Chapter 431
Chapter 431
My mind was a complete mess, but acting any differently than usual would only arouse suspicion.
A miracle had occurred—Diana’s memory had been wiped clean. I wasn’t stupid enough to throw that chance away myself.
So, I decided to just hang out with Diana as I always did until Vanessa came to get us.
But no matter how much time passed, Vanessa didn't show up.
Well, to be fair, it had only been about ten minutes past the time she usually came.
Still, for Vanessa, who was normally punctual down to the second, ten minutes was more than enough time to think something was up.
And as for what that ‘something’ could be… there was only one possibility.
In any case, thanks to her delay, I felt a little more at ease.
I had been worried she might show up this morning and immediately report everything to Diana.
I felt bad for Vanessa, who must have been shocked by yesterday’s events, but for me, it was an incredible stroke of luck.
“Oh my! Look at the time!”
“Hm? You’re right. For Vanessa not to have come by now… What on earth could be….”
“N-Never mind that, let’s just hurry up and wash. The others will be waiting.”
“Don’t be in such a rush. We can just wash up with magic.”
“No. It’s better to wash properly.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s just… you know. That thing.”
“You—what on earth did you do yesterday?!”
Honestly, I couldn’t think of an excuse, so I just mumbled vaguely, but Diana reacted exactly as I’d guided her to.
What in the world was she imagining? I felt her vulva clench tightly for a moment.
“I didn’t do anything special. I really didn’t. But still, I thought it would be better to wash up properly.”
“Then why are you avoiding my gaze?! And why is your voice trembling?!”
“A-Anyway, I’ll use a spirit to wash up and go down first to smooth things over. You take your time and come down when you’re ready.”
I desperately tried to calm Diana down as she lightly pummeled me, then summoned a water spirit to wash myself before slipping out of the room.
Alright. With that, phase one of the mission was complete.
I left the room and immediately headed for the nearest maid I could see.
There wasn’t much time.
I’d told Diana to take her time, but there was no way she actually would.
My party members might wait, but the people from the Mage Association wouldn’t touch their food until Diana arrived.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes. What is… W-What can I do for you?!”
…Why do our maids still react like this whenever they see me?
Actually, I feel like they used to treat me more normally. Lately, their reactions seem to have gotten even more intense.
I don’t remember doing anything to the maids.
In fact, since Vanessa was almost always marking me, I rarely even had a chance to talk to them.
“Have you seen Vanessa?”
“Pardon? Ah. Y-Yes! Lady Vanessa is in her room! It seems she’s feeling unwell today, which is rare!”
“Is that so? Thanks.”
“N-Not at all!”
Leaving the perpetually awkward maid behind, I made my way to Vanessa’s room.
As I’d learned when she alone got caught in my Holy Ground Proclamation, her room wasn’t very far from mine.
“Vanessa. Are you in there?”
Arriving at her door, I took a deep breath and knocked.
CRASH! CLATTER!
A loud commotion erupted from inside.
But in complete contrast to the racket, Vanessa’s voice remained silent.
This was starting to get genuinely scary. For the Vanessa to react like this… just how shocked was she?
But I couldn’t back down now.
I placed my hand on the doorknob and turned it slightly. It rotated smoothly without any resistance.
It’s not locked. Good. Guess I’ll just go in.
The moment I made that decision, the door was suddenly flung open.
“…What is… Ugh…!”
As you might expect, since I was holding the doorknob, I was pulled right in as the door opened.
My body tilted forward so precariously that I was certain I was about to dive face-first into the floor. Surprisingly, however, my face was cushioned by a soft sensation, and I took no damage.
And that sensation on my face… it was quite familiar.
Well, to be precise, hers wasn’t familiar, but still.
“…Hey. Just so you know, I didn’t do that on purp—”
I lifted my head, which had been buried squarely in Vanessa’s chest, only to see her face, frozen and unmoving.
Her eyes looked subtly more hollow than usual. Had she not slept a wink?
“Hmph… G-Get off.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Seeing Vanessa trembling with what looked like extreme rage, I nodded obediently.
“Hrk!”
Ah, no! That’s not it! I wasn’t trying to enjoy the feeling of your chest with my face! It was just a reflex to nod!
I hastily pulled myself back, but Vanessa’s gloomy expression didn’t improve in the slightest.
“……”
“……”
Hey, now. Staring at me so intently is a little scary.
Shouldn’t you normally ask what I’m here for?
Our super-butler is great at everything, but her social skills are seriously lacking.
I guess I have no choice. The one who prides himself on having social skills second to none will have to be the one to speak first.
“Uh… um… so… sleep well?”
Like I was throwing a jab, I decided to start with a light greeting.
“…Do I look like I did?”
“No. My apologies.”
This wasn’t working. She was in no mood for pleasantries.
I knew she had an iron wall up, but I never thought it was this bad.
Damn it! But I won’t be defeated by something like this! If there’s an iron wall in front of me, I’ll just have to break through it!
“About last night.”
Having my greeting shot down, I decided to get straight to my reason for being here.
“…Hmph!”
“Please! Keep it a secret from Diana! It was an accident for both of us, right? It’s best if we both just forget about it and move on!”
“……What are you talking about? Lady Diana yesterday…”
“She doesn’t remember! She was too exci— Ah, anyway! She doesn’t remember! So please! Keep it a secret!”
“…She doesn’t remember? Is that… is that true?”
“Yes!”
Hearing my answer, Vanessa’s complexion seemed to brighten a little… or at least, I thought it did.
I couldn’t be sure. Her expressions were impossible to read.
