The Villain's Reincarnation – Tired of Working Hard, I'm Slacking Off! The Peacefully Oblivious Slacker Avoids Ruin! - Chapter 18

“Master is truly adored by everyone, isn’t he?”

Even though we were walking along a relatively quiet street, nearly everyone who passed greeted Master warmly and chatted with him cheerfully.

“Haha, rather than being adored, I’d say it’s more like we’re friends,” he replied with a slight, wry smile.

“Friends, huh…”

To me, that seemed like an even more remarkable thing.

When someone holds a position of authority, a certain distance between them and others is inevitable. Master should be no exception.

He is, after all, the eldest son of the Mitsurugi family—one of the Four Great Houses—and a candidate to become the next family head.

Given everything I’ve heard about the Mitsurugi family, it wouldn’t be strange if people kept even more distance from him than from me.

And yet, Master has become someone whom many people feel comfortable around, someone they can trust.

“Oh, there it is,” Master said, breaking my train of thought.

Looking ahead, I saw a small flower shop beautifully decorated, as if it were festival time.

“Ah, Lord Kaito! You’ve come!”

A slender man in his thirties appeared in front of Master. Judging by the way he addressed him, he was likely the shop owner.

“Yeah, how did the inspection go? Did everything go well?”

“Yes! Thanks to your support and that of the Knight Commander, it was a great success. Everyone was very pleased!”

(So Mary and the others enjoyed themselves. I’m glad.)

I had imposed various burdens on them, such as standing in for me. That’s why I felt relieved knowing they were able to enjoy themselves.

“That’s good to hear. How’s the cleanup? If you’re short on help, I can arrange for more people.”

“No need to worry. The knights helped us out while relocating, so things went smoothly.”

“I see. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be sure to thank the knights myself.”

“Please do. They’ll be delighted.”

“Since I’m here, I’d like to take another look around. Do you mind?”

“Of course not! Please take your time. By the way, is the young lady behind you your maid, Lord Kaito?”

The man turned to look at me as he spoke.

“Ah, yes, she is.”

“I see. You usually come alone, so is she a new maid you’re training?”

“Eh? Ah… well, something like that.”

Master glanced at me, signaling discreetly.

He was kindly letting me know that I should act like a new maid.

I had assumed I would be playing the role of an inexperienced maid since I knew nothing about the job, but I hadn’t expected him to clearly indicate it at the last moment. His thoughtfulness struck me.

Understanding his intent, I responded with a slight nod and eye contact.

With that, we entered the flower shop together.

“W-Wow…”

As soon as I stepped inside, my eyes were drawn to an enormous floral arrangement—one meter tall and three meters wide.

“Is this a replica of the city?”

“Yes, I wanted to recreate the beautiful city governed by Lord Kaito.”

The arrangement depicted the city as seen from atop a mountain.

(I’ve never seen anything like this—not even in the royal capital.)

I could say with confidence that this floral display surpassed anything I had ever seen.

A vast variety of flowers were used generously, without any expense spared. To create a fantastical atmosphere, even rare and highly valuable flowers—those favored by the nobility of the Four Great Houses—had been incorporated.

(Just how much money and effort went into creating something like this?)

As I stood there mesmerized by the display, Master took out a round stone, seemingly in response to a message.

(Is that… a communication stone?)

Even in the royal capital, these are rare. I had hardly seen them in Riona either.

After listening to the message, Master turned to me and the shop owner.

“Sorry, something urgent has come up. Would you mind waiting here for a while?” he said, then stepped outside.

That left only me and the shop owner inside.

“Did you make that floral arrangement yourself?” I asked, breaking the silence while waiting for Master’s return.

“Yes, I had the honor of creating it,” he replied humbly.

“It’s truly amazing. I thought I knew a fair bit about flowers, but I was astonished by how many I didn’t recognize.”

My mother loved tending flowers, so I had learned quite a lot from her. Even so, there were many flowers in that arrangement I had never seen before.

From that alone, I could tell this man was one of the most knowledgeable florists in the kingdom.

“Thank you. That means a lot to me. I love flowers dearly. Before opening this shop, I traveled the world in search of them.”

“That’s incredible.”

Due to my status, I had only ever been exposed to flora within the kingdom. But this man had traveled the world for flowers.

