More a Doll Than a Pet
If there was one thing I knew with absolute certainty, it was that Cecilia—the Third Imperial Princess whom I now served—possessed a thoroughly rotten personality.
We hadn't even set foot in the Academy yet, and already I was dreading the endless squabbles she was bound to pick once we arrived. True, she was royalty, but from what I had gathered, noble pedigree and imperial bloodlines carried comparatively less weight within the Academy's walls.
Not that rank vanished entirely, of course. It was probably like those supposed "blind interviews" back in my old world: everyone called them unbiased on paper, but family background and pedigree still swayed things beneath the table. Even so, inside the Academy, Cecilia would fundamentally just be another student. A haughty temper like hers was practically an open invitation for disaster.
"Serena, draw the curtains."
"Yeeees."
"Don't drag out your replies."
"Yes!"
"Don't shout, either."
"...Yes."
"And fix that scowl."
"......Yes."
Just like that, a few days had slipped by since I officially took up my duties as Cecilia's personal maid. Following that chaotic first day, we had settled into a routine of sorts: exchanging mild remarks and handling whatever chores she threw my way. Well, calling it a "conversation" might have been generous, but we were trading words on a daily basis, at least.
Besides, Cecilia spent virtually all her time holed up inside her bedchamber in Hwanggeum-ok, which naturally meant we spent countless hours together. Granted, most of that time consisted of her barking one-sided demands at me from her bed, but it seemed living together at the Academy wouldn't pose any insurmountable issues.
"And bring me an ade. Not coffee."
"What flavor would Your Highness prefer?"
"Whatever you feel like."
"...Isn't this for you to drink, Your Highness? Why do I have to decide?"
"I will probably take half a sip, decide it tastes dreadful, and dump the rest on you anyway."
"Uh... understood. I'll bring lemonade, then...?"
"I told you, suit yourself."
"Yeeees."
"There you go dragging your words again."
"...Understood."
Honestly, what was wrong with her? Ordering a beverage out of nowhere, then refusing to even specify what she wanted. Still, knowing her tastes, I resolved to pick something she at least tolerated.
...What on earth am I going to do with her?
It wasn't even like I was enrolled as a student, yet I was already developing an ulcer on her behalf. Sure, I was her maid, an easy target she could boss around at whim, but if she pulled this haughty routine on the spoiled noble brats at the Academy...
"Haaah..."
Who knew. For now, best to deliver her drink before she found another excuse to scold me. I hurried down to the kitchens of the detached palace to ask the chef for a glass, then brought it straight back. Unlike simple tea or coffee, which could be brewed directly in the room, fruit ade had to be hand-pressed by the kitchen staff.
"Your Highness, here is the drink you requested."
"Mmm..."
"Is something the matter?"
"You said you were a Half-Vampire, correct?"
"Ah, yes. I'm not a pureblood."
Cecilia took a sip of the ade, placed the glass onto the nightstand beside her bed, and abruptly pivoted the conversation. I had noticed it from our very first meeting: Cecilia had a peculiar habit of bringing up random topics without warning. It was as if her train of thought leaped tracks without the slightest transition. She wasn't particularly skilled at normal social interaction. It felt like trying to make small talk with a fresh corporate hire who had never experienced a single day of ordinary society.
"A vampire..."
She rested her chin in her hand, staring down at me with a gaze that sent an instinctive chill through my spine. She didn't look angry or hostile, but there was a decadent, languid intensity to her eyes that unnerved me all the same—as if she were quietly dissecting every piece of what made me tick.
"Do you truly ingest blood?"
"Uh... yes, I can drink it. Though I don't necessarily need to feast on blood to survive. I can live quite normally without it."
"And going outside poses no issue at all? Your flesh doesn't spontaneously burn away or crumble into ash?"
"I'm a half-breed, so nothing like that happens. That might only apply to pureblood vampires."
"Mmh..."
During our first encounter, Cecilia had mentioned that she had never met a demi-human before. Her current curiosity made sense. In truth, aside from Hannah—the senior cat beastfolk assassin at guild headquarters—I hadn't encountered many demi-humans either. Hwanggeum-ok was staffed entirely by ordinary human servants. And given the intelligence reports claiming Cecilia rarely ever stepped outside the estate grounds...
"You. Come closer."
"Yes."
"Fascinating..."
"What is, Your Highness?"
"Everything. I was told you were a commoner, but your features... Is it because you belong to a different species?"
"I've never seen my parents' faces, so I couldn't say."
"...Is that so."
It was the plain truth, but judging by the sudden softening in her eyes, Cecilia seemed to peg me as a tragic orphan. Well, not just 'seemed to'—she definitely did. Phrasing it like that in this world practically screamed 'abandoned child.' Even someone as socially stunted as Cecilia couldn't help drawing that conclusion.
"Open your mouth."
"Aah?"
"Your canines are certainly sharper than mine. Though they aren't especially large."
"Aaah."
"Don't try to speak with your mouth hanging open."
Right. I had momentarily forgotten I was standing there with my jaw unhinged like an idiot.
So there I was, gaping while Cecilia peered curiously into my mouth. It was more than a little embarrassing, but making a fuss felt petty. She was just looking at my teeth, after all.
"Is this what you use to bite someone's throat? How curious. I have only ever read about bloodsuckers in novels. To think your other teeth are so tiny, yet your fangs are honed like little daggers."
"Aaaah...? Aaaah?"
"You may close your mouth now."
"Phew... Are you satisfied with inspecting my fangs, Your Highness?"
"Yes. Quite intriguing. I was almost tempted to touch them, but that would be filthy."
"...I brush my teeth regularly."
"They are covered in saliva. I have no desire to get your spit on my fingers."
