The Male S*ave of the Count Sianella Family

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“…Huh?”

Shione’s silly expression peeked through her silvery hair above my face.

As expected, she thought I would be sound asleep.

Sorry, but I was wide awake, not going to sleep right away since I had things to think about for tomorrow.

I figured if I pretended to sleep quietly, I could avoid unnecessary chatter.

But it seems that not responding on time escalated the situation.

“…What are you doing awake?”

“Ah, um…?”

Shione, who had uttered a dumbfounded sound, quickly went stiff.

“Y-You were awake…?”

Instead of responding with a yes, I slowly closed my eyelids, then opened them again.

My eyes shone brightly as they focused directly on her two pupils.

Shione remained silent, only silently screaming without any other reaction.

“May I ask what you were planning to do to me?”

“T-That is…!”

Shione’s eyes began to shake wildly.

She rambled on incoherently while speaking.

To cut through the unnecessary fluff and get to the point, she seemed to want some skinship like lovers.

In the moment she was about to press her lips against my forehead while I was supposedly asleep, it was as if I chose that very instant to wake up.

I rolled my eyes, avoiding her gaze as I wrapped my arm around the nape of her neck, pulling her closer despite her attempts to distance herself.

“If you want to, then do it.”

“W-What…? Really?”

“It’s not like we’re kissing; it’s just the forehead.”

Just a forehead.

Isn’t Shione finally deciding to respond to the feelings she has for me?

It’s not like we’re actually kissing.

“If you want, not just tonight. You can do it whenever.”

Gulp.

At my words, Shione swallowed hard.

She was so tense that I could see her throat convulsing.

“But there’s a condition.”

However, I had no intention of giving up my forehead for free.

“What do you mean by a condition?”

“When we’re alone, you have to call me ‘oppa’ every time.”

“…Really?”

“Really.”

Shione hesitated for a moment, then asked.

“…Do you really want to hear me call you oppa that badly?”

“Otherwise, I wouldn’t have set this condition.”

“I don’t understand what’s so good about hearing ‘oppa’ from a grown woman like me.”

I brushed aside Shione’s words, pulling her closer to me to keep her from escaping.

In an instant, we were right back in each other’s personal space. Our warm breaths intermingled, tickling our faces.

As we sat in silence for a moment, Shione finally conceded defeat.

“…Okay, I’ll do it, oppa.”

With that, Shione gently leaned in.

Peck.

Shione’s lips briefly touched my forehead, and her face flushed bright red.

Though her objective had been accomplished, I didn’t let go of her.

Instead, I held her tight.

“Wah…! Oppa…?”

With our cheeks pressed together, I lightly kissed her ear.

Then, as if reluctantly, I eased my arm from around her.

“Do we feel more like a couple now?”

As I noted the way Shione quietly nodded in response, a sense of pride filled me—

“Now let’s head back to bed. It’s getting late.”

I sent her off, needing to get some rest myself.

*

As always, after a long night, the sun rose high once again.

By the time the sun climbed into the center of the eastern sky, Shione and I had wandered around the base, going into the tent whenever it got cold, killing time with a casual chat.

Normally, we would have already been moving to secure the route connecting Count Shianella’s estate with the northern part of the kingdom after dawn. But given that we had witnessed the orcs causing havoc the day before, it was understandable.

Until the knights and rangers brought back solid answers, everyone from yesterday would inadvertently be taking a rest.

Those who couldn’t proficiently handle mana to the level of a Sword User would struggle against excited orcs rushing in packs. If we foolishly stepped out and encountered a horde of orcs… Well, I and our Young Lady Shianella would be fine, but for my companions, it was evident their heads would turn to mush before they could take out any of those beasts.

“The sun’s already high in the sky… news should be coming soon. Don’t you think, Ray?”

It was annoying since she had just kissed my cheek this morning and was now trying to slip away like this.

Finding her terribly vexing, I shot her an icy glare instead of playing along.

“…Oppa.”

