My Beloved Butler
"Huh? Dad, why are you doing that?"
One, still too young to fully understand the situation, tilted her head innocently and asked.
If he tried to make excuses now, he might have pulled it off, but he had burned everything—completely charred until nothing remained but ashes. To a Cheon Seong who had become nothing but ash, there was no room left in his mind for any explanation.
"C-Cheon Seong? Cheon Seong, snap out of it!"
Yuna, shocked at the sight of Cheon Seong slumping like a limp animal with all his strength gone, shook him frantically to wake him. Still, he showed no reaction.
Even though he was used to maid outfits, it was only meant for Yuna and Beatrice—not for Hana.
As his daughter's adoptive father, he was supposed to be the wall that protected his child, yet here was a daughter who had seen him in a maid outfit with a garter belt, choker, and cat-ear headband. No matter how young Hana was, how could she not have noticed? How could it be okay?
He had felt so embarrassed the first time it happened with his lover. What would the shame be like if it were his daughter?
Swish… swish…
Yuna shook Cheon Seong more violently, her eyes wide with alarm at the strange, smoky mist seeping from his mouth. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but when she saw Hana running over to Beatrice's side and asking, it was real.
"Mom. What are you and Dad doing?"
[Ugh…! Um… It seems like Yuna-mom is trying to wake up Dad who's sleeping…]
"Dad's sleeping?"
[Y-yes, that's right. Dad's a light sleeper and doesn't wake up easily.]
"Umm… Then I'll wake him up!"
When Beatrice mentioned how hard it was for Cheon Seong to wake up, Hana beamed with a bright smile, grabbed a still-smoking Cheon Seong, and stopped Yuna. Then she pressed her lips firmly to his mouth as if giving him a sudden kiss.
"Mmm…? Hana…?"
Cheon Seong, who hadn't stirred even when Yuna shook him madly, finally came to. Yuna was stunned and asked how he had done it, and Hana giggled happily.
"I read it in a book! When the prince kissed the sleeping princess, she woke up!"
It was just a fairy tale, but Hana believed the story had happened right in front of her and kissed Cheon Seong's lips. And he really had woken up, as if the words were true.
Somehow their roles felt oddly swapped, but the fact that Hana had woken him was clear. Cheon Seong looked around in confusion, noticed his own clothes, and understood. A deep sigh escaped him.
"Hah… Hana, are you hungry? Mom will quickly make something delicious. Let's go together, okay?"
"Hmm? I'm not that hungry yet."
Yuna sensed the deep sigh and hurried Hana out of the room to ask if she was hungry again. When Hana answered no, Yuna offered an irresistible condition to lure her.
"Hana, let's eat tenX together? Two of them!"
"Really?! Wow! Mom's the best!"
One was a nine-tailed fox, but she was still a growing child. She hadn't eaten one of Yuna's tenX in a day yet, and now Yuna was offering two at once. Her tail flicked excitedly and she followed Yuna out of the room.
Yuna, taking Cheon Seong and Hana out, felt overwhelming gratitude as the heavy sense of reality finally lifted.
[I apologize, my dear. I never imagined you would suffer so much.]
"…No. I'm fine, Beatrice. I'm really fine."
Tapping
Cheon Seong grabbed Beatrice's shoulder and said,
"I want to see you happy, too, Beatrice."
Beatrice had seen in his eyes that Cheon Seong's condition was still far from okay. She thought about how to heal his broken mind.
[Hmmm… Yes, that's the best. My dear, could you close your eyes for me for a moment?]
Without a second thought, Cheon Seong closed his eyes. He trusted Beatrice completely, so he did exactly as she asked.
When Cheon Seong's eyes shut, Beatrice took his hand and led him. A soft, warm sensation touched his palm.
This was the touch he had grown so familiar with. Yet even now, something felt even more intimate than before.
The fabric that should have been there beneath his fingers, the sensation of clothes, was missing.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind like a storm until his head went blank. Beatrice covered his eyes with her hand and whispered,
[You may touch me however you wish.]
