Slowly, but a Little Suddenly (2)

“…”

The elf said nothing, so apparently the heat hadn't been the reason she was unbuttoning her uniform.

Then what is she trying to do? Does she want me to insult her?

No. If humiliation were what she wanted, she wouldn't be acting this quietly.

Trying to read her intentions from her expression was hopeless. She always wore that impassive face around me. It was like trying to guess what a gift contained by studying the paper wrapped around it.

I stared at her, at a complete loss.

Perhaps she couldn't stand the silence any longer. She gave a small sigh.

“I'm not hot.”

“Then why…?”

“I'm trying to seduce you, Master.”

I wondered whether I'd heard her correctly. Her face was utterly serious.

If anything, I was the one who felt embarrassed by the confidence of her announcement.

That very morning I'd slapped her across the cheek and heaped words on her that I should never have said. I'd suspected her without giving her a chance to explain and then resorted to violence. It was a direct violation of the precepts taught by the God of Light.

Her usual conduct was hardly blameless. But if I judged the incident itself, the heavier fault was mine.

And now she was sitting in front of me, saying she wanted to seduce me. I couldn't think of a single suitable answer.

If she had simply demanded the usual cruel treatment, I might at least have known how to respond.

“I see. Seduction…”

I muttered the word and fell silent again.

I wanted to change the subject. Yet she'd evidently put effort into preparing this strange attempt, and that realization pricked my conscience.

How long had she spent arranging her hair and practicing that voice?

If I told her it hadn't affected me, I would only hurt her further. But I couldn't find the right thing to say in praise, either.

The silence dragged on.

The tips of the elf's ears began to redden. She gripped her apron, then finally let it go and raised a hand.

“…It was a joke.”

“Ah. Yes. Of course.”

It hadn't seemed remotely like a joke, but I went along with her.

She shot me a resentful look and began fastening the buttons she'd opened. There was something strangely graceful in the movements of her pale hands, entirely at odds with the part she usually played as my slave.

I watched for a moment before catching myself and coughing.

“About what happened this morning…”

“It's fine.”

The answer came at once.

Having finished buttoning her uniform, she folded her hands in her lap.

“Master has always doubted me. This morning was no different.”

She spoke plainly, but there was an edge to her voice.

Her words said she was all right. I couldn't believe she meant them.

It was as though she were holding back a complaint and refusing to make a sound. My conscience ached all the more.

How can I get her to forgive me?

I sat there like an idiot, uncertain what to do. The elf blinked at me.

“Master. Weren't you going to ask about this morning?”

“Hm? What?”

“Wasn't that why you called me here? You wanted to know what happened after you lost consciousness.”

That was true, too. I decided to set my apology aside for a moment and nodded.

“You're right. Lady Branda Frederi—or rather, the Grand Duke of the Hell of Carnal Love. What happened to her?”

“Lerazie? I punished her moderately and sent her away. I don't think she'll ever try to hurt Master again. But if she forgets her place…”

She left the threat unfinished, but the coldness of her voice suggested a lethal consequence. A chill crept into my fingertips.

“You don't need to worry about that anymore,” she continued. “When Lerazie left the mansion, she was still acting the part of Lady Branda. None of the servants knows what happened inside.”

“…A perfect cover-up.”

“There's nothing to be gained from letting the matter become public.”

She was right. Even so, I felt a tightness in my chest.

The ease with which she claimed to have dealt with a grand duke of hell made her seem impossibly distant, like a towering wall I would never be able to climb.

How long would I have to live at her mercy?

That's not what I should be thinking about now.

I forced myself to consider what had actually happened.

The cat. The visitor calling herself Branda Frederi.

Looked at from a distance, both incidents had involved the elf trying to protect me.

Yet I'd misunderstood her and hurled abuse at her that no one deserved to hear.

That was my fault.

I cleared my throat and faced her in earnest.

“Listen to me carefully. Yesterday and today, everything I did to you—”

Creeeak.

The door opened before I could finish.

I turned. Havid stood there in his neat tailcoat, his eyes already wet with tears.

He had his monocle back. Beynon must have returned it, and news of my awakening had reached the chamberlain at about the same time.

“My lord…!”

