I completely froze and kept bowing so deeply that my head nearly touched the floor, all while still holding his foot.
“I-I-I’m sorry!”
But then I realized that continuing to hold the Duke’s foot was probably impolite, so I carefully placed his foot back on the floor.
At this rate, I felt like I was going to die before Abel even had the chance to.
Of course, I couldn’t die like this. I hurriedly racked my brain.
Beg for mercy. That was the only answer right now.
Before I could even finish thinking, I dropped to my knees in front of him.
“Please kill me! Someone like me deserves to die!”
And at that exact moment, the Duke’s door opened.
Roel’s face gradually turned pale as she saw the Duke sitting on the floor with one leg stretched out awkwardly, while I was kneeling in front of him.
I cautiously looked at the Duke, wondering if this was really how my life was going to end. Our eyes met, but there was no way to tell what he was thinking.
The dark circles beneath his eyes seemed even darker than before.
A chill ran down my spine.
Even Roel, sensing the atmosphere, stood frozen in place without daring to say a word.
“……You really want to die?”
The Duke finally broke the silence.
The moment I heard his words, it felt as though my heart dropped.
W-What was I supposed to say?
The atmosphere was so terrifying that even breathing felt difficult.
But then, the Duke slowly curled the corners of his lips upward.
“I’m joking.”
“……”
Judging by the murderous atmosphere, it didn’t sound like a joke at all. But since he himself said it was a joke, I decided to take it as one.
While I nervously watched his expression, the Duke stood up. He then dropped heavily onto the sofa and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
He didn’t look like someone who had just fallen over at all.
If anything, he looked completely relaxed.
His languid voice echoed above my head.
“Do I really look like someone who would hurt people so easily?”
“No, Your Grace!”
Worried that he might misunderstand me, I immediately answered as though I had been waiting for the question.
The Duke smiled faintly, seemingly pleased with my answer.
Thanks to that smile, some of my tension seemed to ease.
Perhaps because of that, the Duke’s face almost seemed to glow.
He was completely different from the Duke I had only heard rumors about.
Well, who cared? What mattered was that he was being generous enough to overlook my mistake!
Unlike what I had expected, the Duke seemed to be in a rather good mood, and my pounding heart slowly returned to normal.
The Duke took a cigar from the cigar case on the table. He cut off the end and placed it between his lips.
“What’s your name?”
It had been less than a day since I had introduced myself to him, but I calmly answered without panicking.
“Chase.”
However, the Duke seemed not to hear me. He reached into his clothes and searched for something, but apparently couldn’t find what he was looking for. His relaxed brows narrowed slightly.
Roel, who had been nervously watching the situation beside us, hurriedly lit the cigar between his red lips.
The Duke looked down at me, who was still kneeling before him, with the cigar between his lips.
Then he exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Through the acrid smoke, I could see the Duke’s face, but there was no way to guess what he was thinking.
“Get up.”
The moment he finished speaking, I sprang to my feet.
The Duke then tilted his chin toward the sofa in front of him.
I hesitated for only a moment before following his instructions and sitting carefully on the edge of the sofa.
Roel, who had been watching us, finally seemed relieved. She let out a sigh of relief and began placing the food she had brought onto the table.
Then, out of nowhere, the Duke began saying something strange.
“Hey.”
“Yes!”
“Did you eat breakfast?”
Why did it feel so ominous when such a handsome man was kindly asking whether I had eaten breakfast?
I nodded slightly and answered his question.
“Yes, I ate before coming.”
“Really? Then you must be hungry.”
While my brain was rapidly working to figure out what he was getting at, the Duke continued in a voice filled with amusement, as if trying to put an end to my thoughts.
“I’m quite a generous person, you see.”
“Yes, yes? Ah, Your Grace certainly does seem very generous.”
I quickly nodded along with his words.
Judging solely by his face, he looked like the greatest villain in the world, but I had heard that you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.
The Duke looked extremely satisfied with my answer. In fact, he seemed strangely pleased.
Then he turned toward Roel, who had been completely frozen while listening to our conversation, and spoke in a fierce voice.
“What are you doing just standing there?”
“……I’m sorry. I’ll prepare everything right away.”
Even as Roel arranged the dishes on the table, she couldn’t hide the anxiety in her eyes.
Of course, her feelings were more or less the same as mine.
