I Became the Butler of the Seventh Princess, Who’s Regressing Into a Child - Episode 26

Episode 26

After tending to Lady Luciana, I had dinner and took a bath. I then spent some time in my room, focusing on my own magic power.

…I’m still wasting too much energy when I use the ability of an [Enchanter]. If I can learn to use my magic more efficiently, I should be able to fight even more effectively.

As I was practicing my magic for a while, there was a knock on the door and Karin entered. I assumed she was here to change into her maid outfit, and that we’d head off to the dream world together as usual. However, the outfit she was holding was different.

“Karin, what’s that?”  

“Hmm? It’s a dress.”  

No, that’s not what I meant. I was asking why she brought that instead of her maid uniform.

It was indeed a dress, no matter how you looked at it. A light pink dress made of sheer silk, with puffy sleeves and plenty of frills. It had a charming and delicate design, clearly meant to be a “cute girl’s outfit”.

“Today, I thought I’d have you try this on, Rondo-kun,” 

Karin said, beaming as she offered it to me. …..No, she can’t be serious.

“Um… This is a bit…”  

“Please! I want to overcome my discomfort with men! You said you’d help in whatever way you could, right, Rondo-kun?”

Guh! Karin looked at me with those serious eyes. To think those words I said so casually—”I’ll help however I can”—would come back to me in this form…

When she puts it like that, it’s hard to refuse.

“……Do you really want me to wear this?”  

“Yes! Besides, with your androgynous face, I think this kind of outfit would totally suit you!”  

“So this is for getting over your aversion to men, right? It’s not… just a personal preference of yours?”  

“Yes!”

Stop looking so thrilled. I hesitated for a while. But if she was serious about wanting to do something about her phobia, I wanted to support her.

“…Alright, fine.”  

Reluctantly, I took the dress and started changing. The whole time, she kept her gaze fixed on me. It’s for her to get used to a man’s presence—she has no ulterior motives, right?

Once I put it on, I realized the silky texture felt surprisingly smooth. It felt strangely pleasant on my skin. Still, the idea of wearing a women’s dress left me feeling unsettled. Every time the skirt fluttered around my legs, I felt an odd sense of discomfort. I thought I’d gotten used to the breeze with the maid uniform. But it’s still strange.

When I finished changing, Karin looked delighted as she circled around me. She inspected me with satisfaction.

“Yep! I knew it would look great on you, Rondo-kun! You’ve got that androgynous face, so there’s no awkwardness at all. You look absolutely adorable!”

…..She probably meant that as a compliment. But to me, it’s beside the point. I’m only wearing it to help her get over her discomfort with men.

“So, should we just go to sleep as usual, then?”  

“Yes. Let’s lie down together,” 

Karin said, eagerly climbing into bed.

Sighing, I followed suit; it’s too late to back out now. I made my way to the bed, my face stiffening a bit as I did. Facing each other in bed, Karin looked at me thoughtfully. She was nodding to herself a few times.

“Even being this close… I don’t feel uncomfortable around you.”  

“……Is that because of the way I’m dressed?”  

Since she wanted to overcome her fear of men, I asked about what might be causing it.

“I’m not sure… But if I asked any of the other butlers to do this, I don’t think I’d feel as at ease.” 

“Is that so? But even from the start, you were able to interact with me normally, right?”  

At least, I hadn’t noticed her discomfort around men until she mentioned it.

“…..That’s true. When I first saw you, I thought you were quite beautiful. And your voice—it has that husky tone I really like.”

“…..Wait, does that mean when we first met, you thought I was a girl?” 

“Hmm, not exactly—I did kind of sense you were a boy. After all, being a succubus, my radar for these things is pretty sharp.”

So, it wasn’t because she misjudged that she was able to interact with me normally.

“Not sure if you’d be okay answering this, but… why did you become uncomfortable around men in the first place?”  

“…..It’s probably because of some of the boys who lived nearby when I was in the village.”  

“Did they do something to you?”  

“They used to bully me a lot. They’d call me ugly and all kinds of mean things. I hated it so much that I just stopped interacting with boys altogether. And before I knew it, I’d developed a strong discomfort around them.”

…Ah, I see.

“So this happened when you were pretty young?”  

“Yeah, I was around six or seven, I think.”  

“…Then maybe, the boys in the village actually liked you and were teasing you on purpose.”

“Huh? Wh-what? Liked me as in, you know, romantically? Why would that lead to bullying?”  

“Well, boys that age sometimes go through a phase where they act out around people they’re interested in. They tease the person they like just to get some attention.”  

“What? But because of that, I ended up with a phobia of men… Wait, Rondo-kun, did you ever act like that?”

Karin gave me a suspicious look. I thought back on it—no, I couldn’t remember ever doing something like that myself.

“No, not really. But I have heard that kind of thing happens.”  

“..…I see. Well, that’s probably why I have this fear of men. I still can’t handle anyone else besides you, Rondo-kun. So I’ll need to practice with you.”

“Got it…”  

Just as I said that, a sudden wave of drowsiness washed over me. As usual, Karin must’ve used her magic to put me to sleep.

From here, I’d better focus on training for the day I face Klaus-san.