Masters, Are You Going To Imprison My Sister?

Obviously, my sister was skilled with her hands. She cleans well, cooks well, sews well, and even knits well.

Look at that! A scarf has been born from her hand at a rapid rate! If I was the one who made it, it wouldn’t be a scarf but a tangled ball of yarn.

That is why, during a short break after lunch, I was able to enjoy watching her put her knitting tricks at work while we sat on a garden bench.

As the autumn sun shone down on my sister’s seat, it seemed as if a halo was above her head, and it felt as if a goddess worshiped by some religion had descended.

For some reason, it felt like what she was making wasn’t a scarf, but instead something sacred. 

“Thank you for bringing me the yarn and the knitting needles, Lala. Once it’s finished, I’ll give you a nice scarf for this winter.”

“Yes! I look forward to it. Anything my sister makes would be good~”

My sister smiled bashfully. Ugh… Critical to the heart! You must never smile like this in front of the young masters! Understood?

“Really? I also like anything Lala gives me. Last time the cookies were really good.”

She was referring to the cookies I stole from the accessory store.

Yes, they were absolutely delicious. I had laughed it off awkwardly when my sister asked if I had magically summoned them from my pockets at that time.

I was itching to eat them the whole time I was in the carriage. Of course, I had the patience of a superhuman will and was able to hand them over to my sister. As I looked at the cookies while my mouth dripped with saliva, my sister gave me half of them.

Hah. That day, I was very much scolded by my sister. The reason was that I had received a lot of expensive clothes from Osses.

I had resisted, holding on to my sister as she tried to return the clothes back to him, but I failed. When she came back, she said he kept giving excuses and avoided her.

When I think of that time, I can only sigh. I opened my eyes wide and looked around the garden, which had been lavishly decorated for the birthday party.

The duke’s birthday was approaching, which was in two days. On that day, I have to lock my sister in our room so that no one else can see her.

Hmm, how can I lock her up? Should I ask her to stay in the room until the day ends?

Even with such a request, she will probably say, “I’m not even sick so I can’t rest. We are working for money. We need to work for what we are getting.” She was the type of person who would say that. Therefore, I made a plan.

You can’t rest unless you’re sick? Then I will get you sick and make it impossible for you to leave the room.

It broke my heart that I had to make my sister sick. However, this much pain was bearable since she’ll stay still if she just can’t walk or has caught a cold.

To be honest, it’ll be too much to make it hard for her to walk by spraining her ankle, so how about just having her catch a cold?

Amy, who I work with, has caught a cold recently and is coughing frequently, so I can ask her to cough on my sister’s face!

“Why do I have to do such a thing to Sister Yuria?!”

“Do it! Just do it!”

“Hah, stop… I will do it… because of you…”

At first, Amy said she didn’t like the idea, but she said she would help after I clung to her legs and threw a tantrum. I signaled with my eyes at Amy, who was hiding behind a bush on one side.

Amy, now. Come quickly and cough on my sister!

Amy took a deep breath and walked over to us. My sister was startled and she didn’t even think to say hello, and instead, she asked why she was hiding behind a bush.

“Because of someone.”

“What? Perhaps… Are you being bullied? Tell me, I’ll help you, okay?”

“… That’s not it. Well… Maybe it’s bullying…cough…”

I tried to ignore Amy’s glare. Amy took a deep breath as she sat down right next to my sister. She kept coughing, but each time she covered it with her hand.

Why are you covering it? Are you going to cough directly at my sister or not? When I gave a quick glance, she avoided my gaze.

Amy, who met my sister’s bright smile while talking with her, ran away saying she couldn’t do it in the end.

“Don’t go, Amy!”

“Lala, you are such a bad girl! How can you tell me to do such a thing to your sister who smiles so brightly…!”

“Hey! I said don’t go!”

I’m doomed.

My sister was worried about Amy, who suddenly ran away, so I told her to not pay that traitor any attention and to keep on knitting.

Amy, who had been running away, bowed to someone who was approaching her and started walking again. It looked like she was greeting someone of a higher rank than herself… Was it a maid? A butler?

Babam, both were incorrect! It was Master Osses! And somehow… He seemed to be getting closer and closer to us.

My sister also looked towards Osses as if she had just discovered him.

“Master Osses. He must be taking a walk in the garden.”

“…Sister. Let’s hide…”

I didn’t like him, but ever since that time we met in the kitchen, I didn’t want to see him even more than before.

