It has been three days since I saved Serena.
I’ve heard that happy times pass by quickly, and it seems that saying is true.
Spending each day under the same roof as my favorite character was undoubtedly fulfilling.
Just looking at her made me feel content.
She played an essential role in keeping my mind at ease.
But.
“Serena, good morning~.”
“…”
“The weather is nice. How about going for a walk together?”
“…”
“Hey, you know… how about we try having a conversation?”
Serena refuses to respond to anything I say.
If I take one step closer, she takes one step back.
It hurt, the way she kept her distance as if she was determined never to get closer to me.
And yet.
“Ah, Lady Serena.
Good morning.”
“…Mm.”
When other servants greet her, she at least gives them a half-hearted response.
But she doesn’t even do that much for me.
Why?
I didn’t do anything wrong at that time.
If anything, I took great care of her.
That girl, who had once been nothing but skin and bones, had visibly gained some weight and looked much healthier.
“This is driving me crazy.”
As long as Serena is healthy, it’s fine.
But being fine and being satisfied are two different things.
No one wanted to meet her as much as I did.
No one cherishes her as much as I do.
And yet, she doesn’t understand my feelings at all—how am I supposed to accept that?
I’m not asking for much.
I just want us to be close enough for her to call me “sister.”
“…I guess there’s no choice.
I didn’t want to do this, but…”
In the end, do I have to resort to force?
I have no other choice.
This is all because Serena keeps pushing me away.
“Orde, I need to step out for a bit.”
“Huh?
All of a sudden, my lady?”
“Yeah.
So go bring Serena here.
She’s coming with me.”
“I understand, but if Miss Serena refuses—”
“I don’t care.”
Right now, I’ve already put away half of my usual kindness.
Even if she says no, I’ll force her to come with me.
“I don’t want to.”
As expected, her response was just as I had anticipated.
Serena, who had been summoned out of curiosity, immediately rejected the idea as soon as I suggested going out together.
But she’s mistaken about something.
I wasn’t asking if she wanted to go.
I was telling her that we are going.
I never intended to get her opinion in the first place.
“Alright, then.
Let’s go get some fresh air.”
“I said no!
Let me go, you…!”
Ignoring her protests, I held onto her tightly and headed toward the town.
She struggled the entire way, insisting that she didn’t want to go.
But since I never let go, she eventually gave up, going limp in my arms.
Like a piece of laundry hanging from a line, her body dangled weakly.
See?
You should have just accepted my offer when I asked nicely.
You brought this upon yourself by refusing to be kind to me.
“…This is embarrassing.
Put me down.”
Once we arrived in town, I decided to let her down.
Of course, walking around while being carried like a doll would be embarrassing.
As soon as she was back on her feet, she immediately put distance between us.
As if to say, this was the only amount of closeness she was willing to allow between us.
“Geez.
Are you really going to keep acting like this?
I admit dragging you out was wrong, but since we’re here, can’t you at least pretend to be friendly?”
“No.
What are you planning?
Don’t think I’ll let my guard down so easily.”
“Wait, what?
No, I mean—”
This is frustrating.
No matter how distrustful she may be, after everything I’ve done for her, hasn’t her opinion of me improved even a little?
If an outsider saw us, they’d think I did something horrible to her in the past three days.
As I met Serena’s wary gaze, wondering how I should handle her, I overheard the murmuring of people around us.
“Hey, isn’t that the lord?
What is she doing with that girl?”
“Yeah, I think so.
But that girl’s pretty cute, isn’t she?”
“A younger sister, maybe?
But they don’t look alike at all…”
“Could she be an illegitimate daughter or something?”
One by one, their whispers began to pile up, turning into a heated topic of gossip.
Before long, their speculation would turn into rumors.
And among those rumors, there would surely be ones as ridiculous as the one I just heard.
‘This isn’t good.’
If we stayed here, we’d only attract more attention.
More importantly, Serena, who was already nervous, kept looking around uneasily.
Behind her doubt and distrust was a deep-seated fear of people.
A situation like this, where people were gathering and staring, must have been terrifying for her.
“Ugh, geez.”
“Kyah?!”
