Rich Girl Caretaker: I'm Secretly the Caregiver of the Most Popular Girl in This Rich Kid School (才女のお世話 高嶺の花だらけな名門校で、学院一のお嬢様（生活能力皆無）を陰ながらお世話することになりました)

Thank you for the meal.

It appears you've mastered the basics.

I appreciate the acknowledgment.

I owe it all to you.

You won't accompany Her Ladyship at meals without proper table manners.

Speaking of which, may I ask where Hinako usually dines?

She takes her meals in the dining room.

All by herself?

Yes, with servers.

I intend to gradually begin ramping up your duties.

The final role of a caretaker is to see to Her Ladyship's needs

from when she first awakens to when she goes to sleep at night.

Understood.

And I must tell you one other thing regarding Her Ladyship...

RICH GIRL CARETAKER

LIES AND SECRETS

Is there anything not to your liking, madame?

Nothing.

There, all done.

Gonna take a shower?

Shizune made such an elaborate setup.

I've created this stall so that you may shower without your bathing suit.

Of course, only Her Ladyship is allowed inside.

Hinako, would you mind grabbing that basin?

Based in what?

That was kind of a pun, I guess?

Three-second rule.

Seeing how happy that makes you makes me glad I shared it.

But you probably shouldn't do it in front of people.

This is fun.

After that tea party,

you were alone with Miyakojima-san, right?

What did you talk about?

What do you mean?

Mostly about how the tea party was fun.

Not much else.

H-Hey!

Itsuki.

You're my caretaker.

Don't go away, okay?

H-Hey!

Hinako?

Hinako?!

It appears to be a mild fever.

If you hadn't warned me in advance,

I would have been even more freaked out.

Her Ladyship will likely have a fainting spell soon.

Keep a close eye on her.

But how did you know?

It's a regular occurrence.

The strain of her daily performance takes a toll on her.

The necessity of playing a role so drastically different from her true self

inevitably puts her under stress.

H-Hang on a minute.

How can you be so calm about that?

The fever will lessen in two or three days.

It is not particularly worrisome.

But if the stress makes her collapse, couldn't she just drop the performa—

Respect your place.

It is the will of the Konohana Family that she maintain her facade.

Her Ladyship understands and accepts that.

She does?

You should retire to your room.

You need sufficient rest for your classes tomorrow.

You want me going to school even though she has collapsed?

I will see to her care.

Your grades are not at a level sufficient for you to afford to skip class.

What's up, Tomonari?

You look kinda blue.

No, I'm feeling just fine.

Hey, let's invite your friends and have another tea party!

Asahi, you can't always expect a group like that to have time for us.

True enough.

Speaking of, Konohana-san's not here today.

It's probably that usual thing.

"Usual thing"?

She sometimes takes time off to help with the family business.

She must be really busy!

So that's the cover story?

But that means nobody's worried about her...

Who helps Hinako when she's suffering?

Who does she have to lean on?

Welcome home.

How's Hinako doing?

She's still resting.

Fortunately, it's the weekend,

so she'll have two days to rest before returning to school on Monday.

Kagen-san isn't coming?

Kagen-sama is working in the main residence.

Even at a time like this?

Kagen-sama is the head of the Konohana Group.

He has responsibilities.

Then what about Hinako's mother?

She has sadly passed on.

I see.

There's so much I don't know.

That's natural, though.

I only just became her caretaker...

Hey, could we get through our lessons quickly today?

I'll put in all my effort to keep up.

Very well.

We'll accelerate the usual pace by 50%.

Can you keep up with that?

Yes!

Could I become that person?

Thank you for the lesson!

The person Hinako can lean on...

It's Itsuki.

Sorry, did I wake you?

No problem. I've just been kinda lying here.

Thanks, Itsuki.

I'm glad you're here.

Of course I am.

I'm your caretaker, remember?

Let me know if there's anything you want me to do.

Okay.

Then hold my hand.

Easily done.

Her hand is so small...

She's asleep?

Hinako.

You'll be okay.

Papa...

That's right. Family...

What she wants from her caretaker is a feeling of family.

I sure know that feeling.

Family is something everyone wants, right?

Itsuki-san.

Welcome back.

She just got to sleep.

Then let us briefly step outside.

I have something important to discuss with you.

All right.

I suppose I have no choice.

I will tell you here.

Please do.

Kagen-sama told you why Her Ladyship maintains her facade, did he not?

Yes. To ensure she marries into the best possible family, right?

Yes.

But that is merely the secondary goal.

There is a greater reason for it—

To bring a son-in-law into the Konohana Family.

A son-in-law?

Kagen-sama has a son,

Her Ladyship's older brother, Konohana Takuma-sama.

She has an older brother?

Yes.

But as he's much older than her

and lives in a different estate,

he rarely sees Her Ladyship.

Normally, Takuma-sama would have been the family's heir,

but Kagen-sama is unconvinced he'd be a worthy leader of the Konohana Group.

He wants a son-in-law to take that role.

When that happens,

Her Ladyship will share in his leadership duties.

She must not only have management skills, but social skills as well.

Public disdain for Her Ladyship could cause friction within the group,

which, if worse came to worst, could lead to many people being harmed.

That's what it means to be the heiress to a conglomerate?

Is the situation clearer now?

Do you understand the burden she bears?

Yes.

It's not easy to get close to someone like that.

So there's no way I can help?

No, that isn't what I mean.

But today, you told me to respect my place.

Yes. I wish for you to support Her Ladyship,

while maintaining proper respect for your positions.

That is the role of the caretaker.

Is helping her while she takes her breaks the most I can do?

Comfort her when she collapses from exhaustion,

be warm with her, like real family would...

Hinako, I'm going to do my best.

Shizune-san turned out to be right,

and Hinako returned to school that Monday.

This is one thing that feels like it goes a little beyond family.

Itsuki.

You eat this.

No. Eat all your veggies and don't be picky.

An unbalanced diet can lead to you getting sick.

If I feel sick, I'll just sleep.

That's probably better anyway.

Don't be like that.

I like it better when you're healthy, anyway.

I'll eat it.

Then Shizune-san gave me another job to do—

Helping Hinako wake up in the morning.

Hinako, it's morning.

Just three more hours.

Get up now, or you'll be late.

Wanna be late!

Unacceptable.

Come on, wake up.

Huh? Itsuki?

Yeah. Good morning.

Help me up.

Fine, fine.

Up we go.

Itsuki. Good morning.

Good morning.