HTPTMOTMM Chapter 6

"What? You got hurt falling on your way to my room?"

I looked at Dian in surprise.

I felt an indescribable joy knowing that our baby kitten had come to visit my room first. But on the other hand, I felt even greater guilt that clumsy Dian had gotten hurt coming to my room.

I looked at Dian with moist eyes and became dejected.

"Anyway, you can't go to the welcome party. You'll need to rest in your room for a while without using your ankle."

"What? Why, over something this minor? I'm perfectly fine!"

But unexpectedly, Dian jumped at my words.

What an intense reaction! It seemed Dian really wanted to attend the welcome party.

I looked at Dian with pitying eyes.

"Should I prepare crutches, or even a wheelchair?"

"I can just walk to the dining room without anything like that..."

"Absolutely not. Look how swollen your leg is right now."

When I spoke firmly this time, Dian's shoulders drooped dejectedly.

Hmm, is this really something to be so disappointed about? Even if a wheelchair was too much, I thought crutches were a reasonable compromise, but Dian seemed to dislike the idea.

"Then... Maybe it would be better if Lynne just went by herself?"

But why are his thoughts jumping to such extreme directions?

I thought he'd argue more, but Dian gave up surprisingly quickly.

"How could I go anywhere leaving the young master alone?"

"I don't mind being alone, so go ahead."

I snorted, but Dian was stubborn.

"How can the guest of honor miss the welcome party prepared for Lynne? It's the only welcome party you'll have since entering the mansion."

Like when I heard earlier that Dian was my first choice, his voice trembled slightly with longing. I felt like I understood Dian's feelings a little, which made me feel awkward.

'Honestly, I wouldn't have minded not going.'

The truth was, while this marked my 44th time at the mansion, for this version of Dian, today was irreplaceable. According to the current scenario, he had been the only child without a caregiver, watching others find their guardians while he remained alone. Tonight's welcome party wasn't just a formality—it was everything he had been waiting for.

Oh well, then there's no choice.

"But when we come back from the welcome party..."

"Should I just carry you?"

I suddenly suggested to Dian, who seemed to be hesitating to add something else.

"What?"

Dian reacted as if I'd said something completely out of the blue, but I had very rational reasons.

"You seem to dislike showing others that you're hurt. I think this would be the most natural and good method. We could say I was so overjoyed about becoming Master Dian's caregiver that I enthusiastically hugged you and attended the welcome party together."

"Wh-what, enthusiastically..."

At my words, Dian's face turned bright red as he jumped up.

"What are you talking about? No!"

"To reject it so flatly, how heartless..."

But when I pretended to be hurt, Dian naively fell for it and became flustered.

"N-no... It's not that I don't want to be carried by Lynne, it's just that I'm heavy... so I'm worried it would be difficult for Lynne."

"You don't need to worry about that. I can easily lift our sunf... I mean, our young master with one hand."

But our shy sunfish baby kitten ultimately didn't give in to my logical persuasion.

"That's too much... I could carry you gently with a smooth ride all the way to the dining room."

So that evening, I walked alone through the corridor, grumbling quietly to myself.

Dian had ultimately decided to send only me to the welcome party while he stayed behind in his room. The thought of leaving him alone gnawed at me, but I couldn't push any harder. Despite how badly he clearly wanted to attend, he had stubbornly refused my offer, and continuing to insist would only make him feel worse.

'It's inevitable given our sunfish kitten's personality.'

In fact, Dian, my fixed character to nurture, hated showing weakness in front of others. So his refusal to attend the welcome party in my arms wasn't just due to embarrassment.

'Sigh, so there's nothing to be done. It's unfortunate, but I have to respect his wishes.'

The path to the dining room where the welcome party was held was very familiar to me.

Certain careers required picking up essential quests at these welcome parties to advance, so before settling into the maid role, I had attended nearly every single one.

Usually, welcome parties were hosted by NPCs in the same job category in the game. So at this 44th iteration's welcome party, I thought I might see other caregivers, including the two people I'd briefly met earlier.

'I should also check if anyone knows about my bag's whereabouts.'

With that thought, I pushed open the door to the dining room in front of me.

"Hello!"

"Lynne, welcome."

When I opened the door wide and greeted everyone energetically, Cheswick was the first among the people in the dining room to acknowledge me.

