Chapter 83 Unexpected Encounter
“This afternoon, the noble ladies are scheduled to visit Elfengrin, so ensure all preparations are thorough.”
Yawn. A yawn suddenly echoed through the quiet Servant Hall.
Mrs. Charlotte’s gaze, standing at the head, zeroed in precisely on where the sound came from.
Gasp. Startled by the fierce intensity, the maid quickly closed her mouth and bowed her head low.
It was an early morning assembly scene, solemn yet quite peaceful, just like any other day.
The ranks of staff stood lined up neatly.
Deborah’s expression, standing in the very last row, somehow looked noticeably different from her usual demeanor.
It was as if her gaze was directed straight ahead, but she wasn’t concentrating at all on the announcements.
And for good reason.
Several days had already flown by since the last night Deborah had spent with him.
She hadn’t deliberately intended it, but the cause was simply falling asleep herself while waiting for Hannah to fall asleep every night.
Perhaps the tension of the past few days had suddenly lifted; she vowed to keep her eyes wide open and resist tonight.
But at some point, she simply couldn’t overcome the creeping sleepiness.
The strange thing was the man’s reaction.
The atmosphere was excessively quiet.
The fact that the man, who had been so insistently persistent day after day, had been so silent for several days now felt truly strange.
—I don’t think I can come every night anymore.
‘…Could it be that he was offended by those words?’
She thought that although she had tried to sound apologetic, he might have felt rejected and been hurt at that moment.
But for Deborah, too, those words were ones she had managed to utter with great difficulty after much hesitation.
Regardless of enjoying the nights spent with him, a body subjected to non-stop lovemaking would naturally not be fine.
Aside from the private parts between her legs smarting every time she moved, the overwhelming sleepiness made it hard to properly carry out her work.
So, she had only brought it up after genuinely debating the matter…
Though she thought it was just a worry fueled by her own anxiety and that surely he wouldn’t be offended, her stirring heart couldn’t seem to settle down.
The assembly ended while she was steeling her resolve to stay awake tonight no matter what.
Deborah’s face, visible among the staff rushing out, looked as solemn as a soldier heading into battle.
“…”
Hmm, she had certainly steeled her resolve, but she hadn’t anticipated this situation.
Deborah wore a very flustered expression as she recalled what had happened barely ten minutes ago.
—Oh, Deborah.
—Yes, madam.
—Lady Cecilia is looking for you, so please go to the small reception room right now.
Mrs. Charlotte had called Deborah back as she was leaving the Servant Hall and told her this.
The social gathering scheduled for this afternoon was said to be a rather public event, unlike the usual friendly gatherings, and she was probably wanted for that reason.
Deborah replied that she would go and immediately headed for the small reception room across from the main reception room on the first floor.
The incident on the outdoor terrace a while ago made her feel somewhat awkward, but since she knew that Lady Chester didn’t know she was inside, Deborah told herself to just act normally—and with that thought, she finally stepped into the reception room.
But—
“Ah, come on in.”
The first person to react to Deborah’s entry was, as always, Lady Chester’s personal maid.
There was nothing unusual about that.
Well, Deborah had somewhat expected the scene as she entered.
Lady Chester would be sitting somewhere on the reception room sofa, and her meticulous maid would be stuck close by.
Ah, and there would be a few other staff members.
The scene was exactly as Deborah had anticipated, no more, no less.
Except for one person.
One person she had not even imagined would be here.
“Honestly, my brother wants to watch all sorts of things.”
She grumbled, but her high-pitched voice seemed to be floating on clouds.
Deborah stared intently at the man sitting on Lady Chester’s right, in the center seat, with a look like she had seen a ghost.
The beautiful man who was leaning back slightly and watching her with an arrogant posture.
“What are you doing? I told you to come in quickly.”
“…”
Perhaps because Duke Chester was present, the personal maid’s voice was unusually gentle.
Although her state of shock hadn’t completely vanished, Deborah approached as she was told.
“Ah, you’ve arrived.”
“…Yes, Lady.”
“Important guests are coming today, so please take extra care.”
“Yes.”
Her gaze and reply were directed toward Lady Chester, but her attention was entirely focused on her right.
Towards the man who had been sending an unceasing, intense stare since the moment she entered the reception room.
‘Why on earth is he here?’ Even as she moved her hands, that was all she could think about.
No, it wasn’t that this situation was particularly strange.
Bluntly speaking, this reception room wasn’t Lady Chester’s private space, so there was no major issue with him being here.
However, the strange thing was why he would be lingering here, specifically in a place where his sister had called for a maid to style her hair, knowing full well that she was that maid.
She simply couldn’t understand the reason, especially with such a blatant stare.
“Would you… like a particular style?”
When Deborah asked cautiously, Cecilia rolled her eyes to the right, as if deep in thought.
“Hmm, remember the hairstyle I wore at the last ball? That style would be good.”
“…Yes.”
The last ball.
The moment she recalled the specific style she mentioned, she felt instantly dizzy.
That hairstyle, which involved delicately braiding and weaving various laces and ribbons into each strand, certainly suited Lady Chester’s glamorous aura well—but the problem was that it was such laborious work it would take hours.
But what could she do?
It was her position to comply with whatever she was told to do.
Just as she reached for the ivory comb on the table.
“Do a different one.”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the direction the sudden voice came from, which was Duke Chester.
“A different… one?”
Cecilia seemed the most bewildered, her beautiful eyebrows slightly furrowed.
The Duke nodded slightly at his sister.
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
“It’s overly flamboyant and lacks a sense of grace.”
…Is that so? Cecilia tilted her head slightly at the somewhat harsh judgment.
The man, who clearly didn’t realize the person who had created that hairstyle was present, added to his remark.
“So, do something modest.”
Of course, the man’s gaze as he said this was directed at Deborah.
…Should I answer?
While she contemplated whether to reply to the constant gaze, thankfully, Cecilia spoke next.
“Hmm… then. I’ll ask for a modest style, as you say, Brother.”
Although she didn’t seem to wholeheartedly agree with the opinion, she decided to follow her brother’s suggestion.
“…Yes.”
Deborah nodded slightly at her words.
“But this is certainly unusual. You’ve never shown any interest in what I wear or do.”
Her tone was somewhat sulky, as if voicing her past grievances, but her expression told a completely different story.
She seemed incredibly pleased by the attention her brother, Duke Chester, was showing.
This was evident from the slight upturn of her cat-like lips, despite her attempt to pretend otherwise.
The Duke, wearing an unreadable expression, offered no particular reply to her words.
Anyway, the embarrassing situation continued for a while.
“…”
“…”
While Deborah styled Lady Chester’s hair, his gaze was continuously directed towards them.
To an outsider, it would merely look like he was watching the hair-styling process, but Deborah knew all too well that this wasn’t the case.
The persistent gaze lingered on Deborah’s face for a moment, then slowly slipped lower, scanning her entire body.
Her heart pounded nervously at his unconcealed, blatant manner.
What if someone thinks this is strange?
The suffocating tension made her fingertips grow cold.
The fortunate thing was that the change to a simpler hairstyle meant the time spent finished unusually quickly.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The dismissal she had been waiting for finally came from Lady Chester, who had thoroughly examined her hair with a hand mirror.
Deborah bowed and quickly turned to leave.
She caught a fleeting glimpse of a strange smile on his face as she turned away, but that was only for a moment—Deborah quickly walked, almost fled, across the reception room and out.
Of course, she was caught by the man who chased after her less than a minute after she left the reception room.
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