94 It’s Slowly Creeping in My Stomach
I feel like cra*p. Geez, what in the world was that dream anyway? Creepy. I thought before shaking my head and looking around, only to find that the ornament I had hung on the window panel fell at some point of time during the night. Moreover, the flower was also withered somehow.
… Seriously? That dream is real? Oh, well. Let’s stop thinking about such useless matters and focus on what’s important. Fight me~! Let’s do our best! Today is Saint Festival’s day, after all. I patted my face several times and nodded. Right, let’s do our best.
After that, I slipped off my bed and looked for my clothes for the day, but… there was no new change of clothes to be seen where it was supposed to be.
Eh?
Come to think of it, Richard didn’t come to wake me up as well. That was strange since he had never forgotten to come and wake me up in the morning. In fact, considering that today was the day of the Saint Festival, he should have come even earlier than usual to wake me up.
Feeling strange, I decided to wear the casual clothes I had kept in my wardrobe before I left my room to look for Richard. But, to be honest, I actually had no idea where he was right now.
Just when I was wondering about the whereabouts of my attendant, I saw him walking on the corridor in front of me. So, I rushed to him and said, “Morning, Richard. I have been looking for you. Today is the day of the Saint Festival, right? Are you sure that you’re not going to prepare my change of clothes immediately? What about today’s plan?”
However, instead of immediately answering, Richard was looking at me as if he didn’t know me and I was suspicious. What was that about???
“Uhm… who are you? Or rather, how did you get into this mansion?” Richard asked warily, looking really bewildered for some reason. Heck, he even had his hand already on the hilt of his sword, looking like he was ready to use it at any moment.
“Stop with your joke. I’m Theodore, you know? We just returned yesterday from the academy, remember? Stop talking as if I’m an intruder,” I said, causing him to look at me for a while. Fortunately, he suddenly snapped out of it as if he had just realized something and immediately apologized.
“M-my apologies, Theodore-sama! I’ll prepare your attire immediately!” He said before he started to prepare my attire. But I could hear him mumbling under his breath, wondering how on earth did he manage to forget about such an important matter.
Did he mistake me for someone else? But how could that happen?
I shook my head decisively. Perhaps the nightmare I had last night made me more anxious than usual my brain came up with random things.
Anyhow, after I changed my casual clothes to the attire Richard prepared, I went toward the dining room. By the time I arrived, everyone had already gathered together for breakfast.
As our mansion in the royal capital was smaller than the one in our territory, with only three buildings on our ground here, everyone gathered together during meals. Well, to be honest, the reason why this happened was simply that I had thrown a tantrum a long time ago to have a meal together. So, even back in our territory, we would still end up having meals together.
Anyway, for some reason, everyone was looking at me with puzzled expressions the moment I entered the dining room. Just like Richard back in the corridor, everyone from my father, mother, Wendy, Carol, and Chester to our maids and waiters… all of them were acting unusual.
Father, Mother, and Wendy didn’t greet me with their usual smile. Carol and Chester’s eyes were chasing after my figure, yet it was obvious that they were vigilant against me. Even our maids and waiters were sending suspicious gazes at me.
… WAIT A FU*CKING MINUTE~! Wait a minute. Just wait. What in the world is happening here? Why are they acting like they’ve forgotten who I am???
“Good morning, Father, Mother. Good morning to you too, Wendy, Chester, Carol.” I tried to greet them with the brightest mood I could muster, but inside, I wanted to cry. In fact, I would cry for real if they didn’t even return my greeting.
“… Ah? Eh, morning, Theodore. How strange… am I still tired? Sorry, I kinda… forgot there.”
“Y-yeah. Morning, Theodore. That’s strange… what happen to me?”
Both Father and Mother cocked their head, looking even more puzzled than before as they replied to me.
They forgot about me? Seriously? Just what in the world was happening here?!
“Good morning, Big Brother Theodore. Sorry, I also completely forgot about you till a moment ago. Perhaps I had slept too late last night….”
Stop it, Wendy. You’re going to make your onii-chan cry.
“Sorry, Big Brother. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Big Brother Theo, and sorry.”
Chester and Carol ran in a hurry and hugged me from the sides. I’m really happy that they’re hugging me now, but I also wanted to cry at the same time.
Hence, despite having a meal together after that, I couldn’t remember the taste of the food I ate.
◇
I went back to my room after we were done with our breakfast and then tried to ask the magical power’s avatars the reason behind this mysterious phenomenon. Yet, they stayed silent.
The chick doll didn’t move at all, and both the pendant and brooch lost their usual shine.
