Pardon the Abduction, Holy Knight - It's an Emergency - Chapter 3.3

“Sir Knight, right now…”

“Master?”

“What are you doing under my bed?”

“…?”

The silence was long.

As the situation unfolded differently than expected, Adriel’s eyelids slowly lifted.

And only then did he realize.

Rosemary’s face was colder than ever before.

The emotion in those blue eyes wasn’t love. It was the anger and disappointment of someone who had been betrayed.

…Why?

No matter how much Adriel thought about it, he couldn’t understand the reason.

“Sir Knight, surely…”

At that moment, Rosemary’s lips trembled slightly.

“After pretending to be so pure and righteous… you didn’t suddenly develop a greed for my possessions, did you?”

I trusted you.

Rosemary’s eyes were full of resentment as she said this.

And Adriel, receiving that resentment head-on, was greatly flustered.

Didn’t she eat the aphrodisiac? And why is this woman misunderstanding him as a petty thief…

Only then did Adriel look down at his hand and, startled, put down the stick.

Rosemary, not missing the moment, quickly took the stick.

“Would you like to try explaining yourself?”

I’ll give you a chance. Say whatever you want.

The stick in Rosemary’s hand somehow looked like a giant hammer.

Adriel swallowed hard, for a different reason this time.

“Kekeke. Master. Let’s execute Adriel who tried to steal Master’s belongings!”

“Wit.”

“Execute! Execute! Exe…!”

“Why were you just watching this happen?”

“……”

Even the tactless Wit closed his mouth at Rosemary’s fierce gaze.

“Sir Knight. Would you like to say something?”

A frightening silence fell.

It was much later, after Wit’s scheme was revealed, that Adriel’s grievance was resolved.

“Because things that covet Master keep increasing!”

At Wit’s absurd reason that he confessed, Rosemary kicked Wit out of the room, telling him not to even speak to her until she forgave him.

“Master, I won’t make aphrodisiacs anymore. Please forgive Wit…”

Adriel sat on the sofa, looking pitifully at Wit, who was sprawled in the living room, crying a river.

“But it’s strange. Why didn’t the aphrodisiac work on Master?”

It must not have been effective when mixed in the bath.

Adriel furrowed his brow and pulled the blanket over his head.

“It’s strange. Strange. It worked on all other humans…”

It was a noisy night.

***

The blue diamond embedded in the necklace sparkled as sunlight came through the window.

“Hmm…”

To the naked eye, it just looks like an expensive necklace.

“Keke, kekeke. Master.”

“Hm?”

As I was staring intently at the blue diamond necklace, I heard Wit calling me.

When I turned my head, I saw golden hair peeking out over the laundry basket.

As I approached, I saw Wit hiding inside, trembling.

“Wit doesn’t like that. Wit doesn’t want to see that, Master.”

“Ah…”

I could immediately understand why Wit had turned pale.

Well, I did torment him too much.

After the so-called ‘Aphrodisiac Incident’, Wit begged for forgiveness, saying he’d do anything.

Intrigued by this, I subtly tested the necklace’s capabilities.

As a result, I found out that when Wit comes into contact with the necklace, he returns to his original form with strong pain, though not fatal.

Perhaps only beings like Wit or Taro are affected by this necklace?

It had no effect on me or Adriel, after all.

“Wit is scared of that. Scared, Master…”

And as you can see, Wit has become a state where he has a fit just by looking at the necklace.

“Alright. I’ll put it away again.”

As I was about to put the necklace back in the jewelry box, Adriel said to me.

“Why don’t you just wear it around?”

“What?”

“Eek…! Adriel! What are you saying to Master!”

“You need to keep your distance from demons, my lady. Especially that demon who has a history of threatening your safety.”

Is he talking about the aphrodisiac incident? But that wasn’t really a threat to my safety… No, if the aphrodisiac had worked, I wouldn’t have been myself, so I guess he’s not wrong.

“Hmm… Is that so?”

As I murmured as if agreeing with Adriel’s words, Wit gasped.

“Master!”

“I know. I was just saying.”

After I put the necklace away in the jewelry box and closed the lid, Wit finally relaxed. On the other hand, Adriel’s eyebrows drooped slightly, as if disappointed that I didn’t listen to him.

“I’m thinking of making meat pie for lunch today. Is that alright with you?”

I was planning to make him eat it even if he said no. But I asked anyway. However, Wit answered faster than Adriel.

“Master, Wit will go pick tomatoes!”

As if he had been waiting for this, he jumped out of the laundry basket, shouted, and flew off to the vegetable garden. I wonder if he dislikes being in the same space as the necklace. I’ll have to be careful around Wit from now on.

As I was about to get up to put the jewelry box back under the bed, Adriel spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Huh? Ah…”

I wondered what he meant, but it seemed it was an answer to what I had just asked. His expressionless face seemed to suggest that he didn’t care what I made, but he would eat well once I actually cooked. From what I’ve observed over the past few days, Adriel didn’t seem to be picky about food and ate well regardless. Sometimes to the point where I, the cook, felt proud…

I caught myself smiling without realizing it and stopped. …What am I doing?

It was strange. How did I end up being responsible for that man’s meals?

I raised my head and looked at Adriel, who had been staring at me. Somehow, his cold face with its sharp features seemed unusually dull today. As if the rising cost of living wasn’t bad enough, this human is just eating away…

“My lady?”

My gaze naturally sharpened. To the point where I could see Adriel becoming flustered. But I couldn’t bring myself to voice these inner thoughts. Even I think it would seem too petty.

“What’s wrong?”

When are you going to sign and leave? Huh?

“Is it because of what I just said? What I meant was that anything you cook…”

No, bring some money for your meals at least.

I kept my mouth firmly shut and just narrowed my eyes, regardless of what Adriel was saying. His red pupils rolled around, losing their focus.

How long had it been like this? As he was watching my reaction, he suddenly changed the subject.

“By the way, my lady, that jewel…”

“What?”

Adriel hesitated at my curt reply that came out without me realizing. However, he soon continued as if nothing had happened.

“Where did you get that necklace?”

“Get? I just…”

I just… stole it… I couldn’t bring myself to say that.

As I lost my momentum and trailed off, Adriel’s thick eyebrows curved in confusion.