I mean, he says strange things while exuding a very strange atmosphere. I don’t understand but it was kind of creepy.

My sister tilted her head.

“What?”

“No, I mean, I suddenly wanted to play hide and seek. Let’s play hide and seek. I’ll hide, so you hide too.”

“…Then it wouldn’t be hide and seek…?”

“Ah! Right! Now! I want to! Now! Right now!”

“Yes… okay… Before that, let’s greet the master. I think he’s coming this way….”

Why? …Why do we have to greet him… Is it because we’re maids? Is there a law that says a maid must greet the son of the owner of the house? We don’t need to feed him any manners! My efforts to grab my sister’s arm to drag her to hide were to no avail. In the end, we couldn’t hide, and Osses came up to us to say hello.

“Hello.”

“Yes, hello, young master.”

“Hello… Young master…”

I clenched my teeth and clung to my sister. Osses looked down at me and smiled. It was a smile that made me feel bad every time I saw it.

“You two seem to get along well today as well. I think Layla really likes her sister.”

“…Yes… I like her very much…”

“I’m really envious of how close you sisters are.”

What does that mean? Are you just saying that or are you indirectly implying that you’re going to chop me for getting in the way of you two’s relationship? I think he means the latter. I’m afraid of the latter! My sister did not notice the inner thoughts of the beast and bowed her head saying that she was grateful.

“Young master is also on good terms with the other young masters. Every time I see the three of you together, it makes me smile.”

“Is that how it seems? Thank you.”

Actually, Osses and his brothers did not get along very well. It was more close to him hating them. He turned his gaze to the scarf my sister was holding.

“Yuria, what were you knitting?”

“Ah… I was knitting a scarf. Lala got yarn and knitting needles for me.”

“It’s turning out really well. Who’ll own the scarf?”

“It’ll be Lala. Don’t you think this pretty pink would go really well with my little sister?”

“Yes, I think it’ll go well. It’s nice to see Layla wearing such a pretty scarf this winter. I look forward to it.”

“Me too…!”

Upon hearing this, my sister smiled broadly.

My sister’s smile was so fatal. So I got up quickly and hugged my sister. Did Osses see that smile? I hope he hadn’t…

“… Lala…? What’s the matter…?”

“Uh, that’s… Suddenly, I love my sister so much that I wanted to hug her.”

“I like Lala too. I like you, but…”

There is also a younger master here, so doing this now is a little… was the nuance. This was something that she will definitely nag about later! Osses looked at us with his eyes widened as if surprised, then burst into laughter.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could I ask you to knit me a scarf as well? Like Layla, I want to receive a scarf Yuria has made.”

“A scarf…?”

I quickly shut my sister’s mouth.

If she spits out the words of permission in response to that coercion-like request, I might actually faint.

I’m sorry, sister, wait a minute.

“I’m sorry, young master. I think my sister would really like to make one, but we don’t have any yarn…”

“Then why don’t I bring you my share of yarn?”

You’re really persistent, aren’t you…?

“My sister hurt her finger, so I don’t think she can make anything else other than mine.”

“Oh, she hurt her finger? Has she been to the doctor in the mansion?”

“Yes, but I think it will be difficult to get better for a while… They said it would get better in a year or so. Ah, poor Sister…”

At this point, my sister started to fuss and tried to get away from me. There was no way that was happening. I hugged her head tighter.

“Oh my gosh, just what had happened… May I give you a potion?”

“Po, po, potion…?”

Potion? Did you say potion? Potions were very expensive items that commoners did not even dare to dream of, and only the nobles or the wealthy could afford them. It is said that a wound heals at once just by applying it… 

Are you kidding me? Is it that he has come to like her so much that he can give her a potion? Really…? Even in the original story, I think he treated my sister with potions when she got hurt.

When… did they get so close…?

I suddenly felt depressed. So without realizing it, I lost strength in my hands. My sister, who managed to get away from me, had a scary face.

As if to prevent me from covering her mouth again, she clasped my hands tightly, suppressed and lowered them down.

“…I’m sorry for showing such disrespect in front of the young master. I’ve never been hurt any less than a finger, so I won’t be needing potions. I think my younger sister was playing a prank on the master because you were being so friendly.”

“No, it’s okay. She was cute.”

Osses looked at me with indescribable eyes.

“No, actually… Will you give me a scarf as an apology?”

Cold energy washed over me, and I bowed my head and avoided his gaze.

-To be continued