……What on earth is wrong with this man?
The Duke extinguished his cigar and spoke.
“Eat.”
I had said that I had already eaten breakfast less than a minute ago, or at least that was how it felt.
But the Duke’s eyes, fixed firmly on me, were sharper than I had expected.
Perhaps he noticed that I looked a little frightened by his fierce expression, because the Duke relaxed the corners of his lips and spoke.
“I’m saying we should have a meal together because I like you very much, so why don’t you relax?”
“……Th-Then I’ll eat gratefully.”
Breakfast had been excellent, but the Duke’s meal was even more incredible.
It was as if fireworks were exploding inside my mouth.
However, I couldn’t exactly cheer in delight in front of the Duke like some ill-mannered person, so I diligently thanked him like a parrot.
I even added a warm smile from time to time.
“I’m glad you like it.”
The Duke smiled brightly and leisurely leaned back against the sofa as he observed me.
It was true that someone like me, who had once gone hungry on the streets without a single thing to eat, was overwhelmed by such a meal.
And having a meal alone in front of the only Duke in the kingdom was certainly far beyond my station as well.
But……
This situation was incredibly strange.
The proof was Roel, who was standing beside us and fidgeting restlessly.
Eventually, perhaps her presence was bothering him, because the Duke ordered her to leave.
Once even Roel, my only source of comfort, left the room, I could barely swallow another bite.
On top of that, the Duke’s intense gaze was so overwhelming that I couldn’t even tell whether the food was going into my mouth or my nose.
In the end, I had no choice but to cautiously ask the Duke, who was staring at me as though he might eat me alive.
“By the way…… aren’t you going to eat, Your Grace?”
The Duke smiled beautifully before answering.
“Just watching you eat fills me up.”
The Duke possessed an incredible talent for frightening people with nothing more than a simple compliment.
“I think I should call you over for meals from time to time. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea. It’ll save me money on food, too.”
I felt like I was sitting on a bed of nails.
Of course, compared to the Duke’s terrifying reputation, this was an extremely mild punishment, but still……
The Duke, who had been watching me eat closely, changed his posture.
“Are you from the south?”
I flinched at every little movement he made and carefully nodded.
“My hometown is in the south, but I’ve lived in the capital ever since I was eleven.”
“Then you’re practically a person of the capital.”
“I…… suppose so?”
“What were your parents like?”
He didn’t ask whether my parents were alive or dead.
He asked what kind of people they were.
He had clearly read the letter of recommendation very carefully.
“They were wonderful people. The kind that made me wonder whether I would ever meet people like them again in my life.”
The moment I finished speaking, silence fell over the room.
Of course, it wasn’t complete silence. I could still hear the ticking of the clock and the occasional clinking of utensils as I ate.
Then Ridden spoke expressionlessly.
“You eat well.”
“Th-Thank you. I’ve always liked eating.”
“I can tell.”
At his compliment, I diligently picked up my fork again.
Since he wasn’t blowing my head off with a revolver, I figured this was still better than the terrifying rumors about him—rumors that said he could blow someone’s head off for absolutely no reason.
“Chase!”
At the end of the hallway, I saw Peter approaching me while waving his hand.
He came up to me, lightly tapped my shoulder playfully, and asked,
“It was your first day at work today. How was it?”
At his question, I smiled awkwardly and scratched my cheek.
“Hmm…… Actually, I caused an accident.”
I left out the part about nearly sending the Duke flying with all my strength.
Peter let out a small chuckle when he heard me.
“Everyone makes mistakes when they’re new. You’re perfectly normal.”
Even after hearing Peter’s reassuring words, I couldn’t completely shake off my anxiety.
“What if His Grace starts hating me because of this……?”
“It’s fine. I made tons of mistakes when I first started, and I’m still working here just fine.”
Peter shrugged as if telling me not to worry.
“……You made a lot of mistakes too?”
“Yeah. I don’t remember the details, but I do remember that His Grace got furious and carried me over his shoulder, then tried to throw me out the window.”
“……”
“But, well…… It was my first time working as a servant, too. Once I started getting used to the job, he didn’t really care anymore. So don’t blame yourself too much.”
Peter gave my shoulder a few reassuring pats and flashed me a grin.
His words made me feel a little better.
But a small part of my heart was still heavy.