Havid hurried toward me, sniffling, and dropped to his knees. His splendid mustache trembled.

“Please forgive me!”

“What? Why all of a sudden…?”

“It's my fault! I should have taken better care of you! I should have told you to work less and exercise more. I failed you, my lord!”

To hear him, you would have thought the Empire had fallen.

He was so distressed that I felt embarrassed merely watching him. Still, I understood his position. He knew nothing about Lerazie. He genuinely believed I'd worked myself into a collapse by taking on too many household duties.

His concern was touching. The timing was terrible.

“Chamberlain, please calm down. I'm alive, aren't I?”

“My lord! How can you be so unconcerned? If no one had found you where you fell—just imagining what might have happened terrifies me!”

“I appreciate your concern. But there's no reason for you to blame yourself…”

The elf sighed and rose from her chair.

She looked from Havid to me and started toward the door, apparently finding nothing worth staying for.

I wanted to stop her, but Havid stepped in again, determination blazing in his face.

“This won't do! Starting tomorrow, you'll exercise with me! Haven't you heard that a nation's strength begins with the strength of its people?”

“I've told you before that exercise doesn't suit my constitution.”

“If you use that excuse to avoid it, laziness will take root in your body. The third head of House Deharem once said, ‘Negligence is the household's greatest enemy.’ And your predecessor, as well as the current head…”

The lecture continued for nearly half an hour.

In the end, I nodded like a man pleading guilty to a crime.

---

With an exhausted face and a final apology to Havid, Theorad entered the dining room.

It was dinnertime. Delicious food had been laid out across the table.

The elf was there as always, kneeling before a bowl piled high with food intended for her.

As soon as Theorad appeared, she leaned forward, stretched out both arms, and raised her hips.

It was the “cat pose that captivates a man's heart” Lerazie had taught her.

Theorad stopped and stared in bewilderment.

Then, as though the answer had finally come to him, he snapped his fingers.

“Ah. You're imitating a cat.”

“…”

The light went out of the elf's eyes.

Is he pretending not to understand, or does he truly not know?

She couldn't get angry merely because the seduction had failed. After a moment, she answered coldly.

“…That's right.”

She returned to her usual position.

Outwardly she remained calm, but anger toward Lerazie was growing in her chest.

Men are drawn to a woman's nape. Tie your hair back. Viscount Theorad will love it.

A little exposure is more tempting than showing everything. Undo your buttons one at a time so he can see your collarbone and the top of your chest.

And speak with greater refinement. Your voice isn't bad, of course, but you'll be more attractive if you soften that fierce tone.

Lerazie had given her a hurried lesson, and the elf had followed it faithfully.

Nothing had worked. Theorad had failed to respond every time.

That quack…

She was so irritated that she wanted to chase Lerazie down and argue with her before the demon could even make it back to her lair.

“Are you angry with me?”

Theorad's voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked around. He had come close and was kneeling on one knee at her side.

“I'm truly sorry,” he said. “It was wrong of me to judge what happened without considering it properly. If I hurt you at all, I bear the responsibility.”

The elf remembered him shouting at her and striking her cheek.

She had thought it was nothing worth dwelling on. Yet each time the memory returned, something in her heart seemed to sink.

“If there's anything you want, tell me,” Theorad continued. “As part of my apology, I'll do whatever I can.”

The elf looked at him without expression.

Anything…

The offer disturbed something deep inside her.

She thought of Ashley, with her bright golden hair and blue eyes. That young woman had never lost her composure before the elf, even though she stood in front of someone powerful enough to kill her in an instant.

I love Theorad!

Ashley's voice came back to her.

There had been love in that cry, mingled with grief and something almost reckless.

It was a feeling the elf couldn't explain.

What was love, that it could make Ashley behave so boldly against someone she had no hope of defeating?

I'm curious.

The thought caught fire in her mind.

“If you'll really listen to anything…”

The words escaped before she had fully considered them.

“Master, if only for tomorrow…”

She paused and clenched her fists.

Theorad was looking up at her, trying to conceal his own nervousness.

“Please…”

She forced herself to finish the request she had been too ashamed to voice.

“Please treat me the way you treat Lady Ashley.”