HTPTMOTMM Chapter 25

Kiyaaaak...!

With a thud, Morose let out a sharp scream and flew into a window, breaking it. But fortunately or unfortunately, Morose didn't fall out the window but bounced back from the frame and fell to the floor.

Wow, how hard did she hit him for a person... no, Morose of that size to fly so lightly? I guess you really shouldn't judge people by their appearance. To think that Olivia, who looked the most slender and weak, was such a powerhouse.

Screams of surprise could be heard from people outside the building too.

It seemed like people outside might have gotten hurt by the broken glass that fell.

But there wasn't time to check on others' safety. The Morose who had fallen to the floor got up as if completely unaffected by the previous impact and charged at Olivia and Sergio again.

"This bug-like thing!"

Olivia tried to attack Morose again, but unfortunately her cane was stuck in the wall from swinging it too hard earlier.

I thought about shooting, but from where I was standing, Morose and Olivia's movement lines overlapped too directly. If I made a mistake, I might pierce through Olivia along with Morose.

"Huh?! Room 7...!"

I had no choice but to run directly to where they were. I could hear Raven calling me in surprise from behind.

I tried to take out the small knife I'd prepared from my bag from inside my clothes. But at that moment, the unpleasant sensation I'd felt when cutting head maid Jane's throat on the first day of the 44th playthrough came to mind. My expression soured without realizing it.

Finally, I clicked my tongue quietly, then grabbed one of the curtains fluttering in the wind from the broken window and jumped. I wrapped the curtain around the head of Morose, who was about to attack Olivia, and pulled him backward. Morose, choked by the curtain—keh—made a sound and struggled.

"Hold that tight!"

Meanwhile, Olivia, who had pulled her cane from the groove in the wall, swung her arm. She must have manipulated something in the meantime, because a sharp blade popped out from the bottom of the cane.

Stab!

Soon it pierced through Morose's heart.

The white curtain instantly turned black, and black flowers began blooming on the floor.

I frowned. I let go of Morose, who felt heavy as his strength left him and he went limp. Then black flowers poured out from the curtain that fell below.

"Juju! Oh, my sweet sugar! Are you hurt anywhere?"

Olivia fussily checked the condition of the child she'd been protecting from behind. Fortunately, the child seemed uninjured.

But the gentle and mild-looking Sergio was surprisingly brave, or he didn't seem particularly startled by the Morose attack that had just appeared. Rather, he sighed deeply with a tired expression toward Olivia, who was running to him making a fuss.

"Nice cane. If you'd just finished him off with that from the beginning instead of beating up Morose, it would have ended more simply."

I said this while completely dropping the corner of the curtain I'd been holding to the floor. Then Olivia turned to look at me with fierce eyes.

"What business is it of yours? Whether I beat or kill Morose!"

"Room 5, just say thank you to Room 7. It's true you were about to be caught off guard."

"Shut up! I never asked for help."

Raven, who had been watching the situation from behind, clicked his tongue.

"You heard? Room 7, don't interfere next time either. If someone dies, it's all because they're weak."

This mister was thinking like that while just watching with his arms crossed?

"Right, I'll keep that in mind next time when Room 4 is dealing with Morose."

"Oh."

Just then, we could hear people running up the stairs from below.

Ah no, at this rate news of me wearing maid clothes will spread all over the neighborhood!

"Anyway, I'll go first then! Handle the cleanup yourselves."

I quickly left before others arrived.

"Sara Rose?"

But Sara Rose, whom I'd seen earlier, was at the door.

"Master Lynn! A letter arrived for you, so I brought it."

"Oh, really?"

A letter? What letter came for me? This was also a first, so I became curious.

Sara Rose carefully held out a tray with a black envelope placed on it with a particularly cautious attitude. I picked it up and checked the sender.

44th World Central Secret Organization Stella (stēlla) Administrative Office

Very interestingly, it was a letter from the mysterious elite caregiver training facility.

To Ms. Lynn Rochester.

Hello.

We confirmed that Ms. Lynn Rochester successfully entered Redford Mansion on September 5th, Central World Time.

However, we discovered a problem with the guide communication provided to selected students, so we decided to dispatch a spare guide to you at 4 PM on the 15th, Central World Time.

The dispatch personnel is 'Raphael Cardigo'.

Please wait for the visit at Redford Mansion.

P.S. Orange is red. - A message from Raphael Cardigo.

- 44th World Central Secret Organization Stella (stēlla) Administrative Office -

'What should I do?'

