Chapter 30

– Chirp, chirp.

The faint sound of birds chirping.

Jeremiah, who naturally woke up to the sound, straightened his dazed mind and turned his gaze toward the source of the noise.

What he saw was a window with sunlight streaming in. But the curtains were drawn.

Considering that the curtains were usually open when he woke up, this was a strangely unsettling sight.

“…Sebastian?”

Jeremiah drew the curtains himself and tried to recall what had happened last night.

The woman Sebastian had brought turned out to be an angel, who had declared him an enemy and attacked, but eventually fled the mansion…

And Sebastian, who still had feelings for her, had left the mansion with his permission. He must have waited for him, only to succumb to drowsiness at dawn and fall asleep.

Yes, that much made sense.

But the angle of the sun outside the window indicated that it was already much later than his usual waking time.

‘Has Sebastian not returned?’

He always drew the curtains to wake him up in the early morning, but now he had left him to sleep until noon.

Realizing this, Jeremiah felt a bubble of worry for him swelling in his chest.

‘Could something have happened?’

Perhaps something went wrong while chasing the angel, or maybe his identity as a demon was discovered, turning her into an enemy…

Such anxious thoughts flooded his mind, but Jeremiah shook his head, trying to push them away.

‘It’ll be fine. Sebastian is strong. He’s invincible, no matter what happens.’

He must just be running late because things got complicated. He’ll return to his side as if nothing happened.

Trying to calm himself with that certainty, Jeremiah found his impatience only growing stronger with time.

‘Was it wrong to let him go…?’

He trusted Sebastian.

Jeremiah believed that his choices were always for his sake.

But that trust was directed at Sebastian, not the angel he still had feelings for.

While he respected Sebastian’s decision to pursue her, the longer he stayed away, the more Jeremiah regretted letting him go.

That sacred, beautiful, and more feminine being than himself…

‘She was an angel, right?’

– Gulp.

As he swallowed nervously, Jeremiah held his breath and vividly recalled the angel he had encountered yesterday.

A holy aura that he, tainted by dark powers, could never overlook. Pure white wings symbolizing innocence.

And even those traits couldn’t hide… her undeniable femininity.

‘Her chest…’

Thinking directly about that symbol of femininity, Jeremiah glanced down at his own chest and felt his face flush.

‘She was incredibly big.’

Perhaps the biggest he had ever seen.

Of course, Jeremiah wasn’t small himself, but facing such overwhelming size made him feel strangely intimidated.

Especially since the person he cared about was interested in her.

‘Does Sebastian like someone like that?’

Thump, thump.

His heartbeat grew louder.

Just thinking about him. Just pondering over him.

That rhythm would surely become even clearer the moment he faced him.

Jeremiah knew this well and wished for that time to come sooner.

‘…You’ll come back, right?’

So hurry back and soothe this loneliness, he thought…

– Crash!!

Just then, the sound of shattering glass reached his ears. Jeremiah, who had been walking down the hallway, stopped and quickly turned his attention toward the source of the noise.

‘A thief… an intruder!?’

His guard shot up.

In this desolate mansion, where no one else was present, the violent sound of breaking glass could only mean one thing: an intruder.

But the one who would chase them away was gone, and he was the only one left in the mansion.

‘I have to handle this.’

Feeling the tension, Jeremiah moved cautiously and eventually arrived at the kitchen, where the noise seemed to have originated.

– Rustle, rustle.

Leaning against the wall, he heard the sound of someone fidgeting.

Focusing on the noise, he controlled the strength in his hands as the presumed intruder’s voice began to speak.

“Ugh, ugh… What do I do with this…?”

The voice was female. But there was no sign of the usual aggression one would expect from an intruder.

Rather, it seemed like she was worried about how to clean up a mistake.

“Are you alright?”

Hearing that voice, Jeremiah felt the hostility he had just moments ago wash away.

It was a voice he knew.

More importantly, it was the voice he had been longing to hear.

“Ugh, ugh… It hurts.”

“Your finger got cut by the shards.”

“Ah, it’s fine. I can heal this much on my own.”

Peeking out from behind the door, Jeremiah saw a maid in a maid uniform, her hand glowing as she healed her wound.

“Hoh, healing a wound just by exposing it to light. Divine power is quite convenient.”

“Fufu, I’m amazing, aren’t I~!”

The maid puffed up her chest proudly.

The butler-clad man glanced at her briefly before turning his attention to the shattered glass on the floor.

“But that healing power won’t fix the broken plate, will it?”

“Eh, eh… That, that’s…”

“Can’t be helped. I’ll deduct the cost of the broken plate from this month’s salary.”

“Huh? You’re cutting my salary!?”

“You damaged the mansion’s tableware, so it’s only natural. Please be more careful from now on.”

“Ugh, okay…”

The maid in the maid uniform, now pouting as she cleaned up the broken plate.