As the space between them closed, Beatrice's massive chest pressed against Cheon Seong's hand. At her sweet words, he unconsciously squeezed hard.
The firm texture between his palm and the soft, bouncy flesh between his fingers.
Beatrice changed her posture to make it easier for him to touch, and then used her other hand too, guiding him. Although her face was hidden, a faint blush showed through her slender fingers. Cheon Seong enjoyed every reward Beatrice gave him until Yuna called that lunch was ready.
.
.
.
.
Meals made by Mom were always delicious.
Among the side dishes Mom prepared, the one I loved most was the one Dad gave me.
"Eat slowly, Hana. You'll choke."
Dad told me to eat slowly, but I couldn't stop because it was so delicious.
"Ugh…! Ugh-ugh!"
When I ate too fast and couldn't swallow, Dad poured water and asked what Dad had said.
Glug! Glug!
"Phew! I'm full, Dad."
When I said that like a child who had just learned a new word, Yuna and Beatrice laughed and picked up the side dishes, placing them on my rice.
I forgot I had choked earlier, went back, and happily ate two bowls of rice. Then I patted my round, puffy stomach and smiled like a full puppy.
"But Dad, why are you wearing that?"
Hana, who had just eaten until her belly was round, noticed Cheon Seong in clothes different from the maid outfit and asked why. Cheon Seong answered that it was a gift from Mom. He picked up a spoonful of rice and a side dish and handed it to Yuna.
Yuna grinned and ate it in one bite. When she finished, Cheon Seong offered the same to Beatrice.
Cheon Seong was wearing a butler uniform from the closet, not the maid outfit. He took turns feeding Yuna and Beatrice while they ate.
There had been some issues, but he ignored Yuna and Beatrice's warning to not let his hair grow out. Showing Hana a maid outfit or anything similar was his fault. So he decided to wear the closest thing—the butler uniform—and take care of both of them all day.
Of course, he was doing it because he wanted to. Still, seeing the two he loved most eat happily made him feel it was worth it.
Every time he had received food from them, now it was his turn to feed them. He understood why they wanted to feed him too.
Watching them happy and enjoying what he gave felt incredibly fulfilling.
He couldn't figure out how something as simple as feeding them could make him feel this good.
"Yuna, I'll do the dishes. You rest."
Before Yuna could start cleaning, he finished the dishes and took care of her and Beatrice.
Well, "taking care of" meant giving them massages for their aching shoulders and replacing the knee pillow he usually received with one he made himself. But sometimes Beatrice secretly gave Yuna and Hana rewards too, so he enjoyed it more than he expected.
Anyway, everyone was satisfied, so they turned on the TV and a news report came on.
[Sword Princess. You have refused all the invitations and offers from the academy so far. Why have you suddenly changed your mind?]
[Now that I have reached Highest rank, I want to directly train the future talents. Besides that—]
As Ryu Se-rin, the Sword Princess, who had previously rejected all the academy's requests after becoming Highest, appeared in an interview explaining that she was joining the academy as a professor, Yuna, who had been receiving the knee pillow, asked Cheon Seong.
"Cheon Seong, the Sword Princess is coming to the academy. I'm excited. Right?"
"Yeah, I know, Yuna. She's the youngest Highest rank. She's amazing."
Cheon Seong hadn't known Ryu Se-rin would reach Highest, but he had expected her to come to the academy.
She had seen his face and said he was training her. Probably, as a professor, she would get a private training room and train with him.
Since he had expected it from the beginning when they made the contract, Cheon Seong wasn't too surprised. But when he looked down, he saw Yuna looking up at him with an odd, mysterious expression. He couldn't help but be startled.
'What is this? Did I do something wrong?'
Cheon Seong wracked his brain trying to find something he had done wrong, but nothing came to mind. He asked Yuna.
"Yuna, why are you acting like that?"
"No, it's just a weird feeling. Come to think of it, Cheon Seong… Did you meet the Sword Princess yesterday? There was news that you stopped a terror at the amusement park where we were yesterday."
