Chapter 5
I decided to erase all the settings for Seion that I remembered. I felt that if I remained bound to side stories I hadn’t even written yet, I would only develop prejudices against him.
I picked up my pen and wrote down the information about Seion that I had newly discovered.
[(Really x100) Unbelievable, but low physical self-esteem. Has an extreme side. And his grip strength is incredibly strong. Seems clumsy at controlling his power.]
I paused my pen for a moment after writing down the ordinary details. It was because of Seion’s expression I saw yesterday.
He looked so pained.
Though Seion’s gaze was fixed on the window, nothing was reflected in his eyes. Just what kind of memories was he tracing in that empty air?
[There was a woman he liked.
Presumed to have been on bad terms.
Currently…… she has become a star in the sky.]
After briefly jotting down the information, I tapped the table with my fingertips. *Tap, tap.* As I tapped in a steady rhythm, my complicated thoughts settled one by one.
Yesterday, I was so flustered by his story of unrequited love that I ended the lesson half-heartedly. Honestly, I didn’t clearly remember how I stepped out of his office.
That’s how much I was caught off guard by his unexpected love and shaken by his wounded expression.
Seion’s face wouldn’t leave my mind. Perhaps because I had perceived him as a cruel Grand Duke, seeing him so fragile was more than unfamiliar—it was shocking.
“It’s not like I’ll find anything out by agonizing over it.”
I forced the thoughts away and rang the bell placed on the table. As if she had heard the chime, a maid entered the room with a small knock.
“Lady Annette. Do you need something?”
There is someone I need right now. Someone who would likely know all of Seion’s past. The one person I can ask the questions that are difficult to ask him directly!
“Yes! Please call the Head Butler!”
It was Dale, the Head Butler, who was said to have guarded this mansion since the time the previous Grand Duke was alive.
* * *
I decided to have today’s lunch with Dale.
Dale placed appetizing sandwiches and lemonade onto the tea table set in the garden. Perhaps they were freshly made, as the colors of the vegetables looked refreshing under the sunlight.
I haven’t even eaten yet, but it’s already delicious. I fought back the saliva pooling in my mouth. If I requested a conversation only to wolf down sandwiches, Dale might feel offended.
“You must be hungry, so please eat first, Lady Annette.”
As if he had guessed my inner thoughts, Dale invited me to eat first. In that case, I will eat well without hesitation!
I gave him a bright smile and took a large bite of the sandwich. Inside my mouth, the crunchy texture of the vegetables and the perfectly grilled meat harmonized to create an unbelievable flavor.
“Wow, this is seriously delicious.”
Today was another satisfying meal. While patting my full stomach, I laughed awkwardly at the gaze I felt.
I unintentionally showed a side of myself that was a bit too comfortable. I smiled, licking my lips for no reason. Someone watching would think I was someone who originally lived here.
Reflecting on myself, I straightened my posture. To Dale, who must have spent his whole life seeing only high-ranking nobles, I probably looked quite unrefined.
“Head Butler.”
However, my etiquette wasn’t the important thing right now. I looked at Dale with a fairly serious expression.
“Please feel free to call me Dale, Lady Annette.”
“Yes, Dale. I called you because I have something I’m curious about regarding what happened with His Highness yesterday.”
I skipped the introduction and dove straight into the main point. There wasn’t much time left until the lesson with Seion, and above all, Dale would have many things to do as the Head Butler, so I didn’t want to keep him for long.
“Did…… something perhaps happen with His Highness?”
Unlike the clear sky, a dark shadow fell only over his face.
Turning pale, Dale lowered his voice with a serious look. He seemed to already believe that Seion had caused some kind of accident.
“I heard that Lady Annette was not thrown out the window, and that no great disturbance occurred during the lesson. I even confirmed that nothing inside the office was broken, but……”
I’m not sure if I should say his trust in his master is high or low.
“Did His Highness insult Lady Annette by saying he has no interest in something like dating?! Did he spit out curses telling you to leave immediately, or perhaps hit you in a place that doesn’t show!”
“Oh, no. It’s not that……”
“Or did he lift Lady Annette up like a piece of luggage and slam her into the floor?! I told him so many times that an ordinary person could die if he did that!”
I suddenly felt like the homeroom teacher of a troublemaking student. The kind of flustering situation where a parent who knows their child too well starts apologizing profusely before even realizing it’s a routine consultation.
