Chapter 33: My guardian deity is definitely a G.o.d of pestilence

After that, about one month has pa.s.sed since that violent a.s.sault.
For the time being there hasn"t been any problems…..or rather I should say, for the time being Tuvalu hasn"t contacted contacted me yet. In that regards I sighed a deep breath of relief. Though for now, I cannot completely rest a.s.sure yet.
I will erase Tuvalu from my mind for the time being because even if I worry about it I can"t do anything in regards to it. Recalling the bad memory just makes it seem like his shadow might emerge out of nowhere.
Anyways let’s just concentrate on the problem in front of me.

「I am Mariabell Tempest nice to meet you」

「……I am Niel」

Even though the weak reply came from a capture target it doesn"t bring any fear. Rather the voice was small enough to make one worry whether this person was alright or not, his self introduction proved that he is not good with self-a.s.sertion.
Fluffy moss green hair, thick gla.s.ses, the fingertips that can be seen from the long-hem clothing are white and thin. My complexion is generally white too, but that"s not what I meant for person standing in front of me……somehow, it"s a sickly kind of white. It can be rephrased as pale.
The voice also emphasizes his weak appearance, and suspicious behavior. From then to now he has been repeatedly avoiding my field of vision.
No, I don"t mean to say that he is being rude. Rather do I have to stay here? Can I go home?

You might have realized when he gave his name, but let me start from the beginning.
I am with one of the capture targets, Niel Juliano, the youngest child of the Count.
Moreover, in the reception room of his house.

The beginning of all this started three days ago.

On that day, I was in the rose garden waiting for Keito after finishing with Linda-sensei"s lesson as usual.
As usual I was just idly thinking that he should be returning home soon but at that moment.

「Maria-chan, may I talk to you for a bit?」

「Mother?」

To be honest, at this point I already had a bad feeling.
When my mother comes looking for me in the rose garden unpleasant things always happen. But of course it’s not my mother’s fault.

「What’s wrong?」

「Yes, actually a guest has come for Maria-chan」

「For me……?」

At that moment I started sweating feeling this was very bad. A cold sweat ran through my back and forehead, I remembered my body temperature dropping in an instant.
Someone came to my house and visited, and furthermore it was for me and not my father or mother.
There is only one such person who would do that.

「It seems they would like to talk with Maria-chan, since they are currently waiting in the reception room do you mind coming?」

「Yes, I understand」

Although I appeared to be calm, on the inside I was actually secretly developing an escape plan. I was also letting loose my anger about Keito not returning home.
Even though I asked you to pick up my bones……! Although you didn"t actually agree to it!
While gathering up complaints inside my mind, I slowly headed towards the reception room.

「Sorry I made you wait」

「Pardon…..me?」

I entered the room and gave a bow. It is courtesy and also a kind of custom. That’s why I often go through it before I check who was in the room.
When raising your head, it"s not entirely unlikely that someone different from the person you imagined would be in front of you.
But this time I had confidence that I was not wrong.
Because the only person that came to mind when I was told someone came to visit me would be a certain yandere.

「Maria-chan, these are the sons of Count Juliano」

「I am Rave Juliano」

「Likewise, I am Iria」

But there was not the light blue hair color that I imagined, but instead two men with moss green hair.
Eーtto…..who are you two?
No, they’ve already introduced themselves and I remember the name of these two as well as the capture target"s…….but why were these people visiting me?
I should be glad that it"s not the yandere, but I am at a loss as to whether I should be saddened that a capture target was still concerned.

「Apologies, for the sudden visit」

「I intended to make an appointment……but I wanted to keep this a secret from my father」

「No, I don"t mind, just that because Kirua-sama is at work, is it fine to talk to me instead?」

「Yes, of course」

The talk was progressing very fast but I still haven"t caught up yet.
You shouldn"t have accepted it so easily. That"s because in Niel"s route wasn"t I convicted of false charges by these two people?
That I had defamed and caused injury towards the heroine, that I had stolen my parents’ a.s.sets and made money by illegal means.
……The first half is actually correct so it’s hard to deny.

「Well then, let"s immediately move on to the main subject……」

I sat in front of them alongside mother as she encouraged them on.
If possible I would like to retract that statement and say I am busy then run away, but that is impossible. I feel like I have been giving up more easily recently.

「To tell the truth, Mariabell-sama I’d like you to come to my house」

Eh, no way.
I am sorry for declining before even hearing your reason but I know I will still hate it. Because it"s the house of the capture target an enemy territory! Going there, what kind of suicide action would that be?

「Eh, well……what does that mean……?」

Look, even my mother is troubled!
Though it"s most likely for an entirely different reason from mine. Taking me home, if one took it the wrong way that might seem like a proposal.
Doing that kind of thing even though I am only 10 years old, if it"s a lolicon after declining please return home graciously. Although both of them are actually not old enough to be considered lolicons.

「We have a younger brother who is rather distant towards us, so I wanted Mariabell-sama to call out Niel as……well, he won"t ever come out of his room」

「Originally he doesn"t like going out much to begin with because of his personality and it just kept getting worse as he became older, in the end he even stayed inside and refused to go to the Birth Anniversary Party of Prince Runa」

That is pretty severe. The invitation letter also had my name on it, so the invitation letter that came to the Juliano household most likely also had the name of Niel.
For the n.o.bles the party is an important social gathering, and for children it is an important place to study various manners.
Even ignoring royal invitations, it"s not a good idea to abandon learning opportunities.

「I understand what we are asking for, but because it concerns private family matters I would like to avoid a detailed explanation……」

「It"s alright you don"t have to say it if you don"t want to」

「……I"m sorry」

Mother seemed to have noticed that Rave-san was struggling for the right words.
Although I already knew the general picture, I didn"t say anything. I learned, don"t say anything unnecessary.

「That"s why I want to get Niel outside somehow, at the very least for social occasions」

Rave-san seemed seriously down. Iria-san also held his hands and furrowed his brow.
Both of them felt Niel was very important, and were worried or that"s what I thought.
But…..that’s why I didn"t understand.

「Is that so…..I understand the issue, but in that case wouldn"t it be better to find a proper adult? Why Mariabell……..」

Exactly that. As mother says, Niel"s case seemed quite serious, so I also thought that finding a proper adult would be better.
It may be difficult because there is also the issue with Count Juliano……but even if you call me I won"t be able to solve it.
Or rather, this is my first time meeting both of them. I don"t recall ever meeting them before in the past, for these two people I should just be a regular young girl.
Is it really alright to leave their important little brother with such a person?

「We can"t call any adults, because it will be refused if my father finds out……」

Ah, so you did it once. I felt an already-experienced kind of tone.

「If it"s children we can invite them into our house, furthermore if it"s Mariabell-sama…….」

If it"s me? No, I don"t have any certification on counseling.

「The Tigerson household"s daugh──」

「I will do it, please let me do it!!」

I raised my hands firmly with a loud voice to drown out Rave-san’s words.
My mother, and both Rave-san and Iria-san were startled to my sudden outburst.
Rave-san……what were you trying to say just now?
Did you just say Tigerson?
What, have you come to remind me of that dreaded memory?

Thus, my visit to the Juliano household was decided.
It goes without saying that I went to vent out my anger on Keito after those two returned.