Which brought me to now, where I had somehow awoken as Weiss himself and was sitting in an office.
Thanks to the potions Meg brought back with her, my wounds were healed, but I was still in bad shape. My negative status effects were a huge problem, as was the extremely low loyalty score with my populace. To be clear, one hundred was the max score one could have for loyalty, and mine was at a ten. If it dropped to zero, my subjects would revolt, leading to an instant game over.
In other words, if I slipped up at all, I was doomed. I could understand why Weiss’s guards didn’t do anything to save him; his loyalty score was in the dumpster.
That was also proven by the fact that no one came to see me while I was healing. At best, I received some weird tentacle flowers from my so-called best friend or whatever. Seriously, what the hell was that thing?! It was like a gross octopus! That had to have been some kind of attempt at harassing me, right?
“But that’s not even all of it!”
I held my head in my hands as I looked over the documents I’d asked Rosalia to gather for me. Our revenue was dropping fast, and public safety was getting worse by the minute, which meant there was more crime than ever.
Things fell apart quickly once Weiss’s parents died in an accident and he was forced to become the lord.
This is, uh, kind of bad. Have I already hit a wall? I’m not feeling so good.
Or that’s what any other normal person might’ve thought, but I was built different!
“I’m from another world. Weiss, leave it to me! I’ve spent years upon years thinking of ways to save you, and I’m gonna do it! I know this game, so I’ll make things work. Trust me, I’m gonna show everyone in this world just how incredible you truly are! All for my fave!”
“Um, Lord Weiss? I brought you something to eat.”
It was Rosalia knocking at the door, pushing a cart with some food on top of it.
Crap, I hadn’t even noticed her. She saw me talking to myself and posing dramatically. Argh, this was so embarrassing!
Amid the silence, the sizzling of the meat on top of the steel plate was enough to whet my appetite. There was also white bread, a salad, and a bowl of soup on the cart. This was a full-course meal, as to be expected of a nobleman, even one who had hit rock bottom.
“Thanks! I’m gonna dig right in, okay? This looks incredible.”
“Huh? You mean…you are going to eat? I’m so happy to hear that.”
Upon offering my gratitude, for some reason, Rosalia briefly looked surprised before smiling and setting the table.
Oh, right. Everything’s going bad for Weiss at the moment. He’s just lost his parents and become the lord. I get it, I really do, but this can’t go on. In order to live on, you need to eat and get your strength back.
“Don’t mind me.”
I cut into the steak with my knife, watching as its juices flowed out onto the plate. Then, I forked the piece into my mouth, which filled with the taste of meaty umami.
This is incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like this in my old world! It’s insanely good and so tender!
Thinking about it now, this was actually the first proper meal I’d had since waking up as Weiss. While I was healing, I only drank those gross potions and some soup with gnarly-smelling medicinal herbs in it. The only other consumables in his room were booze and snacks to accompany it.
While I was focusing on chowing down, I noticed that Rosalia was watching me with a smile the entire time.
“Um, Rosalia?”
“Yes? How can I help you? Oh, wait. Lord Weiss, I am so sorry for not noticing!”
Approaching me, she pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket, which she used to gently clean my mouth. As she leaned in close, her sweet scent briefly tickled my nostrils.
I can’t believe I get to have a beautiful girl who tends to me! Being a lord rocks! Wait, that’s not what matters.
“So, um, it’s kind of hard for me to relax when you’re just staring at me like that!” Although I understood why; Weiss was a hottie, after all.
“My apologies, I could not help myself. How is the food?”
“It’s ridiculously tasty. I was just thinking about how lucky I am to eat food this good every day.”
“Hee hee, not only are you finally eating again, but you compliment my cooking… What a relief. It was worth all the hard work. I’m s-so glad…” Despite her giggling, tears began to stream down her cheeks.
Huh? What’s wrong?
“Ah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t behave like this in front of you.”
“No, no. That’s not a problem. It’s just, why are you crying?”
“Ever since you lost your parents half a year ago and became the lord, you’ve seemed so defeated. I’ve been so worried since you weren’t eating properly, but you finally are, and you even enjoyed my cooking. I’m just so glad. I-I’m sorry, I know having me cry like this is inconvenient when you have more important things to worry about.”
“Rosalia… You don’t have to apologize. Thank you for worrying about my well-being.”
I couldn’t help but gently caress her head as she broke down into tears. At first, she flinched when she felt my touch, but then she buried her face into my chest and began to sob.
Rosalia must have truly been concerned for Weiss. Her loyalty was the real deal. I could tell as much from the conversation she was having as I woke up, and then there were her final moments in-game. She stood with Weiss against the hero’s party and lost, then stayed behind to blow up the mansion, giving him time to escape even if it meant sacrificing her own life.
Despite the odds looking ever bleak for Weiss, she was the only one who stayed by his side in order to protect him. I didn’t know why she was so loyal to him, but I suspected they had unspoken history.
In other words, Weiss was her fave as much as he was mine. As someone who tried to protect Weiss, I didn’t want her to meet such a tragic end. I had to make sure that wouldn’t happen.
“Sorry for worrying you thus far,” I told her. “I want to do my best to be a good lord, so will you help me?”
“Of course! I apologize for crying on you like that,” she said, contrite, “I’m just a maid…”
“No, please. Don’t apologize. I got ahead of myself. Sorry.”
The two of us put some space between one another, our cheeks red with embarrassment.
It was just as I surmised. None of this was revealed in the game or supplementary materials, but the reasons Weiss became so twisted were complex: the sudden death of his parents, his quick ascension to lordship, the subsequent repeat failures.