Jeremiah, who had been staring blankly at her, finally approached the butler-clad man and called his name.

“Sebastian?”

“Ah, it’s you, miss.”

The gentle smile was exactly as he remembered.

A smile he had missed so much.

Suppressing the urge to run to him, Jeremiah spoke in a dignified tone.

“You should have told me you were back. I thought a burglar had broken in and got so scared.”

“My apologies for the late report. It seems I’ll have to focus on training the new recruit today.”

“New recruit…?”

Jeremiah’s gaze shifted slightly to the side.

There, the maid in the maid uniform was carefully picking up the broken pieces of the plate.

But her face was familiar.

Jeremiah belatedly realized that she was the angel who had attacked him last night and turned to Sebastian with a tense look.

“Fufu, don’t worry. I’ve already had a conversation with her. You don’t need to worry about her attacking like yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Yes, and furthermore, I thought we might need her help. So I brought her here. Angela, introduce yourself to the miss.”

“Ah, yes!”

After finishing cleaning up the broken plate, Angela stood up straight and bowed to Jeremiah.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Jeremiah! My name is Angela, and starting today, I’ll be working as a new maid in this mansion!”

Her smile was as bright as the sunlight streaming through the window behind her.

Her friendly demeanor made it hard to imagine the chaos she had caused last night. Jeremiah, with a bewildered expression, turned to Sebastian.

“A maid? You’ve taken her in as a servant of the mansion?”

“Given the size of the mansion, it’s too much for me to manage alone. So I thought it would be good to recruit some help, and I ended up asking Angela for assistance.”

“…Is it okay for an angel to be a maid?”

“I also help with household chores, so why shouldn’t she?”

If even a demon can work, why not an angel?

With that almost joking remark, he continued in a more serious tone.

“And, I thought we might need a restraint.”

A restraint.

Jeremiah immediately understood the meaning behind those words.

He had already walked a path of no return to protect himself. No matter how wrong it was, if his emotions ran wild, he might inevitably head down that path again.

But if there was someone by his side to worry about that, perhaps the worst-case scenario could be avoided.

In the end, bringing Angela in might be the best choice for Jeremiah.

“…Alright, if that’s your decision, Sebastian.”

So he would trust him.

His concern for him was genuine, and the choices stemming from that could never be wrong.

“Miss Angela.”

Having decided to forget the friction from yesterday based on that trust alone, Jeremiah stepped forward and extended his hand politely.

“I’ll be in your care from now on. I may be lacking and not the most upright master, but…”

“…”

Angela silently looked at Jeremiah’s outstretched hand.

In her gaze, she must have seen something invisible, something that made her hostility toward Jeremiah rise.

She was a human who shouldn’t exist. Therefore, it was right for her to eliminate him with her own hands.

‘Wouldn’t you like to guide a woman who will grow into a great evil with your own hands?’

But hadn’t the one she acknowledged asked her for a favor?

Even if a sinner might bring harm to the world, knowing that, perhaps fate could be changed.

“Yes! I’ll be in your care too!”

Feeling a sense of mission along with that expectation, Angela firmly grasped Jeremiah’s hand and spoke passionately.

“I’ll do my best to watch over you and make sure you don’t go down the wrong path. I’ll definitely reform you with my own hands!”

“Re, reform?”

“Angela. You’re making the miss uncomfortable by getting too close.”

Jeremiah, flustered by the unexpectedly heavy word. Sebastian, pulling Angela away from him.

Then, pushing Angela toward the kitchen, he smiled at his master.

“Well then, it’s time for lunch, so I’ll go prepare the meal. Angela, come help me with the cooking.”

“Ah, yes! I’ll do my best! I’ve never cooked before, but I’ll manage with spirit!”

“Fufu, I admire that enthusiasm.”

As the two headed into the kitchen…

A little while later, the commotion coming from the kitchen reached Jeremiah outside.

– Crash!!

“…Angela.”

“Eek, I’m sorry!!”

How long had it been since she arrived, and she was already causing trouble again?

Jeremiah chuckled softly and muttered to himself as he waited for them to bring out the meal.

“This isn’t so bad.”

Maybe the quiet mansion would become a little livelier.

Feeling that expectation take root in his heart…

“Excuse me. Are you inside?”

Just then, a voice came from outside the window. Jeremiah stepped out of the dining room and approached the entrance, opening the door.

The visitor was a postman from the post office.

In his hand was a carefully sealed letter.

“That letter is…”

“It’s the official invitation to the upcoming ball.”

Jeremiah nervously examined the contents of the letter.

The letter was an invitation to a ball that his family had been pressuring him to attend.

It wasn’t a big deal, as he had been considering it, but when he saw the detailed location, Jeremiah’s heart sank.

[Location: Lumiere Academy Banquet Hall]

Lumiere Academy.

The very academy from which he had been expelled.

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