Chapter 214

Chapter 214: Chapter 214

"Well, well~ If it isn’t my dear Lucy. Long time no see. Where have you been making your fortune lately?"

Lucy nearly cracked the moment she walked through the door.

That tone.

That horribly sarcastic little tone.

Marshall really was angry!

He absolutely was!

Lucy immediately plastered on her most ingratiating smile, hurried behind him, and began massaging his shoulders.

"Ahaha... Marshall, sorry about that! I somehow completely forgot about our agreement. Terrible mistake on my part, really! The moment I remembered, I put on the maid outfit and rushed straight over to cooperate with the experiment!"

"Oh? Right, we did have an agreement like that."

Marshall tilted his head innocently.

"I’d completely forgotten too. Unfortunately, the Origin-Opening experiments are already finished, so I don’t need Lucy anymore. You can go home~"

"..."

Lucy’s smile froze.

’He really isn’t letting this go!’

’Waaah, Marshall, you petty little bastard!’

Realizing that acting cute wasn’t going to save her, Lucy clasped her hands together and apologized properly.

"Marshall, I’m sorry! Seriously, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have broken our agreement and run away from the work. I’ll accept whatever punishment you want!"

"Wrong?"

Marshall looked almost offended on her behalf.

"What did Lucy do wrong? Obviously it was my fault for forgetting about it. Anyway, it’s all in the past now."

Then he smiled sweetly.

"It’s not like I was especially looking forward to seeing Lucy-nee as a maid or anything. You’ve met my new maid, Tia, right? I don’t really need Lucy anymore~"

Lucy’s heart sank further with every word.

’It’s over!’

’He definitely hates me!’

’He absolutely hates me now!’

’Nooooo!’

"Marshall, Marshall~ I’m sorry! I really know I was wrong!"

Lucy grabbed at him desperately.

"How about I work as your maid for a month? Two months?!"

Marshall looked at her with a smile that was supposed to be mysterious but was really just hiding how badly he wanted to laugh.

Bullying Lucy was simply too entertaining.

He hadn’t actually been angry in the first place.

Even if Lucy had honored their agreement and shown up on time, Marshall never would have used one of the girls he cared about as an early test subject anyway.

He was biased.

Shamelessly so!

But just because he wasn’t truly angry didn’t mean he couldn’t use the situation as an excuse to mess with her.

"Nope. If I need a maid, Tia is much more competent."

Marshall shook his head.

"Lucy was honestly pretty terrible at the job, so let’s just forget about it."

Lucy abandoned what little dignity she had left.

She dropped down and clung to his leg.

"Nooo! Marshall! I really know I was wrong! Give me one more chance!"

She looked up at him pitifully.

"What do I have to do for you to forgive me? If it’s something I can do, I’ll do anything!"

"Wow. You really are something..."

Marshall patted her blond hair, and a wicked little smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Actually, Lucy only came back because you want me to unlock your Second Origin, right?"

Lucy stiffened.

"And you also want a place on my team for the Magic Tournament, don’t you?"

Marshall sighed theatrically.

"I never knew Lucy was such a fame-hungry, opportunistic person~"

"I-I’m not! I didn’t! You’ve got it all wrong..."

Lucy’s eyes darted guiltily around the room.

Fine.

She absolutely had those motives.

But she really did want to apologize because she felt bad about breaking her promise!

She wasn’t that calculating!

"Sure~"

"Eh?"

"I can agree to everything Lucy wants."

Marshall smiled.

"I can unlock your Second Origin, let you join my team, and even help you get stronger."

"R-Really?!"

Lucy’s eyes immediately lit up, and then a faint blush spread across her face.

’Marshall is actually this nice?!’

’D-Does he really like me after all?’

Her imagination immediately began sprinting several miles ahead of reality.

’Ehehe... This is kind of embarrassing. Maybe I should go home and tell Father I’m willing to consider the engagement after all...’

’Being married to someone three years younger isn’t completely impossible... ehehehe...’

"Of course."

Marshall interrupted her fantasy.

"As long as Lucy agrees to one condition."

"No problem!"

Lucy answered instantly.

"Ten conditions would be fine!"

The moment the words left her mouth, Marshall produced a plain leather collar-like prop and held it out to her.

"?"

Lucy stared.

"For the next month," Marshall said, "Lucy gets to be my pet."

"???"

Lucy stared at the prop in her hands, then slowly looked back at Marshall.

