Chapter 201 - I Like You

"Weren't you working?" Valdrova asked.

"It's nothing important."

"No, I only came because I was bored. If it's a bad time, I'll come back later..."

There was no way he could turn her away. What in the world could be more important than her boredom?

"Not at all. Please come in."

"But you look like you have so much work..."

Valdrova looked at the paperwork piled on Ferda's desk.

"It's really all right."

"Is it...?"

"If it comes to that, I can burn it all."

"What? You can do that?"

"I can."

His voice was so firm that it actually made him less convincing.

"Y-you mustn't do that. You have to do your work, don't you?"

"But you'll be bored."

"Never mind that, Ferda. You work. I'll sit beside you."

"Beside me...?"

"Yes! I'll be as quiet as a mouse!"

"All right."

Valdrova approached cautiously, pulled over Mori's chair, and sat beside him.

"You can do it!"

She raised both hands in an encouraging gesture.

But there was no way he could concentrate. Even with her mask on, having that face turned toward him made him self-conscious.

She had come because she was bored. If he only made her boredom worse instead of relieving it, wouldn't that disqualify him as her future partner?

'I really should just burn the lot...'

Just as Ferda was about to make that momentous decision, Valdrova leaned closer. She read the document he was holding.

"Interim Report on Summer Budget Expenditures... What does that mean?"

Ferda answered her.

"It's a document for checking how the money set aside for summer is being spent."

"I see. Does it look like it's being spent well?"

"They say they need more funds than expected, but this much is still manageable."

"Hmm..."

Valdrova looked down at the figures below, visibly at a loss.

"Ferda, do you think I could do this sort of thing too?"

"You could, but there's no need."

"But aren't these things supposed to be my responsibility?"

"These tedious little tasks are properly my responsibility. You needn't trouble yourself to learn them, Your Highness."

Valdrova abruptly fell silent. The silence sent a chill through him.

Had he said something wrong? Should he have told her she could do it—that she could learn if she put her mind to it?

"Actually, this isn't what I came to talk about... I keep getting sidetracked."

Valdrova hesitated, rolling her fingertips against each other, then spoke.

"I'm sorry I've kept avoiding you these past few days. The truth is, I was so embarrassed I couldn't bear it..."

"Not at all. I can wait until you're ready, Your Highness."

"... There you go again."

She seemed terribly hurt. Ferda still had no idea what was wrong.

"Um..."

"Yes?"

"I like you."

"What?"

Ferda was shaken. So shaken that even Valdrova, who had said it, was startled.

"I mean... the name Eleanor."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes. It's the name you gave me... It hurts when you don't use it."

"Ah."

Was that it? Whenever she had seemed upset, it was when he called her Your Highness.

"I see."

"Yes."

"..."

"..."

"Then, Eleanor...?"

"Yes!"

Valdrova answered with such enthusiasm that he could tell that really was all she had wanted.

"Hehe. You can get back to work now. I've been such a nuisance, haven't I?"

"Not at all. This much is fine."

"Can I bother you a little more?"

"You can."

"Then..."

Her fidgeting hand followed her body as she leaned forward, cautiously catching one of Ferda's hands.

"May I have this?"

"Shall I cut it off for you?"

"You don't have to go that far!"

"I'm joking."

It hadn't sounded like a joke at all.

Ferda smiled softly at her. Unable to bear looking at that smile, Valdrova lowered her head and toyed with his hand.

Her fingers traveled from the creases of his thumb over the smooth surface of his nail, then on to his index finger. As she explored each part in turn, it felt as though she were trying to read everything in his hand.

Naturally, Ferda couldn't concentrate.

"Ferda..."

"Yes?"

"What do you like about me?"

The question came out of nowhere. Valdrova continued, moving from one finger to the next.

"You're handsome and clever... I'd think you'd like someone prettier and smarter than a woman like me. Someone like that lady Olivia, for example...?"

Olivia Arken. A beauty fully deserving of the title Rose of the Empire.

But Ferda knew her other side. It was so deep and dark that looking at her only felt like seeing another version of himself. No matter how beautiful she was, that left him with nothing but unease.

"However clever Olivia and I may be, there is something neither of us can acquire, no matter how hard we try. And you have it, Eleanor."

"What is it?"

The very question she was asking was the answer.

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's most beautiful when you don't know."

"What is that supposed to mean...?"

Valdrova grumbled, as though she suspected he was teasing her.

What a paradox it was, that her ignorance of her own preciousness should feel so precious to him.

His heart, which had been fluttering with excitement, gradually settled. A pleasant quiet descended, and Ferda returned his attention to the documents.

They fell silent again. Ferda turned the pages, and each time he did, Valdrova fidgeted with his hand.

Eventually, she began tracing something on his palm. Following the lines by touch, he made out letters.

"Are you writing letters?"

"That's right. Can you feel them?"

"Yes, I can."

"Hmm... Then shall I write something for you to guess?"

Valdrova made it sound like fun. There was no way Ferda could refuse.

"All right."

"Here's the first question, then!"

Her finger moved gently, using his hand as a sheet of paper. She even added a period before asking playfully,

"What did I write?"

"Apple?"

