Refuse Harem

Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Prius

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 022 – The Young Lady Named Sophie Linier ~ the Story of a Boy who Fell into Hell I

The boy was desperately running on the cobblestones. He wanted to deliver the bread he hid inside his clothes at all cost. He was running with his all, solely to fulfill that wish.

However, it seemed the owner of the bakery, who was chasing after him in anger, was already catching up.

If he got caught, he would be in for some pain, but he could tolerate that much. It was his fault for stealing the bread, after all. However, he wanted to avoid the situation where the bread he stole was taken away.

If I don’t have this… She’ll die!

He ran for his sister, who waited for his return.

The boy, who was running in horror, collided with a man, who was looking backward at that moment, when he turned at the corner. Due to the momentum, the boy’s body dropped to the stone pavement.

“What?”

The man the boy collided with turned to him. As the boy looked up, while still lying down, he saw a young man dressed in a frock coat1 that fit the shape of his body. The boy was scared. For the boy, the man, who wore such a high quality item he’d never seen up close, was only an object of terror.

“This kid! I finally caught you!”

As the owner of the bakery finally caught up, the boy was frightened.

Oh, no. It’s all over.

The boy shed tears from his eyes, but he still gritted his teeth to endure. He thought an angry arm would hit him. The boy closed his eyes to the shock that was about to come, but it never did.

As the boy timidly opened his eyes, the man grabbed the arm of the bakery owner which he had swung up.

“—Wha! I told you, this kid is a thief, and I—!”

“I know. But our ojou-sama2 is in the midst of her shopping. It would be troublesome to have an uproar.”

The man restrained him with a calm voice.

“Even if you say that, you—”

The bakery owner still raised his voice, perhaps because his anger hadn’t subsided.

“Oh, it’s very lively here.”

In such a murderous atmosphere, a cute voice that was unsuitable in the current situation echoed.

“Bart, is something wrong?”

Although the voice wasn’t loud, it comfortably resounded in people’s ears.

A young lady, outfitted in a dress with beautiful, hand-sewn embroidery and frills, stood in front of the boy as the sound of her footsteps from her shoes with cute ribbons echoed.

The boy and the bakery owner, who had been angry earlier, held their breath as they saw the pretty girl with smooth black hair and eyes the color of a young leaf that could only be seen during the fresh spring season.

As the girl gave the gorgeous parasol with frills that she had on her finger to her maid, who was waiting next to her, she said, “Oh…” once again.

“Sophie-sama, my deepest apologies.”

The young man whispered to the beautiful girl. As the girl understood the situation, she stood in front of the bakery owner with a sympathetic expression.

“Please pardon my late greetings. My name is Sophie Linier, the daughter of Edgar Linier. Mister owner3 sure has it tough to have your precious goods stolen.”

“…Eh? Ye-ye-yes!”

The owner of the bakery panicked. Recognizing the Linier family name, he remembered they were a Baron family, an aristocrat. They were also a merchant group, and the exact group that the bakery owner also procured wheat from. The wheat he bought from the Linier merchant group was of great quality. Even so, the price of it was kept low, making the stores who did their business in the royal capital benefit from the mercy of the Linier family.

If the bakery owner ended up making the daughter of Linier house angry, he could no longer expect good business in the royal capital.

“I can understand your feelings. To have something you made with all your effort stolen from you feels very painful.”

“Ye-ye-yes! Thank you very much for your understanding!”

“However, I don’t really like conflict. Can I alleviate your anger with this?”

She narrowed her fresh green eyes as she said that and handed him a gold coin.

“Go-gold coin?! I-I-I-I-I-I don’t dare to receive it!”

He couldn’t have taken the gold coin. The worth of the stolen bread was only about a single bronze coin. The owner of the bakery shook his head strongly, while soaked in cold sweat.

“Please take it. Please consider this my selfishness.”

He couldn’t feel any coercion in her eyes and voice; instead, it simply felt kind. However, it also possessed power that didn’t allow for any refusal. The bakery owner moved like a broken toy, performing a squeaky motion as he received the gold coin. As the girl spoke her gratitude, he left the place, practically running away.

“—Well then, what should we do about him, ojou-sama?”

“Let’s see… let’s talk about it in the carriage for the time being. There are a lot of people here.”

As people gossiped that she was actually the rumored young lady of Baron Linier, the girl’s group boarded a carriage. And for some reason, the boy was also invited onboard.

The boy, who never thought he would ride a gorgeous carriage pulled by two horses, was so nervous that he felt like vomiting. There were two gorgeous carriages, and everyone except for the girl, the young man, and the boy rode the other carriage. 

As the boy glanced up, he could see the girl with white skin that seemed to shine in front of him. That girl was looking at the boy.

“I-I won’t give my thanks for any alms given by an aristocrat!”

The boy, whose fear pushed his thoughts in a weird direction, met the girl’s eyes and shouted that. Just like the bakery owner earlier, he also had a cold sweat, but the boy was desperate.

The boy was scared of the pretty girl he never met before. With her beautiful flower-like scent and the atmosphere she exuded, which made the boy doubt they were of the same human species, he felt pressured despite the fact the she was just sitting there; it made him think he would have fainted if he didn’t bluff.

The boy thought the girl might be angry due to his rudeness, yet for some reason, she giggled as if she found it funny.

“Well, what a cute thing to say. Bart, he said the same thing as you did. Is it considered a rite of passage to do so at least once?”

“I am well aware of how stupid I was, so can you please not bully me too much about it?”

“Creto also said the same thing to me in the past.”

“I would prefer if you did not treat me the same as that fool.”

The girl giggled again at that exchange. Her laughing face was beautiful. She looked similar to an expensive doll he had seen once in the show window that he thought had nothing to do with him.

“There’s no way a beautiful woman like you can exist! You witch!”

“Oh, am I being complimented or despised?”

“Damn brat…”

The young man, who never revealed his anger until now, glared at the boy as he clicked his tongue.

The boy thought the young man was someone with class, but he said, “Don’t you look at our ojou-san4 with such an amorous glance,” in a way a thug would say.



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Rauna
Rauna
11 months ago

Thanks so much for the chapter!

Azeera Agos
Azeera Agos
2 years ago
Last edited 2 years ago by Azeera Agos
tsukii
tsukii
1 year ago
Reply to  Azeera Agos

This stupid me couldn’t read what’s written there.