His completely dry hair was more disheveled and curly than before, covering his eyes. He sat languidly at the table with his chin propped up like a bored gazelle, waving his hand lazily at me. Next to him sat Minyuel, a blonde boy with a bob cut.

Minyuel still seemed upset with me, as he flinched when he saw me, made a "hmph!" sound, and turned his head away.

As expected, the dining room had 6 adults who appeared to be caregivers and 6 other children living in the mansion, sitting around a round table in pairs.

But for some reason, their overall atmosphere was extremely gloomy.

Excuse me? How is this a welcoming atmosphere? Anyone would think this was a farewell party, not a welcome party. Moreover, the moment I entered the dining room, the already somber air seemed to freeze solid.

"Wow, is the big sister the new caregiver?"

"Vivi!"

Just then, a cute boy with fluffy cotton candy-like pink hair asked me with curious, sparkling eyes. The short-haired woman next to him sternly called his name, but the silence had already been broken.

I smiled and answered.

"Yes, that's right! I'm Lynne, the caregiver for Master Dian in room 7."

Since there were only two empty seats anyway, I didn't need anyone to guide me or ask where to sit. I walked over confidently and sat in the right seat.

I was about to make up an appropriate excuse for why I attended the welcome party alone today, but I didn't need to. A woman with long olive-green hair who had been looking at me with eyes that seemed itching to speak suddenly confronted me accusingly.

"Aren't you trying too hard to stand out from your first day? Why on earth did you wear those clothes to a place like this?"

What's with this confrontational tone?

"I just wore what was in the wardrobe. Is there some problem?"

I genuinely didn't know, but the look directed at me became even sharper.

It was the kind of look you'd give someone who had done something wrong and was shamelessly playing innocent.

The clothes I was wearing now were a uniform from the wardrobe. It was a navy blue dress with a cape, with the Redford family crest embroidered small on the chest. It seemed inappropriate to wear the blood-stained clothes, and I thought the uniform with its non-flashy design would be suitable, but apparently it was the wrong choice.

'I didn't know because I don't have a manual - maybe it's only worn on special occasions?'

But it didn't seem like she was in a position to criticize my clothes for being conspicuous.

The woman with long olive-green hair and brown eyes was wearing an extremely fancy dress. The blue-haired boy right next to her was also wearing fancy formal wear, and it seemed like the two had coordinated their outfits as a set.

In any case, as someone might say, their outfits looked like they were "trying to stand out." Anyone might think that today's welcome party protagonists were them, not Dian and me.

But a man with orange hair and black eyes, who had a cunning weasel-like impression, also smirked at me rather than at them.

"The caregiver of room 7 really seems to like standing out. You've been acting conspicuously in various ways from your first day at the mansion."

Looking at that, I roughly understood the situation. It seemed most of the caregivers here were hostile toward me. At least the children seemed mostly curious, but except for the pink-haired boy, they didn't easily approach me, seeming to read the atmosphere around them.

I thoroughly wiped my fingers with the wet towel in front of me and said to the people before me.

"Before we continue, shouldn't we introduce ourselves first? You all seem to know me, but I don't know any of you. Oh, except for Cheswick, whom I met earlier."

Among them, I only knew the faces of the red-haired woman in black clothes I'd encountered in the corridor earlier and Cheswick.

But apparently something about my words was irritating again, as the caregivers' lips twitched.

"Hah. There are caregivers here who've been at the mansion for quite a while, but you don't know anyone. Being from the elite, I suppose you had no interest in people like us until now?"

I'd never said anything like that, but the olive-green-haired woman misinterpreted it on her own and got angry again.

Isn't it natural that we don't know each other since I just entered this mansion today? But the woman acted as if my not knowing them was a tremendous insult. Perhaps in this field, it's proper etiquette to study personnel information beforehand?

"Well, Stella might have different policies from other places."

Just then, Cheswick, who had been observing the situation with a languid smile, opened his mouth and joined the conversation.

I heard that region has an unusual training program, so maybe they deliberately kept you from meeting the senior staff here. Perhaps they wanted to prevent you from forming any preconceived notions about how caregiving should be done before you developed your own approach.

Not everyone seemed convinced by his words, but it did seem to have the effect of clearing the atmosphere. The people who had been looking at me with displeasure closed their mouths.

It seemed Cheswick was trying to help me, and hearing his words, I realized my earlier thought was correct.

'How annoying. Is there a system where information about caregivers working at the mansion is disclosed to prospective caregivers at the institution?'