They did say that they were going to sleep before, so are they still sleeping now? What a bummer. I had hoped that they would sleep after explaining the situation to me. Still… since they seemed to be overworked in that dream, I shouldn’t wake them up forcefully. Let’s just let them sleep.
Geez, I seriously wanted to know what was happening here!
Anyway, since I couldn’t find out right now, I should hide the pendant beneath my clothes first. Oh, and the brooch too. Both items didn’t match the attire for the festival after all. As for the chick doll, well, it was placed inside its usual place inside my pocket.
With this, I could immediately ask them once they woke up.
◇
When I came out of my room, Chester suddenly pinched my sleeve and called out to me in a small voice. In his hand was a card with a picture of a skeleton knight riding a white horse. He looked worried and said, “Big Brother, I hope you will act very carefully. I tried to do a fortune-telling for you just now, and the card I drew was an ominous one. The ditch deepened due to stagnation. You can only persevere in such a situation. However, there was a silver lining… opportunity and chance will eventually find their way to you.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Sorry, Big Brother. I also have no idea what it meant. I have yet to do an in-depth study in that regard…. But please remember this warning. Please. I just got this feeling that I absolutely have to let you hear this, Big Brother,” Chester said before he hung his head down in shame.
However, contrary to his feeling, I was really grateful for his warning. After all, even if I had no idea what those words meant now, they might have some meaning to me later on.
“I see. Thank you very much. I’ll try to watch out for what it meant later,” I said, hugging Chester as I brushed his hair. I felt really grateful to him.
“Big Brother is sly! Hug me too! I want you to hug me too, Big Brother Theo!”
“Alright. Thank you for your care too, Carol,” I said, embracing my adorable little sister as well and Carol used that chance to rub her cheek on me.
“What about you, Wendy? Let me hug you too,” I said after I lowered Carol back to the floor and faced Wendy with arms spread ready for a hug.
“Geez, I’m not a kid anymore, Big Brother.”
Yet, despite her words, she still happily went into my embrace. Alas, she refused my offer to princess-carry her though.
“Good luck with the festival, Big Brother.”
“Yeah, thank you. Wendy will go to the royal castle as the representative of the elementary division, right? Good luck to you too. Let’s meet again after the festival,” I said then added in a small voice, “I’ll formally introduce you to Elliot at that time. So, look forward to it.”
“… Thank you, Big Brother.”
I patted Wendy’s back lightly at that and then turned to hug my mother.
“Well then, I’m off, Mother.”
“Do your best. It will be okay as long as you do as I said.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
With that, both Father and I got into the carriage while waving our hands to my mother and my siblings who saw us off.
Alas, even now, the coach and guards were looking at me curiously. Including Kevin. Dammit.
“Good morning, everyone. Let’s do our best today.”
“Good… morning, Young Master…. How strange… it seems there’s something wrong with my memories. I actually forgot your face— is this because of my age?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s not because of your age.”
Although I was smiling calmly when I replied to Kevin, I was really shaken inside. Since even Kevin had also forgotten me, it meant that something had really happened to me.
I kept feeling worried inside the carriage on the way toward the grand cathedral. Seriously, someone, please tell me what I should do.
I was at my wits’ end. However, I couldn’t do anything about it since today was the day of the festival. Hence, I still had to wait until I was done with my job before I could search for the answer to my question. The problem was, what should I do after that?
What should I do if everyone really did forget about me?
Unfortunately, no matter how much I thought about it, I still couldn’t come up with a solution for that problem.
“What’s the matter, Theodore? Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. You’ve been practicing your part properly, right? You just need to do it in accordance with your training. That’s how I did it back in my time, after all.”
I was really happy to see my father worrying about me, albeit he was completely off in his guess of why I was worried since he was talking about the role I played in the festival. Nevertheless, I was grateful.
“― Father, I saw the avatars in their human form. It’s only in my dream, though,” I said, telling the other about my dream last night.
However, naturally, I couldn’t tell him the part about my guess that everyone would forget about me. It was too scary, after all. Besides, no one would believe that nonsense if I told them when I was right in front of them.
“… A nightmare, is it? It doesn’t seem to be the effect of the ornament…. So, it might be the deed of the demon race. Are they aiming for Theodore? If that’s the case, does this mean they… have already known that Theodore is one of the Six Gods?”
The demon race?! I see; there was that possibility. Indeed, they did seem to be the biggest suspect behind this matter. To some extent, I could even guess the reason why they did that.
""
Anyway, just the name demon race itself was already self-explanatory. They were a race that was capable of hexing someone just by speaking and doing it as if it was a part of their nature. So, it was totally possible for them to hex me just because. After all, they didn’t need to use aria or ritual whatsoever.
