Chapter 5. Discovery
"Where did Jorus go?"
Elise had an errand for him, so she went looking for Jorus, but he was nowhere to be found.
"Not in the attendants' quarters either…"
That left only one place — Lady Liana's room.
"Did Lady Liana call for him separately?"
With that thought, she arrived at the door of Lady Liana's room.
"Lady Liana is a @#$%!^"
What on earth was that sound?
She pressed her ear to the door and listened more carefully.
"Lady Liana is a lewd pervert who climaxes with pleasure every time something is stuffed into her hole."
'Hieeek!'
Jorus — it was none other than Jorus, toying with Lady Liana!
Him. The diligent, hardworking Jorus.
'A lewd pervert who climaxes every time something gets stuffed into her hole?'
It was nonsense even the neighbor's passing dog, Luna, wouldn't believe.
And then came more of Jorus's vulgar words, drifting through the door.
"Lady Liana was born to be a sex slave."
'Good heavens…'
But this was Jorus they were talking about.
tireless stamina, a docile and obliging temperament, quick and nimble hands — and on top of all that, humility. Wasn't he considered quite a promising hire even by the training house's standards?
He was the one who had served under the notoriously strict Lady Liana without a single word of protest, steadfast and uncomplaining to the end.
Elise herself had taken a liking to that resilient, devoted side of him — she'd even defended Jorus when Lady Liana said something seemed off about him.
'I made a mistake.'
The proposal she herself had made to Lady Liana over the attendant problem came flooding back to her.
"If it's Jorus, I'm sure he'd be happy to draw your bath for you."
"What kind of shameless suggestion is that?!"
"A knight receiving bath service from her attendant is perfectly natural knightly conduct, isn't it?"
"…Is that so?"
"Yes. A bath is a chance for a knight and her attendant to grow closer."
"Hmm…"
"And besides, seeing Lady Liana's body is practically a reward in itself. You're gorgeous, you know."
"Ahem."
'Could it be…'
Naive, upright Lady Liana would have gone straight ahead and had Jorus serve her bath.
And then Jorus, unable to contain the stimulation, had gone to toy with the knight in the night.
It all fit together perfectly.
"What do I do…!"
Back in her own room, Elise agonized over whether she should tell Lady Liana what she'd heard.
"But I can't exactly claim it's not my fault."
The bath service surely played a large part in transforming the once-so-diligent Jorus into… whatever he was now.
Which meant she, the one who had proposed it, bore responsibility as well.
"Even if I just pretend I know nothing, nothing terrible will happen… right?"
Jorus wasn't an idiot — he wouldn't do anything drastic like taking Lady Liana's virginity or the like.
And besides, Lady Liana was strong.
If Jorus stepped out of line, she could subdue him by force on the spot.
"Thank goodness I'm not the target."
She'd heard that some attendants who couldn't control their lust did sometimes assault apprentice knights.
Apprentice knights hadn't undergone the Knight Ceremony, so on average they were weaker than grown men.
Of course, Elise had only laughed at those apprentice knights.
How pathetic did you have to be, to get that looked down upon?
A woman who would soon be a full knight — getting assaulted, instead of choosing her own night as she pleased?
She thought it was pathetic.
"Sorry, Lady Liana, but this stays a secret."
Because if Jorus disappeared too… this stifling place would only become more stifling.
Jorus was probably trembling in his boots right now, terrified that his little act had been discovered.
"I'll have to use this to tease him, then."
A mischievous smile bloomed across Elise's face.
— BANG!
"I simply cannot forgive this!"
"My my~ what could have the Knight of the Silver Moon so worked up?"
After what had happened, Liana's desire to drink with Jorus had evaporated entirely.
Unable to soothe the fury boiling up inside her, she had gone to see her close friend Angélise.
Angélise de Rosenwald.
The second elder sister of Elise de Rosenwald, Liana's own apprentice knight.
'…That bastard.'
At first, he had been just another ordinary attendant.
One by one, the others hadn't lasted and had left.
He was the only attendant who remained by her side to the very end.
Nitpick as she might, he never once talked back; he simply carried out his errands in silence.
She had liked that about him.
So she had tried to treat him well.
She tried to recall the efforts she had made to be good to him.
"If it's Jorus, I'm sure he'd be happy to draw your bath for you."
Clumsy with human interaction as she was, she had even taken counsel from Elise.
Following Elise's advice, she had him serve her bath, and because he'd seemed nervous, she had — using some errand as a pretext — gone so far as to deliberately bare her whole body to him. Embarrassing as it was to admit, she had braved it.
"If something's bothering you, sharing a drink settles it."
"Is it proper for a knight to drink together with her attendant?"
