Chapter 733: The Sixth Apostle
Chapter 733: The Sixth Apostle
“…Huh?”
Twitch.
The eyebrow of my ever-stoic, iron-willed butler, which rarely ever moved, twitched violently for a brief moment.
“So, about going to the dungeon again tomorrow…”
Twitch.
This time, she didn’t say a word, but Vanessa’s eyebrow put on another spectacular display of violent movement.
“O-of course, you don’t have to prepare anything special. I know this is all very sudden. I figured as much, so I already went ahead and prepared…”
Oops. If I tell her I just got back from shopping with the girls, will that just provoke her more?
Even for my iron-willed butler, Vanessa, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t take it that way this time.
Especially given what I’d said to her before.
“…”
This time, as if even she was struggling to maintain her composure, Vanessa pressed her fingertips to the bridge of her nose. She remained silent for a moment, somehow managing to keep her expression blank.
Damn it. Why did I have to go and say that?
Vanessa might seem cold and distant, but deep down, she must be hiding an explosive love for me.
…Probably. Y-yeah, right? I mean, I still haven’t succeeded in making her an Apostle yet, but…
N-no! Still, she confessed to me—the man of Diana, who is practically a god to her. A man she should never have touched. She couldn’t hide her feelings in the end. She must be passionately in love with me on the inside.
Which means, despite her cold exterior this morning, she must have been secretly looking forward to what I said.
And yet, the first thing I do when I get back is say something that completely turns my morning promise into a lie.
“…Preparations are not an issue. All consumables, excluding meals, have already been procured. I will prepare the meals during the night.”
And after a long silence, Vanessa finally spoke, her expression cold as she uttered the words expected of a butler.
“Huh? Y-you’ve already prepared?”
“…Yes. Is there a problem?”
A problem… well…
We returned yesterday.
And this morning, Vanessa had definitely asked about preparing for the dungeon.
In other words, the only time she could have possibly prepared was while I was out today.
And yet, for her to say she’s already prepared… that means one thing, doesn’t it?
“…Hey. Did you… not believe what I said this morning at all?”
“…I did believe you.”
“Keuk!”
That single phrase, “I did believe you,” struck my conscience like a massive nail, far more painfully than any of her previous cold responses.
Of course, you did! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for getting ahead of myself!
Of course. My perfect butler has the kind of personality that prepares for any and every situation.
What the hell was I thinking! I even thought the same thing this morning!
Which means her question this morning was, just as I’d suspected, her own way of sending me a signal.
“Haa… I’m truly sorry. I may not look it, but I really do try not to lie to you girls about things like this. This time, things just unintentionally ended up this way.”
Joking around was no longer an option, so I changed my expression and bowed my head to her sincerely.
“…I know.”
Seeing me act this way, it seemed Vanessa couldn’t maintain her cold demeanor any longer. Her expression softened slightly as she replied.
Well, I mean, she was still expressionless.
But I could feel it. Her face was subtly gentler than before.
Damn it. This just makes me feel even guiltier.
“…No. On second thought, I haven’t actually lied yet.”
“…Pardon?”
After thinking about what to do, I finally found a solution.
Though I’m not sure how she misinterpreted my words, Vanessa’s expression turned cold once more.
“Relax, I’m not saying I’m not sorry. I’m saying there’s still time to keep my promise. You’re free from now on, right?”
I asked her with a calm, confident air.
Vanessa is too much of a perfectionist when it comes to her work.
So much so that even after what I said this morning, she prepared everything so we could leave for the dungeon again at a moment’s notice.
There was no way that my perfect butler, Vanessa, who flawlessly handles even unassigned tasks, wouldn’t have taken care of the one thing I did ask her to do this morning.
“What is this all of a sudden…”
“I won’t take no for an answer. You’ve already adjusted your schedule so you’d be free whenever I called, haven’t you?”
Vanessa seemed like she was about to play dumb, but I cut her off and pressed on.
That’s right. I definitely said it this morning.
To clear her schedule and come tell me when she was free.
Of course, given her personality, she wouldn’t report to me exactly when she had cleared her schedule.
But she would have prepared herself to be ready whenever I called.
“…”
“Am I wrong?”
“…You are not wrong.”
And just as I expected, I was right on the money.
To be honest, since opportunities like this with Vanessa are so rare, I had planned to set aside a full day to spend with her from morning till night.
But well, it’s not like we’re short on time if we start now.
It’s still 4 PM. If I skip dinner and we go right up until it’s time for me to spend the night with Leia… I guess you could say we have a decent amount of time.
It’s a shame I can’t hold her all day before we go to the dungeon like I’d planned, but I’ll just have to save that for next time.
“Alright, I’ll be waiting in my room. Get ready and come find me.”
“…”
When I said that, Vanessa, for once, didn’t give a clear answer and seemed to hesitate.
I mean, she was still standing perfectly still with a blank expression. But for some reason, I could tell.
“Vanessa?”
“…Under…stood.”
Only after I called her name again did she finally open her mouth and give me an answer.
“Oh, right. And you won’t be able to prepare dinner, so give the maids instructions beforehand. Of course, I’ll be skipping dinner tonight as well.”
