Otto Suwen was a rather unlucky individual. From almost drowning in his first bath to being considered pitiful because of his Divine Protection, from being driven out of his hometown to repeatedly getting attacked by bandits, this bad luck had shown itself at various moments in his life. When he was kidnapped by the Witch Cult, he had finally accepted the fact that he was doomed to be unlucky his whole life.
But then he believed that his luck couldn't get any better.
The luckiest thing that ever happened to Otto Suwen was meeting Natsuki Subaru.
Subaru was a friend - no, he was like a brother to him. It was because of Subaru that he was saved from the Witch Cult. It was because of Subaru that he got a job and a permanent place to live. It was because of Subaru that he didn't consider himself unlucky anymore.
And it was also because of Subaru that he met the love of his life.
Frederica Baumann was the head maid of the Roswaal mansion. With long blonde hair and emerald eyes, she was a sizable woman of above average height and was fairly strong as well. She was taken in by Roswaal L. Mathers and lived at the Sanctuary until she was old enough, after which she became a maid serving both the Mathers and Miload families.
Frederica was quite well mannered and diligently performed her duties as a maid. She had a very formal attitude; rarely interacting with the other members of the Emilia camp outside of her capacities as a servant.
Just like Otto, she was also very thankful to Natsuki Subaru. It was because of Subaru that she finally met her brother after ten long years. Subaru had befriended Garfiel and made him conquer his fear of the outside world, a feat that she was unable to accomplish. And for that, she was eternally grateful. Subaru was the reason that she met Petra, who was just like a little sister to her. Her cheeky personality used to cheer her up at times, making her a little less lonely in the mansion.
After the events of the sanctuary, she had joined the Emilia camp, and met the man of her dreams.
The door to Otto's office opened, revealing a beautiful blonde-haired maid carrying a tray with two teacups.
"Otto-sama, your evening tea is ready," she said, something more than her usual cordial smile present on her face.
Otto, who was so absorbed in his paperwork, glanced up upon hearing that voice, the voice which his ears would never grow tired of.
"F-Frederica, y-es yes, leave the tea here. I'll dri- hk," Otto stuttered, stopping abruptly upon seeing that Frederica had two cups of tea in her tray.
"Would you mind if I had tea with you today, Otto-sama?" she asked in a gentle voice, her tone and facial expressions clearly showing that she was trying to hide a blush.
"Y-yes, of course, why not?" Otto answered, struggling to maintain eye contact.
Frederica placed the tray on the table before pulling a chair over and sitting down next to him. The scent of her perfume invaded his senses; just being this close to her made Otto's heart tremble. He cast his eyes down and pretended to be relaxed.
What is this happening to me? Why does this feeling always come when she's around? Come on man, you're looking like a complete idiot. Say something already.
"Soo… Why did you decide to have tea with me today?" Otto said after some time, trying his best to be casual in his tone, breaking the awkward silence.
"I just decided to give you some company. You're all alone in this room when you're working, Otto-sama. I'm sorry if it bothered you in any way," she replied, instinctively raising her hand to cover her mouth as she spoke, her already rigid posture stiffening.
"N-No, it's fine. I don't mind it at all," Otto hurriedly responded, mustering the courage to look her in the eye.
For a moment, the world stopped for him. Lost in those emerald pools, savouring her beautiful face with his eyes, he kept staring at her. Her long, blonde, lustrous hair, her strong figure, her sweet personality, those sharp teeth that he loved; everything about her was so... perfect that Otto could stare at her all day and never get tired of it.
The entire time Otto repeatedly peeked at Frederica, who was sitting there toying with a lock of her hair, lost in thought. He could feel his heart quickening in pace, every second, this foreign feeling inside of him only seemed to elevate.
The next fifteen minutes passed in complete silence, with both of them sneaking glances at each other, blushing furiously at eye contact.
"Is this what they call love?" Otto thought.
Subaru and Otto were in the mansion's garden, Otto having a brief break from his work, and Subaru there to talk to him about some important matters.
"So how are the preparations for the trip to the capital next week?" Subaru asked.
"Everything is perfect. Roswaal had ordered to make preparations early, so I took care of everything. The dragon carriage, a place to stay in the capital; everything is ready."
The doors to the mansion suddenly opened and Frederica entered the lawn. Otto, with his gaze fixated on her, forgot about everything for a few minutes.
Frederica reached the pair and said, "Lunch is ready, Subaru-sama and Otto-sama."
"Yeah we'll be there in a minute," Subaru replied.
Otto didn't say a word; he looked longingly at Frederica; she drove him crazy. Being a merchant meant that he was very straightforward and could talk non-stop with anyone; but then Frederica was no ordinary person. She was the most beautiful thing on two legs; she had everything Otto ever wanted in his life. Yet his courage failed him. He dared not ask that one question that had been repeatedly coming back to his thoughts, "Will you go out with me?".
Subaru noticed Otto gawking at Frederica and a silent smirk grew on his face. Otto snapped out of his thoughts when Frederica finally entered the mansion and closed the door behind her.
"What happened, Natsuki-san? Why are you smiling?" Otto asked, questioning the smile he noticed on Subaru's face.
