Pitiful Young Master in a Reversed World

Chapter 18

The black-haired wolf beastkin, Specter, woke up.

Having awakened, she lifted the water jug placed on the bedside table, poured some into her mouth, and let out a small yawn.

"Haaam......."

Even though the time she woke was a morning like dawn, with the moon sinking brightly toward the horizon and the sun rising with a stretch, she couldn't think of sleeping any longer.

Normally, her routine was to wake up when the sun was high overhead, when her clanmates were busy working, greet them half-heartedly, and have a late breakfast.

But today, she had simply, just opened her eyes.

Specter thought it was probably because of that elf, who was sitting in a chair all day, frantically disturbing her peace of mind.

She opened her mouth toward the woman sitting nervously in the chair.

"Nimpy. Still no word from Beya?"

The green-haired woman called Nimpy whipped her head around at Specter's words and whined.

Her pointed ears drooped, reflecting her mood.

"She said she would contact me every night.... but there's still no reply......"

"Hmm."

"Specter. Can't we just barge in right now? I think we could win easily anyway."

Specter scratched the wolf ears on her head.

She was thinking that she should have just ignored her, tuned everything out, and gone back to sleep.

"Specter. Aren't you worried at all? Our comrade's been kidnapped by a crime syndicate!"

As Nimpy whined, Specter lay back down on the bed with an indifferent face.

'I'll just go back to sleep.'

"She'll handle it on her own. Worry about yourself. Don't you get it from the fact that someone in that mansion desperately wants to save her?

While Beya is sucking and nibbling and doing everything with that man, you haven't even seen a man before."

"Wh-what do I have to worry about?! And how can you be sure the person Beya wants to save is a man? Even if it is, what could Beya, that shy thing, possibly do?"

"Says the one who drank goblin piss...... Just go back to sleep......"

As Specter's voice gradually faded as she drifted off again, Nimpy's cheeks flushed and she shouted loudly.

"Huh?! How many years ago are you bringing that up now? And I told you, that was just out of curiosity! Honestly, you were all just waiting for me to review the taste!"

But her words didn't reach Specter.

Specter was already traveling in dreamland.

"Sigh...... that damn wolf bitch...."

Only her sigh echoed emptily in the bedroom.

***

I woke up much earlier than usual.

Normally I'd open my eyes when the morning sunlight caressed my face and the birds chirped peacefully, but today was different.

The room was still dim, the sun not yet fully risen.

The reason I woke up earlier than usual was, well, obvious.

I must have instinctively sensed that the warmth beside me had disappeared.

I sat up and stretched.

"You're awake?"

Beya, who had apparently gotten up before me and was looking outside through the window, turned around and smiled.

"You woke up early today."

"...Something like that."

If I woke up early, then I woke up early, what's with 'something like that'?

I tilted my head, but Beya didn't seem inclined to explain what she meant.

I decided not to dwell on it.

She probably didn't mean anything special by it anyway.

"By the way, no one came during the night, right?"

At my question, Beya shook her head.

"No one. Why do you ask?"

"Because you rejected Hamila's proposal. For someone like her, that's plenty of reason to hold a grudge."

"What's there to be afraid of from such a brat."

Beya snorted.

As expected, the confidence of the strong remains unshaken, even with two sealing cuffs on her wrists.

Or maybe it's just a woman's bluff to look good in front of a man.

Women who've tasted a bit of swordplay usually show off all kinds of bravado and spice up their tales to win a man's favor.

How do I know this so well?

Because I've seen countless women in taverns I secretly snuck into, showing off and offering drinks to men.

Usually, when women tell their heroic tales,

Clearing out an orc village with just a sword becomes repelling a massive monster wave single-handedly.

Subduing a group of goblins threatening a village gets inflated into thwarting the grand scheme of a black magician trying to swallow the town.

Sometimes, they even exaggerate the difficulty of the dungeon they cleared.

Like claiming to have cleared an A-rank dungeon when it was really just a B-rank.

Of course, men know that those stories are mostly bluff.