Was that so? The fronts of my teeth were barely wet, so touching them wouldn't have been that bad... Then again, I supposed I wouldn't want to poke someone else's mouth either.
"Have you ever sucked someone's blood?"
"Well... rather than sucking someone's blood, I usually just sip it through a straw."
"Is there a difference? Does your brain match the miniature size of your head?"
"H-Hey! No, that's not what I meant! I mean I drank it from blood packs with a straw, like a juice pouch!"
Her casual, unprovoked slander made my voice shoot up an octave before I could stop myself. Seriously, the moment she spotted the tiniest opening, she launched straight into character assassination! I was genuinely in awe of how spiteful this girl could be.
"A blood pack?"
"...Yes. An acquaintance of mine would occasionally hand them out, like snacks."
"An acquaintance?"
"Uh... yes."
I deliberately avoided mentioning the Guild Master. Blabbing about my assassin background was out of the question. To me, the Assassins' Guild was a familiar base, but to the world at large, it was a shadow syndicate cloaked in secrecy. That was a universal rule across every installment of Assassin Project. If an assassination guild operated out in the open, the setting would be completely unhinged.
I had been strictly instructed from the start to keep my guild ties hidden, which was why I played it off as an unspecified 'acquaintance.'
"So you have never actually bitten a living person."
"Never. Why on earth would I bite someone? I can live a perfectly normal life without resorting to that."
"Do you possess any other special traits?"
"Uh... I'm pretty strong?"
"Flexing those twig-like arms does nothing to dispel how fragile you look."
"...It's true, though."
The relentless slander was starting to bruise my pride. In all seriousness, I could easily overpower this frail, sickly princess currently lounging in bed. She had at least twenty-five centimeters on me, but in a brawl, I would wipe the floor with her. I had just survived a brutal month of hellish training at guild headquarters; losing to her would be an insult to the profession.
"Well, you are just a maid. So long as you carry out your orders, that will suffice. Still, having a Half-Vampire as an imperial princess's maid is rather..."
"Rather...?"
"Never mind. On second thought, with your appearance, everyone will simply assume you are my pet."
"P-Pet...?"
"Indeed. When a girl so much smaller than myself follows behind me in a maid uniform, what else would people think?"
...A pet? Me?
Her choice of words was so utterly unhinged that it derailed my train of thought completely. I stood there stammering, utterly dumbfounded. I couldn't muster a single retort against Cecilia's clear, languid blue gaze.
"There are nobles who parade petite young girls around to indulge their sordid tastes. People might assume I am of a similar persuasion."
"W-What are you talking about?!"
"Why? Does that sound implausible to you?"
"Of course it does! Who in their right mind would think that...?! Isn't that a massive reach, even for you?!"
I knew this fantasy world had slavery and rigid aristocratic hierarchies, but common sense still existed, didn't it?
"Mmm..."
"W-What is it...?"
"Step back a little. You are standing too close for me to get off the bed."
"...?"
Cecilia swung her long legs over the mattress and rose to her feet. What now? I couldn't fathom what went on inside her head. I dutifully took two paces back as told, but I still had no clue why she had decided to stand up.
"You come up to... about my chest."
"...?"
"You are currently wearing heeled shoes, while I am barefoot. Yet your eye level barely grazes my bust."
"And your point is...?"
"What kind of master hires a maid who is so vastly smaller than herself, looking for all the world like a child in need of rescue?"
"Ah."
"Seriously now. Rather than a maid or a servant, wouldn't anyone look at you and think of a pet? Don't you agree?"
"......Yes."
Bitter as it was to swallow, I had no choice but to concede. To meet Cecilia's eyes right now, I had to crane my neck back at a sharp angle. Her earlier jabs about my short stature suddenly made cruel, undeniable sense. If I looked straight ahead without tilting my head back, my gaze landed squarely on Cecilia's chest—right into her cleavage.
Unlike my own pathetic, slightly soft chest, hers was astonishingly lush, heavy, and unmistakably feminine...
"......."
"Pfft."
"D-Don't laugh..."
"Looking at you like this, 'pet' isn't quite the right word. A doll suits you far better. Small, cute, and delightfully shaped for hugging in bed."
"P-Please stop saying weird things like that..."
Was it just because she was taller than me? No. My senior assassins back at the guild were taller than me too, and I had never once felt intimidated by them. None of the guild members were my size, yet none of them had ever given me this creeping sense of danger. This felt more perilous than when I had faced the Guild Master himself. My body didn't even have fur, but goosebumps erupted across my skin as if every hair were standing on end.
"Pfft... Relax. I don't harbor such eccentric tastes. You may leave. Speaking this much has exhausted me."
"Ah, yes...!"
"And inform the kitchens that I won't be needing dinner tonight. I have no appetite."
"B-But shouldn't Your Highness at least have something to eat?"
"Eating is a bother. Why? Are you offering to feed me yourself?"
"Uh... if it's too much trouble for Your Highness...?"
Shouldn't I? Wasn't that what a personal maid was for...? Back during my crash course at guild headquarters, they taught me that a personal maid was supposed to take care of practically every inconvenient chore.
"...Never mind. Leave before I decide to keep you on my bed like a stuffed doll."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!!"
The moment that threat left Cecilia's lips, I scrambled for the exit without looking back. Seriously, what was wrong with that girl? Dropping scandalous remarks without an ounce of shame! Granted, my appearance wasn't remotely threatening, but saying things like that with a face like hers was downright hazardous to my mental health.
If she kept acting like this around other students once we reached the Academy, she was going to stir up endless controversies. I had a feeling my life with this imperial princess was going to be one long, exhausting headache.