Chapter 586: The Butler's True Feelings
Chapter 586: The Butler's True Feelings
Argh! Why?! The mood, the timing of my words… the plan should have been perfect!
After I even confessed to her, isn’t it a bit much to put up such a strong wall now?
No. I mean, I get that she’s busy.
Right. It’s because she’s busy. That has to be it. If not, there’s no way my move just now wouldn’t have worked!
Comforting myself as best I could, I trudged after Vanessa toward the warehouse.
“Hoo… Wha?!”
Upon returning to the warehouse, Vanessa let out a deep sigh and immediately moved to close the door.
But when she saw me follow her in just before it shut, she flinched, her body trembling in reaction.
It was as if she never imagined I would actually keep following her in that situation.
I can understand her not expecting it, but did she really not notice me this whole time?
It’s not like I was trying to hide my presence.
Was she lost in thought or something?
Perhaps my actions just now made her heart flutter so much that she couldn’t spare a thought for anything else.
…Is that too much wishful thinking?
“…Why did you follow me?”
“What do you mean, why? I told you I’d help.”
“I believe I said you don’t need to help any further.”
“And I don’t recall agreeing to that, do I?”
When I replied by perfectly mimicking her way of speaking, Vanessa’s brow furrowed slightly before she spun around, turning her back to me.
“Why are you being like this…?”
“Because I want to be with you, even if it’s like this. Didn’t I tell you that earlier? Or what? Don’t tell me you thought everything I said was just some line to get you into bed?”
“Of course, that is how I took it.”
“What did you say?!”
“I am joking.”
Without even turning around, Vanessa said that and then strode toward a corner of the warehouse where things like lumber were stacked.
Is she really still trying to play games with me… No. Wait a minute. As you can see, she’s not exactly the type to make jokes.
The fact that she’d make a joke like that with me so casually… should I actually be happy about this?
Though I suppose being happy about being teased might seem a little strange.
While I was lost in such useless thoughts, Vanessa neatly stacked some items that looked like magical goods from the corner and lifted them all at once.
“Well then, I have been asked for some items, so I will be back after making a delivery.”
“Huh? Hey! Wait! Did you not hear me…!”
Did you not hear me say I wanted to be with you?!
Before I could even finish my sentence, Vanessa strode out of the room.
No. This is weird. Didn’t she say she was organizing the warehouse today? Don’t you usually do that on a day when you don’t have to take supplies out, to make it easier to count inventory?
And what does she mean, she was asked for some items? You’ve been with me ever since breakfast!
There were so many things I wanted to call her out on, but Vanessa had already left the room.
Besides, I was already aware that I had been a considerable hindrance to her, so I hesitated to chase after her and press the issue.
In the end, I decided to quietly check the inventory until Vanessa returned.
“…I have returned.”
After I’d been quietly organizing the warehouse for a while, Vanessa came back. It hadn’t been very long.
For some reason, she was holding a large fruit basket in one hand.
Seeing that, I realized why Vanessa had left earlier.
“You… you went out to get me fruit because you were grateful for my help, didn’t you? You should have just said so from the start. You were embarrassed, weren’t you? You cute little….”
“Miss Rachel gave this to me.”
I was about to tease Vanessa, feeling pleased, but she cut me off with those unexpected words.
“…Huh?”
R-Rachel? Come to think of it, yesterday too… No. She brought fruit yesterday, and now she’s brought more?
And again, without even seeing me?
“…Just like yesterday, Miss Rachel was lingering at the main gate. When I approached, she simply handed this to me and left.”
As if she knew exactly what I was thinking, and as if she herself had no idea why Rachel would do such a thing, Vanessa spoke with a peculiar expression and held the fruit basket out to me.
Taking the basket, I was lost in thought for a moment.
How am I supposed to interpret this?
If it had just been yesterday, I could have thought she was just taking a quick break from work and didn’t have time, so she dropped off the basket and left.
But for it to happen two days in a row, it felt like some kind of message.
If only I had a clue what it was.
“…As I said a moment ago, you do not need to help any further, Sir Guwon.”
Looking at me, Vanessa said this with her usual expressionless face.
Her tone was devoid of any emotion, but I could feel a warm consideration in her words.
In other words, Vanessa had noticed what I was thinking and was suggesting that if I was curious, I should go see Rachel myself.
“No. It’s fine.”
But after a moment of deliberation, I decided to refuse the offer.
To be honest, I was dying of curiosity about what this fruit basket meant.
I wanted to go to Rachel right this instant and find out.
But if I did that, if I left this warehouse, then my words about wanting to be with Vanessa today would become a lie.
Of course, it was true that I had ulterior motives, like wanting to cure her trauma and make her completely mine, but my desire to be with her today wasn’t a lie.
“…Will you be alright?”
How could I be alright?! I can’t stand not knowing things!
Besides, what if Rachel was sending me a critical message through this fruit basket?
Something like, I’ve already come to see you twice, but you won’t even show your face? You once said you’d love me without fail and that you could prove it. Was that all a lie?
What if that was why she just sent a fruit basket without showing herself?
Of course, there’s no way Rachel would do that.
Silvia said she told her, so she must know I had some trouble in the dungeon.
Well, it’s a misunderstanding that I had trouble, but still.
In any case, there was no way Rachel would have given me the fruit basket with such an extreme meaning.
