A Butler’s Jealousy and a Sneeze Can’t Be Hidden
Two days had passed since Michel and Anna had shared my bed, and it was Saturday.
As usual, the butlers of the manor, myself included, were going about our duties.
Dania had gone out to the rear courtyard to hang up the freshly washed bedding, while I was carrying a ladder around from place to place, replacing lightbulbs that had finally given out.
"Ian."
At the sound of a voice in the hallway, I turned to look to the side.
There stood Verita, just out of her room, watching me.
"Verita. I think I’m almost done with the bulbs."
"You are, as ever, diligent."
"Thank you."
Suddenly, she checked to make sure no one else was nearby, then leaned close to my ear and whispered, "You don’t have practice with the chairman tonight, do you?"
How did she know?
Ah. She must have heard it from Angela.
"No. Angela said it probably wouldn’t be possible today."
"Naturally. I asked her to leave you to me."
"Pardon?"
I stared at her, dumbfounded by the unexpected reply.
Verita’s expression was as unreadable as ever, almost devoid of emotion.
"I told her that I would like to serve as your practice partner tonight."
"Really?"
The reason I had accepted the promise of marriage to Selena was only to get closer to Angela.
Verita knew that now, because I had told her recently.
And yet she had still volunteered to be my practice partner, which could only mean she genuinely wanted to sleep with me.
"I did say before that I would help relieve your urges, Ian, but it seems my own desire has piled up ahead of yours."
Thinking back, I did spend a lot of time in bed with Angela, and I’d fooled around with Dania often enough too, but I’d oddly rarely done anything with Verita herself.
Ever since last weekend, when I’d had her in the kitchen, she hadn’t suggested it to me once.
"That’s a little surprising. I thought you’d been taking care of yourself just fine."
"I used to. But after my experience with you, my threshold for satisfaction rose considerably. Even while using a dildo, I kept thinking about your cock."
She dropped the filthy words into my ear in a whisper, and I jolted before I could help myself.
Still, hearing that my body had become impossible to forget was a pleasant thing for a man to hear.
She’d helped me out plenty of times by now, too, so I ought to repay her in a way only I could.
"Then should I come to your room tonight?"
"No. You’ll stay in your room, Ian. I’m the one asking, so I’ll visit around midnight."
And so I waited for midnight.
Of course, I didn’t just sit around twiddling my thumbs.
Since I wouldn’t be meeting Angela tonight, I made use of every spare moment to practice being husband and wife with her.
Before long the hour came, and while I was lying on the bed and looking at my phone, someone knocked at the door.
The person waiting on the other side until I opened it, naturally, was Verita.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
Once Verita stepped inside, I immediately locked the door.
After finding out Dania had sneaked in at night before, I’d developed the habit of checking the lock carefully.
"Let’s get started right away. I already showered before coming here."
"Ah, sorry. I should’ve washed up in advance too. I’ll go shower quickly."
Once I’d lain down on the bed, I’d gotten too lazy to get back up, so I’d kept putting it off.
"That won’t be necessary. Your scent has the power to arouse women."
Hmm. No, it wasn’t so much that my smell had some special power as that Verita was simply a pervert.
Same with Dania.
"Ah, right."
"First, I should apologize. I’m taking your time away from the chairman while you help satisfy me."
"It’s fine. You’re beautiful too, Verita, so I was looking forward to it as well."
"...I see. Your appetite for many women really does make you a magnificent male."
I found myself thinking her personality was rather unusual.
Regardless of what I thought, Verita immediately began undressing from her suit.
So she really had been piling up desire, because for once she looked almost hurried.
"I’m planning to get enough out of this today that I won’t think about it for a while. I can’t ask you too often, after all."
"Ah... yes. I’ll do my best too."
Before I knew it, her body was stripped bare, not a thread left on her, and it seized my attention at once.
Her body was nothing but beautiful curves from eyes, nose, and mouth all the way down to her fingertips and toes.
Tonight had brought us together to relieve Verita’s desire, but seeing her naked left me aroused in an instant too.
