The Last Resort of a Proud Soldier
As a proud soldier of Ivannes, Chloe had to handle this crisis calmly. After all, the fundamentals of war lay not in a mere show of force, but in reconnaissance and strategy. There was a passage in Damian Ria's Military Operations Guide—a book every Ivannes soldier was required to read:
And so, Chloe chose the path of persuasion.
"No, what I meant was... you should just get used to my hair. Furthermore, you need to get used to other ladies' hair as well if you want your future romantic endeavors to go smoothly..."
"To get used to it, we must naturally draw closer. I quite agree with your logic."
"But it doesn't have to be tonight..."
"Damian Ria's Military Operations Guide also says this: 'The movement of an army must be like the flowing of water.'"
Unfortunately, the enemy commander was quoting from the exact same military treatise. Damn it! The problem was that Damian Ria was simply too great of a tactician.
Regardless of Chloe's despair, Curtis pressed on.
"While this is commonly interpreted to mean that events must connect in a natural progression, there is another interpretation. Once water begins to flow, it cannot be stopped. Attempting to force it to a halt will only cause it to overflow. In that sense, the current flow is not bad at all."
Are you insane? Both of those interpretations sound terrible to me! Chloe's mind raced. Fortunately, she still had other diplomatic measures and treaties to deploy in this situation.
"Um, Your Grace. Do you remember our contract?"
"I do. What of it?"
"During the term of this contract, Chloe Amboise shall not trespass upon the personal space of Curtis Shan Berk without authorization..."
Chloe froze mid-sentence. Wait a minute. It doesn't say anything about the reverse scenario. They always said you should never sign a contract carelessly. At this very moment, Chloe wanted to strangle her past self. Maybe I'm the crazy one here. She had regretted signing her commission contract as his aide so bitterly, yet she had failed to read the fine print once again and landed herself in this mess...
Whether she was spiraling into chaos or not, the enemy commander—that is, Curtis—replied with a smooth smile.
"Indeed. I would have every right to object if you were to trespass upon my bed without permission. However, our current situation is by mutual agreement, is it not?"
"When did I ever agree to—"
"Or perhaps we should call it advice and recommendation?"
The man was utterly unyielding. This wouldn't do. Chloe realized with painful clarity that she could never escape this crisis through ordinary means. It was time to resort to a show of force.
"Ah, well, this won't do. Shall we head over to your office then, Your Grace? My, what lovely flowers."
With those words, she resolutely pushed herself up from the bed and marched stiffly toward his office.
As if waiting to see just how far she would go, the man slipped his hands into his pockets and slowly trailed behind her. Chloe, whistling a casual tune to feign composure, buried her nose in the fresh flowers arranged in the vase at the center of the office and took a deep breath.
"The scent is wonderful. The Royal Flower Department must be working very hard."
"Since when did you care so much about the flowers in my office?"
"Ah, thanks to the Duke of Glintland, vases have suddenly started catching my eye today. Ahaha..."
With that, Chloe picked up the vase.
"I think... I'll put this in the bedroom. Ahaha."
"Do as you wish."
She had already prepared excuses in case he said no—like, No! I really don't want to sleep in a bleak place like your bedroom, Your Grace!—but her preparations were rendered useless. Clutching the vase tightly, Chloe quickly walked over and threw open the door to the Grand Duke's bedroom.
Even though its owner rarely used it, the servants kept the bedroom immaculately clean. It was so pristine that even Chloe, who had thrown the door open with a specific, destructive purpose in mind, was momentarily struck with admiration.
"Whoa. It's huge. And so clean."
A sudden wave of annoyance washed over her. Seriously, if he's not even going to use a private room this nice, he should've just let me have it. Meanwhile, I've been sleeping all curled up in that cramped little aide's office...
"I am glad to see the bedroom is to your liking."
...Now was not the time for this. Startled by the voice of the man who had approached and stood behind her with crossed arms, Chloe calmed her racing heart and forced a loud, cheerful tone to maintain her facade.
