People were eavesdropping

---

“Treating others well…I had never thought about such things before. I am a noble, a superior human. It was only natural that I should be treated as special, and there was no need to be concerned about others…”
“Well…you cannot be treated well if there is no one around. As Ms. Claire once said…the nobles only exist because of the people…I think? You aren’t special just because you are a noble. Unless the people around you respect you. And you help to make their lives easier.”

Not that I knew much about such things… After all, I didn’t really think about nobles until I came to this world.
Still, that was the answer that I had come up with after seeing Ms. Claire and Mr. Ekenhart.
…Perhaps I was wrong. Regardless, I would talk to Mr. Ekenhart about it later.

“I know my word wouldn’t mean much…but perhaps it can be food for thought?”
“…”

Ms. Anne had a serious expression as she fell silent.
While I had said a lot, in the end, it was up to her. And I just wanted her to use my advice as reference.
Perhaps it sounded cold-hearted, but I was not particularly interested in trying to lead Ms. Anne.
If it so happened that she repeated her crimes, then not only would Mr. Ekenhart and Leo retaliate, but she would make an enemy out of all of us.
But she was clearly affected by her time in the mansion, and showed that she was thinking about what I said just now. So I was not too worried.
…Was that too optimistic?

“…I shall think about it then. And if I have more questions, would it be alright if I talked to you?”
“If you want to listen to me. But it might not be very useful.”
“No, your words are much more effective that Ms. Claire’s. For the first time, a man has completely stirred up my mind.”
“Uh, is that a good thing?”
“Hehehe. You will find out soon enough.”
“Wuff?”

There was no reason to make up her mind right now.
And after thinking about it for some time, Ms. Anne got up to her feet.

“Ah, that’s right. If you eat this, it will help you sleep better.”
“What is that?”
“A herb for sleeping. I can guarantee its effectiveness. And you can just eat it as it is.”
“…It is black. And looks quite odd. Well, I will try it then…”

While Ms. Anne was about to return to her tent, I took some herbs out from my bag and gave them to her.
Either she trusted me, or the Gifts, because after inspecting it for a moment, she decided to eat it.
Once she was finished, she nodded and muttered as she returned to her tent.
It seemed like she was still deep in thought. And I hoped it wouldn’t keep her up.
But it was likely that even if she tried to stay up and think, she would soon fall asleep anyway.

“Thank you, Mr. Takumi.”
“You saved me some trouble once again…”
“There are a lot of people up tonight. There really wasn’t any need for guards after all, Leo?”
“Wuff? Wuff-wuff.”

A few minutes after Ms. Anne left, Ms. Claire and Mr. Ekenhart approached me.
I was supposed to be on watch duty so that others could rest. And yet…
Leo had reacted, and so I knew that someone was close by. And since Leo did not do anything, I knew that there was no problem, and had pretended that I didn’t notice.

“Well, don’t say that. It just so happened that we saw Anneliese walking towards you. So I wondered what she was going to say.”
“…After all, she has a criminal record, like the time she tried to force you into marriage. So we could not be too careful.”
“Of course…”

While Mr. Ekenhart had a guilty expression, Ms. Claire held her hands clenched together and looked determined.
While there had been marriage proposals, it was not as forceful as Ms. Claire was suggesting…
Well, perhaps it looked that way for her.
Besides, it was true that she was trying to use her position as a count’s daughter.

“Still, what you said about treating others, the people well, and gaining trust… Those were good words. I too hope to never forget about the importance of having the people’s trust.”

Said Mr. Ekenhart as he sat next to me.
I had just thought about it on a whim, so it was embarrassing to have him repeat it.
Ms. Claire sat on the opposite side and petted Leo while nodding.

Next Chapter

My Beloved Dog is the Strongest in Another World