The Obsessive Maniac Is Trying To Confine Me - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 72

【Ahem. Excuse me, young master, we’re in an extremely dangerous situation right now, you know?】

【Anyway, since you’re partly to blame for how things turned out, you’ll need to buy us some time. I’ll call for help right away.】

Dillen recalled what had happened that day.

‘It was definitely Rose’s voice…’

Was it just a similar voice?

Since it had already been two years since he’d heard her voice, his memory was hazy.

And the tone, intonation, and way of speaking that Dillen remembered from Rose wasn’t like that at all. It was different enough to feel like a completely different person.

Her personality seemed completely different too…

The Rose that Dillen knew had extremely severe mood swings.

Some days she would laugh, other days she would cry.

But that maid working in this place didn’t seem like that. From what he’d heard, she was cheerful without a shadow of gloom…

However…

While she seemed like a different person, there were considerable similarities.

So he wondered if that’s why Yurta showed such great interest in that maid, but he couldn’t believe that someone with such similarities could exist.

‘I thought she was avoiding me because Yurta told her to…’

But it didn’t really seem like that either.

Come to think of it, wasn’t that maid’s name Roji?

Dillen pulled up a faint memory.

When was it again.

* * *

“Am I the strange one?”

Having nothing to do, Rose at that time was sitting on the grass field, plucking flowers.

She seemed unconcerned about grass stains getting on her pure white dress.

Dillen sighed and threw his outer coat next to her.

“Sit on that. If Father finds out you got grass stains, he’ll scold you for behavior unbecoming of a noble lady. You hate that kind of thing.”

“It’s already too late. Giving it to me after the stains are already there…”

Rose showed no interest in Dillen’s coat and focused on the act of picking flowers.

Dillen sat down beside Rose and asked her.

“So.”

“So, what?”

“You said you seem strange. What seems strange about you.”

“Um, well…”

Rose pondered how to explain, then opened her mouth as if she’d thought of something.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m not myself.”

“…What kind of feeling is that?”

“You wouldn’t know since you only have one name, but I have several names.”

Dillen counted the number of Rose’s names at her words.

“Three. Right?”

“Right. I have three names.”

“My current name is one my father gave me.”

“I wonder if it’s because I have three names, or if it’s my problem. Sometimes I don’t feel like I’m myself. I just feel like I shouldn’t be here.”

She spoke these rather complex thoughts while smiling casually.

She wasn’t pretending to be calm. This had already become familiar to her.

Dillen wondered if he should offer some words of comfort, but he couldn’t think of anything suitable.

“You probably wouldn’t understand.”

Right. You’d never understand. My feelings or anything.

Then suddenly, he became curious about her other names. Really suddenly.

“What were the names you used before?”

“You’re asking late. Yurta asked me that a long time ago.”

“Why are you suddenly bringing up that bastard?”

When Dillen frowned, Rose smiled faintly and answered.

“Roji. That was one of the names.”

* * *

Dillen, emerging from his recollection, shot up from his seat.

With the same hair color, body type, and voice… could the name be the same too?

* * *

Rihardt had become strange since returning from the punishment room.

“Is there anything you like, Miss Maid?”

“…Something I like? Nothing really comes to mind.”

“Really nothing?”

“Since you’re asking suddenly, well. Um, I think I liked taking afternoon naps…”

He’d been asking a lot more questions lately.

He began asking about this and that as if he wanted to know about me.

“What did you do before getting a job here, Miss Maid?”

“…Just, well, nothing particularly special, I suppose.”

Why is he acting like this lately?

While Rihardt had often pretended to have feelings for me, he’d never dug deep into who I was.

He had always drawn an appropriate line with me until now.

“I’m curious about your name, Miss Maid.”

“…Don’t you know it?”

I think several people had called me Roji, or Miss Roji, in front of Rihardt before.

“I do know it, but I’d like to hear it directly from you.”

…Why is he really acting like this lately?

Did he change his approach to getting close to me?

Either way, his change wasn’t welcome.

“As you already know, it’s Roji.”

“Roji.”

Rihardt spoke my name as if hearing it for the first time.

His red lips curved enchantingly. That was very awkward.

His beautiful face kept beaming as if calling my name brought him such joy.

Then Rihardt looked at me. As if asking me to ask his name too.