"Oh, absolutely! It's so clean and spacious! It's wonderful!"
With that, she marched forward.
"Whoops!"
In an incredibly clumsy display, she pretended to trip on the carpet and hurled the vase onto the bed.
Splosh.
Predictably, the beautiful fresh flowers and the water inside the vase drenched the center of the bed with a wet, tragic sound. Chloe let out an exaggerated shriek.
"Oh no! What have I done?!"
Behold. This is how you execute a show of force against a neat freak. Chloe turned around, forcing a desperate smile onto her face.
"Oh dear, what ever shall we do? I seem to have made... a mistake?"
"A mistake."
Still leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, Curtis slowly repeated her words.
"Yes! A mistake!" she declared triumphantly. "This is terrible, Your Grace. You should head back to the Berk Ducal Residence to sleep. Since I am currently under investigation and cannot leave, I will sleep in the aide's office!"
At her words, the Grand Duke silently walked over and stood before her. He looked down at the bed, then repeated once more, "A mistake, you say."
"Yes, a mistake! I am terribly sorry! If you wish, you can subject me to a service inspection!"
The vase had been quite large, and the volume of water inside was substantial. Even without the soggy bouquet of flowers cluttering the bed, the water stain was massive. There was no way anyone could sleep here, even if they cleared away the leaves and petals. Even setting aside the Grand Duke's fastidiousness, no sane person would want to sleep in a soaking wet bed.
"I suppose there is no helping it."
"Then...!"
Chloe's face lit up, but the Grand Duke turned to her with an inexplicably amused expression and replied, "We will just have to share the bed in the aide's office."
"What?!"
"We cannot sleep here, after all."
With those words, the Grand Duke took a couple of steps toward her. Chloe instinctively backed away, but he matched her step for step, closing the distance.
This is a stark contrast to earlier...
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Chloe's back hit a solid surface. Before she knew it, she had been cornered against the wall. When she belatedly looked up with a startled, panicked expression, Curtis met her gaze with a crooked, mischievous smile.
"Why so surprised? You said it was a mistake."
With a soft thud, he leaned in and placed his hand on the wall right next to her head.
Her show of force had failed. In war, a failed military action meant defeat. Facing the grim prospect of sharing a bed with the victor as the price of her loss, Chloe Le David Berk widened her eyes. Even a loser had one final, desperate card to play.
"Your Grace."
"Speak."
"I thought you liked things clean."
She was appealing to his mercy... or rather, to his neat-freak nature. Unfortunately, like the pleas of most losers, her appeal was casually brushed aside.
"You told me to endure it," the man scoffed, throwing her own words back at her.
She was at a total loss.
"No, look..."
Chloe rubbed her face in frustration.
"This isn't what I meant when I said that..."
Damn it. If she had known it would turn out like this, she wouldn't have dumped water on the bed. She couldn't fathom exactly why Curtis was acting this way, but he was undoubtedly enjoying her distress. She hadn't expected him to prioritize teasing her over his own fastidiousness, but in hindsight, this was her karma. She was the one who had started teasing him first. Damn it. I should have just held back. I should have...
...Should she use one of her requests?
"Should Chloe Amboise make a demand invoking this contract, Curtis Shan Berk is obligated to grant any request up to three times within the contract period."
But I already used one...
She had used the first one in a fit of anger. If she used it now, it would be her second. Though she had told herself that saving them for too long would only make them go to waste, was it really okay to squander her second request on something like this? Chloe agonized, burying her face in her hands.
The answer came quickly. Of course it is. Yet, a strange sense of unease lingered. It felt as if something was grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and asking, Is that really all? Was there something more? Like...
It was then.
"...Warrant Officer. Are you crying?"
A flustered voice pierced her ears. Chloe instinctively lifted her head to look straight ahead. There, a sight she had never once witnessed in her life unfolded before her eyes.
Specifically, the purple eyes of Curtis Shan Berk, wide with genuine shock, staring solely at her.