I Became the Butler of the Seventh Princess, Who’s Regressing Into a Child - Episode 39

Episode 39

“Rondo!”

As soon as I entered the room, Lady Luciana threw herself into my arms with a look of pure distress. I held her tightly as she clung to me. It seemed she was more worn out than usual—she couldn’t even wait for me to finish closing the door.

Still holding her, I reached out with one hand to lock the door behind us.

“What happened, Lady Luciana?”

“I’m exhausted… There was so much more work than usual today,” 

She said, her voice filled with fatigue.

“That sounds rough.”

“Please, spoil me more…”

I gently stroked her head and guided her over to the bed. As we sat, she naturally rested her head on my lap, just like always.

At dinner, she’d still had her usual sharp, focused expression. But now, she looked at me with an unusually helpless expression. Clearly, today’s events had been stressful.

Was her work especially demanding today? I continued to comfort her, planning to ask for details once she was calmer.

“Did you have a lot of work today as well?” 

“Yeah… There was a bit of a scuffle…”

“A scuffle?”

“Mm-hmm… The neighboring territory belongs to Shia’s older brother, and it seems that some of our soldiers accidentally crossed into his territory while chasing down monsters. They got angry and told us not to cross the border… But if we’d left the monsters alone, they’d complain about that too! No matter what we do, they’ll find something to criticize. It’s so frustrating!”

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

Lady Luciana’s family is embroiled in a royal succession struggle. So most of her relatives are at odds with one another. Any suspicious action could lead to accusations, making things incredibly tense.

“And now my brother is coming here… It’s such a hassle. He’s probably dealing with issues in his own territory and will likely make a bunch of demands, using today’s incident as leverage. It’s all so annoying!”

“That sounds quite difficult.”

She buried her face into my abdomen, clutching my shirt tightly.

It was obvious she detested this. And honestly, I could understand why.

I held her gently, giving her some time to feel at ease before continuing.

“Lady Luciana, please don’t overdo it.”

“I’m already overdoing it… I just want to go somewhere far away where no one knows me…”

…..It seems I chose my words poorly.

“I’ll do my best to make sure you’ll have a peaceful day off someday.”

“…I almost want you to be my stand-in.”

“That… might be a bit much.”

“But, I heard from Karin that you look surprisingly good in women’s clothes?”

“Oh, well… Karin and I have worked together a few times, so she’s helped me a bit with that…”

Karin… Why would you say that? I couldn’t help but mentally shout her name in frustration as Lady Luciana held me even closer.

As I continued to stroke her head and back, she suddenly let out a loud wail.

“Nooo! I hate it!”

Her expression shifted, blending her earlier sweetness with clear annoyance.

“I want to fake an illness on the day my brother comes! I just want a day off!”

“Please, try to calm down.”

It was obvious how much Lady Luciana disliked the idea of meeting her family. Given the strained circumstances, I wanted to support her somehow… but without knowing the reason for her brother’s visit, there wasn’t much I could do.

“He’s definitely coming with bad news… Last time, he even brought some ridiculous marriage proposal… There’s no doubt he’ll have some unreasonable demands again… I don’t want to see him…”

She buried her face in my chest, mumbling petulantly like a child. The thought of her brother’s visit seemed to stress her immensely.

“Lady Luciana, if there’s anything I can do, I’ll help you. Please don’t worry.”

“Thank you, Rondo… but still…”

I held her tightly once again, softly patting her back to help ease her worries.

“Everything will be alright. I’m here for you.”

“Mama?”

“I’m not your mother.”

“Papa?”

“I’m not your father, either.”

As Lady Luciana clung to me, I continued patting her head with a small smile on my face. I wanted to do whatever I could to lessen her burdens.

Afterwards, I’d try to gather information on her brother and consider how I might be able to help her.