I decided to wait right in front of the Duke’s bedroom door as soon as I woke up on the second day.
I had no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past.
After waiting for quite a while, the moment the door burst open, I bowed my head slightly.
“What…?”
“Good morning, Master. Would you like to have breakfast first?”
“I will wash up and come out again…”
The door slammed shut with a bang.
As soon as he saw my face, he suddenly recoiled and stepped back.
Why on earth was the usually arrogant and shameless Duke acting like this?
It was utterly perplexing.
‘Is there something on my face?’
In a hurry, I pulled out my pocket knife and examined my reflection on the blade.
There was nothing particularly odd.
After returning to my original position and waiting for about three minutes, the door opened again.
“Ugh. It’s done now.”
“…”
Did he actually wash up?
There didn’t seem to be any change.
Still, he did look somewhat refreshed.
Did he perhaps use some kind of cleanliness magic?
“Shall we have breakfast first?”
“Today I have a schedule, so let’s go out first.”
“I will assist you with your outfit.”
“Ah, no?! I will change by myself.”
“Then I will also change into an outfit for going out.”
It’s impressive that the Duke has a schedule to digest even early in the morning.
Even so, it seems the Duke is still the Duke.
By the way, is there really a reason to refuse help with changing clothes while looking so surprised?
It’s nice for me that there’s no need for help, as I dislike seeing a man in his nakedness.
There’s no guarantee I won’t be ambushed again in the process.
If possible, I didn’t want to be alone with the Duke.
“Ugh. It’s thick. Uncomfortable…”
When I tried to change clothes, I realized I was sweating a lot.
The design of the maid outfit in this house was clearly one that did not consider functionality at all.
The going-out outfit seemed a bit better, but the visual was still suffocating to the sight.
It seems that the founder of this family must have had some grotesque fantasies about maids.
I hurriedly changed and came out to the main gate, where an impressive carriage was waiting.
“You took a long time. I almost left out of boredom.”
“I’m sorry, Master.”
“Just kidding. Get in.”
“…”
The Duke extended his hand to me after getting into the carriage.
The moment I saw that hand, I remembered the awkward handshake we had at the party and felt a bit embarrassed.
This clearly meant to take my hand and get in.
But my pride as a man wouldn’t allow it.
Ignoring the Duke’s hand, I stepped onto the footrest and got in.
“Hahaha. How rude.”
“Don’t worry. I will politely take the hands of anyone other than you.”
“Haha…”
I couldn’t stand it when the Duke treated me like a woman.
It seemed he thought of me as a convenient lunch box that he could carry around and use as he pleased.
I had no intention of being his woman, nor would I obediently follow unless it was related to work.
I had to clearly convey this to the Duke.
“I’m glad you seem to understand etiquette well.”
“Of course. I’m not like some shameless person who tries to ambush a stranger in the banquet hall.”
“Hahaha… You really like to milk that one…”
He’ll probably use it for his entire life.
I would never forget it.
Maintaining a calm demeanor, I glared at the Duke sitting across from me.
“By the way, is it okay to leave your daughter behind?”
“I won’t cause any trouble by not being there. I’ve firmly instructed her not to come out of our accommodation, so don’t worry.”
“That’s not what I meant. I was asking if she would be okay without her mother. Besides, telling her not to leave the accommodation would make her feel lonely.”
“She won’t die. She’ll be used to it.”
“Used to it?”
“Yes…”
This concern lingered in my heart.
She would probably be used to it.
Spending time alone without a busy mother.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she would enjoy that time.
I always felt sorry for Tia.
I should find a school for her and enroll her as soon as possible.
“And I’m planning to send her to school soon, so it should be fine.”
“School? Is she that much of a genius?”
“No, it’s not a university.”
“Aha. If that’s the case, I can help a bit.”
“No need. I have more than enough money.”
I had received 300 million as a settlement.
This should be more than enough to cover the tuition of an expensive private school.
“If you think everything in this world can be solved with money, you’re making a big mistake. No private school will accept bribes to admit a commoner’s child. However, a recommendation from a high-ranking noble would work.”
“…”
A recommendation from a high-ranking noble.
For instance, the Duke’s recommendation.
The Duke crossed his legs and lightly tapped my knee with his foot as he spoke.
So, I had to crawl to none other than the Duke sitting right in front of me.
How much could he leverage a single letter of recommendation?
He wouldn’t be suggesting breaking our past agreement, would he?
Feeling anxious, my body began to tremble.
I could be ambushed right here and now…
“Umm… Could I ask for that recommendation…?”
