OLOTV 17

Chapter 17

I had been ready to leave immediately with Keris, but the maids insisted on preparing me, holding me back.

They disappeared upstairs without even waiting for a reply, so I had no choice but to wait.

‘I’m already dressed well enough to go out like this…’

But I couldn’t disregard the maids’ earnestness. I glanced at Keris. He didn’t seem particularly annoyed about having to wait either. Now that I thought about it, I’d never actually seen Keris get angry. The closest thing to anger was probably when he was wary of me when I first became a doll? But even that was hardly what you’d call anger.

Just as he rarely showed a smile, he also rarely showed anger, which confirmed that Keris only appeared prickly on the outside. I was nodding to myself, having reached this conclusion in secret, when the maids reappeared, carrying something.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! We thought this would look lovely on you, Miss.”

They were holding a large hat and a shawl that could be draped over the shoulders. The maids, who had put the hat and shawl on me, were so delighted they clapped their hands like seals.

“You look beautiful as always!”

“Have a safe trip!”

Feeling a bit awkward, I left the mansion with Keris. Keris didn’t seem surprised by how the maids were treating me anymore; his expression remained neutral. Since the mansion was very close to the bustling streets, we headed there on foot. As we walked together, Keris was silent. Unable to bear the silence, I spoke to him.

“What do you usually look for when you inspect the territory?”

“…Public safety, what goods are being sold in the market, if there are any dilapidated facilities, that sort of thing.”

“So we’ll have a lot of places to cover then.”

“That’s right.”

“Why are you covering your face? Is it more comfortable to go around like this?”

I asked, wondering if the reason was that he found people’s stares uncomfortable. But Keris had his own reasons.

“If they know I’m the lord, it’s hard to see how they truly live. In front of the lord, they might hide or embellish their actual living conditions.”

“Ah, I see…”

But someone who looks like Keris isn’t exactly common. Keris had such a distinctive physique that you’d think ‘Keris Layton’ even from a distance. Moreover, the line from his nose to his jaw, even glimpsed briefly, was strikingly beautiful. I doubted covering up this much would prevent people from recognizing him. I kept this thought to myself and said to him instead.

“Anyway, I’m glad I get to see the territory with you like this.”

I didn’t know if he realized I was talking because the quiet felt awkward, but Keris didn’t reply, as if he had no intention of continuing the conversation. Slightly piqued by his attitude, I stuck my lip out and decided to stop trying to talk.

We walked for a while, and then I suddenly felt the surrounding gazes focusing on us. It seemed like everyone was looking at Keris.

‘I knew it. Did he really think people wouldn’t recognize him just by covering his face like that?’

I clicked my tongue inwardly. But then something felt odd. The gazes I initially thought were directed at Keris seemed to subtly veer away. I realized belatedly that the stares were aimed at me.

Now that I thought about it, thanks to the maids who were determined to dress me up before I left the mansion, I was decked out in all sorts of finery. Furthermore, because of yesterday’s incident, people seemed to be paying even more attention to me.

Being the center of such curious stares… I’d felt something similar on my first day as a human, but this seemed even more intense. If back then I felt like a monkey in a zoo, now I felt more like a lab rat under the scrutiny of researchers.

Still, I had thought the territory residents’ perception of me would have improved after yesterday’s events. Was it only the people inside the mansion who felt that way?

Feeling burdened by the stares, I tried to hide behind Keris, who was significantly taller. Just then, snippets of conversation reached my ears.

“Wow, was there someone that beautiful in our territory?”

“Isn’t that the person? The young lady who came as the Lord’s guest.”

“Ah, you don’t mean… Is that the one who stayed in the lake all day to find the steward’s pocket watch?”

Was that them viewing me favorably or unfavorably? Thinking about it, just because the mansion staff viewed me well didn’t guarantee the territory residents would like me too. The territory had more people than I’d imagined, and it was impossible to win favor from every single one of them. I had confidently told Keris I’d raise his favorability… What gave me that confidence? I wasn’t even sure I had their complete favor myself.

As I regretted my arrogance, I heard a voice that sounded vaguely familiar.

“Young lady, aren’t you the person I met yesterday?”

I turned my head towards the voice. It was the old man who had told me about the steward’s pocket watch yesterday. The moment our eyes met, the old man smiled warmly and approached.

“I thought you were a young lady from a noble family, but I hadn’t imagined you were… the Lord’s guest. It’s good to see you again.”

At least this old man seemed friendly towards me. I spoke to him.

“Thank you for yesterday. Thanks to you telling me about the pocket watch, I was able to find it.”

The old man hadn’t told me the watch’s location, but if I hadn’t heard the steward’s circumstances from him, I wouldn’t have jumped into the water in the first place. Regardless of the process, he had helped me gain the mansion staff’s favor, so I expressed my thanks.

At my words, the old man waved his hands dismissively.

“I merely grumbled to you, young lady. On the contrary, I should be thanking you. You found something we couldn’t, even when we tried.”

“It was nothing, really.”

“It was a cold day; we were worried you might catch a chill. Are you feeling alright?”

To be honest, I had been deathly ill the previous day, but it seemed unnecessary to mention, so I shook my head.

“No, I’m fine. As you can see, I’m perfectly healthy, walking around the territory.”

The old man smiled, relieved. Perhaps because the old man’s recognition confirmed that I was the ‘woman who found the steward’s pocket watch’ from the rumors, people started gradually approaching me.

“Is this your first time in our territory? If so, I can show you around. Shall I guide you?”

“Come to my shop! I’ll sell you goods for half price! A beauty like you is always welcome!”

Weren’t they all supposed to dislike me? I’d experienced this once before at the mansion, but everyone suddenly being so friendly towards me was bewildering.

Perhaps my confusion showed, because the old man looked at me, chuckled slightly, and said.

“Please understand, they’re acting this way out of gratitude. Ever since we heard the news, everyone was upset that the steward’s pocket watch couldn’t be found.”

Seeing that the favor I’d gained from the steward wasn’t limited to the mansion staff but had spread even to the territory residents like this, I realized anew how much loyalty and affection the people of this territory held for the steward, who had managed the territory and mansion for so long.

Because people crowded around, offering to introduce me to this and that, I naturally drifted away from Keris. Unable to simply ignore everyone’s kindness, I struggled to respond to each person individually. I couldn’t imagine what expression Keris, now separated from me, was watching me with.

Then, a good idea struck me. Why not use this opportunity to find the first stepping stone for raising the territory residents’ favorability towards Keris? Initially, I too had looked for a pretext to gain the steward’s favor.

It might not be a bad idea for Keris to sincerely help territory residents in need, just like I did, and earn their favor that way. I suddenly felt full of motivation.

Fortunately, the crowd had calmed down somewhat and dispersed. I tried to sound as natural as possible as I asked the old man still in front of me.

“The people seem very lively.”

“That’s just how the people of our territory are.”

“Looking at them, I get the feeling they must have no worries. Though I don’t know what it’s actually like.”

I gauged the old man’s reaction before continuing.

“If there are people with such worries, I’d like to help. Are there any villagers facing difficulties?”

I looked at him anxiously, worried it might seem too abrupt. Fortunately, the old man answered my question without any particular concern.

“Well, everyone in the village has their own worries… But if you mean someone with a recent big worry, it would probably be a young man named Aron, the owner of the stables.”

“What kind of problem is it…?”

“They say the most valuable horse in that stable gets excited every day and can’t calm down. Apparently, he was planning to sell it to a noble soon, but if this continues, he won’t be able to sell it and will suffer a significant loss. It seems he’s quite troubled about it.”