“No, Dale. Listen to me first. His Highness……”
“Lady Annette, even if it doesn’t hurt now, major problems can arise later! With how strong His Highness is, Lady Annette’s body won’t be able to endure it. You never know when a crisis might strike!”
I waved my hands vigorously in denial, but it didn’t seem to reach Dale’s ears. He was already imagining Seion’s fist plunging into my abdomen and my ribs shattering.
Usually, you can’t breathe if that happens.
“I must find the Grand Duke’s physician immediately!!”
“No! I don’t need a doctor!”
I blocked Dale, who was about to run off to find a doctor at any moment. Why is no one normal here! Why on earth is it that even though I wrote this novel, I can’t get a handle on it at all!
It was easy in the Empire where the protagonists are because I knew so much, but I couldn’t grasp the atmosphere of the Grand Duchy at all.
“I wasn’t hit!”
I jumped a couple of times in front of him to show that I was fine. Even so, as if he still couldn’t believe it, he shouted with a face turned ghastly pale.
“Then is the place you were hurt your heart?!”
It seemed that for Dale, the option that Seion had done nothing did not exist. I wasn’t sure if I should say he knows his master well or not at all.
I shook my head firmly at him. I felt like I would get exhausted before we could even talk if I kept watching Dale’s fuss.
“It’s because he said His Highness had an unrequited love!”
“……Pardon?”
“I want to ask him directly, but I’m afraid I’ll just be poking at a wound. So I was trying to ask Dale first.”
*Stagger.* Dale took a few steps back and slumped into a chair. He looked as if he had lost his speech from the shock.
“Lady Annette, I must be getting old. I am hearing hallucinations.”
Dale rubbed his ears. He had a dazed face as if he truly had heard a hallucination.
“Who, did what?”
So our Grand Duke had a secret unrequited love.
* * *
I have been standing in front of Seion’s office door sighing for five minutes now. It was time for the lesson, but I couldn’t bring myself to enter.
I regretted telling Dale about Seion’s secret unrequited love. To think he wouldn’t have known at all.
Seion spoke as if he had experienced a desperate love, but Dale couldn’t even guess who the partner was.
“If I fall into water, only my mouth will float up……”
*Thud.* I bumped my forehead against the door. At the thought that I had forcibly disclosed Seion’s secret, I couldn’t find the courage to see his face.
I couldn’t exactly ask to skip on only the third day of lessons. Ha, life. I closed my eyes tight and took a deep breath. Three deep breaths, let’s open the door after just three.
However, this world was not that easy.
“Ugh!”
I hadn’t even taken one breath when the office door suddenly swung open. Having leaned my head against it, my body lost its center of gravity and fell forward, *thump*, my head hitting something hard.
“You are late.”
Seion’s voice echoed above my head. The place I had bumped into was his chest.
My body froze stiff. *Creak, creak,* I had the illusion that a grating noise echoed from my movements as I backed away.
“Ahahaha! Good morning—no, it’s afternoon, Your Highness!”
I greeted him as naturally as possible and widened the distance from Seion. His expressionless face, which I looked up to meet, was certainly no different from the day before. But perhaps it was just my imagination, it felt fierce.
“Yes. It is.”
Your Highness, where on earth did those drooping ears and tail go? You looked like a large dog yesterday!
Today, his atmosphere felt as cold as frost. Let my sin be known!
I stealthily avoided his gaze. Since I had just parted ways with Dale, Seion wouldn’t know yet that I had spoken of his unrequited love.
But it was only a matter of time before I was caught, and even if Dale didn’t say anything, I had to apologize. It was my fault for recklessly blabbing something he was hiding, even if it was a mistake.
I slowly raised both hands above my head, stretching my arms until they touched my ears. Then I looked up at Seion with a gaze that was as apologetic as possible.
“What is this?”
Seion asked upon seeing my behavior. Was it a delusion, or was it real? Seion’s voice sounded nothing but fierce.
‘I’ll tell him what happened today and apologize as sincerely as possible.’
However, contrary to my resolve, the moment I met Seion’s red eyes, my lips moved of their own accord.
“Please spare me, Your Highness.”
Seion’s red eyes flashed sharply for an instant. Certainly, this time it is not a delusion.
“Spare you……”
Muttering like a monologue, Seion placed his hand on the nape of my neck. His hand was filled with a deep chill.
Goosebumps erupted down my spine. Transparent red eyes that revealed no emotion, a large hand that felt like it could snap a neck at any moment, a low body temperature that didn’t seem human.
“Let’s hear it then. The reason why you are asking me to spare you.”
Ah, I’m in trouble.
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