With no other choice, I grabbed Serena again and ran away from the crowd.
Seriously. The lord running away from her own citizens?
I’m not some kind of corrupt noble, you know.
“Sorry, just bear with it for a bit.”
Carrying a girl and running was weird enough, so I ended up using a speed-enhancing spell to escape quickly.
I kept running until we reached a quiet alley with no people around.
Only then could I finally take a breath.
This place should be safe.
After making sure we were alone, I set Serena down.
“…I feel sick.”
“Huh?
Are you okay?”
For a moment, I worried that she might throw up, but thankfully, it was just motion sickness.
Actually, is that really a good thing?
Because now, she was looking at me with even sharper eyes.
Yeah.
I guess I deserve that.
I dragged her out against her will, made her go through all this trouble… of course she’d be upset.
“You…
You’re finally showing your true colors, aren’t you?”
“Eh?”
What the hell is she talking about now?
“You dragged me to a secluded place…
What are you planning to do?
No matter what you try, things won’t go the way you want…!”
Even though she was trembling, she still tried to put up a brave front.
Like a puppy barking fiercely to hide its weakness.
I couldn’t tell if it was admirable or just desperate, but either way, it made me want to tease her a little.
Since no one was around to see… should I mess with her a bit?
“Hehehe.
You catch on quick, don’t you?”
“W-What?”
“Now, let’s see-
Where should I start, hmm~?”
Wow.
Even I have to admit I sounded like total trash just now.
If I weren’t the lord, I’d probably get arrested for this.
And my sinister act worked like a charm—Serena trembled even more, hugging herself protectively.
Tears welled up in her tightly shut eyes, proving just how scared she was.
Tsk.
That was fun, but I should stop here.
“It’s a joke, a joke.
Do you really think I’d do something like that to my Serena?”
Honestly, I did want to pinch her cheeks and mess with her a little.
But I’m not the kind of person who forces things on others.
To reassure her, I reached out and patted her head.
“You don’t have to be scared.
I just brought you out to buy you something you’d like.”
Her trembling stopped, and she slowly opened her eyes.
A mix of anger and embarrassment flickered in her gaze as she glared at me.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
If I ever end up developing a weird fetish, it’ll definitely be Serena’s fault.
“Sorry, are you really mad?
You didn’t have to be that scared.”
“Wh-Who said I was scared?!
I was just—”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it, Princess-.”
She was so obvious, yet she still refused to admit it.
Oh well.
We couldn’t just stand here all day, so I held out my hand.
Serena hesitated at first, staring at it.
But after a brief pause, she grabbed it—almost as if she was snatching it away.
“Grrrr.
I can’t take it anymore.”
How can every little thing she does be this adorable?
Like a baby kitten just starting to understand what pride is, Serena’s behavior nearly made me give in to my desires for a moment.
Just like in Raising the Duke’s Daughter—or really, any raising sim—there’s a system in the game called affection points.
It represents the trust and fondness the character has for the lord raising her—in other words, the player.
There’s some fun in seeing how the responses change depending on how much affection you’ve built up, but for most people, it’s mainly something they track because it determines the game’s ending.
And the quickest way to significantly raise affection points is through gifting.
Knowing exactly what Serena loved the most, I headed straight for the doll shop.
“Welcome. Oh—my lord?
What brings you here…?”
The shop owner was visibly flustered at the unexpected sight of a noble lady in his store.
Well, of course, a fully grown adult wouldn’t normally have any reason to come buy dolls.
And if they did, it would usually be to buy a present for their child.
Which, in a way, was exactly what I was doing.
“Don’t be so stiff.
I’m just here to buy a present for my little sister today.”
“Sister?”
The shopkeeper, finally noticing Serena, shifted his gaze to her.
And then, I heard him mutter under his breath, “Wow. She’s adorable.”
Of course, our Serena is incredibly cute.
I liked that he had a good eye, so I tipped him a little, which made his face brighten immediately.
“Thank you!
Please feel free to look around as much as you’d like!”
“You heard that, right?
Go ahead, pick out whatever you want.”
Serena, seemingly enchanted by the rows of cute dolls displayed around the store, had the brightest eyes I had ever seen.
