Let the Whales Fight, This Shrimp is Leaving! - Chapter 52

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 52
Why was he behaving this way all of a sudden?
Deyan Boislav Nemanic was bewildered by the maid’s unexpected kindness.
He couldn’t understand why the cheerful maid with cute freckles dotting her face was being so considerate toward him.
Honestly, he’d thought that now his identity as an Adorif knight had been revealed yesterday, she would be on her guard.
But this was no guard at all.
“Who is Gus and who is May?”
“Oh my! I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. You already know everyone’s names, don’t you, Ducal Princess? Gus is the boy who works in the Kitchen, and May is the maid in the Laundry Room.”
“I see. And what’s your name?”
“I’m Nancy!”
The moment he asked her name, the already cheerful maid’s face became even more radiant.
She seemed to be hoarding all the morning sun to herself, and the brightness nearly blinded him.
And he couldn’t adapt to it.
‘Why does it seem like she’s being so good to me?’
Had Idir Hubert perhaps given separate orders?
To treat him so well that he couldn’t escape, to keep him firmly bound?
Or to be excessively kind and create an opening for her to exploit?
‘If I let my guard down, will she stab me in the back?’
Deyan entertained such foolish thoughts for a moment before shaking his head.
“Nancy. Right. I’ll remember your name too. Thank you.”
“No, no! It’s just my job! If you need anything at all, please call for me anytime!”
The moment he spoke her name, the maid beamed with delight and bounced back down the hallway with a spring in her step.
Deyan watched her receding figure—bouncing like a child—from a distance.
‘What on earth is this?’
In any case, he couldn’t afford to relax his guard.
Given what he’d learned about Idir yesterday, she would be even more reluctant to let the noose around his neck go slack.
She was a terrifying woman who laughed with grace while wielding her blade—when the time came, she would dispatch him without hesitation.
‘…It’s not entirely bad, though, is it?’
After indulging in another foolish thought, Deyan closed the door and returned to the sofa.
In the meantime, a slightly larger kitten had been toddling about at his feet.
Its tail, growing spiky like a hedgehog’s, stood rigidly upright, and the way it waved its adorable, fluffy paws against the empty floor was utterly endearing.
“This is your price.”
Deyan dipped his finger into the Milk the maid had brought and pressed it lightly against the kitten’s mouth.
The creature flinched at the liquid on its small snout, then stuck out its pink tongue and licked its nose.
Then it clung to Deyan’s hand, asking for more.
Deyan shaped his hand into a cup, poured a small amount of Milk into it, and made it easy for the kitten to drink.
Watching it lap eagerly with its almost invisible tongue, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.
“It’s a gift from a very important person. You’d better try to make a good impression on her just in case.”
Squeak. As if it could understand.
What did this little thing think it knew, chirping away like that?
Deyan chuckled and gently scratched the kitten’s tiny head, smaller than his fist.
The kitten purred and licked the remaining Milk from his palm.
Once the kitten had drunk its fill and its belly rounded with satisfaction, it stretched out and sprawled across his lap.
As it settled in to sleep properly, Deyan carefully arranged it on the sofa cushion so it wouldn’t be stepped on, then sat beside it.
His eyes fell on the food arranged on the table.
“That’s from Gus. He said he was worried you might not have eaten enough.”
Worried? When was the last time anyone had shown concern for him?
It was an undeserved kindness.
In fact, Deyan had never even seen what this Gus person looked like.
Yet someone whose face he’d never seen was preparing food for him outside of mealtimes.
The reason made no sense at all.
Concerned that his meals might be insufficient? Did they think he’d been going hungry?
‘I’m already used to that.’
Truth was, Deyan ate sparingly despite his large frame.
His considerable natural build meant that eating too much would quickly make his body sluggish, and besides, food was scarce on the battlefield.
If he ate too much simply because of his size, that was food that could have gone into the mouths of other soldiers.
Inefficient.
And thanks to his Contract with a Demon, he could endure longer than most men without eating anything at all.
So Deyan made do with only the bare minimum of food.