"Now then, Ian. Show me yours too."
At her emotionless voice, I found myself reaching under the shirt I was wearing as if bewitched.
And just as I was about to lift my hands to take it off, my whole body froze.
I’d heard the metallic click of the locked door handle.
Then the door slid open, and Dania appeared, her face twisted with a deep frown.
"Dania...?"
I was so stunned I couldn’t say another word, even as she came inside and locked the door behind her.
Instead of me, still frozen in place, Verita was the one who spoke.
"Dania. You should only use the master key in an emergency."
Even naked, Verita showed not the slightest tremor in her expression or voice.
It would have been enough to rattle anyone, but the subordinate butler who had barged in was no easy woman either.
"I apologize, Verita. But I had no choice if I was to stop what was about to happen in this room."
"..."
A heavy tension settled over the entire room.
I didn’t know how she’d found out, but it was obvious that Dania had burst in to stop Verita and me from having sex.
What I couldn’t figure out was how she planned to proceed from here.
While I remained lost in thought, Verita’s voice sounded again.
"Do you even know what Ian and I were about to do?"
Since it wasn’t even her room and she was standing there naked in mine, there was no way Dania didn’t know what was going on.
Still, the reason Verita asked that was probably to test Dania’s reaction.
"I knew that Verita was relieving Ian’s dissatisfaction."
"...So the person following us in the kitchen was you, then."
As expected of Verita, she grasped the situation quickly.
"How did you know I’d be coming here today?"
"I saw the two of you talking in the hallway and made a guess."
"I see. I must have acted a little carelessly."
As if admitting fault, Verita murmured, and Dania went on.
"I’m hardly in a position to tell you this, Verita, but such an unhealthy relationship should not take place in the manor. If young lady or Lady Angela were to find out, they would be terribly shocked."
There wasn’t a single flaw in Dania’s words, and Verita nodded.
"I agree. So I hope Dania will keep this secret from the young lady and the chairman as well."
"That is not what I mean. I’m telling you that you should stop these unhealthy affairs."
"Of course I understand that, but I can’t accept it. Men need to relieve their urges regularly, and Ian in particular is exceptionally vigorous. As his superior, it is only natural that I help manage the condition of my subordinate. As long as Dania keeps quiet, there will be no problem."
"..."
When Verita didn’t budge at all, Dania was left speechless.
She even looked so troubled she was biting her lower lip.
A moment of awkward silence followed, and then, as if she’d found what to say, Dania’s expression grew even more serious.
"To tell the truth... I’ve been helping Ian relieve his urges before you, Verita."
"What?"
Even Verita, who hadn’t so much as blinked until now, furrowed her brow in surprise this time.
For Verita, that was restraint; I, on the other hand, looked like a startled rabbit.
The reason I had hidden my relationship with Dania from Verita was that I thought things might get complicated if she found out.
But that wasn’t all. I also believed Dania wouldn’t want it known.
Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined she would be the one to reveal it first.
"Ian. Is what she said true?"
"...Yes. I’m sorry I hid it."
"No need. Young men and women living under the same roof, that sort of thing is entirely possible."
Verita no longer tried to probe further into my relationship with Dania.
One of her good points was that she didn’t force people into awkwardness over information she didn’t absolutely need.
"However, if you slept with Ian before I did, then I find Dania’s insistence that I stop these unhealthy acts rather difficult to understand."
When Verita expressed her doubt, Dania answered as respectfully as she could.
"I-It’s... actually a lie. Since I was already helping Ian, I thought there was no need for you to take on such dirty work, Verita, so I tried to stop you. But I didn’t want to reveal my relationship with Ian, so I lied. I’m sorry."
"I see. So you were doing it for my sake?"
"...Yes."
Dania answered Verita’s question firmly.
And yet her eyes refused to meet her opponent’s, dropping instead to the floor.
Verita didn’t miss that change.
"Dania, you’re still lying."
"What do you mean...?"
