If this young investigator really had married a ghoul, that would explain why he could get along so well with the ghouls at Anteiku.
But still... an investigator falling in love with a ghoul was truly unthinkable...
"So these two are servants of that Tsukiyama guy. I see."
Rize nodded slightly.
"Speaking of which, where are Kurona and Nashiro? Haven't they come back yet?"
Byakuya noticed the house seemed to have only Rize at the moment.
"Mm, they're not back yet. Probably still on some assignment."
Rize said.
Afterward, Byakuya took Matsumae and Kanae upstairs to let them choose their rooms.
"If I may ask, Master—was that woman just now your wife?"
Matsumae asked curiously.
It was such an unbelievable situation.
"...No."
Byakuya denied it.
He didn't want to share too many details about himself with Matsumae and Kanae, so he said nothing more.
Matsumae nodded and refrained from asking further, lest she displease the Master.
Matsumae and Kanae then chose to share a room, wanting to be able to look out for each other.
Sitting on the bed they'd made up, they took advantage of Byakuya having gone downstairs to chat.
"That really startled me. I thought an investigator had actually married a ghoul. Though it does seem like he's living with that ghoul..."
Kanae remarked with some wonder.
"Come to think of it, aren't we now also living with the Master? Perhaps it's some kind of preference of his..."
Matsumae said flatly.
"What a strange person. But regardless of what preferences he has, I'm already prepared to sacrifice everything."
Kanae's gaze was resolute.
"In private, we can talk about it, but you absolutely must not mention 'preferences' or anything like that in front of the Master."
Matsumae reminded Kanae. "It would be best if you got used to saying 'the Master' instead of 'him,' even when talking to me."
"Yes, I'll remember that, Head Maid."
Kanae nodded seriously.
After only a brief exchange, they went back to properly organizing the room—rearranging furniture, cleaning dust, and so on.
They didn't idle afterward either, voluntarily going downstairs to find Byakuya.
"Master, is there anything you need us to do?"
Matsumae asked.
"Then I'll leave the housework to you. Nothing else for now."
Byakuya replied casually.
Both Kanae and Matsumae were professional servants, so handling household chores was their specialty.
Byakuya figured he could leave all future housework to them. Not bad at all.
"Understood."
Kanae and Matsumae responded in unison.
...
Kurona and Nashiro had received extra training from Kiyoko Aura, so they returned later than usual.
When they walked in, they immediately saw two uniformed strangers sweeping and mopping the floor. They were momentarily stunned.
Matsumae hadn't expected two more girls to come home. But she reacted quickly and bowed immediately. "Welcome back."
"Ah... who are you?"
Kurona asked.
"We are Amaha-sama's servants."
Matsumae explained once again, unfazed.
"Servants...?"
Kurona and Nashiro both immediately thought of certain... unhealthy things.
Their faces slightly flushed, they quickly made their way over to Byakuya.
However, Matsumae wisely spoke up first, explaining on Byakuya's behalf what had happened.
Learning the truth, Kurona and Nashiro relaxed considerably—though part of the reason might have been that they didn't know Kanae was female.
...
Night fell.
Matsumae and Kanae prepared for sleep in their shared room.
What surprised Kanae was that nothing had happened tonight.
Housework didn't count—to her, that was trivial. What she'd anticipated hadn't occurred at all.
She'd braced herself for the worst: unspeakable, humiliating scenarios...
Matsumae, by contrast, hadn't overthought things.
She accepted that anything could happen; whatever came, she'd grit her teeth and obey. With that resolve already in place, there was no point dwelling on possibilities.
"Head Maid... he—no, the Master doesn't seem like he'll do anything to us?"
Kanae ventured.
"This is only the first day. Don't overthink it. Who knows what might happen next."
Matsumae said.
And even if something did happen, so what? For the young master and the Master of the house, they'd simply have to endure it.
"Mm..."
Kanae lay down with her heart still unsettled.
She thought about the young master while also worrying about what might come next.
By the time she finally fell asleep, she had no idea what hour it was.
...
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