“Besides, Lady Siabel said she would make a decision by noon. So, we can afford to wait.”

“Ugh… She’s being such a tease after just one night…”

A brief moment passed.

With no pleasant treats to distract me or anything to sweeten the quietness, I was solely tasked with alleviating Shione’s boredom.

Then, finally, the much-anticipated Siabel Shianella arrived.

“The knights and rangers have just returned.”

“Sister, what happened with the orcs?”

“Despite the search, they didn’t spot a single orc in the vicinity. It seems they’ve already disappeared elsewhere.”

The situation I gathered from Siabel’s words could only be described as fortunate.

The rangers had found various tracks believed to belong to orcs around that area. They had broadened their search radius centered on the traces but apparently didn’t find even one orc. It seemed the orcs had long since vacated the area where Shione and I had ventured.

Thus, in the range of the search party, the only monsters they found were several kobolds and wild beasts.

Though they hadn’t been able to eliminate all of them, they managed to significantly reduce their numbers in the underbrush.

This meant less hassle for us tasked with clearing the paths.

After relaying the situation in a casual manner, Siabel tossed her long hair over her shoulder.

“I’m thinking of preparing to hunt down the remaining kobolds, so get ready.”

“Understood.”

With that, Siabel turned and made her way toward the entrance of the tent.

Just before exiting, she half-turned to glance back at us.

For some reason, Siabel wore a mischievous smile.

“By the way, Shione. You seem to have gotten closer to Ray overnight.”

At Siabel’s words, Shione’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Eh? What do you mean by that…?”

“I swear I wasn’t eavesdropping, but I could hear your voice from inside the tent.”

“My voice?”

With a pleasantly blooming smile, Siabel nodded.

“Oppa. Ray oppa.”

Siabel’s nonchalantly high-pitched voice echoed within the tent.

The person she was clearly teasing was none other than Shione. Siabel briefly turned her gaze to me before breaking into a knowing grin.

Shione began to flinch as if she wanted to hide in a mouse hole.

“U-Um… Was my voice really that loud outside?”

“Who knows? What do you think?”

Siabel laughed while Shione looked like she was about to cry.

And me? I couldn’t help but feel the intense pressure of Siabel’s gaze, like she was silently demanding to know what had happened yesterday.

*

Flora’s first impression wasn’t bad at all.

She was a quick learner. Just as Siabel said, I had vaguely given her some discreet advice on awareness and scouting, and she quickly grasped my suggestions, showing skillful responses.

However, the downside was that she seemed to get overly tense during battles, which often hindered her true capabilities…

I didn’t think this would be too large a problem, considering that even while on edge, she showcased decent archery skills.

Even if the tip of an arrow didn’t hit the enemy’s heart exactly, it sufficed to fly towards limbs or around the vicinity, while providing adequate coverage.

If we were only going after kobolds, there was truly no need for her to have exceptional skills; I considered her a suitable ally.

But now, the situation was different.

“Ugh, damn.”

Why was that idiot just standing there dumbfounded…!

Flora was mimicking that awful thing Shione had done to me six months ago.

The difference was that while Shione had frozen stiff upon seeing an orc charging at her,

“Grrr!”

“Wah…!”

Flora was just frozen in disbelief at a wolf leaping towards her, ready to chew on her neck.

With the wolf suddenly popping up to prey on us, it was too close to let her shoot an arrow.

Besides, the way she just stared at the wolf’s gaping jaws showed no hint of evading.

I could feel the pressure rising as I rushed forward before she could get her throat bitten out.

“Whoa!”

Thud! Rolling over.

I tumbled to the ground while pulling Flora down with me.

The spinning world demonstrated the wolf still drooling and targeting us.

Why the hell was I rolling on this frozen, muddy ground?

Swish!

I swiftly unsheathed the sword at my waist and pierced the wolf’s head as it lunged at us.

“What a pain.”

It was frustrating how that wolf’s blood splattered onto my face, leaving an unpleasant sticky feeling.