Chapter 46

“Hmph, hmm~.”

The morning begins with bright sunlight and a humming tune. Sitting on the bed, I stretch my arms up high. I pick up the bell on the bedside table and ring it once, twice, thrice.

As soon as the bell stops, the room door opens simultaneously. A maid with bright golden hair and fresh green eyes enters. Her name was definitely Siriel.

Without even greeting me, she scans me up and down once. It was an openly unpleasant gaze, but I already knew she disliked me. I wasn’t particularly curious about the reason.

After all, I’m the boss here, so whatever.

“Could you prepare the water for my bath, Siriel?”

With a smirk, I ring the bell three times. Siriel’s expression twists into a brief look of hostility. But ringing this bell is a privilege Viviana gave me, an absolute rule she has to follow even if she hates it.

Siriel turns around and leaves the room, slamming the door shut. Even with the noise enough to make one frown, I lightly laugh it off.

Today, I’m in a very good mood. I’ve found a way to handle Viviana and received permission to write letters to the other young ladies.

And that’s not all. My hands are no longer tied to the bed, and most importantly, I’ve managed to get a book to relieve my boredom.

With this much privilege gained in one morning, I can handle a little cute hostility like that.

I heard that Iris, the afternoon attendant, will guide me to the ducal library. There, I can choose one book.

While pondering alone about which book to pick, Siriel opens the door and enters, seemingly having already prepared. Following her, I enter the bathroom next to my room and notice a bathtub without a single scented candle.

Siriel leaves the bathroom with a faint smile and closes the door. I slowly reach out and dip my hand into the bathtub water.

It’s lukewarm.

Not warm, not cold.

It’s a temperature that’s unpleasant enough to make soaking in it a bit of a stretch, though not outright cold. If the water had been cold, I could’ve reported it to Viviana as blatant hostility, but it wasn’t that bad.

“Hmm…”

I’ll take a bath in the evening.

Without much hesitation, I step out of the bathtub. Siriel, waiting by the door, seems flustered, not expecting me to come out so soon.

“Hope you enjoyed your bath.”

I give her a smirk and walk back into the room. It wasn’t exactly a refreshing morning, but I could laugh it off.

The not-so-great morning passes, and lunchtime arrives. As usual, I ring the bell, and the door opens to reveal another attendant.

A beauty with dark black hair and black eyes, Iris. For some reason, the aura she exudes feels different from others.

“Can I go to the library now?”

I decide to skip lunch.

Maybe because of what happened in the morning, I don’t have much of an appetite. Or perhaps I just want to get a book to relieve my boredom sooner rather than eat.

Iris silently nods. I thought I’d have to tell her that I got permission from Viviana, but fortunately, it seems she already heard the news.

Iris leads me to the library, and I hum a tune as I follow her. Along the way, I try to strike up a conversation with Iris a few times, but all I get in return is cold silence.

“I hope Iris and I can become friends someday too.”

With my words full of cheer, we arrive at the library. Opening the door and stepping inside, my first thought is whether this is a library or a study. The vast space filled with books is truly a sight befitting the prestige of the ducal estate.

I slowly look around the large library and browse the books. Contrary to my expectations, most of the books are academic in nature.

History, magic, swordsmanship, management, and so on.

Books that might be useful to my mother but are utterly useless to me.

Occasionally, I find a fictional book, but after skimming the plot, it’s unbearably dull.

“Not as exciting as I thought…”

Only books that don’t suit my taste for something stimulating. Just as a slight disappointment starts to creep in, one title catches my eye.

I slowly reach up to pull out the book, but it’s placed too high for my arm to reach.

Just as I’m thinking of fetching a ladder, Iris, who had somehow approached unnoticed, reaches out and pulls the book for me. I thought she was outside, but her sudden appearance behind me startles me a bit.

‘She’s so quiet…’

Iris hands me the book with her usual expressionless face. I smile brightly and take the book she offers.

“Thank you, Iris! You’re so tall and cool.”

With a compliment full of flattery, I examine the book. The title reads:

’66 Methods of Torture and Screams.’

I quickly flip through the pages and skim the contents. Large letters and various photos are scattered throughout. Perfect for someone like me who dislikes reading.

The methods of torturing people, and at the end of each section, photos of the tortured. The people in the photos are crying tears of blood, writhing in pain.

There are even some gory photos here and there. Seeing the despair in their eyes, my heart starts to beat a little faster.

At least this book will be stimulating.

“I’ll take this one.”

With a bright voice, I hug the book dearly. Iris remains expressionless, but her eyes show a faint trace of confusion. I smile mischievously and put a finger to my lips.

“Keep it a secret from Viviana, okay?”

With Iris’s silent nod, the library visit comes to an end.

After lunchtime passes, I spend the early evening with Luna. After eating the snacks Luna brought, I decide to take the bath I missed in the morning.

Luna is a bit clumsy but not unfriendly. The bathtub is filled with luxurious scented candles and even flower petals for mood.

After enjoying the warm water for about thirty minutes and returning to my room, I find a strange object on the desk.

A plain envelope, three sheets of letter paper, and an elegant fountain pen that looks undoubtedly expensive. Probably the letters mentioned yesterday.

Bersha, Sharrione, Mardian. Three sheets of letter paper perfectly suited for the three young ladies.

I ponder for a moment about what to write, then with a faint smile, I start writing. To Sharrione, a thank-you note for the gift she gave me; to Bersha, a message saying I miss the sweet treats she used to give me daily; to Mardian, a note saying I don’t want to cut ties like this.

Thinking Viviana might see them, I avoid writing anything too personal. Instead, I subtly weave in messages like “I always want to see you” and “Please don’t forget me.”

I ring the bell, and Luna opens the door and enters. I carefully seal the letters I’ve written and hand them to Luna.

“Will Viviana see my letters?”

“…!”

Luna flinches and steps back. She doesn’t answer my question, but her restless eyes give me the answer.

If she can’t even hide her feelings like that, Luna is definitely lacking in social skills compared to others. Stupid and incompetent, unless she has money, I don’t particularly want to be friends with her.

Luna stumbles out of the room with the letters. Alone in the room, I look at my reflection in the mirror.

I wipe off the mischievous smile and put on a somewhat awkward expression. Instantly, I look much less confident.

My face now is subtly different from my past self. Though my face is still masked, this much should work on Viviana.

“…I’m hungry.”

I deliberately skipped dinner to spend time with Viviana. If I timidly suggest having dinner together, she’ll surely like it.

And as they say, the tiger is scary when it speaks. As the bright sun sets into a soft twilight, the door opens with confident footsteps.

“Tina.”

The only person in this vast mansion who talks to me. A woman with quiet black hair and mesmerizing purple eyes.

My beautiful Master opens the door and enters. I melt a bit of awkwardness into my voice and give Viviana an awkward smile with unfocused eyes.

“Ah, welcome, Viviana…!”