Chapter 25: An extra?
It's strange.
The young master isn't doing anything harmful to me... And he also seems to be worried about my health. He keeps asking me to rest and says there is no need for me to work. He also ordered the chef to give me the same food he eats as it's healthier... He didn't kill or poison or curse me in my sleep either.
He seems to be actually caring about his sickly servant!
It's so strange. It's so scary. I'm going crazy.
I've observed him for the past few days, but he really seems sincere... Is he acting? No! I would realize that he is acting in the past few days.
And the fact that he is sincerely caring about me is even scarier.
My physical condition wasn't that bad, to begin with, but I didn't inform Alaric about it and also didn't tell him that I'd gotten fine after a few days into the trip... I guess he must've noticed that I'm healthy as well but... But he says nothing and keeps treating me the same way as before!
I... I'm scared. I want to run away.
Am I probably nearing my death in this round? Are these ominous signs of my early death?
"Ian? Ian!"
"Wha- Y-yeah, young master?"
I jolted up and sat straight as soon as I heard Alaric's voice. The young man glanced at me with narrowed eyes for a few seconds before shaking his head.
"We are arriving at the inn. I wanted to wake you up before Ranger gets mad at us."
"Ah!"
I nodded my head with a blank face.
"Thank you... But I wasn't asleep."
I was just thinking.
"Yeah, you had zoned out again!"
Alaric emphasized the word 'Again' and turned his head to glance out of the window. Following him, I pulled the curtains a little bit and also looked outside. I could see a small city appearing in the distance. It was evening and the weather was getting dark, so one could see the lights in the city clearly. Judging by the distance, we'd be there in about twenty minutes.
"You keep zoning out all the time these days."
I turned my head to Alaric who was still talking.
It had been three days since we'd departed and in all these three days I was traveling in the young master's carriage. I was sitting on the opposite seat of the man and didn't do much the whole time. We didn't talk a lot, as I slept, or pretended to be asleep most of the time and was thinking about the possible plans of this young master the rest of the time. Alaric also busied himself with reading books, mostly novels, in the meantime.
Even now, he was holding a novel in his hand, half folded with his finger in the middle in order to not to lose the page he is left off. Ranger tried to persuade him on reading political books and things that would help him improve, but he refused.
"If there is anything that bothers you, you can tell it to me, you know."
"...."
You are the one who is bothering me, sir. You!
'Why is he even trying to be so nice to a servant?... It makes me want to puke... Nice... Hah! I hate people who are nice because people who are nice don't exist. Nice people only pretend to be nice and then do whatever they want using that nice facade of theirs. Also, the people who try to be considerate of others... Most of them are just good actors. Tsk!'
I guess I failed to maintain my normal facial expression, as the young master slowly raised his eyebrows while observing my face. He tilted his head and asked again.
"Well, if that bothers you so much then I won't ask about it anymore..."
Alaric pursed his lips and leaned back in his seat. He maintained his silence for a few seconds, then suddenly blurted out something in a low voice in a way that showed he was unable to hold himself back from saying it.
"...Though now I'm even more curious to know..."
He is curious to know... I'm also curious as to why he is so curious about a mere servant...
'Should I ask him? Why not give it a try? If I'm going to die, I'll at least know the answer to my questions...'
To die without regrets! That's a decision I made in one of my lives and tried to act that way from then on. If things go wrong... I'll just regress.
Making that decision, I found the proper words to use before opening my mouth.
"Why are you so curious about me, young master?"
Surprised, and a little bit excited, Alaric raised his head as soon as he heard my words.
"Because you are my servant."
"I'm just a servant. The son of a count worrying about a mere servant is not something normal."
Alaric's eyes got a little bit rounder.
"It is not?" His eyes darted around for a few seconds before he nodded, "Yeah... I guess it's not... But isn't it normal for me who has lost his memories?"
"It's not."
"Eh!? Why?"
"Because I'm typically someone you know for only a few days now that you've lost your memories, young master. It would be even more reasonable if the previous young master Alaric acted this way rather than the current you."
Why am I now explaining to him why his actions are not normal? Really, what is going on here?
"Oooh!" A light of understanding flashed in Alaric's eyes and he touched his chin. "I guess you are right. True, I really don't know who you are... and that's one reason."
"...."
Alaric didn't wait for me to ask anything and explained more as soon as he saw my blank expression.
"I want to know you more because I don't know you. It's really strange when you think about how I can't remember such an individual..."
"Huh..."
Such an individual? Did he insult me just now?
"Hmm... You also got hurt because of me... Isn't it natural to feel guilty about that?"
'He feels guilty? Well... That might sound a little bit logical now... but not completely.'
As I nodded my head, I heard the young master's faint mumbles that didn't seem to be directed at me and didn't seem to be important for Alaric even if I heard them.
"Even if it's an extra character whom I don't remember the rule of, I still feel responsible..."
"...."
I opened and closed my mouth a few times and blinked my eyes, but couldn't suppress the word that left my mouth nor the unusually loud and irritated tone.
"Pardon?"
'Did he call me... an extra? I'm an extra in his eyes? Who the fuck do you think you are!'
I was suddenly so angry I wanted to beat the shit out of this man, but then, a question crossed my mind.
'What does he even mean by that? Where am I considered to be an extra? In the carriage? In my job? Huh... In life maybe? Yeah, I keep regressing... Doesn't that make me an extra in the world?'
Before Alaric could answer my question, a voice was heard from outside.
"Young master, we are there."
Hearing Ranger's voice, both of us poked our heads out of the windows and looked at the place where the carriage was heading while slowing down its speed.
It was a huge building, which looked kinda fancy as well, with a large garden and a small fountain in the middle of it.
Our carriage stopped a little bit farther from the entrance as there was another carriage in front of the entrance of the inn. The carriage looked larger than ours and also fancier. There was also a symbol engraved on it and a huge group of people was surrounding the person who was stepping out of it.
"That..."
I could recognize the symbol on the carriage clearly. It was a small spear dug into the ground covered in wheat. It was the symbol of the land in the southern part of the country, and also the neighboring state of our county.
Ranger's voice rang out from outside at the same time.
"It looks like we have to wait as the young master of Blicra is here."
It was the symbol of Blicra dukedom.
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