Chapter 567: The Butler's True Feelings
Chapter 567: The Butler's True Feelings
Why? She’s not the type to get nervous just because she’s alone with me.
Huh? Ah, could this place be…
Only then did I realize where I had brought Vanessa.
It was the very same empty room where so much had happened with Vanessa in the bathtub.
No. Let me be clear, I absolutely did not do this on purpose.
It’s just that when I think of an empty room close to my own, this is the first one that comes to mind.
My feet just unconsciously led me here. I’m serious.
But no matter how I put it, to Vanessa, it would only sound like an excuse.
In that case, the best course of action is to… just get straight to the point.
If I tell her what I need to say right away, she won’t have any unnecessary misunderstandings.
Of course, there was something I needed to confirm before getting to the main topic.
“First, I have a favor to ask. What I’m about to say is a secret from everyone else. Just between you and me. So please, promise you’ll keep it a secret.”
“…! What… do you mean by that?”
As I said this, Vanessa’s pupils trembled slightly as she asked.
“What do I mean? It’s exactly what it sounds like. Please. Promise me you’ll keep it a secret from Diana, too.”
“…”
She wasn’t saying anything.
Was it too much to ask her to promise secrecy without even telling her what it was about?
But this was a matter I absolutely could not speak of unless Vanessa promised to keep it confidential.
It was painfully obvious what would happen if the others heard about this.
Therefore, I said nothing more and decided to wait for Vanessa’s answer.
An uncomfortable silence continued for some time as we both said nothing.
During that time, Vanessa’s pupils trembled and she lightly bit her lower lip, uncharacteristically failing to completely hide her inner turmoil as she deliberated.
I mean, I know it was a sudden request, but isn’t she a lot more flustered than I expected?
Why is she acting like this… hmm? Wait a minute. Ah, aaaah! If I say something like that in this room, of course she’d misunderstand it that way!
Hey! No! That’s not what I’m trying to talk about!
“Hey. That’s…”
“…Very well.”
“Huh?”
Flustered, I hurriedly tried to make an excuse, but my timing perfectly overlapped with the moment Vanessa chose to speak.
“…I said… very well. I will keep it a secret, so please tell me…”
As I stood there in a panic, Vanessa bit her lower lip so hard it looked like it might bleed and muttered as if she had made a momentous decision.
Wait a second. Didn’t she think I was about to talk about that kind of thing?
But she said she’d keep it a secret… No. Hold on. This is dangerous. I can’t think about this any further.
If I think about it any more, I can’t guarantee what might happen.
O-Okay. Since it’s come to this, I should just hurry up and state my business.
There’s no need to make excuses; the misunderstanding will clear up on its own once I tell her what I want.
“Paul… No. I mean, did Diana happen to entrust you with a monster’s lung?”
Yes. My business was none other than Paulson.
Paulson had ended up in Diana’s hands, but it wasn’t some incredible item, so there was no way Diana would keep it.
Diana had said she would sell it, but I hadn’t seen her go outside yesterday or today.
The natural conclusion, then, was that she had someone else sell it for her.
In other words, she had given it to Vanessa to sell.
“…Pardon?”
After hearing my question, Vanessa stared at me, her mouth uncharacteristically hanging slightly agape.
But that only lasted for a moment.
Soon, as if she had grasped the situation, Vanessa clamped her mouth shut.
Grind.
Hey. You don’t have to clamp your jaw that tight, do you?
On top of that, both her hands were clenched into tight fists, trembling. It was as if she wanted to beat me to a pulp right then and there, if only I weren’t her master’s husband.
Her facial expression, too, was struggling. She was trying her best to remain impassive, but it wasn’t working very well.
One of her eyes twitched, and even the little pocket of flesh beneath it began to quiver.
It didn’t look cute at all. In fact, it was terrifying. Who the hell was the guy who decided to call that part of the face ‘cute flesh’ [aegyosal]?
“So. You called me here separately. Made me swear an oath of secrecy. And the topic of this conversation… is a monster’s lung. Is that it?”
Vanessa asked, putting force into each and every word as if she were suppressing an explosion of rage from within.
“Y-Yeah…”
Grind.
Hey, hey. I get how you feel, but how about you calm down a little?
Try to think positively. Shouldn’t you be relieved that it wasn’t that kind of conversation?
I wanted to say that, but I felt like I’d actually get hit if I did, so I held my tongue.
“…It is still. In my room. In my keeping.”
Is this what a demon living in hell sounds like?
Vanessa answered in a low, growling voice.
“R-Right. Could you give that to me? No, I mean, I kind of grew attached to it after carrying it around for so long. I was thinking of making it into some other item to use.”
“Lady Diana…”
“So this is where you were!”
Just as Vanessa was about to reply, the door suddenly burst open and Diana appeared.
She was holding the necklace I had given her, and for some reason, she was breathing heavily.
“Hiding in a place like this… What were you two talking about?”
After confirming that it wasn’t just me but Vanessa as well in the room, she muttered with a suspicious look on her face.
It made sense. While I was making Vanessa promise to keep the secret, I had leaned in quite close to her face.
A misunderstanding was only natural.
“No! Diana! Wait! It’s a misunderstanding! It’s not like that!”
“Not like what? Surely you don’t mean that, which is what I am thinking.”
“No! I mean, I didn’t do anything like that!”
“I know.”
“It’s true! Believe… huh?”
“I said, I know.”
I had been about to bring up Paulson to clear my name, but surprisingly, Diana affirmed my words without any fuss.