Moreover, there was Chester’s warning a while ago. So, I was sure that it was the demon race was the problem I had to be wary against.
Before me, Father pondered for a while, but then he raised his face and looked at me solemnly. He then brushed my head and said, “It’ll be alright. I’ll protect you from those demons.”
Yeah, thank you for the reassuring words, but. They were picking a fight with me. So, I couldn’t just entrust this matter to my father. I had to act personally. After all, I couldn’t be like those spoiled brats who whined to their parents after being beaten, could I?
“Thank you, Father. But I’m not a child who needs constant protection. I’ll try to do something on my side too.”
Although I said that, I still had no idea what to do. Still, at the very least I had to put my attitude out there. Anyway, since there was nothing I could do right now, let’s just focus on this festival.
After all, I had to do my best here since it was related to the strengthening of our kingdom’s barrier.
◇
Just like I had expected, when I entered the grand cathedral, everyone I had met before looked at me with puzzled expressions on their face. Those weird eyes aimed at me almost broke my heart.
Yeah, I’m seriously depressed here.
I shook my head slightly and parted with my father and guard. I entered the cathedral and headed into the waiting room. There, I found Elliot and the others had already been waiting. However, what depressed me was their gazes that said, ‘Who in the hell’s name is this guy?’
What was even more depressing was Katrina, who played the role of the Saint. She also tilted her head in puzzlement when she saw me. This, more than others, dealt a critical blow to my heart.
The only silver lining I had was the fact that Muriel had yet to arrive. But what if when she arrived she didn’t know it was me? What then?
I was very nervous.
After waiting for a while, Muriel finally arrived. And when she looked at me, my heart was beating loudly as I waited for her reaction.
“Good morning, Theodore-sama! Let’s do our best today!” She greeted me with the brightest smile on her face and I couldn’t help but hug her passionately.
“W-what’s the matter, Theodore-sama?! And what’s with those looks on everyone’s face…?”
“Uhm. I know. But please let me hug you like this for a while.”
Even I knew that my voice was shaking, yet Muriel only silently circled her arms around me and patted my back gently.
Really, thank you very much.
The lace bracelet on her left wrist glowed as if reminding me about their existence, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Hahaha, I know guys.
And….
Thank you very much, White.
94 It’s Slowly Creeping in My Stomach
I feel like cra*p. Geez, what in the world was that dream anyway? Creepy. I thought before shaking my head and looking around, only to find that the ornament I had hung on the window panel fell at some point of time during the night. Moreover, the flower was also withered somehow.
… Seriously? That dream is real? Oh, well. Let’s stop thinking about such useless matters and focus on what’s important. Fight me~! Let’s do our best! Today is Saint Festival’s day, after all. I patted my face several times and nodded. Right, let’s do our best.
After that, I slipped off my bed and looked for my clothes for the day, but… there was no new change of clothes to be seen where it was supposed to be.
Eh?
Come to think of it, Richard didn’t come to wake me up as well. That was strange since he had never forgotten to come and wake me up in the morning. In fact, considering that today was the day of the Saint Festival, he should have come even earlier than usual to wake me up.
Feeling strange, I decided to wear the casual clothes I had kept in my wardrobe before I left my room to look for Richard. But, to be honest, I actually had no idea where he was right now.
Just when I was wondering about the whereabouts of my attendant, I saw him walking on the corridor in front of me. So, I rushed to him and said, “Morning, Richard. I have been looking for you. Today is the day of the Saint Festival, right? Are you sure that you’re not going to prepare my change of clothes immediately? What about today’s plan?”
However, instead of immediately answering, Richard was looking at me as if he didn’t know me and I was suspicious. What was that about???
“Uhm… who are you? Or rather, how did you get into this mansion?” Richard asked warily, looking really bewildered for some reason. Heck, he even had his hand already on the hilt of his sword, looking like he was ready to use it at any moment.
“Stop with your joke. I’m Theodore, you know? We just returned yesterday from the academy, remember? Stop talking as if I’m an intruder,” I said, causing him to look at me for a while. Fortunately, he suddenly snapped out of it as if he had just realized something and immediately apologized.
“M-my apologies, Theodore-sama! I’ll prepare your attire immediately!” He said before he started to prepare my attire. But I could hear him mumbling under his breath, wondering how on earth did he manage to forget about such an important matter.
Did he mistake me for someone else? But how could that happen?
I shook my head decisively. Perhaps the nightmare I had last night made me more anxious than usual my brain came up with random things.
Anyhow, after I changed my casual clothes to the attire Richard prepared, I went toward the dining room. By the time I arrived, everyone had already gathered together for breakfast.