Late at night, Dian tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.

Under the bright moonlight, his hair shone whiter than the white blanket.

Lying on his side with a furrowed smooth brow, biting his nails, his appearance conveyed anxiety.

Actually, Dian had a secret worry that had recently developed.

If it were any other problem, he could have consulted with Lynn, his caregiver, but this problem was related to Lynn, so he absolutely couldn't tell her about it.

Finally, Dian sat up abruptly in bed and took out a doll he'd hidden underneath. Originally, this doll had been placed by Dian's bedside, but he'd hidden it from the first day Lynn came to the mansion because he didn't want to look like a childish, immature kid to her.

And the doll wasn't the only thing Dian had hidden from Lynn.

Rustle.

He took out and unfolded a paper from inside the cat doll's clothes.

On the paper illuminated by the gentle moonlight was drawn a map. It was a hand-drawn, crooked map that looked quite clumsy, but it was a map nonetheless.

And this was exactly what recorded the location of the gift Dian wanted to give Lynn.

Dian gulped while examining the map made with Room 3 Vivi's help once more, as if engraving it in his eyes.

In the past, he wouldn't have even attempted such a thing out of fear, but now he was different.

Dian was the lucky boy who had Lynn, the coolest and strongest person in Redford Mansion, as his caregiver. So he had to be reborn as a brave person worthy of Lynn, who had chosen him.

'But no matter how I think about it, there's no time to get this without Lynn knowing.'

The problem was that since it was a surprise gift for Lynn, he absolutely had to go to the place marked on the map alone. However, since he spent most of his time with Lynn except during class hours, it was difficult to move without her noticing.

'Then... I have no choice but to go during class time?'

Dian finally came to a conclusion after much deliberation.

Dian's face, as he carefully held the crumpled map to his chest, was filled with sparkling determination.

"I'm going to the village for a bit today."

"What, really?!"

Hm?

I paused at the intense reaction that flew in during our usual breakfast time together.

I'd only mentioned to Dian that I was thinking of going out briefly since it was finally the weekend when outings were possible, but strangely our sunfish cat was extremely pleased.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Dian.

"What, why are you so happy? Don't tell me you're already tired of being with me?"

"No, no... I was just amazed because it's Lynn's first time going out!"

"Of course it's the first time? There's nothing amazing about it - this is my first weekend since entering the mansion."

"Oh... that's true? But why does it feel like Lynn has been at the mansion for a long time?"

"My adaptability is quite remarkable."

I pinched his nose playfully while grinning, seeing Dian blink in genuine puzzlement.

But our cat had a really suspicious reaction just now.

"I'll be back before your evening class ends, so have fun studying, young master. I'll return before class finishes."

"Mmm, of course."

Dian answered obediently. But he seemed to get slightly sulky again at my words.

Huh, that's really strange. What does he want to do while I'm gone that he's acting like this?

Looking at Dian's face made me think a lot too.

I thought I was giving Dian enough personal time, but was that just my own thinking? Did I perhaps overprotect the kid and hover around him too much?

But our kid is the world's biggest sunfish! He could get hurt anywhere, anytime, so how can I protect him if I'm not by his side? Moreover, even the system is broken, so there's no separate signal when danger approaches our kid.

Of course, as someone who'd devoted herself to this game, I roughly knew the timing of when and where Morose would appear in the mansion until Dian turned 16, like with maid chief Jane.

But I couldn't deal with them in advance. There might be changed parts in this playthrough like the Morose that appeared in front of the Room 5 pair yesterday, and some of them might be connected to future story progression.

Actually, this was the most troublesome aspect of the Morose appearing in this game.

When pretending to be human, Morose believes he's actually human.

Until something triggers them and they reveal their true nature, it's difficult for other people to distinguish them.

At least there's a basic game rule that safe zones are always formed during educational hours for the proper growth of nurturing targets, otherwise I would have been uneasy about going out today too.

Of course, there was the option of 'not going out at all,' but I had some things I needed to buy in the village today.

'Plus I got that contact from Stella.'

Well... honestly, part of me thought that since it's still early in the game, what could happen just from being away briefly?

For those reasons, I prepared to go out after seeing Dian enter his room with his tutor that evening.

"Where are you going, Miss Lynn?"

Just as I started going down the stairs, I heard a familiar voice from above.

Looking up, I saw Cheswick looking down at me with his arms loosely resting on the stair railing, chin propped on them. He looked exactly like a well-fed cat basking in the sun.