In the first place, the idea that this basket is a message is just my own delusion. It’s more likely that she just didn’t have time again today and left the basket.
Suppressing the anxiety that was stealthily rearing its head, I chose to continue spending time with Vanessa.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I told you, didn’t I? I want to be with you today.”
“…Is… that so.”
This time, it seemed Vanessa was genuinely moved. Her voice even trembled slightly as she managed to reply.
“…But we will not be having sex. Hmph. A jo—.”
“Dammit!”
“…What did you just say?”
“N-No. I mean, that’s not what I meant!”
“……”
“…For the record, I was just joking.”
“…Is that so? If you were that genuinely disappointed, I was about to suggest we have sex right now.”
…….
Calm down. Just calm down. Be calm. Calm down, Guwon. This is a trap.
She grew up under Diana, so she’s strangely good at psychological warfare.
Diana was at least easy to deal with because she’s head over heels for me.
But with this one, I can’t even begin to guess what she’s thinking, so I have no idea what her true intentions are.
What on earth is the right way to answer?
“…I-I’m serious, it’s not like that, okay?”
“Your voice is trembling.”
“I said it’s not!”
“I see.”
Only after I said that did Vanessa nod and walk toward the corner of the warehouse.
Dammit… Dammit! No. I really didn’t mean it like that, but when a woman with that body and those looks tempts you with words like that, of course you’re going to be swayed!
Honestly, I’m regretting what I said even now!
If I had said that’s what I meant, could we really have had sex?
No. Let’s not think like that. I made the right choice. Yes. The right choice….
“Well then, I have been asked for an item, so I will be away for a moment.”
“Hey, you!”
Did you even hear me say I wanted to be with you?!
Ignoring the cry of my heart, Vanessa once again vanished out of the warehouse in an instant.
That girl, she was only holding a single vial or something in her hand when she left, right? She could have carried that with everything else when she left before!
Is she doing this on purpose just to mess with me?!
I let it slide before, but I can’t take it anymore! When she gets back, I’m definitely going to have a word with her!
Infuriated by Vanessa’s attitude, I made a firm resolution in my mind and got back to checking the inventory.
I may not look it, but I’m a diligent man who always gets the job done.
“I have returned.”
“Vanessa! You, get over here for a second! We need to talk!”
“Yes.”
The moment Vanessa returned, just as I’d resolved, I called out to her with fire in my eyes.
Vanessa’s expression didn’t even flicker at my attitude. She closed the warehouse door, locked it, and then strode toward me.
Staring straight at her, I shouted.
“Why are you so beautiful?!”
…No. Wait a second. Hear me out. I was originally going to get angry. I was, but…
She came back in her Dragonian form.
And even though she was already wearing her butler uniform, she was holding a neatly folded pair of pants in one hand.
In other words, she probably went to change. Into the pants that had the hole in them.
When I realized that was why she had left so quickly, there was no way I could be angry.
“…Is, is that all?”
“Of course not! Wanna have sex?”
“…That is not what I meant. If you are finished saying what you need to say….”
Even at my cheeky reply, Vanessa’s eyes just glinted a little brighter, but she showed no stronger reaction.
“No. It’s not enough. You’re beautiful. You’re cute. Why would you try to hide something this beautiful? At least when you’re with me, stay like this all the time. Huh? Huh?”
“Tha—Hnngh…! The, the horns… please stop!”
Even as I showered her with compliments, Vanessa had maintained her expressionless face, though her cheeks had flushed slightly.
But I didn’t stop at just compliments. I reached out and stroked her head, and in the process, my hand brushed against her horns. At that, Vanessa’s knees finally gave out a little, and she practically collapsed forward, clinging to me as she desperately cried out.
“I’m doing it because you’re beautiful, what’s wrong? Seeing as you’re hugging me back….”
“Hnngh!”
Of course, I paid her no mind and wrapped an arm tightly around her, pulling her body flush against mine.
The hand that had been stroking her hair now began to focus entirely on her horns.
In response, Vanessa let out an even sexier moan, and eventually… she returned to her human form.
“Haah… haah… I knew that was your intention, didn’t I?”
Vanessa said, glaring at me as she panted in a sexy way.
If it had been any of the other girls, I would have pushed things further here.
The fact that she returned to her original form meant that, in other words, there was now a hole in the seat of her pants.
But my goal wasn’t just to satisfy my own desires.
It was to cure Vanessa’s trauma.
Therefore, now was the time for compromise, not for pushing forward.
“Sorry. I’m sorry. You were just so beautiful, I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, so please change back.”
“……”
Even though I practically begged her, Vanessa just continued to glare at me.
“I’m serious. Don’t you trust me?”
“…Do you think I can?”
“Really! I promise! I won’t lay a hand on your body again!”
“…Hmph!”
“Ah, my mistake. I mean I won’t lay a hand on you today, not ever again. There’s no way I could not touch that magnificent body for the rest of my life. Yep. Yep.”
“…That is sexual harassment.”
Despite saying that, Vanessa eventually changed back into her Dragonian form.
And so, Vanessa and I spent the entire day organizing the warehouse, just the two of us, inside the locked room.
In the end, nothing of that sort happened.
Well, since she’s already confessed to me, there will be plenty of chances for that sort of thing later.