"When are you going to get the courage to ask her out, huh?" Subaru questioned, still maintaining the amused expression on his face.
"Hk- Wh-What are you talking about Natsuki-san?" Otto replied, stuttering.
"You know very well what I'm talking about Otto." His voice turned serious, earning a blank stare from Otto, who replied with complete silence.
"If you are afraid to speak to her, you could give her a note or something, or perhaps a card," Subaru said.
Otto continued to remain silent, thinking about Subaru's suggestion.
"Well then," Subaru said while lightly patting Otto on the back, "Let's go have lunch, don't get late."
Subaru left the garden while Otto stood there gazing at an empty spot, contemplating Subaru's words repeatedly in his mind.
The next day Otto woke up early as usual and went out to see Subaru in the hallway. That was strange. At this time, Subaru was usually outside the mansion doing radio calisthenics. What made Otto wonder even more was that Subaru was smiling madly; it looked like he was suppressing a laugh.
"Good morning Natsuki-san. You seem quite lively today. What happened?" Otto greeted him and asked.
"Morning Otto. So finally you found your guts," Subaru said, staring at him with a bemused smile.
Otto opened his mouth to speak but before he could say anything he met the eyes of Frederica who had entered the corridor from behind. Subaru left the hallway, leaving the two of them alone.
Then Otto heard a soft voice, "Of course I'll go out with you. I was waiting for you to ask,"
"B-But, I have not asked you, I dared not," Otto stammered.
"Then who gave me this?" she said, extending a piece of paper to him, the smile gone from her face.
Otto instantly recognised the writing on the paper. It was obvious who had sent it. Subaru, who had been standing just across the corner of the hallway, listening to every word, suddenly burst into laughter. Otto felt his ears turn red as he realised what had happened.
In mock anger, Otto dashed towards Subaru, who simply darted away with amazing agility and left, having seen the show he wanted to see.
Otto turned back to see Frederica still standing there. His heart was beating furiously and his throat had run dry. He swallowed and gathered all his courage, asked, "Will you go out with me?"
"Yes, why not Otto-sama, I have to go to Arlam today to get supplies. You could come with me." Frederica nodded and smiled.
Otto saw a whole sunrise in that smile.
The dragon carriage sped down the road, sending clouds of dust flying behind. Otto was in the driver's seat with Frederica right next to him, just an inch of space separating the two. Frederica was looking down in her lap, lost deep in thought, her blonde hair covering the sides of her face.
Meanwhile Otto was in a different situation. Clutching the reins until his knuckles turned white. Despite the incredible speed of the carriage, Otto was sweating bullets on the back of his neck. Several thoughts were racing through his mind at that moment.
What just happened?
Does she love me as well?
And why is she sitting so close to me? The entire seat is free.
Out of the corner of his eye, Otto repeatedly kept stealing glances at her.
Man, she's so fucking beautiful. I'd never thought I'd ever be alone with her like this.
I should maybe try to talk to her. What talk! I can't even bring myself to look at her.
Suddenly, Otto's ground dragon made a loud noise, gaining Frederica's attention and snapping Otto out of his thoughts.
"What happened, Otto-san, should we be worried?" Frederica asked. Surprisingly, her cheeks were blushing red.
"N-nothing. It's nothing to be worried about," Otto said, while clutching the reins even more tightly, he couldn't even look Frederica in the eye. The tone of his voice and his facial expressions did nothing to raise Frederica's spirits, despite his relieving words.
Damn, even fucking ground dragons are making fun of me.
Wait, did she change honorifics while addressing me? Alright, calm down now. She won't bite. Just look her in the eye and give an answer like a normal human.
Otto tried to reassure himself, which surprisingly worked. He looked, collected himself, looked at Frederica directly in the eye, and said, "It's really not a problem. You do not have to worry about anything."
"Oh, ok then." She replied, sounding convinced this time. She paused for a moment, noticing Otto's facial features, then asked. "Otto-san, you look so exhausted. What happened?"
No one had ever asked him that question before in such a way. Well, his friends had asked about his wellbeing a lot of times, but the way Frederica said it, it was different. Her voice had concern, love. Her voice hit a place in his heart. He didn't know how to describe that feeling bubbling up inside him.
"Well... uh, my workload has skyrocketed in the past few days. Because of the important meeting which has to take place in the capital next week."
"That's a lot of work. Truly, you are a great help to the Emilia camp," Frederica said, sounding amazed. "But all this must have made you exhausted."
"Yeah, it does," Otto replied, "But being with you always fills me with energy again."
It took a moment for Otto to realize what he just said. Otto froze, Frederica blushed and looked down. Otto swallowed and decided to just end the conversation here.
The rest of the journey till Arlam passed in silence.
The entire time in Arlam was really hectic for Otto. If he was alone, he would never have gone in the first place, but being with Frederica made everything worth it. Several times he found himself dazed by her appearance, only to be snapped back into reality a few seconds later.
They had bought all the required items and were heading back to the Mathers domain. Since it was getting late, they had decided to take a shorter path back; the path was shorter, but in a really terrible condition.
