptier than I remembered.

But that wasn’t the only thing different.

As soon as Shione and I entered the training area, almost every woman there glanced at me at least once.

Having passed through the training area with Shione every day previously, I figured they were somewhat accustomed to my presence.

But the glances from all around me felt far more intense today, as if they were shining brightly while stealing looks at me.

…I know a man doesn’t fit in this sweaty training area, but this kind of excessive attention seems a bit much.

Shione also noticed the unusually heightened number of gazes directed toward us and spoke.

“…It looks like word has spread already.”

“Word of what?”

“Since the soldiers who saw you with Siabel after you collapsed are only a few, it shouldn’t be surprising. But even on the way back to the territory, they’ve been talking about you like you were a character from a story.”

“So that means…?”

“Besides, the Arachne you captured is being preserved for investigation by the priests. So there must be quite a few who saw that corpse too.”

Shione threw a sharp glare at those looking at us.

“It seems the rumor that the identity of the one who captured that huge Arachne is you has already spread.”

“……”

“You’re probably being referred to as Siannella’s knight or something.”

It appears I’ve inadvertently become a genuine knight.