That way others could eat a little more and recover to fight again.
He’d cursed this sickening healing power many times, but honestly, in situations like this it was convenient.
“If I’d suffered only losses, I’d have grounds to curse it. But I did gain the Power of Immortality, after all.”
Deyan suddenly recalled words Idir had spoken, and a wry smile tugged at his lips.
‘There was nothing wrong with what she said.’
Perhaps he’d been consoling himself while blinded by his own suffering, claiming to be the one enduring the greatest pain.
Deyan reached out and picked up the Sandwich that Gus, whose face he’d never seen, had thoughtfully prepared.
He bit into it hard, and the fragrant sauce, abundant vegetables, and savory ham filled his mouth.
That alone was enough to tell him how carefully Gus had made this Sandwich for him.
He ate the food with gratitude, leaving nothing behind.
Just two hours later, when an even more generous lunch was delivered, he cleaned that plate as well.
To digest his full stomach, he paced around the room aimlessly and suddenly checked the time.
It was the hour when Idir usually offered him a walk—presented as if by her own volition.
He waited a while, but she didn’t come.
‘I see.’
So there was no longer any need for tiresome walks.
As Deyan felt an inexplicable disappointment, he simultaneously realized that he’d been waiting for Idir without knowing it.
‘Why that terrifying woman of all people?’
Had he gone mad?
Was madness contagious?
‘Did I catch it from her?’
Thinking this way, he knew that if she ever found out about such thoughts, he’d be called an idiot again without fail, so he quickly cleared his mind.
‘It’s a beautiful day.’
Yesterday it rained so heavily.
After gazing out the window for a moment, Deyan changed into his shoes.
Since no one would stop him from going for a walk, perhaps he could take one alone.
It was also a way to stop himself from thinking useless thoughts.
He was aware that Joaquin Perez was still in the Annex, but he thought it would be fine as long as he didn’t go in that direction.
Stepping outside, the Garden he entered was damp from yesterday’s rain.
The sky was clear, yet raindrops pooled on the wetted leaves fell steadily, creating the impression of a fresh shower.
Walking to the soft patter of wet grass beneath his feet as if it were music, he noticed a tree swaying in the distance.
A Gardener had a ladder propped against the tree and was rustling about atop it.
‘Doesn’t look like he’s pruning branches.’
Deyan altered his course, pretending to take a walk while moving to a position where he could see what the Gardener was doing.
Observing the people and situations passing nearby was one of his long-standing habits.
Having wasted nearly half his life on battlefields, his constant vigilance about his surroundings had become ingrained habit.
From his peripheral vision, he saw the Gardener checking a small Birdhouse tied to a branch.
He was watching the Gardener pinch out some Bird seed from his pocket and scatter it on the branch when their eyes met.
“Are you taking a walk?”
The wrinkled, sun-bronzed Gardener spoke to him warmly.
Only then did Deyan realize he’d stopped walking and was staring at the man, and he awkwardly averted his eyes.
But it was already too late to feign indifference.
Turning his gaze back to the Gardener, Deyan gave a belated answer.
“It’s become a habit, so I was just walking a bit.”
“It is nice. Yesterday the rain fell so heavily, but now the sky has cleared beautifully.”
Deyan already knew that.
Why would he bother pointing out such an obvious fact?
As Deyan puzzled over this, he realized the Gardener wanted to have a conversation with him, and he clenched his fist.
‘Why?’
First came wariness.
Then curiosity.
The answer came quickly.
“I see you’re alone today. It looks like the Ducal Princess is busy. It happens sometimes, so please don’t mind it.”
The people in this household were accepting Deyan’s presence willingly for Idir’s sake.
Moreover, seeing the kindness that surrounded Idir, they had genuinely taken a liking to him.
“Yes. It’s fine.”
Deyan answered halfheartedly and changed his direction.
His mood felt strange.
Was the relationship between a household servant and a person not merely a rigid, transactional one purchased with coin?
The world Deyan had lived in suddenly felt vastly different from this place.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————