A Single Bed and a Dangerous Proposal
The knock echoed twice through my room—polite, measured, and exactly as I had anticipated.
“Come in.”
My formal reply prompted the door to open slowly, revealing the visitor I had been expecting. I knew she would come. I had known it all along… yet now that she was actually here, I found myself at a complete loss for how to react.
“Excuse me…”
Aria stood in the doorway, offering a small, courteous bow. She had changed out of the dress she wore that morning into something more comfortable. Her face still carried a faint flush, likely from a recent shower, and the sight looked unintentionally seductive. I found myself averting my gaze without thinking.
She was unfairly, excessively beautiful. It was bad for my mental health.
I couldn’t begin to understand what these feelings were. Only days ago, the mere sight of her face had filled me with nothing but hatred. How had things come to this?
While I wrestled with my inner turmoil, Aria stepped naturally into the room and settled gracefully onto the sofa in the center. Then she began casting subtle sidelong glances in my direction from where I sat at my desk. It felt like a silent pressure, urging me to come and sit with her.
In the end, I couldn’t resist that unspoken demand. I rose from my chair and took the seat directly across from her on the sofa.
“What kind of tea would you like? I’ll have a servant bring it.”
I asked out of courtesy, but her answer caught me completely off guard.
“Oh, that’s already taken care of. I made arrangements in advance.”
“…Pardon?”
Just as confusion crossed my face, another knock sounded at the door.
Knock. Knock.
“Young master, I’ve brought the tea and refreshments you requested.”
It was the calm voice of my personal maid, Hannah.
“……”
Was this woman now commanding the servants of our own estate at will?
I stared at Aria in stunned silence. She deliberately avoided my eyes, gave a small, artificial cough, and spoke toward the door in my place.
“Come in.”
At her words, the door opened and a young maid entered, pushing a two-tiered cart laden with a full tea set. She wore a white headdress, a black maid uniform with a crisp white apron, and had sleek black hair cut to her shoulders. It was Hannah.
Like me, she had only just come of age this year. As the third daughter of Viscount Robin’s household, she had entered our service five years ago at the tender age of fifteen as part of a diplomatic arrangement between our families. Though she could be curt, she was an excellent worker and had served as my dedicated maid for five years now, faithfully assisting with my daily life.
Her face still held a touch of youthful innocence, and she was rather short, so I still remembered how she used to struggle on tiptoe to reach high shelves, letting out little grunts of effort. I had helped her a few times back then.
While those memories drifted through my mind, Hannah had already arrived beside our table. The aroma rising from the teapot on her cart was unmistakably that of lemon tea.
“Hannah. Who ordered this?”
When I asked her pointedly, she glanced at me with a deadpan expression that seemed to say, What are you talking about?
“The young lady’s fiancée mentioned that you would appreciate it if I prepared a tea set, so I did. Was that incorrect?”
I looked across the table. Aria was smiling sweetly at me, the picture of perfect innocence. Having pieced the situation together, I dragged a hand down my face and let out a resigned sigh.
“No… it’s fine. Yes. You did well.”
“Thank you.”
Hannah gave a brief, formal bow and delivered her reply in the same flat tone. Soon, teacups were placed before both Aria and me, and steaming lemon tea was poured. In the center of the table sat an assortment of delicious-looking cookies.
“Please call if you require anything else.”
Hannah bowed once more with perfect courtesy, left the cart in the room, and turned to leave. Only after the door closed with a heavy thud did Aria finally speak.
“She’s a pretty girl.”
“Yes, well… I suppose so.”
The words left my mouth thoughtlessly, and I immediately regretted them. That had clearly been a trap. Was this witch going to seize on it and curse me with some wicked spell—
Sure enough, Aria’s expression grew subtly complicated, and the air between us turned chilly.
“Hmm, I see. So Lord Leo’s taste runs toward girls like that…”
Damn it. What kind of nonsense was that?
“That is not the case. How could I harbor such feelings toward a servant? What I said was merely—”
“Hehe, I was only joking.”
“……”
It didn’t sound like a joke at all. If you’re going to say it, at least relax your eyes.
Still, it was true—I had never once looked at Hannah with any romantic interest, nor had I ever entertained such thoughts. If I wasn’t careful, this misunderstanding might literally send me flying via magic.
“…What about me?”
“……Pardon?”
The completely unexpected question froze me in place. Had I misheard her? What had this woman just—
“What about me?”