As our mansion in the royal capital was smaller than the one in our territory, with only three buildings on our ground here, everyone gathered together during meals. Well, to be honest, the reason why this happened was simply that I had thrown a tantrum a long time ago to have a meal together. So, even back in our territory, we would still end up having meals together.
Anyway, for some reason, everyone was looking at me with puzzled expressions the moment I entered the dining room. Just like Richard back in the corridor, everyone from my father, mother, Wendy, Carol, and Chester to our maids and waiters… all of them were acting unusual.
Father, Mother, and Wendy didn’t greet me with their usual smile. Carol and Chester’s eyes were chasing after my figure, yet it was obvious that they were vigilant against me. Even our maids and waiters were sending suspicious gazes at me.
… WAIT A FU*CKING MINUTE~! Wait a minute. Just wait. What in the world is happening here? Why are they acting like they’ve forgotten who I am???
“Good morning, Father, Mother. Good morning to you too, Wendy, Chester, Carol.” I tried to greet them with the brightest mood I could muster, but inside, I wanted to cry. In fact, I would cry for real if they didn’t even return my greeting.
“… Ah? Eh, morning, Theodore. How strange… am I still tired? Sorry, I kinda… forgot there.”
“Y-yeah. Morning, Theodore. That’s strange… what happen to me?”
Both Father and Mother cocked their head, looking even more puzzled than before as they replied to me.
They forgot about me? Seriously? Just what in the world was happening here?!
“Good morning, Big Brother Theodore. Sorry, I also completely forgot about you till a moment ago. Perhaps I had slept too late last night….”
Stop it, Wendy. You’re going to make your onii-chan cry.
“Sorry, Big Brother. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Big Brother Theo, and sorry.”
Chester and Carol ran in a hurry and hugged me from the sides. I’m really happy that they’re hugging me now, but I also wanted to cry at the same time.
Hence, despite having a meal together after that, I couldn’t remember the taste of the food I ate.
◇
I went back to my room after we were done with our breakfast and then tried to ask the magical power’s avatars the reason behind this mysterious phenomenon. Yet, they stayed silent.
The chick doll didn’t move at all, and both the pendant and brooch lost their usual shine.
They did say that they were going to sleep before, so are they still sleeping now? What a bummer. I had hoped that they would sleep after explaining the situation to me. Still… since they seemed to be overworked in that dream, I shouldn’t wake them up forcefully. Let’s just let them sleep.
Geez, I seriously wanted to know what was happening here!
Anyway, since I couldn’t find out right now, I should hide the pendant beneath my clothes first. Oh, and the brooch too. Both items didn’t match the attire for the festival after all. As for the chick doll, well, it was placed inside its usual place inside my pocket.
With this, I could immediately ask them once they woke up.
◇
When I came out of my room, Chester suddenly pinched my sleeve and called out to me in a small voice. In his hand was a card with a picture of a skeleton knight riding a white horse. He looked worried and said, “Big Brother, I hope you will act very carefully. I tried to do a fortune-telling for you just now, and the card I drew was an ominous one. The ditch deepened due to stagnation. You can only persevere in such a situation. However, there was a silver lining… opportunity and chance will eventually find their way to you.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Sorry, Big Brother. I also have no idea what it meant. I have yet to do an in-depth study in that regard…. But please remember this warning. Please. I just got this feeling that I absolutely have to let you hear this, Big Brother,” Chester said before he hung his head down in shame.
However, contrary to his feeling, I was really grateful for his warning. After all, even if I had no idea what those words meant now, they might have some meaning to me later on.
“I see. Thank you very much. I’ll try to watch out for what it meant later,” I said, hugging Chester as I brushed his hair. I felt really grateful to him.
“Big Brother is sly! Hug me too! I want you to hug me too, Big Brother Theo!”
“Alright. Thank you for your care too, Carol,” I said, embracing my adorable little sister as well and Carol used that chance to rub her cheek on me.
“What about you, Wendy? Let me hug you too,” I said after I lowered Carol back to the floor and faced Wendy with arms spread ready for a hug.
“Geez, I’m not a kid anymore, Big Brother.”
Yet, despite her words, she still happily went into my embrace. Alas, she refused my offer to princess-carry her though.
“Good luck with the festival, Big Brother.”
“Yeah, thank you. Wendy will go to the royal castle as the representative of the elementary division, right? Good luck to you too. Let’s meet again after the festival,” I said then added in a small voice, “I’ll formally introduce you to Elliot at that time. So, look forward to it.”
“… Thank you, Big Brother.”
I patted Wendy’s back lightly at that and then turned to hug my mother.
