I Live With My Villain Uncle Chapter 11

“Uncle probably won’t let me go.”

I drooped my shoulders and couldn’t even think about eating.

Zenda bent at the waist, tilted her head, and met my eyes.

“Then shall I go and ask him discreetly?”

“You……? What if you get scolded?”

I quickly lifted my head.

“Actually, while you were gone for half a day, Young lady, the house felt terribly empty. I thought it was a good thing that you were returning to a bigger and better place, but it really did feel empty. I think, without even realizing it, I’ve grown quite attached to you over these past few days.”

“I like you too, Zenda.”

I was happy that Zenda seemed to feel the same way I did.

Zenda folded both hands over her lap and made an oddly resolute expression.

“I may not be very strong, but I’ll do everything I can with the strength I have to protect you, Young lady. I’ll try my best to stop you from going anywhere you don’t want to go. And for the places you want to go, I’ll beg as much as I can on your behalf.”

“But I don’t want Zenda to get scolded.”

“I’ll make sure I explain it well enough that I won’t get scolded. Would that be all right?”

“Yeah, then I like that.”

Knowing that Zenda was on my side made me feel incredibly reassured.

And as soon as that thought occurred to me, another idea suddenly flashed through my mind.

Then what if I made everyone else my ally, too……?

Wouldn’t they all stop Uncle from scolding me or sending me away again?

If Grandma the head chef stopped him, and Zenda stopped him, and everyone else stopped him too?

The more I thought about it, the bigger the smile on my face became.

“Zenda.”

“Yes?”

“I want to make other people my allies, just like you.”

“So you can persuade them well enough that they won’t get scolded?”

Zenda said it with a smile.

I nodded enthusiastically, and Zenda’s smile grew even wider.

“Then leave Gerard to me.”

“Gerard?”

“He’s practically like my brother. Of course, we aren’t related by blood…… We’re both from the same orphanage.”

Zenda and Gerard had grown up in the same orphanage. Gerard had been exceptionally skilled with the sword even at a young age, so Grandfather, who sponsored the orphanage, had taken notice of him and brought him to the Vallier household.

And as soon as Gerard had finished settling in, he had come back to get Zenda. Since Zenda had nowhere to go once she became an adult, she had followed him without hesitation.

Later, when Uncle moved out to live on his own, Gerard and Zenda had come to live at this mansion together.

“Zenda, Gerard……”

“All the children who entered the orphanage in the same year had names starting with the same letter, so sometimes people would mistake us for actual siblings.”

“I see. Zenda, Gerard. It really is true. ……Even geraniums! They’re all pretty and good things, right? I guess that’s why Zenda and Gerard are so pretty and handsome.”

Zenda paused for a moment before smiling brightly.

“That really is true. I never thought of it that way.”

While talking with Zenda, I came up with a wonderful way to make everyone my ally.

“Zenda, lend me your ear.”

“Like this?”

I cupped both hands around Zenda’s ear and whispered.

Zenda burst out laughing.

“Then, since we have to carry out our ‘make-allies’ plan, shall we have dinner now? I think the soup is going to get cold.”

With those words, a fork and spoon were naturally placed in my hands.

 

***

 

Cassel was reveling in the peace that had returned after several days.

He had actually spent several days wondering whether he should lock his bedroom door at night, despite it being his own house.

That little thing had an absurd amount of energy. One moment, she would run around panting until she got tired, then abruptly collapse and fall asleep, and the moment she woke up, she would be back at it again.

Today, he couldn’t even see her.

Maybe I was a little too harsh.

But he quickly erased the thought from his mind.

I’ve always been that kind of bastard. There’s nothing unusual about it.

After finishing his business, he returned and ambled down the hallway, only to notice that the atmosphere in the house was different from usual.

The servants were grinning from ear to ear the entire time, and somehow they seemed all soft and gooey, practically giving off a sweet scent.

There was no way the sugary smell that had constantly emanated from the child could possibly be coming from those dark, ominous-looking people.

What is this unsettling feeling?

But he didn’t have to wonder for long.

