Chapter 10
Before I knew it, the guys who had pushed Callisto rentine into the water were snickering and walking off in the opposite direction from us.
“……”
I looked around the ground and picked up three thumb-sized stones.
It was harder than before since my hands were much smaller now.
I wedged the stones between my fingers and gripped them tightly.
Hopefully my skills hadn’t completely disappeared…
Whoosh! Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Ow!”
“What the—?!”
“Who did that?!”
All three of them clutched their heads and shouted at the same time.
I wasn’t going to just stand there and take it anymore.
Bad guys.
“Let’s go for real this time!”
I dusted off my hands and grabbed White’s hand, who was staring at me with eyes even wider than before.
“Th-this is your house?”
The moment I grabbed White’s hand, we arrived at a massive mansion.
“My house, yes.”
Like his name, the entire grand mansion was painted pure white.
No—this was more like a castle.
“Ah.”
While following him, still holding his hand, something bumped against my foot.
Looking down, I saw piles of treasures—gems, jewelry—scattered so thickly they were in the way. As if someone had stuffed them into sacks and dumped them anywhere.
Even the pillars had stacks of gold coins piled into towers.
A red jewel bumped into the toe of my shoe and rolled away into the distance.
W-what is this? Jewels just lying all over the floor?
“Are you alright? Oh dear, I should clean this up. Sorry, I should’ve tidied beforehand. Daddy’s sorry.”
White turned to me and held out his hands.
Hands?
Confused, I reached out—and immediately, my feet left the ground.
Startled, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck, then tried to pull back, but a firm hand supported my back.
“It’ll all be cleaned up by dinner time.”
“I can walk, you know.”
“Of course, but Daddy just worries too much.”
“……”
I gave up trying to get down. If he started crying like earlier and made it rain with thunder, that would be a problem.
Instead, I maintained about a hand’s width of distance.
The jewels weren’t only at the entrance. Along every path we passed, there were mountains of gems, gold bars, and gold coins.
Anyone else would be scooping them up, but White just pushed them aside casually.
Was this guy an idiot?
Or did he just have way too many of these?
“What if someone steals them?”
“Hmm?”
“Those jewels and coins—you leave them like that, someone will steal them.”
“Hmm, I doubt it. People here value their lives.”
So it was actually all heavily guarded, then.
Well, with a family name like his, and clearly being a noble, punishing or prosecuting a thief wouldn’t be hard.
I wouldn’t know—I wasn’t a noble.
“Oh, right. If you steal from a noble, you’ll get your head chopped off. I’d never steal! Not that I’ve ever done anything bad, but still—”
White’s eyes went wide as I nodded along.
“Oh, no no no, sorry, I misspoke.”
“Eh?”
It didn’t sound wrong to me.
“I didn’t mean something that scary—I meant there just isn’t anyone brave enough to try.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve put magic in place so bad people can’t even come near. So it’s perfectly safe. No head ch—no, nothing like that.”
“Yes. Still, I think you should keep precious things somewhere safe.”
“You’re right. My daughter’s so smart. Tomorrow, I’ll make a secure vault for them. That should do, right?”
White said this while casually kicking jewels to the side.
“Yes~.”
He nodded vigorously with a bright smile, his long hair swaying.
Maybe he wasn’t stupid—but he was definitely kind.
Still, being that nice would make life hard. The world’s full of crooks and scammers. I’d have to keep a close watch while I stayed here.
It would also be a way to repay the favor for letting me stay.
While I was still staring, dazed by the carelessly treated gems, a young man appeared.
“You’ve returned early today, sir. Welcome home, young lady.”
Like White, he had pure white hair.
He was also extremely tall.
His skin was pale, and his hair, though short, was slicked back without a single strand out of place.
Under his right eye was a faint reddish beauty mark.
Dressed immaculately in a black suit with a crimson bow tie, he didn’t look surprised to see me at all.
As if he’d seen me yesterday.
I couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like ever since my name had been arbitrarily given and the world had clicked into place, people just naturally accepted it.
It was convenient, but…
I was the only one not used to it, which made me uncomfortable.
Like I was a foreign object.
It had been like that in my previous life too… Though here, I probably wouldn’t face the same unfair life again, the feeling of being out of place was the same.
“Hello—”
Oh, wait, that’s not how I should greet him.
“I’m back.”
I glanced at White.
He smiled faintly.
“Now, shall we go see your room? You’re not tired, are you?”
“Not at all.”
After all, I hadn’t been walking—he’d been carrying me.
I thought being pressed so close to someone would feel uncomfortable.
But White’s arms were broad and warm, and he smelled nice—it was actually pleasant.
Still, I needed to be careful not to get too used to it.
I shifted slightly away from him.
“Good. Tail, we’ll need someone to attend to ion from now on.”
From now on?
Wasn’t I already naturally part of the household?
I stared at White, but he just smiled again.
Maybe it was just something he said offhand.
Maybe because I’d kept sounding suspicious earlier, he said it to reassure me.
I decided not to dwell on it.
After all, I’d heard my being here was all due to their “mistake” anyway.
Tail looked curious for a moment but soon smiled naturally and bowed.
“I’ll fetch Sara.”
White passed the butler—Tail—and strode off somewhere again without hesitation.
This house was huge.
It felt like the hallways never ended.
Nobles usually had lots of servants, but here, besides Tail, I hadn’t seen anyone…
“Do you live here with just Tail?”
“And my daughter, of course.”
“Uh, I mean besides me?”
“Well, shall I hire more people if we need them?”
I quickly shook my head. Who was I to make such an important decision?
“No! I was just curious. Big houses usually have lots of staff—to clean and cook.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. Tail takes care of everything.”
“By himself?”
“Hmm, yes. Now, here’s your room. My room is right next door, so you can come anytime.”
The large door opened, and light poured out.
“Whoa!”
So bright!
“How is it? Do you like it?”
…Music?
Shielding my eyes with my arm, I slowly lowered it and looked inside.
“Wow…”
I thought the room itself was glowing—
The bed, the nightstands—everything was opulent.
Good grief, how much is all this worth…? I could live in comfort forever with this.
The room was so big, I could probably roll across the floor a hundred times without hitting the wall.
The walls were pearl white, shimmering with rainbow hues like mermaid scales.
Golden, braided columns glittered brilliantly.
From the ceiling hung strings of colorful, sparkling gems.
From afar, it looked like a rain of jewels.
So that’s the sound I heard.
They clinked together, creating a clear, beautiful melody.
Like the sound of stroking the finest silk, but made audible.
Like wind chimes in a gentle breeze.
In legends, it’s said that when fairies fly, they make the most beautiful sounds—
If I could hear it for real, it would probably sound like this.
“It’s so pretty…”
Without realizing it, I reached out, entranced.
“Want to touch them?”
White stepped further into the room.
“N-no!”
What if I knocked one down?
“I’d be fine with a much smaller room, you know.”
White chuckled and gently stroked my cheek.
My body, unused to such closeness, stiffened.
The problem was—it didn’t feel bad.
Maybe because the warmth of his hand was like perfectly warm water?
I wasn’t sure.
But my cheek, where his hand touched, felt oddly ticklish, so I scratched it.