“After I made you promise so earnestly, there’s no way you’d be trying to seduce Vanessa. I trust you.”
Diana said, showing her complete faith in me.
D-Diana… You’re an angel. A true angel.
“Besides, even if you were to try, there is no way Vanessa would fall for you. Isn’t that right, Vanessa?”
“…Yes.”
When Diana said that in a joking tone, Vanessa’s expression clouded over slightly as she answered.
That reaction… I thought the same thing when she agreed to keep my secret, but she’s also… No. Let’s not think about it. I can’t think about it. Look at Diana, trusting me like an angel. I must never have such thoughts.
“Hmm. In any case, what were you two talking about? To come all the way to an empty room like this.”
“Ah, well, that’s…”
The human heart is a truly fickle thing.
Just a moment ago, I was ready to reveal my attempt to get Paulson back just to clear Diana’s misunderstanding. But now that the misunderstanding was resolved, I didn’t want to bring up Paulson anymore.
I mean, Diana would just misunderstand again and think I was suffering from some serious trauma.
It’s not like that. I’m perfectly normal.
It’s just that, literally, I’ve grown a little attached to Paulson.
It’s common to get attached to things you use often, right?
“…We were discussing Lady Rachel.”
While I was wondering what to say, Vanessa spoke up first.
With a lie, no less.
“Hmm? Lady Rachel?”
“Yes. She came by with a fruit basket this afternoon, likely to check on you. However, I simply accepted the basket and she left immediately. I was giving Sir Guwon a detailed report of the event. We came out of the room so that our voices would not wake the others.”
Vanessa rattled off one lie after another.
She wasn’t even looking at me, but I knew her intention behind these lies.
She was trying to keep the promise of secrecy we had made.
Even if it meant lying to Diana, whom she revered so deeply. She must be feeling an immense sense of guilt for lying to Diana, and yet…
Is she the type to keep her word no matter what?
…Damn, for a butler, she’s way too cool.
“Sorry, Diana. That’s a lie. I was asking her to give Paulson back. She’s lying because I made her promise to keep it a secret.”
In the end, I had no choice but to confess to Diana myself.
When Vanessa was acting so cool, I couldn’t keep acting uncool, could I?
“Hmm. Paulson, you say.”
“Yeah. Diana, just listen. I’m…”
“How about we discuss that matter just between the two of us? It seems we need to have a serious talk.”
Cutting off my attempt to defend myself, Diana spoke with a thoughtful expression.
“And Vanessa.”
“…Yes.”
“You and I will also have a little talk later. Wait for me in my room.”
“…Yes.”
Hearing Diana’s words, Vanessa’s expression fell. She gave a short reply, bowed her head, and left the room.
“Diana, wait. Like I said, I forced her to do it, so Vanessa isn’t really at…”
“I will handle that matter myself. For now, let’s talk about you. So. Paulson, was it?”
I wanted to cover for Vanessa somehow, but Diana casually cut me off and changed the subject, staring at me intently.
“Diana, listen. It’s not what you think. I really just got attached to it from having it with me. I don’t have any trauma or anything. You saw for yourself that I was perfectly fine the whole way back to the city from the 4th Floor, right?”
As I said that, Diana reached out and cupped my face with both hands, pulling me close to her.
Then, with a more serious expression than I had ever seen, she spoke.
“Husband. Look me in the eyes and tell me again. Are you truly all right? The Goddess’s mission is important, but your safety comes first. I want to be thorough. I do not wish to lose you over a trivial mistake. So please, answer me honestly. Are you really okay?”
Her earnest tone made me once again reflect deeply on my own psyche.
It was true that I had developed an unusually strong attachment to Paulson.
But that was it. It’s not like I was going to take Paulson out and talk to it every day if I got it back. I just wanted to keep it in my inventory.
Other than that, there was really nothing wrong. And as for any trauma that might cause an accident in the dungeon, there was absolutely none.
Like I’ve said before, I’m not that delicate of a guy.
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“…I understand. I will tell Vanessa to return that lung to you.”
After I answered seriously, Diana stared into my eyes for a long moment before smiling in relief and agreeing.
“Thanks. For believing me. And speaking of Vanessa…”
“Husband.”
“Yeah.”
“I said I will handle that. And my business with you is not yet finished.”
“H-Huh? You have something else to say?”
“Mm. Why did you think I came looking for you in the first place?”
Come to think of it…
She’s not a child. There’s no reason for her to immediately go searching for me just because I wasn’t there when she woke up.
Besides, this room is near mine. The necklace would have been glowing, too.
Then why?
Now that I think about it, she was panting when she first came into this room.
“Have you forgotten that you deliberately left my head on Lady Leia’s thighs?”
Just as I was thinking that, Diana muttered as if the mere thought of it infuriated her.
A vein was even faintly throbbing on her forehead.
“Did you do it on purpose? Do you wish to humiliate me so?”
“Wait, Diana. Hold on. What’s wrong with that… Leia’s thighs are cushy, aren’t they?”
“Cushy? Cushy? Yes! I nearly suffocated to death because those cushy lumps of fat were blocking my nose from above!”
As if my words had lit the fuse of her anger, Diana exploded and lunged at me.
“What was that! That fat! Was it a boast! Are you flaunting it! Are you bragging that her breasts touch her thighs when she just sits and leans forward a little! I couldn’t breathe! The position was humiliating! Do you have any idea how I felt! Do you! Enjoy! Humiliating! Me! That! Much!”
Pat, pat, pat, pat, pat.
Diana’s flurry of blows rained down on Guwon’s body!
Guwon was pleased.