“…However.”
“Please. I know all about your loyalty, but for Diana’s sake, keep it a secret! Diana will be happier forgetting about it too! I mean, how shocking must it have been for her of all people to completely erase it from her memory?!”
I decided to use Vanessa’s loyalty against her.
Well, honestly, I think it was less about shock and more about her being so worked up she wasn’t in her right mind.
Still, it wasn’t a complete lie. It was true that Diana would be happier not knowing. If she remembered what happened last night, she would surely die of embarrassment.
“…Are you not bothered by it at all, Sir Guwon?”
But in response to my plea, Vanessa threw an unexpected question at me.
Her face, though it seemed to have relaxed a bit, was still tense and rigid.
“Of course I’m embarrassed too, but hey, we both saw each other in an embarrassing state. Let’s just let what happened yesterday be bygones.”
“No. That is not what I meant.”
“Huh? What? Not what you meant? Then what did you mean?”
“……D-Don’t tell me you don’t know… No. It is nothing. If you do not know, then it is fine.”
For some reason, Vanessa furrowed her brow slightly, shook her head, and gave that reply.
“Why? What is it? Now I’m curious.”
“I said it is fine if you do not know.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She sometimes tries to threaten me with that polite tone of hers.
Is a butler even allowed to do that?
Well, this time I have something I want from her, so I’ll let it slide.
“So. Will you keep it a secret?”
“…Very well. I shall do so. In return, you must also promise to keep what you saw of me yesterday an absolute secret from Lady Diana.”
Hearing Vanessa’s answer, I finally felt a weight lift from my shoulders.
Ah, so that’s how it was.
I didn’t want Diana to find out about yesterday, and Vanessa felt the same way.
I never needed to worry about Vanessa telling Diana in the first place.
Of course. It makes sense when you think about it. She was caught masturbating in a place like that by the master she respects. Of course she’d be embarrassed.
Was that why she was holed up in her room today? The shock of Diana catching her pleasuring herself?
And here I was, thinking she was just shocked by what she saw us doing.
Phew. What a relief. A huge relief.
“Right. I will.”
“…You must.”
“I get it, I get it.”
You don’t have to emphasize it with such a scary face. I understand.
“Let’s get along as comrades who share a secret from Diana.”
“Sharing such a secret with you is not something I desired… Perhaps it would be better to reveal the truth…”
“S-Stop that! This is all for Diana’s sake!”
She’s saying something dangerous.
Who is she trying to get killed?
“But I was so surprised yesterday I was speechless. I never imagined you’d be masturbating in a place like that.”
With my mind at ease, I finally had the composure to start joking around again.
“Was it because you couldn’t forget my caress from before?”
“…Hmph!”
But contrary to my mood, Vanessa was in no state to joke around.
The moment I asked that question, her body went rigid as if she’d taken an unexpected blow.
But that was only for a moment. Soon, her entire body began to tremble as she unleashed a tremendous killing intent and started glaring at me.
“…Sorry. It was a joke, so could you please not look at me like that?”
Wow. She’s still glaring even after I apologized. Just how much did she hate that?
To be honest, it wasn’t entirely a joke.
I mean, it was the exact same place where I had pleasured her. If it were just the same room by coincidence, that would be one thing, but it was the exact same bathtub. I couldn’t help but wonder if she… had feelings for me.
So, frankly, that joke was half-serious, an attempt to test the waters.
But seeing Vanessa’s killing intent, I realized just how ridiculous my thoughts had been.
That killing intent was real. If I weren’t Diana’s man, she looked ready to kill me to silence me.
Right. There’s no way this girl, who is the very picture of loyalty, would have feelings for me.
This was Vanessa, who was so devoted to Diana.
If she ever developed such feelings for me, she’s the type to suppress them, even if it meant killing her own heart. There’s no way she’d be so openly lost in masturbation while thinking of me.
Was I getting arrogant again because I’d recently been involved with Felicia, who was arguably the easiest difficulty level?
Be careful, Guwon. Even Felicia doesn’t have feelings for you. She just wants semen and pleasure.
It was probably the same with Vanessa.
The reason she was masturbating in the bathtub last night was likely because it was the place where she had recently felt the most pleasure.
There was no sign of her meeting any other men, so that day was probably the last time she had been touched by one.
So it wasn’t that she had feelings for me; she was just purely recalling the pleasure to increase the efficiency of her masturbation.
“No, I said I’m sorry. I just thought if you were that sexually frustrated, I could help you out… No. Really, I’m sorry.”
Just in case, I muttered that as one last attempt to probe her, but all I got in return was Vanessa’s furious, blushing glare.
In the end, Vanessa didn’t stop glaring at me, standing motionless in that spot until I had left the room and closed the door.
By the way, is she planning on staying cooped up in her room all day?
I thought our conversation just now had resolved the issue from last night.
Well, I guess even if it’s resolved, she’s still too embarrassed to see Diana’s face.
I came to that conclusion on my own and headed for the dining hall.
“What should I do today? It’ll be hard to go to the dungeon until things with the princess are completely sorted out. The investigation of the 1st Floor keeps getting pushed back.”
After the matter was settled, I finished my meal and muttered to myself, leaning back in my chair in a half-slump.
Oh, for the record, Vanessa showed up just before Diana came down to the dining hall.
It seemed she needed some time to get ready after our conversation.
Today, too, she was performing her butler duties with perfect composure.
She seemed a little awkward when talking to Diana or me, but that was probably just because I knew the whole story. To anyone who didn't, it was a subtle change they would never notice.