"I’ve experienced it myself, so I know how unforgettable a night with Ian can be. Dania must feel the same. You’re not worried that I’ll be doing something dirty; you’re worried that if Ian’s urges are satisfied by me, your own time with him will decrease, aren’t you?"
I’d been guessing as much myself.
But seeing her draw that conclusion from so little information made me think, once again, that this was Verita.
"And perhaps I’m mistaken, but I can feel Dania’s jealousy toward me."
"T-That’s...!"
Dania was visibly shaken.
That uneasy reaction all but proved Verita’s guess had been right.
The only thing Dania could do now was brazen it out, even after her real feelings had been exposed.
"No. I’m really just worried about you, Verita...."
Verita didn’t press her any further.
Now that she had seen through Dania’s true feelings, there was no need to force an admission.
"I see. I appreciate the sentiment, but there’s no need to worry about me. As I said, it is only natural for a superior to manage a subordinate’s condition."
Verita’s answer was firm. But Dania didn’t seem ready to back down either.
"I alone am enough to manage Ian’s condition, so there’s no need for you to step in, Verita."
"Again, that’s no problem. Helping a subordinate is also a pleasure for a superior."
"No. Ian is my partner, so I’ll take care of this myself. It’ll be enough if I handle it."
"Really? If that were enough, then Ian would never have taken me either."
Perhaps because Dania refused to yield even an inch, there was a sharp edge in Verita’s words, yet Dania didn’t seem intimidated at all.
"It’s true that I neglected Ian until now, but I’ll pay more attention from now on. So please leave Ian to me."
They were only trading words, but just listening to them felt suffocating.
Were they going to end up slugging it out? Should I stop them?
"It seems you have no intention of changing your mind."
Verita paused briefly, then continued.
"Then let’s ask Ian. Who he wants help from in the future."
"Me?"
"Yes. If you think about it, Ian’s opinion matters more than mine or Dania’s. From now on, the three of us will have relations together and see who satisfies you more. What do you think, Dania?"
"...Understood."
At Dania’s solemn answer, Verita turned her gaze to me.
"You’re all right with that too, aren’t you, Ian? You’re bursting with enough energy to handle two women at once, after all."
"Well, I guess so..."
I hadn’t expected the far more mature of the two, compared to either Dania or me, to propose a competition.
Was that her way of saying she didn’t want to give up on my body?
I couldn’t say I disliked it, but what weighed on me more was the tension of not knowing what would happen next.
"Oh, and Dania. You don’t need to go straight back to the young lady’s room?"
"I asked the young lady for permission to sleep in my own room tonight because I had matters to attend to."
"Then there’s no problem at all. Let’s begin at once."
In the end, everyone reached an agreement, and as Dania started taking off her clothes, I followed suit, stripping off one piece at a time.
When Dania unwrapped the bandages around her chest, Verita showed clear surprise.
"I hadn’t realized your breasts had grown this much. You hide them on purpose?"
"...Yes."
Since Dania didn’t like being questioned about her chest, Verita did not ask further.
Instead, she startled Dania with a different question.
"I’m curious what method Dania uses to satisfy Ian. Show me once. What do you start with?"
"W-Well..."
Unlike Dania, who was searching for words, Verita remained expressionless.
That made it impossible to tell whether she was truly curious or whether she was simply being considerate and allowing Dania to do things her own way.
Dania hesitated, moving her lips soundlessly before finally saying, "I... I smell that place."
"Smell it? You mean you smell the scent of Ian’s there? I’m not sure that would relieve desire in any meaningful way."
I could understand why Verita couldn’t quite accept it.
Dania couldn’t exactly sniff me openly because Verita was there, so she was borrowing me as an excuse.
"I-Ian is an incomprehensible pervert, so..."
That sounds like something I should be saying.
"I see."
Once again, Verita didn’t press the issue.
She probably would have seen through Dania’s lack of honesty without any trouble at all.
"Then let’s do it together once. To relieve Ian’s urges."
At Verita’s suggestion, the two women knelt before me.