"Yes. Apple is right. Now, the next question!"

Excited, Valdrova eagerly began writing again.

"Ferda. My name."

"That's right! Next question..."

"Eleanor. Your name."

"Correct! You're good at this. I'll need something a little harder."

Valdrova hummed happily, swaying her head from side to side.

"For the next one, hmm..."

Her excited movements grew noticeably calmer. The hand holding his felt strangely warmer.

"... You'll guess this one too, won't you?"

"All right."

Ferda concentrated on reading the letters she traced. She added a period and asked,

"What did I write?"

"..."

"Hmm, was that one difficult?"

"No. I think I know what it says."

"Then tell me."

"It's..."

Ferda absently touched his face. He hesitated, looking deeply flustered.

What she had written was something he knew well, but could never bring himself to say in his right mind. The words were too sweet, too beautiful for someone as taciturn and unexpressive as him to dare utter.

But Valdrova wanted to hear him say them. And so, carefully, he spoke.

"I like you."

Looking utterly pleased, she answered, "I like you too."

Valdrova wrote it again and again. Each time, she smiled, savoring the flustered look on his face.

* * *

Luri's room, Valdrova Castle.

Her routine after finishing the day's work was simple. She shed the clothes she had worn that day and popped a piece of fruit preserved in honey from its jar into her mouth as a reward. Rolling the sticky sweetness around her mouth, she threw herself onto the bed.

It was midnight. Tomorrow's work began at four in the morning, so sleeping now would give her four hours. That was how much Luri always slept, and it was enough.

She closed her eyes as usual.

"Hmm..."

But her eyes wouldn't stay shut. She had trained herself to fall asleep the moment she lay down, yet sleep wouldn't come easily.

A stray thought was tormenting her, stirring a vague emotion in her mind like a pale fog and keeping her awake.

Luri turned her head. Her gaze fell on a pile of books—the books she had confiscated from Ferda's office. They were filled with indecent, obscene material.

"... Pervert."

The word was directed at Ferda, though Luri herself knew she didn't mean it. He had no idea what these books contained. She was the one who knew. She was the one who had made a fuss and stormed out.

Remembering how she had acted, Luri covered her face.

'I actually shrieked and ran away...'

She couldn't believe she had behaved like some silly woman. When had she ever been so rattled?

Of course, major incidents had shaken her plenty of times. But over something this trivial? Had she ever overreacted to something so insignificant?

'This is all...'

Ferda's face came to mind. A frail man with an almost expressionless face. Deep blue eyes and a beastlike jawline. And such a comforting scent. An embrace broader than she had expected.

"Ah..."

Luri shook her head hard, driving the image from her mind.

This was driving her mad. Even imagining it made her feel strange, as though she were approaching some forbidden taboo.

She got up and put another piece of honey-preserved fruit into her mouth.

When had this even started? Luri searched for the source, and it was undoubtedly the book in her hand.

Though it was written in an Eastern script she couldn't read, she knew its title.

'49 Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.'

Its contents had absolutely nothing to do with her. She was the maid of the Crimson Dragon Valdrova, not Ferda's maid. As Valdrova's maid, Luri Silverwind was in a position to refuse any demand he made, whenever she wished.

This book was making her imagine things that could never happen.

'I should burn a book like this at once.'

Luri conjured a flame. But she couldn't quite bring it to the book.

Suddenly, a question occurred to her.

'... Come to think of it, is there any reason to burn it?'

Ferda was the insolent one, not her. True, he was tall and possessed an elegance beyond his years, but didn't he presume to lord it over a Dragon Spawn at his tender age?

Strutting about as he pleased, when he actually liked being hit.

'I can't let those perverted tendencies rub off on my mistress.'

Valdrova was like a blank sheet of paper. Someone else's colors would quickly stain her, so Ferda was bound to influence her.

'Which means...'

She, at least, had to keep her wits about her. Luri recalled the advice she had received upon being appointed commander of the mobile brigade.

'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win a hundred battles out of a hundred.'

Steeling herself, she looked down at the book again.

49 Ways to Tame an Insolent Maid.

'If I know all forty-nine methods, I can prepare ways to counter them.'

Thinking of it that way changed her whole attitude. Her hesitation and doubts vanished in an instant.

She mustn't burn this. She absolutely had to read it!

But Luri had no way of reading the little-known Eastern script. She needed someone who knew it.

Who did she know?

'Penelope.'

Luri reflexively radiated killing intent. She would sooner let Ferda find out than let that demon discover she was reading this book.

What other options were there?

'Mori.'

Ferda had gone looking for Mori so he could read this book. As the possessor of the Library of All Things, she was certain to know Eastern script.

'I'll ask her.'

She had no ego, so if asked to keep it secret, she would hardly tell anyone. It was late at night, making this the perfect time to ask discreetly.

Luri decided to act immediately. She sprang up and placed her hand on the doorknob.

"..."

She hesitated over something, then looked back. Her gaze caught on the pile of other indecent books.

'Come to think of it...'

She was going to read an indecent book anyway. What difference would taking a few more make?

Yes. It would be fine.

Luri picked up another three or so books and headed for Mori's bedroom.