“Well then, I’m off, Mother.”
“Do your best. It will be okay as long as you do as I said.”
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
With that, both Father and I got into the carriage while waving our hands to my mother and my siblings who saw us off.
Alas, even now, the coach and guards were looking at me curiously. Including Kevin. Dammit.
“Good morning, everyone. Let’s do our best today.”
“Good… morning, Young Master…. How strange… it seems there’s something wrong with my memories. I actually forgot your face— is this because of my age?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s not because of your age.”
Although I was smiling calmly when I replied to Kevin, I was really shaken inside. Since even Kevin had also forgotten me, it meant that something had really happened to me.
I kept feeling worried inside the carriage on the way toward the grand cathedral. Seriously, someone, please tell me what I should do.
I was at my wits’ end. However, I couldn’t do anything about it since today was the day of the festival. Hence, I still had to wait until I was done with my job before I could search for the answer to my question. The problem was, what should I do after that?
What should I do if everyone really did forget about me?
Unfortunately, no matter how much I thought about it, I still couldn’t come up with a solution for that problem.
“What’s the matter, Theodore? Don’t worry, it’ll be alright. You’ve been practicing your part properly, right? You just need to do it in accordance with your training. That’s how I did it back in my time, after all.”
I was really happy to see my father worrying about me, albeit he was completely off in his guess of why I was worried since he was talking about the role I played in the festival. Nevertheless, I was grateful.
“― Father, I saw the avatars in their human form. It’s only in my dream, though,” I said, telling the other about my dream last night.
However, naturally, I couldn’t tell him the part about my guess that everyone would forget about me. It was too scary, after all. Besides, no one would believe that nonsense if I told them when I was right in front of them.
“… A nightmare, is it? It doesn’t seem to be the effect of the ornament…. So, it might be the deed of the demon race. Are they aiming for Theodore? If that’s the case, does this mean they… have already known that Theodore is one of the Six Gods?”
The demon race?! I see; there was that possibility. Indeed, they did seem to be the biggest suspect behind this matter. To some extent, I could even guess the reason why they did that.
""
Anyway, just the name demon race itself was already self-explanatory. They were a race that was capable of hexing someone just by speaking and doing it as if it was a part of their nature. So, it was totally possible for them to hex me just because. After all, they didn’t need to use aria or ritual whatsoever.
Moreover, there was Chester’s warning a while ago. So, I was sure that it was the demon race was the problem I had to be wary against.
Before me, Father pondered for a while, but then he raised his face and looked at me solemnly. He then brushed my head and said, “It’ll be alright. I’ll protect you from those demons.”
Yeah, thank you for the reassuring words, but. They were picking a fight with me. So, I couldn’t just entrust this matter to my father. I had to act personally. After all, I couldn’t be like those spoiled brats who whined to their parents after being beaten, could I?
“Thank you, Father. But I’m not a child who needs constant protection. I’ll try to do something on my side too.”
Although I said that, I still had no idea what to do. Still, at the very least I had to put my attitude out there. Anyway, since there was nothing I could do right now, let’s just focus on this festival.
After all, I had to do my best here since it was related to the strengthening of our kingdom’s barrier.
◇
Just like I had expected, when I entered the grand cathedral, everyone I had met before looked at me with puzzled expressions on their face. Those weird eyes aimed at me almost broke my heart.
Yeah, I’m seriously depressed here.
I shook my head slightly and parted with my father and guard. I entered the cathedral and headed into the waiting room. There, I found Elliot and the others had already been waiting. However, what depressed me was their gazes that said, ‘Who in the hell’s name is this guy?’
What was even more depressing was Katrina, who played the role of the Saint. She also tilted her head in puzzlement when she saw me. This, more than others, dealt a critical blow to my heart.
The only silver lining I had was the fact that Muriel had yet to arrive. But what if when she arrived she didn’t know it was me? What then?
I was very nervous.
After waiting for a while, Muriel finally arrived. And when she looked at me, my heart was beating loudly as I waited for her reaction.
“Good morning, Theodore-sama! Let’s do our best today!” She greeted me with the brightest smile on her face and I couldn’t help but hug her passionately.
“W-what’s the matter, Theodore-sama?! And what’s with those looks on everyone’s face…?”
“Uhm. I know. But please let me hug you like this for a while.”
Even I knew that my voice was shaking, yet Muriel only silently circled her arms around me and patted my back gently.
Really, thank you very much.
The lace bracelet on her left wrist glowed as if reminding me about their existence, and I couldn’t help but smile slightly.
Hahaha, I know guys.
And….
Thank you very much, White.