Still, the reason men listen to such tall tales is because the woman trying to spend time with them looks cute,

The stories are entertaining, and when the woman gets tipsy enough, she might even pay for the man's drinks, so it's a win-win.

Of course, a drunk woman hitting on a man is another matter entirely.

"Anyway, I'm glad nothing happened."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Me? Why?"

"Because you'll be seeing Hamila at breakfast."

"Ah."

Yeah. That's also a problem.

But after sorting out my thoughts overnight, I no longer felt much fear toward Hamila.

'She's going to die anyway, so what's the point of worrying?'

I just need to take care of myself.

*

"Louis. You're up early today."

"Yes, Mother. I just woke up early."

When I went down to the dining hall, I found myself in the uncomfortable situation of being alone with Mother.

Seeing that breakfast hadn't been fully served yet, I suppressed the urge to splash some water on my face.

I sat down across from Mother.

Mother, who was smoking a cigar, blew out smoke and spoke casually.

"Do you like the toy?"

"...Yes, Mother."

If I had been drinking water, I would have either spat it out or choked on it trying to swallow.

That's how impactful Mother's question was in this uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Good. I'm glad you like it. But......."

At her next words, I swallowed unconsciously.

"I heard rumors that you and that vampire have gotten quite close already?"

Why is she saying this now, after she threw Beya at me herself?

I wanted to say that, but the atmosphere was too heavy for me to open my mouth.

"Of course, I did give her to you as a gift. Still, hearing that made me feel a bit strange."

"Ah... yes."

As if it was nothing, Mother leisurely smoked her cigar and looked out the window.

"Louis. Since it's been a while with just the two of us, I'll say this: Don't get too attached to that vampire."

"Huh?"

"The Race of the Night are all irredeemable trash. Succubus, incubi, vampires, werewolves, Dark Elves... all utterly despicable."

What kind of situation is this?

Hearing the boss of a crime syndicate disparage the Race of the Night as trash, I was at a loss for how to react.

'I didn't know you had such strong racial prejudices? Did something happen with the Race of the Night?'

Only things I probably shouldn't ask kept popping into my head.

I decided to just quietly listen to Mother.

"The reason I was able to build such a large organization is because I never trusted the Race of the Night, Louis."

After Mother finished speaking, silence enveloped the dining hall.

Unable to endure the heavy silence any longer, I finally couldn't help but open my mouth.

"But the Black Robe......"

That was what I wanted to say.

Doesn't our organization do the most active business with the Black Robe, which has many members from the Race of the Night?

"Louis. I told you clearly. It's because I never trusted the Race of the Night that I was able to build this organization."

Then what exactly does that mean?

If she doesn't trust the Race of the Night, how does she do business with the Black Robe, which has so many of them?

My head became muddled.

I glanced at Mother.

Still smoking her cigar without sparing me a single glance.

"...I'll keep that in mind."

And once again, silence enveloped the dining hall.

*

"Louis? Why are you here so early?"

"I told you not to smoke cigars in the dining hall."

Not long after my conversation with Mother ended, Father and Zenia entered.

I waved to the father and daughter pair.

It was the first time I was actually glad to see my family.

After a short wait, Hamila wandered lazily into the dining hall.

Just then, breakfast was ready, so we began our meal.

Right.

I had definitely decided not to pay any attention to Hamila.

But seeing her sitting there eating breakfast so nonchalantly as if nothing had happened made it hard to resist the urge to sneer at her.

Maybe I should try probing her a little.

"Hamila noona."

"Hm?"

Looking at her smiling calmly, I put on a worried expression.

"Did something happen yesterday? You look really pale."

Then, touching her stiff face, Hamila looked at me with a sly grin.

"Louis, I'm touched? Yeah, I was a bit sick since yesterday. I couldn't sleep well, so I think that's why. Sharp eyes."

"Are you okay now?"

"Of course. I'm almost fully recovered."

Smiling faintly at her, I ate my soup.

'So she's just going to pretend nothing happened.'

Since I had no reason not to play along, I simply smiled back.

More than that, I was more bothered by the strands of red hair stuck on Hamila's clothes.