With a woman's sharp intuition, Cheon Seong managed his expression and replied that he had met her, but at the time the Sword Princess had been fighting Persona, so she probably didn't know him.
"…Yeah. No matter who the Sword Princess is, facing a Highest rank would be tough. And I'm glad you didn't get involved. When I heard about Persona, I was worried you might have fought her too."
Cheon Seong broke out in cold sweat at how accurately Yuna guessed. Even though he knew women's intuition could be sharp, this was too precise. It felt like Yuna had a prophecy ability instead of healing magic, and her words matched 98% perfectly.
Whether he had attacked without realizing it was the Sword Princess, or whether he had said something rude, or whether he had foolishly jumped into the fight between Persona and the Sword Princess—every single thing he had been worried about matched exactly.
He hadn't attacked without knowing, but he had attacked. He hadn't said anything rude at first, but he had said a lot later.
Even though the Sword Princess had fallen too easily in the fight with Persona, he had still jumped in.
The only difference was that he had attacked first. Everything else matched perfectly.
[Now it is my turn.]
"Ah… Can't it be a little longer?"
With Yuna's intuition hitting the nail on the head, Cheon Seong had no words. Beatrice approached and told Yuna it was her turn. Yuna pouted and stood up. They had promised to take turns spending two hours with Cheon Seong, so that was why.
[It was so close.]
Cheon Seong let out an inner sigh of relief when Beatrice's voice message reached him.
[Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you, Beatrice.]
Beatrice had helped him avoid the situation.
When Beatrice rested her head on his lap, Cheon Seong gently stroked her hair.
Uuuung! Uung—.
[Hm? You don't have to answer?]
Cheon Seong ignored the ringing phone and silenced it. When Beatrice asked if he didn't have to answer, he stroked her bouncy cheek and said,
"This moment is more important than any phone call."
There was only one person who would call, so he didn't check. Even a few seconds with Beatrice was more precious than anything else. Cheon Seong was handling his most important task.
'Well, if I don't answer, she'll just text. She'll figure it out.'
Today he had no time, so he couldn't answer even if she called. But that wasn't his problem.
Tomorrow… she'd figure it out for herself.
***
"Here, eat up."
"Waaah! Thank you for the delicious meal!"
"I'll eat it, Cheon Seong."
[I'll eat it too.]
Lunch was prepared by Cheon Seong, not Yuna.
Well, it was just the side dishes Yuna had made and a little grilled spam, but watching the three of them enjoy it made him feel extremely happy.
"Umm… my cheeks."
He placed the side dishes on Hana's rice as she picked at the grilled spam with her chopsticks. He told her something he hadn't mentioned earlier.
"Hana, Yuna-mom is going to live here too."
"Really?! Really, Mom?!"
"Yes. Mom decided to live with you too."
When Hana saw Yuna would live here, she set down her chopsticks, eyes sparkling, and asked. Yuna smiled and answered yes.
"Waaah~! Mom, Mom! Then I can play with Hana for a long time?"
"Yes. I can play with you until late at night and sleep with you too."
"Hmm… But I want to sleep with Dad."
When Yuna asked if they could sleep together, Hana said she wanted to sleep with Dad instead. Yuna looked shocked and pulled Hana into her arms, pretending to cry.
"Don't cry! We'll all sleep together! We'll sleep together, so don't cry, Mom!"
Hana waved her arms in confusion at Yuna's act. Yuna laughed and answered "Yes~" while hugging her tightly.
Hana realized she had been tricked and wiggled on the floor, asking for Cheon Seong's help. He just smiled and fed her and Beatrice the next spoonful.
"Daddy is so mean—!"
"Here, Beatrice. Ah—."
[It's really delicious. Thank you.]
Beatrice ate in perfect rhythm with Cheon Seong and Yuna. Hana shouted "Traitor!" at them and only escaped from Yuna five minutes later.
Her cheeks were puffy and her lips stuck out like a duck's beak was just an extra.
Of course, the three of them looked at Hana cutely and felt warm inside. But still.
Hana had just experienced the bitter taste of life for the first time in her life.