"Why wouldn't it be? That's how things get heated between a man and a woman, you know. Am I wrong? Nobody thinks it strange even if something like that happens between a knight and her attendant."
"What did you say? I'd forgotten what you were like. I shouldn't have consulted you."
"Hehe. But honestly, loosening things up over drinks is more common than you'd think. Think it over."
"Hmm."
On Angélise's advice, she had offered him a drink as well.
And then.
— Lady Liana was born to be a sex slave.
"…The audacity."
Liana bit her lip.
He had no idea how hard she had tried. He toyed with her in the night, and then spouted filth like that.
A sex slave?
Her, a sex slave?
"Angélise, what do you make of this?"
"You'll have to tell me what happened first."
Liana drew a long, slow breath.
"It's about my attendant."
"Mm-hm."
"I had him serve my bath like your sister suggested, and I drank with him like you told me to."
"Good for you."
Liana steadied her ragged breathing for a moment, then recalled that humiliating moment.
"And then the attendant called me a sex slave!"
"Oh dear, oh dear?"
"What? A sex slave? Is he in his right mind?"
"No, wait, hold on. What does that even mean? That's absurd!"
The blonde knight sitting across from her wore an expression of utter shock.
"And then, what was it — 'a lewd pervert who climaxes with pleasure every time something is stuffed into her hole'?"
The blonde knight across the table couldn't close her gaping mouth.
"Wow… and you're telling me that Jorus said that to your face?"
"No — he whispered it while I was sleeping."
The moment she heard that, the blonde knight's expression shifted to something more like understanding.
"Ahh, I see. Well, Jorus wouldn't have the nerve to say such a thing to your face… not yet, anyway."
— BANG!
Liana slapped her palm against the table.
"Whose side are you on?!"
The blonde knight looked terribly flustered — but she mastered her bewilderment and continued calmly.
"…Still, Liana, I think you ought to consider it at least once."
"Consider what?"
"Jorus is a truly exemplary attendant. You acknowledged as much yourself."
"…That's true."
"For someone like him to suddenly act this way… there must have been his own reasons."
"What reasons?"
"All the attendants who worked with him left, didn't they? Now Jorus is the only one remaining, and…"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Whew…"
The blonde knight across the table — Angélise — gazed at Liana as if she were hopeless.
Then, for a moment, she lifted her teacup and took a small sip.
"?"
Liana waited for her answer.
"So… how did it feel?"
"How did what feel?"
"It's embarrassing to say out loud, but… all those things you did for him. The bath service, the drinking companion…"
"…"
"Surely… it didn't feel bad."
"…"
"I've known you for how long now? If it had truly displeased you, you'd have punished him on the spot."
"That's…"
"And yet here you are, coming all the way to me for counsel… I'd say you weren't entirely displeased."
— sip.
Angélise raised her teacup again, took another sip, and set it back down.
"Why not be a little generous with him? The poor boy must have been under enormous strain, mentally."
"But…"
"If it starts to bother you midway, just drop a little hint — 'I might wake up soon, so you'd better run along now~' That alone will send a timid boy like Jorus scurrying for the door."
"I suppose…"
Liana thought for a moment, then spoke.
"I'll hold off on punishing Jorus for now. Thank you for hearing me out."
"Don't mention it."
"Then, until next time."
Angélise watched Liana's retreating figure, and then—
"Phew."
—she let out a long sigh.
"It really was excessive, I'll grant that."
Angélise took a sip of her tea and continued her murmur to herself.
"But if Jorus leaves too… Liana, your reputation will only grow worse. So I'm sorry I forced you to go along with it."
Angélise gazed wistfully at the door Liana had left through.
"But really — what on earth happened between them?"
"Shall I assist you?"
"Not necessary."
"But, my lady—"
"Not necessary."
Something was wrong.
My lady had gone out earlier. Had some trouble befallen her while she was out?
Today, more than ever, her manner carried a peculiar edge of irritation.
What was going on?
However I looked at it, she had clearly developed some kind of feeling toward me.
Had she discovered what I whispered last night?
No — if she had, it wouldn't have ended with just this.
And so the drinking began.
My lady poured the drinks in silence, and it was suffocating.
"Jorus. I truly don't understand."
Lady Liana said it abruptly.
"Regarding what, my lady?"
"How you see me. What it is you want."
"I think you are a magnificent knight, Lady Liana."
"Is that so?"
Lady Liana took another sip of her drink.
"Ugh, I don't know. This sort of thing doesn't suit me at all."
"…"
"Then I'll ask you point-blank."
"Yes. Please, go ahead."
"What do you think of me?"
"As I said just now…"
"No. Not that."
My lady fixed me with an unwavering gaze.
"Then…"
At my answer, my lady hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"Am I… a sex slave?"
Fuck.
We were so screwed.