He did not appear to be joking.

"P-Pet?!"

Her voice shot up several octaves.

"Wait, no! That’s not right! What do you even mean by ’pet’?!"

"Eh~? Lucy wants to back out already?"

Marshall looked terribly disappointed.

"But I already have enough maids. Cake Tower isn’t short of anything except someone to keep me entertained, and I think Lucy would be perfect."

"No, no, no, absolutely not!"

Lucy frantically shook her head.

"Marshall, what kind of weird books have you been reading?! Treating another person like a pet is exactly the kind of thing some evil aristocrat would come up with! I refuse!"

"But..."

Marshall pointed at himself.

"I am an aristocrat."

"Huh?! That’s not the point!"

Lucy jabbed a finger at him.

"And don’t you already have Ruby?"

Marshall looked offended.

"Lucy, that’s awful. Ruby is my important companion. She’s not a pet."

"Sorry—wait!"

Lucy froze.

"Then am I not your companion?!"

Her automatic apology vanished as soon as her brain caught up, and she angrily tossed the collar back at him.

Marshall almost burst out laughing.

Lucy’s constantly changing expressions were simply too much fun.

"But this is supposed to be your punishment, isn’t it?"

He picked the prop back up.

"Lucy was the one who just said you’d do anything~"

"Ugh... H-How can you use my own words against me like that...?"

Lucy stared at his smug grin and finally understood that she had walked straight into his trap.

What did this little demon spend all day thinking about?!

"Anyway~ those are my terms."

Marshall leaned back comfortably.

"If Lucy agrees to play the role of my ’pet’ inside Cake Tower for the next month, I’ll magnanimously forgive you."

Then he raised a finger.

"And I’m not a monster. The rule only applies inside Cake Tower. If outsiders are around, you can act normally."

He smiled brightly.

"So basically, Lucy only has to play along with me in private. See? I’m very considerate~"

"Urgh..."

Lucy hesitated.

She knew Marshall well enough to trust that he wasn’t actually going to do anything outrageous.

For all his terrible ideas, he generally knew where the line was.

If nobody else ever found out... maybe it wasn’t completely impossible.

"Then... what does being your ’pet’ actually involve?"

"Huh?"

Marshall looked puzzled.

"What would a pet need to do? You just have to keep me entertained."

He spread his hands.

"That’s it. No chores, no maid work, nothing. I’ll feed you, let you stay here, and help you get stronger."

Marshall grinned.

"All Lucy has to think about is how to keep me in a good mood."

"Eh?"

Lucy blinked.

"That’s... all?"

That actually sounded...surprisingly good.

She wouldn’t have to run around doing maid work, she wouldn’t have any real responsibilities, and she would still get all the benefits.

’Wait!’

’No, Lucy!’

’How can you sink this low?!’

If she accepted something this ridiculous, what would happen to her dignity?!

Her pride as a human being would be finished!

Absolutely not!

"So?"

Marshall watched her hesitate.

"Has you decided?"

Then his expression suddenly softened.

"Actually..."

He looked away, a faint trace of loneliness appearing in his eyes.

"I just thought it would be nice to have someone around to talk to. There’s been so much to deal with lately that I’m always tired."

Marshall looked back at her with wide, innocent, hopeful eyes.

"If someone stayed with me, maybe things would feel a little easier."

Lucy’s heart twitched.

Those pure, shining eyes hit her directly in the conscience.

’Right...’

’Marshall’s still a kid.’

Maybe underneath all the ridiculous demands, he really just wanted someone to keep him company.

Everyone in the guild expected so much from him now.

With everything Marshall had been handling lately, he probably was under a lot of pressure.

And Lucy had been the one who broke their agreement first.

She had already decided she deserved some kind of punishment.

If "pet" was only a silly label Marshall was using for a game between them...

maybe this was simply his strange way of showing affection.

’A-And it’s not like he’s going to do anything outrageous.’

’It’s basically just keeping a kid company...’

Lucy swallowed.

"O-Okay."

She looked away in embarrassment.

"I-I’ll be Marshall’s pet."

Marshall could no longer suppress his evil grin.

From somewhere behind him, he immediately produced an absurd fluffy rabbit costume, complete with long ears, and pushed it across the table together with the collar prop.

"Contract accepted!"

His eyes sparkled.

"Then for today, Lucy gets to be a little rabbit!"

"???"