“If you’re finished eating-“

“Aren’t you going to ask my name?”

Feeling uneasy, I tried to cut off this strange flow and escape, but the quick-witted Rihardt didn’t give me a chance to run away.

Asking his name as he wanted wouldn’t have been difficult.

But strangely, I felt like I shouldn’t ask his name here.

No, I felt like hearing his name would make me feel as if I were committing a sin.

“What meaning would there be in asking now?”

“We’re going to spend our whole lives together, aren’t we?”

Rihardt seemed to truly believe that.

That I would run away with him.

It was strange.

He had been suspicious of me all this time, hadn’t he? So what made his suspicion evaporate?

From my perspective, it was fortunate… but I was starting to get confused about whether this was really fortunate.

“You never did this with the other maids before.”

“…What do you mean?”

“You never asked the other maids to tell you their names.”

“That’s because there was no need to.”

His brow furrowed slightly, as if he was a bit offended.

Rihardt’s behavior was confusing.

I knew I was special to him, but…

So even though he must have felt hatred toward those in this manor with restraint, he had shown me a kind of goodwill.

To be precise, that was intentional goodwill born of necessity.

But was his current goodwill like that?

“Lately, I’ve become curious about many things regarding you.”

Rihardt smiled faintly as if that were obvious.

“Don’t tell me it’s because you think I saved you from the punishment room?”

“…”

He didn’t deny it.

His favorable feelings probably stemmed from there.

I suddenly understood his change.

Well, I’d be the same way. When someone extends a helping hand in a difficult situation, they do feel like a warm comfort.

“It’s not just that… Do I need a reason?”

“No. It doesn’t matter anymore anyway.”

Rihardt looked puzzled, not understanding what I meant.

It was too late to push him away at this point.

“If you want me to ask about your name, why don’t you start by telling me? Just how exactly are you planning to escape?”

“…Hmm.”

“The festival is next week. You agreed to escape then too.”

Next week meant escaping.

Seeing how he still won’t tell me how he plans to escape, he doesn’t seem to completely trust me yet.

“If I tell you, will you call me by my name?”

“…”

“You don’t want to?”

“…It’s not that, but I briefly thought you’d fail at business.”

Rihardt’s eyes widened at my words, then he burst into laughter.

I looked at him with a cold expression.

I’d felt this before, but he really was terrible at making deals.

Every time he made conditions with me, when calculating the losses, Rihardt’s side was always greater.

“I’ll tell you where I plan to escape to.”

Rihardt said, stopping his laughter.

“Where I was thinking of escaping to is a place you’ve been to before, miss.”

“…A place I’ve been to?”

“Yes. The maze garden in the Count’s manor.”

I felt dubious because Rihardt’s words were hard to believe.

It was also a completely different plan from the original… What could possibly be there if he escaped to that place?

“When I attempted my first escape, I felt it, but there’s something quite mysterious inside there.”

“Something mysterious?”

“There seems to be a teleportation portal.”

I frowned at Rihardt’s words.

A teleportation portal?

…Wasn’t that under the Royal Court’s authority?

Teleportation portals could only be owned and managed by the Royal Court. But for one to exist in the Count’s manor…

‘It’s treason.’

No wonder they put so much effort into the maze garden.

“They hid it thoroughly so no one could approach the portal. That’s why I had quite a hard time decoding the magic.”

…Why on earth would Count Evantes’ mansion create a teleportation portal?

It would be quite dangerous if caught, so I couldn’t understand it.

“So you’re going to escape there?”

“That seems more efficient.”

“…You failed last time, will it be okay?”

Rihardt looked at me with a subtle expression.

Ah.

The cause of each of his failed escapes was always me. I smiled awkwardly.

“Then please call me by my name now, Roji.”

Rihardt said as if he had been waiting.

Since it wasn’t particularly difficult, I decided to call him as promised.

“…Rihardt.”

I had always called him in my thoughts, but this was the first time saying it directly, so it felt slightly awkward.

As I thought about how it felt to pronounce it aloud, Rihardt’s eyes widened greatly.

Then he smiled softly like ice melting and flowers blooming. Really beautifully.

“Please call me once more.”

“I don’t want to.”

Once was enough.

I didn’t want to call him because it was awkward.

Rihardt laughed as if he found my reaction amusing.

But at the same time, his face showed disappointment.

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