Across from me, Aria’s face had turned a deep shade of red. She kept stealing quick, sidelong glances in my direction. Why was she suddenly asking this? For some reason, the atmosphere felt incredibly dangerous—like giving the wrong answer could end in disaster. A chill ran down my spine.
#20. [POV: Aria]
I regretted it the instant the words left my mouth. Blinded by a sudden surge of jealousy, I had said something I should never have uttered. Why on earth had I blurted out such insane nonsense?
But words, once spoken, are like spilled water. There was no taking them back now.
“Ah… that is…”
Leo’s troubled expression made my heart ache. I hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable. Regret washed over me. Should I retract it even now?
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Leo scratched his cheek awkwardly and spoke.
“…You are beautiful as well, my lady.”
“……!”
I couldn’t help but catch my breath. Hearing those words of praise directly from Leo’s lips was far more thrilling and joyful than I had imagined. Even if it was only empty flattery, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
“…Thank you.”
I barely managed to reply. I couldn’t look him straight in the eyes. I was too embarrassed—too overwhelmingly happy to have heard him call me beautiful. Meeting his gaze felt impossible.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence suddenly descended. How foolish of me. Why had I brought up something so unnecessary? We weren’t close enough yet to exchange such words. Still… I was happy. So very happy that Leo had praised me.
While I wrestled with those conflicting emotions, Leo awkwardly picked up his teacup and changed the subject.
“Now that I think of it, about the bandit attack earlier today.”
He steered the conversation toward the carriage ambush from that morning. Yes. Anything was better than this suffocating atmosphere. Besides, that incident needed to be addressed eventually.
“This is only my personal opinion, but I don’t believe they were acting independently.”
“…Not acting independently?”
“Correct. I suspect there is someone behind them.”
That was a blind spot I had completely overlooked. I had vaguely assumed there might be a spy inside the estate, but Leo had already looked one step further. In my previous life, the Black Hood Bandits had been easily subjugated by our territory’s soldiers, so I had dismissed their organization as insignificant.
“Do you have any basis for that suspicion?”
“Yes. Something about it feels off no matter how I look at it. Among the spears and swords they carried, some had designs identical to those used by the imperial royal guard.”
“The imperial… royal guard?”
“Indeed. It’s possible they simply looted the empire’s armory or purchased them on the black market, but we should keep the possibility of a connection to the imperial family firmly in mind.”
“But wouldn’t that alone be insufficient to prove they have a backer?”
“Of course. There is one more thing.”
Leo placed a sheet of paper on the table—something he must have prepared earlier.
“This is the log from the territory’s guard outpost. It states that no suspicious activity was observed along the outer walls for the past week. Yet bandits were comfortably settled inside the territory. This suggests two possibilities.”
He raised his index finger.
“First, they infiltrated as ordinary residents and then turned to banditry within the territory.”
His middle finger joined the first, forming a V.
“Second, the guards were bribed by someone.”
“……”
“In any case, we’ll have to investigate the identities of all residents who passed through the checkpoints recently, and separately summon and interrogate the guards. I’ll leave that matter to Sebastian…”
“Ah, Lord Leo. Is it not possible there might also be a spy inside the mansion?”
“Ah, yes. I have already considered that. I plan to thoroughly examine the personal histories of all the servants soon.”
“……”
As expected, Leo was incredible. He thought of things I would never have considered and immediately put his cool-headed judgment into action. My admiration lasted only a moment before he pulled out a fresh sheet of paper and began writing something.
“What is that?”
“A letter to Fred. I thought it best to warn him to be careful as well.”
“I… I see.”
The soft scratching of his pen filled the room. I watched him write, completely entranced. Yes… this was exactly the side of him I had fallen for. I could confirm it once again.
Then, once more, a wicked impulse rose within me. I knew I shouldn’t say it, but my mouth moved on its own.
“Um, Lord Leo.”
“Yes?”
“I’m a little tired from everything that happened earlier today, so…”
“……?”
“Could we end today’s schedule here… and rest now?”
#21. [POV: Leo]
“Could we end today’s schedule here… and rest now?”
“Ah… yes, of course. You must be quite exhausted.”
“Yes. I’ll do as you suggest, my lord.”
Aria surprisingly agreed to my suggestion without resistance. Was she really going to obediently return to her room just like that?
But my hopeful expectation was shattered the very next moment by the words that left her lips.
“There is only one bed, so I will use the pillow and blanket you were already using, Lord Leo.”
“…Pardon?”
What the hell was this woman saying?