Chapter 584: The Butler's True Feelings
Chapter 584: The Butler's True Feelings
Alright, so what should I do now?
After finishing breakfast, I crossed my arms and contemplated how to spend the day.
Unlike yesterday, everyone had returned to their own rooms after the meal without trying to restrain me, but I knew they’d stop me the moment I tried to leave.
I’d managed to come to an understanding with Diana, but the others likely still thought I needed to rest.
Besides, now that they’d given me a necklace that could track my location, sneaking out was impossible.
So, I decided to quietly spend another day at the mansion.
I had things to do here anyway.
The important task of making Vanessa fall even deeper for me.
But even if I say I’ll make her fall for me, how exactly am I supposed to do that?
As I stood there with my arms crossed, racking my brain, I came to a crucial realization.
…Having so many women around me, creating a harem-like situation, I must have been deluding myself.
Here I am, trying to come up with some grand plan, but I’ve never once taken the initiative to seduce a woman in my entire life!
Come to think of it, that was true. Every woman who had fallen for me so far was a case of us naturally developing feelings for each other while spending time together.
Of course, the circumstances that led Silvia and Matilda to fall for me were a bit unusual, but in the end, their affection grew deep enough to satisfy the conditions for Apostle Appointment and become my women because we spent time together.
The case most similar to Vanessa’s would be Rachel, but even her situation wasn’t exactly the same.
Unlike Vanessa, who needed to develop stronger feelings for me, Rachel’s affection was already overflowing.
She had wandered the 4th Floor all by herself searching for me, and the moment she found me and realized I was unconscious, she panicked without even checking on me properly and just started having sex with me.
So, whenever I met Rachel, all I had to do was simply give her the confidence that I could love her forever, alongside all the other girls.
In other words, even though she wasn't officially my woman yet, I just had to treat her as if she already was.
But Vanessa… how in the world do you make a woman fall for you?
I can’t believe I’m stuck at such a fundamental stage.
No matter how hard I wracked my brain, nothing came to mind.
No. I’ve seen and heard things, so I have a general idea of how to win the heart of a woman I like. In theory, that is.
But my target is Vanessa.
Would that woman, who seems to have ice water instead of blood flowing through her veins, really fall for conventional methods of seduction?
And could I, with no practical experience and only a vague theoretical understanding, even pull it off?
Of course, my chances of success were probably higher than any other man’s. After all, she seems to like me enough to have confessed to me.
But even taking that into account, the odds still seemed low.
My goal here is to make her feelings for me grow larger than her feelings for Diana.
And I have the critical objective of helping her overcome a trauma that has been passed down for generations.
I needed something more certain than some half-baked plan that might or might not work.
I needed one powerful, decisive blow that would guarantee a change in Vanessa’s emotions.
And when I thought of a powerful, decisive blow, only one thing came to mind.
Right. Sex.
No. That’s not it. It’s not because my head is filled with nothing but sex.
You see, there’s that thing people call “affection born from sex,” right?
And it also happens to be what I’m best at.
Isn’t it the most basic of strategies to draw your opponent into a field you’re confident in and compete there?
On top of that, in all the time I’ve known Vanessa, the moments that iron mask of hers slipped the most were when we were having sex.
See? My conclusion to use sex is based on solid evidence.
Besides, Vanessa said it herself, didn’t she? That she sometimes wants to be loved.
That means it’s okay to suggest it, right?
It didn’t seem like I’d come up with a better idea by agonizing over it here anyway.
Having convinced myself, I decided to go find Vanessa.
Well, to be precise, it wasn’t me going to find her, but her coming to me.
“Vanessa!”
I immediately clapped my hands and called her name.
Of course, Vanessa didn’t appear.
“…Vanessa-ssi. If you’re not too busy, could you please show yourself for a moment?”
“I am busy.”
This time, after I spoke politely without clapping, Vanessa suddenly materialized out of thin air.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but her gaze felt quite cold. No. It definitely wasn’t my imagination.
“What is the matter?”
“Let’s do it. Right now. Immediately.”
I delivered my request as quickly as possible to the seemingly busy Vanessa. Her expressionless face slowly morphed into a look one would give to a piece of trash.
Hey. Seriously, stop making that face. It’s hurtful.
It’s a good thing my mental fortitude is strong. Anyone else would have lost their will to live.
No. I mean, of course, I was in the wrong, but still.
“……”
After staring at me like I was garbage for a while, Vanessa turned to leave without a word.
“W-Wait, stop!”
“…Haa. What is it?”
I’m telling you, stop with that face. If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to cry. If you don’t want to see a grown man bawling his eyes out, you’d better stop that right now.
“I was joking, so don’t be so serious.”
“Was it a joke?”
“…Ha, haha. That’s a rather pointed question.”
“If you have no further business, I will be on my way…”
“I said stop! I do have business with you!”
“And what might that be?”
She really did seem to be busy. When I called out to her again, Vanessa’s brow furrowed slightly as she spoke.
But the problem was, I had nothing to say.
Plan A, building rapport through sex, was now down the drain.
I wanted to switch to Plan B, but unfortunately, no such thing exists in my playbook.
Dammit. What do I do?