“Of course. Think of this as employee welfare. Would somewhere like St. Pedro School be acceptable? No, that’s a school just for conservative traditionalists’ kids, so that would be a trouble. Hmm. St. Sophia would be better. It’s a fairly open-minded school that has recently started accepting half-human students, so if Tia identifies as a lizard half-human, they should all fall for it.”
“Wait a minute.”
“…”
Lizard half-human.
Why did that come up all of a sudden?
He spoke as if he knew about Tia’s tail.
I got lost for words while quickly trying to think.
And soon, the answer came.
“Ahaha. Was it a secret? It just happened to slip out…”
“You lifted Tia’s skirt!”
“What? Huh?”
This perverted bastard.
I firmly believed he wasn’t a pedophile.
But he must have looked under Tia’s skirt.
There’s no other explanation for how he would know about her tail.
Crazy bastard…
“How could you do that to a child?!”
“Oh, no! It’s a misunderstanding! I have a good sense of smell!”
“Smell…?” Ugh.
“It’s also a misunderstanding!”
This perverted bastard.
Not only did he look, but he also smelled.
I could snap.
I felt like jumping out of the carriage right now.
I must be losing my mind.
Thinking I could figure everything out if I just looked at the agreement and went to work.
I should have just quit and returned to the tavern.
“I’m saying I didn’t do it! Please, just listen to me!”
“…”
After hearing the explanation for a while, I still couldn’t fully understand.
The Duke claimed he could sense a dragon’s aura or something.
Since I’m not well-versed in magic, I had no way to know if that was true or not.
It might have been easier to just accept that he was a pedophile who lifted a child’s skirt and smelled.
For now, I’d set the alarm at the suspicion level instead of confirming him as a pedophile.
“We have arrived. Let’s get off.”
“Ugh…”
Upon arriving, I had no choice but to hold the Duke’s hand as I got out of the carriage.
With the massive lump of fat on his chest, the ground beneath me was completely out of sight…
I hoped he wouldn’t misunderstand my action as some kind of change of heart.
But seeing a sly smile on the Duke’s mouth suggested he had already misunderstood.
“Where are we going now? If you give me a hint about the person and place we’re meeting, I can prepare…”
“Tia. What’s that smell?”
“Smell? Hmm… It’s the smell of bread?”
“Correct. We’ve come to eat bread.”
“…”
The first schedule of the day, which we had rushed to arrive at.
It was a brunch restaurant.
I suddenly felt relieved and let out a sigh while discreetly following behind the Duke.
I genuinely worried about being dragged somewhere remote.
I also wondered if I was overreacting.
“What are you doing? Don’t just stand there.”
“Me? I can stand…”
“Sit and pick something to eat. You must be hungry.”
“…”
I felt a bit creeped out.
I learned that maids usually stand next to their masters during meals.
But now, being told to sit and eat facing the master…
“I refuse.”
“I guarantee you won’t have time to fill your stomach later today. If you don’t want to be starving all day long, sit down quickly.”
“…”
Unable to resist his veiled threat, I sat down.
Throughout the meal, I felt anxious while eating appropriately expensive bread and ridiculously expensive noodle dishes.
Was he testing whether I knew meal etiquette?
Or was he testing my appetite?
I was so tense I couldn’t tell if the noodles were going into my mouth or nose.
“This bread tastes good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. Well, it’s okay.”
“This is my favorite shop.”
“…”
What was he trying to imply?
The Duke only rambled on with words I couldn’t understand.
On a day filled with scheduled events requiring me to be up so early, I wished he would focus a bit more.
“Are you finished with your meal, Master?”
“Thanks to you, I ate well. Where shall we go next?”
“Huh?”
“Where would you like to go, Miss Tia?”
“What do you mean by that…”
“Ah. How about a scenic lookout?”
What kind of off-the-wall suggestion was that?
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
It sounded as if today’s schedule had nothing set in stone.
Moreover, with the way the Duke treated me and the course of our movement, it felt as if we were on a date.
How nice it would be if this were all just a delusion on my part.
“Um, Master.”
“What is it, maid?”
“It seems like you’re misunderstanding the schedule’s purpose…”
“What are you doing here?”
“…”
At the low voice coming from behind, my body froze.
I recalled having heard that voice before.
When I first heard it, I thought it belonged to a man, but knowing its identity now, it sounded like a woman intentionally lowering her voice.
Turning around, I found none other than the hero, Leopard, standing there.
He looked very displeased with an expression marred by frowns.