“…Hk! Th-that’s…!”
At my follow-up comment, Vanessa flinched, her body trembling in what was, for her, a rather extreme reaction.
Her expression itself remained blank, but if you looked closely, you could see her face was slightly redder than usual.
“The maids are more than capable of handling that much. You’ve probably already planned the menu, and while I understand your desire for perfection, it’s not like the maids here are so incompetent they can’t manage one dinner without you, right?”
“…Understood.”
Of course, the reason for her reaction probably wasn’t just about wanting to prepare a perfect dinner.
But I knew that and said it anyway, leaving Vanessa with no choice but to reluctantly agree.
If she didn’t agree, it would be like admitting to me that she had reacted for a different reason.
And so, though it was sudden, I was about to be skin-to-skin with my butler for the first time in a while.
So I returned to my room, took a quick shower, and waited for Vanessa, completely naked, but…
“…She’s late.”
I waited for a long time, but my butler showed no signs of coming to my room.
What the hell? What is she doing?
Telling the maids to handle dinner preparations themselves shouldn’t take this long!
Am I being stood up? Is that it?
If that’s what this is, I’m seriously going to cry.
If she doesn’t want to see the ugly sight of a grown man sobbing his eyes out, she’d better get here right now.
Damn it. What on earth is she doing? Should I get dressed and go look for her?
It had already been an hour since I started waiting in my room.
I seriously debated what to do, putting one leg into my underwear and taking it out again dozens of times.
Knock, knock.
And just as I finally decided to get dressed and go out, the long-awaited knock finally came.
“Come in!”
“…I have arr—Hk?!”
The moment the door opened and Vanessa appeared, I rushed toward her.
“What took you so long?!”
“…?!”
For some reason, Vanessa froze, pressing herself flat against the door, and fell completely silent.
It was very unlike her.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“…Why are you naked?”
“Well, because we’re about to… ah.”
It was only after saying that much that I understood her reaction.
Because even though I was standing right in front of her, her gaze was fixed on my lower body and showed no signs of moving.
Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve called her to my room to start things off calmly like this.
So she probably never imagined I’d be waiting for her completely naked.
Did I shatter the mood? Maybe it would have been better to start with a little more atmosphere.
No, if I have to make an excuse, it’s because the other girls and I are long past that stage. I guess you could say I’m just used to this.
…Although, I’m sure the girls would like it if I tried to set the mood from the start, too.
“Hold on. Can you turn around and cover your ears for a second?”
“…You don’t have to get dressed again.”
After a moment’s thought, I was about to try and start over, but Vanessa, as if sensing my intention, spoke with what sounded like a faint sigh.
“Oh, really?”
Judging by that reaction, trying to get dressed and set the mood now would probably get a lukewarm response.
Rather than putting on some awkward, belated play, maybe I should just try to build the mood from here.
With that in mind, I gave up on getting dressed and took a small step back to get a proper look at Vanessa.
I’d been too impatient after waiting so long to really notice her appearance before, but looking at her properly now, I immediately understood why she had taken so much time.
She never intended to stand me up, nor was she trying to tease me.
It was simply that she took a long time getting ready.
She was wearing the casual clothes she’d bought on our date.
I could easily imagine that just changing into this outfit and walking here must have taken a considerable amount of courage for her.
Coming here dressed like this was tantamount to declaring to everyone she met on the way, ‘I am now on my way to Sir Guwon’s room to attend to a personal matter with him.’
I’d definitely told her before that she could wear her own clothes in the mansion when she wasn’t on duty, but she hadn’t done it even once since then.
Well, she probably intended to use the excuse that she was always on duty, but her insistence on only wearing her butler uniform had backfired on her in a moment like this.
“…What is it?”
“Nothing. You’re just beautiful.”
As I scanned her from head to toe, she shifted subtly, as if she’d grown a little embarrassed.
“…Being told that by someone in your state is not particularly pleasing.”
“Don’t lie. I know you’re happy to hear it.”
I placed my palm gently on the cheek of the ever-expressionless Vanessa and lightly tickled her damp hair with my fingertips.
The thought that this butler, who looks like she wouldn’t bleed even if you stabbed her, had just spent all that time getting ready to have sex with me made my blood boil with excitement.
“…Hk?!”
Blood naturally rushed to my lower body, and the tip of my stiffly erect member brushed against Vanessa’s body.
“…If you get aroused by a mere sight like this, does it not interfere with your daily life?”
Well, it seemed Vanessa was still trying her best to feign composure.
Even though she’d just let out an involuntary moan.
“It’s not like I’m turned on because your outfit is revealing, so there’s no problem at all.”
If anything, the skirt she chose was well within her own comfort zone, so the outfit wasn’t even that revealing.
“And another thing, your appearance is not something you should belittle by calling it a ‘mere sight like this’.”
“…Hk?! To say such things so calmly… Are you not embarrassed?”
I’m trying to be considerate and set the mood here, so don’t say things like that, you.
This kind of thing is fine as long as you don’t think about it, but the moment you become conscious of it, that’s when it gets embarrassing.