Considering the scale and detail of that floral display, he truly must love them.

That much was clear—and it explained his exceptional skills.

However, at the same time, a question arose in my mind.

“Why didn’t you open a shop in the royal capital? With your level of skill, I’m sure you would have caught the attention of nobles and wealthy patrons.

If that had happened, you could have opened a much larger store, couldn’t you?”

After all, despite Master’s presence, this place is in the frontier. Opening a shop in such a location would naturally attract less attention, and commoners here don’t have the luxury to spend money on flowers.

Unless they’re truly passionate enthusiasts, they wouldn’t make such purchases.

Frankly speaking, running a business here must be quite difficult. You have enough skill to succeed even in the royal capital.

Ordinarily, it would make more sense to open a shop in a major city.

“Haha, you’re quite perceptive. It’s true that I might have enough ability to manage in the capital. But I had my reasons for choosing to open my shop here.”

“Reasons, you say? Would you mind sharing them?”

“I don’t mind at all.”

I had several thoughts, but above all else, I was simply curious about why he had chosen this particular place.

“The biggest reason I opened my shop here is because I found something more important than flowers.”

“Something more important than flowers?”

“Yes. Well, it might be a common story, but I fell in love with a woman. Things progressed quickly from there. I courted her persistently, and somehow managed to convince her to marry me. After that, I opened this shop in her hometown.”

“That’s truly wonderful.”

I meant it from the bottom of my heart.

As members of the royal family, we are not permitted to pursue love freely. For the sake of maintaining peace among the people, we must use whatever is at our disposal.

That is our duty as royals, and knowing that the peace we protect allows others to love freely and live as they wish… it makes me genuinely happy.

However, the shopkeeper’s expression clouded slightly.

“Wonderful, you say? It certainly might seem that way. But reality hasn’t been so kind.

I’m sure you’ve already guessed, given how sharp you are, but as you mentioned, running a flower shop in this place is quite difficult.

Perhaps my ideals were misguided as well.

I love flowers deeply. And I wanted more people to understand their charm. That’s why I chose not to cater to nobles.

Well, I suppose it’s obvious by now, but things didn’t go well, and I was pushed to the brink of having to close the shop.”

“I see… but the fact that you’re still operating means something worked out, right?”

“Yes, I—”

“…?”

He suddenly fell silent, as if remembering something, and seemed lost in thought. After a moment, his expression brightened, as though he’d resolved whatever was on his mind.

“Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no, forgive me. I just realized that if I continue talking, I’d end up revealing something Lord Kaito explicitly asked me to keep secret.”

“A secret?”

It was the first time I’d heard something unsettling related to Master, and I couldn’t help but be curious.

“Yes, he told me not to talk about it, especially in relation to the recent inspection. He said, ‘If you breathe a word of it to anyone connected to the royal family, I won’t forgive you.’ But you’re Lord Kaito’s maid, so you’re bound to find out eventually, right? It’s fine, isn’t it?!”

“…Yes, it’s perfectly fine.”

I answered with a beaming smile.

It seemed almost too perfect to be a coincidence, but Master is far more intelligent than I am.

Most likely, this was deliberate. His timely departure had allowed me the opportunity to observe and learn freely.

(To think, to seek, to discover… I was lost on how to proceed, but Master has prepared everything for me.)

He’s truly remarkable.

By leading others to misunderstand the situation, he creates an environment where people feel comfortable sharing valuable information. It’s the ideal setup for gathering insights.

And right now, it’s exactly what I need most.

(Just how much can you foresee, Master?)

Given even the mention of secrecy, his foresight is astounding—almost as if he can see the future.

But at the same time, something still puzzled me.

(Why does Master go to such lengths for me?)

The difference between Master and me is like night and day.

From his perspective, I’m utterly useless. And yet, he still looks after me so kindly… I just don’t understand why.

(But I can’t afford to waste this opportunity he’s created for me.)

Now that I think about it, the eye contact he gave me before entering the shop was likely his way of encouraging me to take full advantage of this situation.

(He didn’t just relieve me of any guilt—I feel like he was urging me to act freely and boldly. Truly, Master is…)

I can’t let it go to waste.

I don’t know what Master truly desires from me. But I’ll listen, learn, and do all I can—if only to repay him, even a little.