"Hey Frederica, considering the condition of this road, I think we'll take longer to reach back to the mansion," Otto said as the carriage wheel bumped into another depression in the road. "Has anyone ever thought of repairing it?"
"Don't worry Otto-san, I have used this path multiple times to get back from Arlam. It may seem tedious, but it's significantly shorter," Frederica reassured.
"The weather is beautiful, isn't it Otto-san?" Frederica said, smiling, while immediately covering her smile with her hand, an action which did not go unnoticed by Otto.
"It sure is," Otto said, glancing that the sky was covered in clouds; a chilly breeze had started to blow. However the weather wasn't the thing going through Otto's mind right now. He was more anxious about the fact that Frederica always used to hide her smile.
"I've noticed this a lot. Why do you cover your smile?" Otto finally decided to question her.
She looked at him with a frozen expression before replying, "People… tend to hate it… because of my pointed teeth."
On hearing that, Otto felt a wave of anger surge through him. He gripped the reins harder as he silently cursed under his breath. Finally he decided to bring himself together and reassure Frederica.
"Don't hide it. You know, you look a hundred times more beautiful when you're smiling." Otto said, with a smile on his face
"Huh," she couldn't form words to express her feelings as she simply stared at him with glistening eyes.
Then she looked down, leaving Otto wondering that had she ever gotten a compliment, that this brought her to tears. He didn't hear the single phrase Frederica muttered under her breath,
"Thank you."
After the trip from Arlam village, Otto and Frederica had slowly started to get closer, as their love slowly bloomed. The entire mansion had known that their internal affairs minister and the head maid had become love birds. In whatever free time either of them had, they could be seen talking to each other or spending time in the lawn. Their love for each other only grew every second.
Frederica had even started to help Otto in his paperwork, in contrast even Otto had decided to help Frederica in her maid duties, and becoming a laughingstock for Petra at the same time.
Frederica started sharing her deepest and darkest secrets with Otto, the secrets who she hadn't told anyone else, her true feelings, her past. Likewise, Otto did the same, which did nothing but bring the two even more closer together.
Frederica had started to become more casual around Otto, dropping her maid persona when the two of them were alone. The two of them had even started to eat together at times. They never stopped talking, even at the table.
Otto was exhausted. His workload had doubled today, and he didn't even get time to eat lunch. Sapped of all his energy, he threw himself on the bed and slowly allowed sleep to overtake him.
Five minutes later, Otto heard a soft knock on his door. Strange, he thought. Who would need him at this time? Thinking that it would probably be an emergency that someone had needed him at this time of the night, he stood up and opened the door, revealing Frederica in her nightgown. No matter how many times Otto had seen Frederica, he would never get used to her; he stood there just gazing at her until her sweet voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"I couldn't sleep, Otto-kun. The night is beautiful outside. Can we go for a little walk in the garden?" she asked.
"Of course Frederica," Otto replied instinctively, while rubbing his eyes
Frederica noticed this and said, her smile vanishing, "Um, I'm sorry if I disturbed your sleep. I'll g-"
"No no, it's fine, why would I sleep when I have a chance to spend time with my beautiful Frederica." Otto immediately replied, cutting her off.
Frederica's cheeks reddened slightly as she replied, "Right then, let's go."
The pair exited the mansion and stepped outside. It was a little cold, mist could be seen in the distance, and moonlight illuminated the environment. Not even a single sound could be heard except for the footsteps of the couple.
They silently walked the entire perimeter of the garden, enjoying the fresh air, which did a lot to erase Otto's exhaustion. After a few minutes of walking they sat on a bench. Otto sat down first and Frederica sat right next to him.
They sat there for an unknown amount of time, silently enjoying the view of the clear sky, hand in hand.
In contrast to his calm and collected facial expressions, Otto's mind was racing with thoughts.
Should I confess? Maybe I should? I won't get a better chance after this.
Making that decision, he turned, and facing Frederica, said, "Frederica, there is something really important I need to tell you."
She adjusted her position on the bench, facing him. She slightly tilted her head to one side, moonlight reflecting off her blonde hair. Emerald eyes locked with blue, communicating with unspoken love. It was like she knew what he was going to say.
Otto paused for a moment, admiring her beauty, before regaining his composure and continuing,
"Frederica, I love you." he said.
Frederica beamed, she smiled so much that her pointed teeth were visible through the crack in her lips.
Otto continued, "Ever since I laid my eyes on you, I've never been able to forget you. I love everything about you, your emerald eyes, your blonde hair, your pointed teeth, your appearance, your personality, everything is so flawless. You're honestly so perfect."
Frederica blinked back tears as she replied, her heart fluttering, "I don't know what to say. I… I never thought that someone would love me, because of my demihuman race."
"That is actually one of the many things I like about you, People who hate you because of this, they're just plain stupid."
Otto brought his hand to her face, gently caressing it and wiping away her tears with his thumb. Then suddenly Frederica went forward and hugged Otto. After being startled by this sudden action for a second, Otto returned the embrace.
Frederica whispered softly, "I love you too."
The two lovers sat there completely oblivious to their surroundings. After an unknown amount of time, they broke the hug and continued staring together at the starry sky, hand in hand.