The colder Vanessa’s gaze became as she waited for my answer, the more furiously my mind worked.
And perhaps as a reward for my efforts, I suddenly had a realization.
That’s it! Why didn’t I realize this before?!
Instead of trying to seduce a woman myself, I should reflect on the situations where women were drawn to me.
In most cases, they developed feelings for me naturally just by being together.
Even Vanessa, the woman standing right in front of me, probably came to like me through a similar process.
In other words, I don’t need to actively try to seduce her. I just need to stay by her side.
If we keep spending time together, a day will eventually come when her feelings for me surpass those she has for Diana.
To think I’m only just realizing this counter-intuitive approach now.
And, as luck would have it, this was the perfect chance to be with Vanessa.
She seemed busy, after all.
“You said you were busy, right? I’ll help you.”
“I refuse.”
Just like that, my groundbreaking proposal, born from my sudden enlightenment, was rejected by Vanessa as sharply as a knife, without a moment’s hesitation.
I hadn’t even considered the possibility of being rejected, so I clung to her in a slight panic.
“Wh-Why?!”
“Do you truly not know why you are asking?”
“I’m asking because I don’t know!”
Faced with her attitude that my rejection was only natural, a sense of defiance began to rise in me.
But despite my reaction, Vanessa maintained her expressionless face and answered as if it were obvious.
“Where in the world is there a butler who pushes their own work onto their master?”
“That’s a cheap shot! You’re the one who said I wasn’t your master!”
“That was then, and this is now.”
So stop using my signature move on me!
Lately, I feel like it’s not just her, but all the girls have been using that line on me frequently.
Meanwhile, I barely get to use it myself.
“Then, not as your master, but as your man…”
“…I believe I recall refusing to become your woman, Guwon-nim.”
“Urgggh!”
As I glared at Vanessa, she seemed to feel a little sorry this time and averted her gaze slightly.
But separate from her apologetic feelings, she had no intention of letting me help with her work. In a slightly softer voice than before, Vanessa said.
“…Haa. In any case, why do you suddenly wish to help? You are not even aware of what work is keeping me busy, are you?”
“It’s because I want to be with you! Why?!”
Despite Vanessa’s rare, gentle tone, I was left with nothing but defiance. I gave up on the plan and whatever else and just told her the truth.
“…Hmph!”
But it seemed to work. The moment she heard my answer, Vanessa’s body flinched.
This time, it wasn’t just her gaze; she quickly whipped her entire head around, preventing me from seeing her expression.
Oho. Look at this.
Seeing Vanessa’s reaction, I intuitively sensed that the tables had turned.
Just a moment ago, I was acting like a defiant child, but I quickly composed myself and prepared to press my advantage.
“Vanessa. I want to see your face all day today.”
“Please do such things with the other ladies. I am not your woman…”
“I don’t want to see the other girls’ faces, I want to see yours. You’re not the only one who likes me. I like you, too.”
“If the others were to hear that statement…”
“I don’t care. They know better than anyone that my affection for them doesn’t diminish just because I like you. So, Vanessa. Will you let me stay by your side today?”
As I said that and tried to wrap my arms around her waist, Vanessa’s hand slapped mine away.
Ah, so that’s not allowed. Right. My apologies.
“…Very well. I understand, so please step back a little.”
“But I want to stay stuck to you like this all day…”
“Step back.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Would it kill her to be a little more flustered?
Did she catch some disease that’ll kill her if she’s not expressionless?
“…Haa. Today’s task is to organize the warehouse. I would be grateful if you could assist with checking the inventory, Guwon-nim.”
“Okay. Okay. That’s easy enough. Leave it to me.”
Although the process felt a bit forced, I was happy to have finally found an excuse to be with Vanessa, and I immediately nodded at her request.
But that happiness didn’t last long.
It wasn’t because the inventory check in the warehouse was difficult.
It was a simple task of literally checking items and writing down numbers on a piece of paper.
It was hard to imagine Vanessa, who had refused my help in the first place, would give me a difficult job.
Besides, this was Diana’s warehouse, of all places.
It was piled high with all sorts of strange and wonderful items; honestly, I was so engrossed it felt like I was on a treasure hunt, and I lost all track of time.
“Whoa! What’s this?! The Magic Sword Allein?! The name alone sounds incredibly powerful!”
“Please do not touch that carelessly. It is a cursed magic sword that grants power in exchange for the wielder’s life force. It would be dangerous even for you to handle it recklessly, Guwon-nim.”
As I was about to touch the grimly glowing, dark blue sword, Vanessa, who was on the opposite side of the warehouse, gave me a slight warning before returning to her spot.
So cool! The lore sounds like something only the protagonist can handle… No! This isn’t what I should be focused on!
What happened to my plan to make Vanessa fall for me?! I’m making no progress at all!
We’re not even facing each other, let alone having a proper conversation!
And that wasn’t all.
While I was scribbling the item counts on the paper, Vanessa was moving all over the warehouse, systematically organizing the items whose quantities had been confirmed.
That’s right. Vanessa was handling all the physical labor herself.
Perhaps because I was on edge from my plan not working out, even that small detail felt subtly humiliating.