CATB Chapter 4

"Is this everyone?"

The castle was quite large, but there weren't even ten people working here.

This wouldn't be enough to operate properly, but I guess this shows the level of treatment Alexa receives here.

"My Lady, everyone has gathered..."

As soon as Lily finished speaking, the servants who had been keeping their heads down like the dead stirred.

"My Lady? That person is Lady Alexa?"

"That can't be! Alexa the Beast has fur!!!"

"Hey, Jimmy, watch your words."

"Where is Lady Alexa?"

I stepped forward in front of the servants.

"I am Alexa."

"That's right. My Lady did the hair removal work with me. This person is truly Lady Alexa. I swear to God and her dearly departed mother that this person is Lady Alexa."

When Lily helped out, the servants began staring at me intently.

Hah, this kind of attention is a bit burdensome...

"We apologize for the commotion."

The middle-aged woman who had been scolding the person who called me Beast earlier stepped forward and bowed.

"That's the head maid."

Lily whispered quietly to me.

Since I had told her to keep secret that I had lost my memory, she must have quickly realized that I didn't recognize the head maid.

"Right. It's understandable that you'd be surprised by this appearance. The reason I'm calling you all is because I have a favor to ask. Who here is the cook?"

"Hiik! Y-yes! My Lady!"

A tense, sturdy man stepped forward.

"My diet has been quite high in calories..."

"Ah, that's... Princess Ariel created a special diet for Lady Alexa..."

Ariel? Why does Ariel come up here?

During the short week I'd been here, the diet I received was high-calorie food that would maximize obesity into super obesity. It was food full of grease like meat, cheese, and fried foods solely aimed at gaining weight, ignoring dietary fiber and nutrients. Ariel created this? Something seems suspicious.

"That diet is abolished."

"But Princess Ariel said it must be followed! Princess Ariel personally prepared this for Lady Alexa! She stayed up for days and nights preparing it!!!"

The cook confronted me sharply, as if I had insulted his beloved princess.

"Cook, you don't seem to be afraid of me."

When I glared at him, he gasped "hiik".

"What will be faster — Ariel in the capital saving you, or me punishing you?"

"I'm sorry! I've committed a mortal sin!!!"

"Everyone listen. Your master is me. From now on, when you prioritize someone else's words over mine — for example, Ariel, or Ariel, or someone like Ariel — I'll consider that you're fully prepared to face the consequences. Understood?"

I emphasized Ariel three times, which was like threatening to half-kill anyone who listened to Ariel's words. If they can't figure this out, they're idiots.

"Answer."

"Yes!!!"

A voice like thunder echoed through the hall.

"I am fair. I'll reward good deeds and punish bad ones. Act accordingly."

"Please forgive the cook's rudeness."

The head maid stepped forward again and bowed to me.

"I'll let it slide this time. Cook. From now on, you'll prepare food according to my diet. Understood?"

"Yeess! Understood."

The cook's enthusiasm was driven by fear of me, but in the current situation, I didn't think that was so bad. Building trust and positivity takes too much time, so for now, this is faster and more convenient.

Regrettably, I was too secular a person to put in effort for the trust of unimportant people.

I handed the cook a diet rich in the five major nutrients.

If Alexa had only been consuming that high-calorie stuff before, it's understandable she became like this pig.

What were they thinking, adding fat to a kid who already had so much muscle mass?

"And head maid."

"Yes. Please speak."

"Who chose the clothes in the dressing room?"

"Princess Ariel did."

This too was Ariel?

When I toured the dressing room with Lily's guidance, it was full of dresses that didn't suit me at all. Since I was originally furry, pretty dresses wouldn't produce the desired reaction anyway, but these were all pastel, frilly, princess-style dresses, making them useless.

Since I'm a muscular type, wearing these things would only emphasize my bulkiness.

Even the dress I'm wearing now is a dreadful dull gray with fluorescent ribbon, so I can't even imagine how lacking Ariel's fashion sense is.

I don't know if it's really a lack of fashion sense or if she's deliberately trying to screw over Alexa.

I had a strong instinct it was the latter.

This is my instinct honed through encountering countless b*tches, so you can trust it.

I'll stake my pinky finger on Ariel being a damn wicked villainess.

(I couldn't stake all my fingers because the possibility of her hitting me in the back of the head and bringing misfortune was too great.)

"And I want to cut my hair..."

"Your hair?"

"Yes. Do you all think this hair is normal?"

Silence.

Damn. I know it's true, but it's annoying.

"Jen has good hand skills."

"Good. Who's Jen?"

A girl with silver hair stepped forward hesitantly.

"That... that's me."

"Good. Jen. Can I entrust my hair to you?"

"Yes! Please leave it to me!"

Like Lily, the girls here are strangely enthusiastic.

Watching Jen clench both fists resolutely while staring at my hair, I seem to have unintentionally ignited her motivation. Could you not feel so motivated?

Jen busily prepared something in my room.

"Um... do you really need that many scissors?"

"Of course! You don't know how much I've wanted to cut My Lady's hair whenever I saw it...!!! Ah, I'm sorry... I was rude... I deserve to die..."

Jen, who had been excitedly organizing the scissor blades, finally covered her mouth. Like Lily before, she bowed her head deeply.

"What do you all think I am?"

"What?"

Jen, who had been keeping her head down, and Lily, who had become solemn along with her, looked up at me.

"I know you're scared because you think I'm a beast, but don't you think it would hurt me too, to hear such things at the tender age of eighteen? Do you think there's any woman who would like being called a beast?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Put yourself in my shoes. I haven't done anything, but people are afraid of me. They tremble in fear as if I might kill them at any moment. Yet they curse me like crazy. And I can't even fight back because I look like a monster. Can you imagine how disgusting this feels?"

"......"

"So I'd appreciate it if at least you all wouldn't do that. You at least know that I'm human."

"...."

"I'm not a murderer. I'm not the kind of lunatic who would kill you for saying one wrong word."

"I'm... I'm sorry."

Jen bowed her head to me again.

I told you not to cry, so why are you crying again? Sheesh. I sighed.

"I didn't think about My Lady's feelings! I was really wrong!!"

"I'm sorry too! Even though I was grateful to My Lady, I was still afraid. We're really horrible."

"That's enough. I didn't say this to make you apologize, but because I hoped you wouldn't be afraid of me anymore."

"I'm sorry!!!"

"I said it's fine. If you're sorry, just cut my hair well."

"Yes! Please leave it to me! I'll definitely make you into a beauty!"

Wouldn't that be a bit difficult?

I'm someone who knows reality well.

"Lying is bad."

"I'm... I'm sorry!!!"

Damn it, don't apologize. It makes me feel worse.

Eventually Jen stopped apologizing and picked up the scissors.

With resolute hand movements, she began trimming my hair with snip snip sounds.

"Um... My Lady?"

"What?"

"I think I need to get new scissors."

Huh?

My hair was so tough that the scissor blades had all gone dull.

"Amazing, Alexa is really amazing."

I paid my respects to Alexa, who had lived resolutely with this body, and Jen appeared again with new scissors.

"That many?"

"Just in case!"

After making exactly seven new scissors unusable, Jen finished trimming my hair.