Every servant who greeted him as he passed had a red flower pinned over the left side of their chest.

They looked like brooches made of soft lace fabric, and apparently they were quite precious, because the servants kept stroking the flowers from time to time and walking around with foolish little smiles.

His niece was nowhere to be seen today, while the servants were all acting like something had come loose inside their heads, grinning stupidly.

Naturally, it started getting on his nerves when it seemed like everyone knew the reason except him.

And then—

With the rapid, noisy patter of tiny footsteps, Aika came running from the end of the hallway.

She was hugging an armful of something red.

Her black hair, tied into two pigtails, fluttered every time she stomped her feet.

Of course.

Cassel deliberately pressed his temples as though he had a headache and looked at her askance.

“Hi, Uncle! Did you have a safe trip?”

“I told you to walk properly.”

“I was busy! Hi, Gerard. Gerard, this!”

Barely giving Cassel a greeting, Aika walked right past him and stopped in front of Gerard.

After catching her breath, she abruptly held out the red flower she had been carrying.

It was the same lace flower she had spotted pinned to the servants’ chests as she passed by.

So this is where it came from.

A flower soon bloomed on Gerard’s face as well.

“Another fine day, Young lady. Surely this is for me?”

“Yep, it’s a present! It looks good here. I even prayed to the flower so something good would happen to you, Gerard!”

Aika proudly patted one side of her chest as she spoke.

“Thank you. I will treasure it.”

Gerard bent one knee and bowed in a gesture of loyalty, making Aika’s face brighten even more.

Then Aika stared up at Cassel.

If you’re going to give me one, hurry up and give it to me. Why are you staring?

Thinking that he should at least accept it and pretend to pin it on himself so she wouldn’t start whining, Cassel abruptly held out his hand.

Aika startled and took a step backward.

“Uncle, I’m sorry! I won’t bother you anymore!”

Then she turned around and disappeared in a flash.

Cassel’s eyebrow shot crookedly upward as if it intended to reach the heavens.

The hand he had so generously held out was empty.

What the hell? What about me?

Cassel whipped around.

Gerard was the one who tensed at the sudden ominous atmosphere.

Cassel’s lips twisted.

“Good for you?”

At his displeased tone, Gerard lowered his head.

“……Yes, it’s really ni—no, sir.”

The honest answer was accompanied by the temperature around them dropping by about three degrees.

“Good. Have lots of fun.”

Cassel abruptly turned around again and quickly disappeared down the hallway.

“……Ah.”

Zenda had told him to make sure His Grace was in a good mood by the end of today, too. This was bad.

Sensing the dark days ahead, Gerard roughly scratched the back of his head before hurriedly chasing after him.

After that, the number of servants Cassel encountered wearing red flowers on their chests only increased.

Yet until dinnertime, Cassel’s chest remained empty.

And then came dinner.

Aika, who had created the whole situation, sat across from him at the dinner table looking completely innocent, as though she knew nothing at all.

The tiny bit of hope he had left was brutally crushed.

 

***

 

“Wow, what’s this?”

The moment I entered the dining room, I spotted a tree standing tall in the middle of the table.

It looked like a winter tree covered in snowflakes made of fried food.

“It’s a dish made by attaching root vegetables and frying them. It’s a token of gratitude for the flower brooch gift you gave us, Young lady. Would you like to try some?”

Sophie, the head chef, snapped off one of the branches and held it out to me.

“Can I really eat it? If we hang fruit on it, it would look just like a Christmas tree!”

I popped the fried root vegetable Sophie had given me into my mouth.

Crispy on the outside, crunchy on the inside.

The outside was savory and salty, as though it had been sprinkled with salt, while the inside was warm and sweet.

It was such a delicious taste that my nostrils flared with excitement.

“It’s delicious!”

I can’t believe something can be this tasty without even being meat!

“Next time, shall we make a tree using fruit and leafy vegetables too?”

“Yes!”

“Good grief, you two are noisy. Sophie, don’t let her drag you into this.”

Uncle had entered the dining room while we were talking.