Reincarnated As The Only Son (18 years old) Of The Arrogant And Wicked Marquis Family. - Chapter 9: Smirking In Cafeteria.

Smirking In Cafeteria.

“Fufu~, you’re still restless, Shea.”

“!!”

The U-shaped deep ceiling. Large window with tinted glass lined up horizontally. The chandeliers were placed to illuminate the entire spacious room. Multiple paintings hung in framed frames.

In the school cafeteria, a luxurious and gorgeous place where one could enjoy the atmosphere alone, Elena and Shea were enjoying their meals while conversing.

“You look surprised, but I’ve had enough of it, okay? You definitely get reckless after every bite.”

“Ehh? Ah… Ehehe.”

With her eyes darting around and scowling, ‘eh?’ and, ‘ah’ as she thought of her own behavior and realized. Finally, it was Shea who broke into a bitter smile and guessed that Elena was right.

“But I guess you can’t help it. If one would suddenly lose the work they have always done, it would not be easy to stay calm.”

 “I’ve been bringing Beret-sama’s meals since I was in middle school, so it’s become a daily routine…”

“I guess it’s hard for you to accept the freedom out of the blue. Beret was always strict.”

“Fuhhh…”

Shea, who could not criticize the people she served and could not ignore Elena, could only respond in one way.

She could only respond with a small exhalation of breath.

Shea’s style was perfect, neither denying nor affirming, but her weakness is that by not denying, she implicitly conveyed that he was “strict.”

“I feel sorry for Beret if you don’t make an effort to get used to it as soon as possible. I’m sure he gave you free time for you to enjoy.”

After the end of the fourth period class.

Beret told me directly. He told me how he felt about Shea.

That is why I can tell her, his strong words.

“I’m sorry, Elena. I’m calling about this matter but…”

“Wh-what? You look so mysterious.”

“I was wondering if Beret-sama really thought of me and gave me this free time…”

“What? What makes you think that?”

I noticed as I asked her back. Shea always had a cute expression on her face, but just now she was making a scary straight face.

She was not joking, but was seriously worried, and Elena instantly realized that the relationship between the two of them was complicated.

“I was so excited this morning that I didn’t realize it, but when I cooled down, I realized it. I thought it was strange that my lunch time was free. Any way you look at it, it’s extravagant for a reward…”

“I don’t know. It’s true that not many nobles allow their servants to be free… but I don’t think it’s that strange.”

Elena stopped eating and took a serious position to listen to the conversation.

Shea, sitting in front of Elena, shrugged and became smaller and smaller as she gave her reasons.

“A valet’s job is to support her Lord, so to speak, simply just doing the obvious things. But don’t you think that receiving rewards is not what a valet deserves…?”

Shea tilted her head with a worried expression while looking up at me.

“…I see what you are trying to say, Shea. You think Beret is testing you, don’t you? If you accept a reward, you’re mediocre. If you don’t, you’re good.”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Shea had developed a hypothesis.

The fact that he was kind to her this morning, that he didn’t get mad at her for my mistake, and that he praised her was all to camouflage this “test”.

Beret said. The reason he had been so strict – ‘I wanted to make sure that you wouldn’t be in trouble if you became a maid of honor or a servant of another noble family,’

What if the reason for the spoiler was to catch her off guard? What if this was the final test?

The only way to pass was to ‘not accept the reward.’ To ‘refrain from doing so.’

In other words, Shea who was spending her free time now would fail. She had failed to meet expectations.

It was no wonder she could not get off lightly. Shea was trembling, but Elena, on the other hand, had a stunned expression on her face.

“I wonder if he was being unreasonable. I wonder if Beret was being mean to you, like flashing the bait and not yelling at you when you bit it. To you.”

“…”

“Huh. Just as usual. Beret.”

Such tests are sometimes done on squires and servants to confirm trust, but there’s no need to do such a thing to Shea… She’s not the kind of person who would betray the Marquise by any stretch of the imagination.

With one sigh, she let all her feelings out.

“Shea. Listen to me.”

“Y-yes..”

“If Beret is not testing you and is really letting you go free because he thinks it’s for your own good, then you are really being disrespectful to your master.”

“!!? B-but… even though… what Beret-sama is doing is obvious…”

“I’m sure what you are thinking is normal, but you can’t say what’s normal for you. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.”

“If Beret thinks you’re great, and he’s rewarding you because he respects you, then it doesn’t seem extravagant or excessive, does it?”

“Wh..Wha-What are you saying Elena-sama! The reality is that it’s not possible. Beret-sama… thinking about me…. That’s…”

Elena was smiling without losing her signature look, while a flustered Shea was in denial, waving her hands in a flurry.

“You can’t say it’s not possible, can you? Because you work a lot.”

“Do I…?”

“Yes. You get up earlier than Beret every day, you do all kinds of preparations, you do your schoolwork, you work hard and do not give up no matter what people complain about. And you are cheerful. There aren’t many people who can do that, especially at your age.”

“…”

Elena’s words were heartfelt and full of feeling.

After biting off every word firmly, Shea became quiet as if a puppet had been switched off.

Instead, her fluttering and blinking increased, and her mouth relaxed as her blue eyes sparkled.

“Well, I guess…”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe you thought so, Elena-sama…”

“Yes. I think so, too.”

“Hehehe… I-I see. I’m really glad to hear that…”

Shea, who was probably pleased from the bottom of her heart and unaware that Elena had said the words ‘Yes’ and the other following words, offered the dessert to her in a friendly, easygoing manner.

“Please, take this… Elena-sama!”

“You eat it. There’s one for me.”

Elena made a smile and said so.

“So, are you feeling a little better?

“Yes, I do! I am very happy to hear Elena-sama say so and I feel more confident. Now if only Beret-sama wasn’t testing me…”

“Is that what you wish?”

“A… I-I know it’s a pipe dream, but I’ll do my best to get the same praise from Beret-sama as I did earlier!”

“Fufu~, that’s wonderful.”

Shea responded to ‘that’s wonderful’ with a nod, but she was mistaken.

Elena uttered ‘It’s wonderful’ because what she said was true.

Here was the spoiler.

“By the way, Shea, I heard another compliment of you from someone’s mouth.”

“…Ehh!? Th-Th-Th-That someone… Is that pe-person…”

In front of her, Shea began biting. There was only one person.

“Fufu~.I don’t know why, but Beret said to me, ‘I respect Shea. she’s actually great, isn’t she?’.”

“Ehh… Ah… a… uhmm… Th-that’s… not true… Su-such thing…”

This was the one thing she did not take seriously. Such defiance would be broken in an instant.

“It’s true. If you think I’m lying, ask Beret?”

“Oh… I c-can’t…”

“Mou~  You are so easily embarrassed.”

Shea looked down with an embarrassed look on her face.

The little ears, cheeks, and neck, which could be seen between the hair, were bright red.

“Shea, why don’t you hide those cute double teeth? Does anyone other than me know you have a double tooth complex?”

“M-m-mouuuu….”

“Fufufu~, I wonder what’s going on?”

Elena peeked in and teased her, and then she sipped her drink to quench her thirst.

Then came the sad news.

Shea, who was no longer in the mood to eat, did not even make it to the dessert she was looking forward to before lunchtime ended.