Why doesn’t she ever look at me like that?
It felt a bit unfair, like I had just lost to a bunch of stuffed animals.
As soon as I let go of her hand, she started skipping around the shop, eagerly looking at all the dolls.
I had laid out a feast for her just a few days ago, and even then, she hadn’t looked this excited.
“So, how’s business?”
“Some days are good, some aren’t.
That’s just how it goes.”
Since waiting around was boring, I decided to chat with the shopkeeper.
“Oh, have you heard?
They caught some criminals in Whalen trying to illegally buy and sell slaves.”
Of course, I knew.
I was the one who helped capture those bastards.
Still, it seemed like news traveled slowly to the general public—if he was just hearing about it now, three days after it happened.
“It’s terrifying, really. Slavery, in this day and age…
And with all the unsettling rumors going around lately, it’s hard not to be worried.”
Crime has indeed been on the rise across the kingdom lately.
There hadn’t been any incidents in my territory yet, but with crime increasing everywhere else, it was only a matter of time before I had to deal with it as well.
What a headache.
As if raising Serena safely wasn’t already enough to worry about, now I had to be concerned about crime, too.
‘At least let things stay peaceful until Serena becomes an adult.’
That was what I hoped for.
But the world doesn’t move according to anyone’s wishes.
It’s better not to place false hopes on fate.
As a noble and as her guardian, I just had to do my best.
“Well, we still trust in you, my lord.”
“I don’t need flattery.”
“It’s not flattery, I swear! I mean it. Hehe.”
For someone claiming sincerity, his salesman’s smile was a little too polished.
“I want this one.”
Right then, Serena walked over with her chosen doll.
But…
“Uh… Serena?
Are you sure about that one?”
“I like this one.”
She was completely serious.
A pumpkin-headed doll.
With a blank, far-off stare, it wasn’t cute at all.
The 1:1 head-to-body ratio might have been understandable since it was a doll, but the expression made me wonder why on earth she picked it.
“How about this bunny doll instead? Hm?”
I couldn’t understand why she would choose that one when there were so many better options.
So, I picked up an obviously adorable white rabbit plush and held it out to her.
But Serena shook her head fiercely.
I had no idea what about that weird pumpkin doll appealed to her.
“Wow… someone actually bought that thing…”
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one confused by her choice—the shopkeeper’s whisper from behind proved it.
Still, in the end, I bought it for her.
‘She looks so happy.’
Serena hugged the doll tightly, skipping lightly as we made our way back home.
Well, as long as she was satisfied, that’s what mattered.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Yeah, come in.”
As usual, I was up late working when someone knocked on my door.
I figured it was probably Orde, back from running some errand.
But to my surprise, the person who walked in wasn’t Orde—it was Serena, dressed in an adorable pair of pajamas.
I could ignore the fact that she was still awake at this hour, but why had she come to my room?
It wasn’t like she had gotten lost on the way to the bathroom.
“What is it?”
I asked out of curiosity, but Serena just stood there, clutching her pumpkin doll tightly.
A doll holding a doll.
“…Thank you.”
“…Huh?”
Did I just mishear something?
Maybe I was so exhausted from working that I imagined it.
But then, Serena made sure I knew I wasn’t hearing things.
“T-Thank you.
For buying this for me…”
Leaving those words behind, she suddenly bolted out of the room.
I didn’t even think about stopping her.
I was too busy replaying what she had just said over and over in my head.
Serena, the same girl who had ignored me for three whole days, had finally said something kind to me.
Maybe all that time she spent coldly ignoring me was just a build-up to make this moment feel even sweeter.
And considering how much she must have debated over whether or not to say those words, she had probably been agonizing over it right up until now.
Seriously…
She has no idea how much her stubbornness makes things harder for me.
“No.
This is completely Serena’s fault.”
Work?
Forget it.
I had something far more important to do.
I needed to go find her right now, grab her like a doll, and sleep while holding her tight!
Determined to follow through, I sprang up from my chair—
Only for Orde, my nagging butler, to walk in at that exact moment.
“Hm?
Is something wrong, my lady?”
With a defeated sigh, I sank back into my seat.
I had no choice.
…Damn it.