CH 15

15 The Schedule is Severe

TN : 15/16

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“Richard? I’m comi~ng i~n.” After asking Martha where she had put Richard in, I opened the door to his room with a sing-song voice and entered it without asking for permission since it wasn’t locked to begin with. There, I spotted Richard, who was attempting to hide himself in between the sheet, looking surprised at my entrance.

“Richard, will you become my attendant?” I asked without preamble after I sat on the chair I brought from the corner of the room and placed it beside the bed.

However, perhaps I was too abrupt. I ruminated to myself when I saw Richard, who was covered with sheet, trembling from head to toes.

Uuhm, what should I say to him now? Someone, he~lp!! Nevertheless, despite my inner self screaming in panic, I rephrase my sentence to one that sounded more assured.

“I want you to become my attendant.”

I mean, he was just a normal kid, you know? A kid who was trying to do his best without a cheat called ‘previous life’s memories’ unlike me. And his ability was said to be ‘comparable’ to mine who had my previous life’s memories.

Just think about it, when I was around his age in my previous life, I was just a brat who got too excited that he couldn’t sleep the night before I entered elementary school. And looked at Richard who was more mature than me at that age, already wanting to work as an attendant. Was he not admirable?

Sure, his education style seemed to be normal for this world, but whether it was normal or not, Richard who could reach this far without cheating like me was so brilliant in my eyes. And this brilliant boy wanted to be my attendant. I couldn’t get any opportunity that was luckier than this one.

Moreover…

“Moreover, I want you to become my friend.” I said with a hint of timidity in my voice. I mean, this was natural, okay?!

After all, I had no friends of my own age. Sure, I had done various stupid things with Kevin, but in the end, he was an adult. There was a line he would draw when he was playing with me.

Furthermore, just because this kind-looking (?) young man was willing to accompany me playing, doesn’t mean that the other party enjoyed it too. Still, maybe wishing for a friend around my age who could fool around with me was a luxury?

Before I could degenerate further into a more worrisome line of thought, the sheet Richard was hiding under twitched and stopped trembling at once.

“You… don’t want to be?” I asked, stilling in place.

Oh no, my voice was trembling. If Richard refused to be my attendant and friend… maybe I really don’t have any luck in this matter? 

“Sorry, I’ll make sure to tell Sebas to stop comparing us after this. I mean, I’m me and you’re you. Both of us have different talents and can’t be compared. If you’re really unwilling, please forget my offer from before.” I said hurriedly, leaving my chair post haste and walked toward the door. However, at that time–

“Theodore-zamaa!”

Richard’s sniveling voice called out for me, and I turned around. When I do, my eyes widened in surprise. Richard was rushing toward me with a crying face.

GUOOH!

That was close… we almost fell down together.

“W-what’s the matter?”

“I-I’m… don’t, means that I don’t want to become- Theodore-sama’s- attendant! But- But I also, I, also want to be- like my great grandfather- I want to become an attendant who serves my own master properly! I- I want to- to become- Theodore-shama’s attendant, but, but, but I’m a dunce! I-I-I can’t do anything at a~ll!!!”

Richard was already half-bawling by the end of his sentences, but I understood. He sure had a hard time, huh. Despite that, he still wanted to become my attendant…

“There, there. You’re a diligent kid, so I’m sure there’s nothing you can’t do as long as you never give up. I mean, you want to become my attendant, right? So, just say it and work hard. That’s all I need to know. I shall allow you to become my attendant.”

Whether he could become one or not… well, that depended entirely on his own effort. I couldn’t afford to throw water and cooled down his ambition, could I? After all, I was somewhat at fault for his current state.

Being able to do anything by the age of six was a problem (that came from my cheat). And it had harmed the pure young boy, who only wished to become an attendant like his idol, his own great-grandfather (Sebas). It was no wonder that this kid broke under pressure when he was cornered by the expectation of his surroundings combined with his own ambition, and always being compared with me who had a cheat that my previous life’s memories were.

I really felt sorry for him to be put under a situation like that, however accidentally it was on my part.

Thus, I patted Richard’s head until he calmed down, while comforting him. “It’s okay, as long as you keep clinging to that goal, I’m sure that you’ll surpass Sebas by the time you reach his age. Just don’t ever give up, okay?”

“Theodore-zamaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

“Now, will you become my attendant?”

“Yesh!”

Anyway, since he had agreed to become my attendant, the two of us should go back to tell my father. Fortunately, by this time, Richard’s heart-rending cried had been reduced to mere sobbing, so his face looked different from before.

Although, perhaps he was no longer crying because he already got accepted by me. Then again, perhaps the problem that caused him to cry was because he was introduced to me too early and was still very sensitive. Eh, nevermind.

But when we arrived in front of Father and reported the conclusion of the conversation, he only smiled at us and said, “I’m looking forward to your future.”

Still, at the end of the day, he didn’t need to feel that pressure. After all, for me, his strong sense of responsibilities had already qualified him as an attendant, especially since he still kept that sense despite the relentless pressure that kept coming at him.

Hmm, let’s just tell him later once he had calmed down. That way, he could regard me as his friend instead of his master.

Oh wait, he might need to follow Kevin’s example a bit for the sake of his training. I shouldn’t forget that. Yup.

◇

In the morning of the next day.

“Good morning, Theodore-sama.”

Richard greeted me in the morning with a tidy appearance, and I felt happy seeing this. It was a good thing that he had become cheerful once again.

I was really glad for that, but…

“Theodore-sama, your schedule for today start with study in the morning, followed by swordsmanship training in the afternoon.”

Hearing the words that came out from his mouth made me feel stifled. I dearly wanted him to revise that schedule. It was too rigid for me, I mean, I’ve never had a schedule until now. In fact, I had only ever done what I wanted to do everyday till now, just let me continue like that!

But Richard didn’t stop talking. He still continued speaking with an earnest expression, making me unable to reject the schedule he had prepared and the plan he was making.

“But since the schedule I prepared doesn’t seem to match with the lesson Theodore-sama’s tutor’s prepared, I’ll have to ask great-grandpa later to adjust a more precise one for you. Still, we’ll only be able to use this precise schedule after your return from the royal capital, so let’s try to get used to the schedule I made for now.”

“Then… then, please include horse riding training in that schedule. A long one.”

“Yes, I will.”

Since I didn’t want to pour cold water over his enthusiasm, I suppose I should just accept his idea for now.

… Still, this trend may just continue on for a while until he settles down.

At that thought, I stiffened. It seemed… I had unintentionally invited trouble into my life.