The night I spent gossiping gleefully about Kassar with Cecil, the attendant maid, whom I had befriended for the very first time since my arrival at Duke Bouser’s.
For the first night in a long time, I was able to stretch out and sleep soundly.
Not because I was cussing out Kassar, but because I was glad to be out of the awkward atmosphere after so long.
Rather, I was grateful to him. They say the best way to get to know someone quickly was to have a common enemy.
Since he had managed to create a grudge among us, I was able to get acquainted with the maidservant without much effort.
The stifling silence that followed each service had been a bit stressful, but now I was breathing a little freer, remembering my time in Averine.
‘I’ll do the same thing tomorrow.’
With that thought, I drifted off to my first peaceful night’s sleep at the Duke’s residence.
But it wasn’t long before I realized something was amiss.
I didn’t think anything of it until the morning.
As usual, I greeted Cecil as she came in the morning with the washing water, and she returned my greeting shyly, perhaps feeling more at ease after yesterday’s events.
There was still some awkwardness as we hadn’t gotten to know each other, but her face showed less fear than before.
Perhaps that made me feel better. Excited to go for a walk, I asked her to get dressed up, picked out the most colorful dress I had brought, put it on, and left the room.
Granted, the mansion was as deafeningly quiet as before, but I thought that was okay, as I was getting used to it.
That’s when I walked down the stairs.
‘Huh?’
I soon ran into a group of maids.
They were dressed in black, heavy maids’ robes, and as soon as they saw me, they stiffened. And then, as usual, they scurried away, looking terrified…
‘… Aren’t they avoiding me?’
That was true even when I got close. At this point, it was time to scurry away, but they stood still until I greeted them in the morning.
Not only that, but they returned my greeting.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Princess. You slept well.”
“Thanks. What were you doing?”
“Well…”
The maids glanced at each other. There was a look on their faces that reminded me of Cecil in a way, dying to say something, even as they watched me intently…
“The first division commander…”
“Huh? Why?”
“You really… did you?”
Kassar what? Shaking my head, I nudged the memory of yesterday from my mind.
“The one where the shirt burst?”
“Huh…! Yeah, right… that was really…”
“Yep. I heard the button popped off his chest?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“And the button even hit a nearby maid in the head.”
“Oh, no…”
They sounded worried, but their eyes were shining with the most amused faces in the world.
After all, people are the same no matter where they live, I guess. Amid my excitement, I said something I shouldn’t have.
“And I’ll tell you this in secret: we have a nickname for him.”
“A nickname?”
“Lord Button Knight, for popping buttons.”
“Huh— oh my!”
“Shh, it’s our secret okay?”
As they squealed with delight, I playfully put my finger to my lips.
They blushed, nodded fervently, and spoke up.
“This is a story I heard…”
I chatted with them for some time, thrilled, thinking. Honestly, I didn’t ask them to keep it a secret, I just hoped that one day the word would spread and Kassar would lose his mind.
But I didn’t expect word to spread so quickly.
The maids who heard the nickname ‘Lord Button Knight’ from me quickly told their colleagues.
“Shhh, it’s a secret. You know the commander of the 1st Division, he wore a shirt…”
Their colleagues told other servants.
“Shhh, it’s a secret, that scary knight has such big boobs…”
Even to the knights escorting the mansion.
“Shhh, it’s a secret, Sir Kassar has a button that popped and…”
Before I knew it, it had spread like wildfire through the manor. In the short time since lunch, to be exact.
It had taken nothing for me to realize it.
“You, dreadful witch!” (Kassar)
This was because Lord Button himself, who had heard the rumors, came stomping up to me. I was in the middle of enjoying my teatime in my room when the door suddenly burst open with a slam, and I was startled to look in that direction. There stood Kassar, flushed and agitated.
“What the hell!”
“What?” (Kassar)
I asked nonchalantly, trying to calm my sinking heart.
Part of me wanted to retort, ‘You’re being rude,’ but I had a hunch that playing dumb would only piss him off more.
And my prediction was spot on.
“Do you have any business with me?”
“Business? Business after all this crap you’ve done?” (Kassar)
“What business? I’m not a mind reader, so you’ll have to tell me exactly what it is, my lord.”
“You have the nerve to call me that, that damned nickname!” (Kassar)
I blinked innocently, “What nickname?”
“You know, the one you pretend not to know…” (Kassar)
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know, but can you tell me?”
“…”
It was an act I’d been practicing since I was a kid, teasing Rudrick.
I stared at him in bewilderment, and as I continued to fumble, the nervous Kassar stuttered and stuttered.
“Bu, bu, but…” (Kassar)
“But?”
“…Button!” (Kassar)
I grinned from ear to ear as he turned bright red. And as soon as he saw my grin, he crumpled up in a heap.
“Ah! Yes, that’s right, there it is, Lord Button.”
“Oh, don’t give me that nickname!” (Kassar)
“It’s better than Lord Stone, what a cute nickname. Round, little, popping.”
“Please shut up!” (Kassar)
I raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to berate me.
“Why are you telling me what to do? If you blame me for your big boobs…”
“Bo, boobs. What?!” (Kassar)
“I heard the button flew off your chest, so unbutton it like this, and expose your chest, and the button pops!”
“Crazy woman! Don’t show me!” (Kassar)
“A crazy woman to a princess, what disrespect…!” (Cecil)
“It’s all right, Cecil. When a man feels a little shy, he can say anything.”
“What, what?” (Kassar)
“I’m sorry you don’t know how you feel, but…”
I put my hand on my chest and smiled wistfully.
“If you want to blame me for your shirt bursting open because you have big boobs, feel free, I’ll embrace it…”
“You— this…!” (Kassar)
I smiled ruefully at him, now speechless with a face that looked like it was about to explode.
Okay, I’ve made it up to him, there’s nothing left to hold a grudge against, so all I have to do to appease him in return at least was apologize properly…
“Okay, I guess I was a bit too much, so I apologize…”
“Are you trying to tell me that I treated you like a gold digger?” (Kassar)
“…A gold digger?” I asked, completely frozen.
He said with a snort, “But it’s true, isn’t it, because a stupid girl like you has no choice but to beg His Excellency for the power she doesn’t deserve.”
“Beg… for power?” (Dahlia)
“Ha, I guess I got it right, didn’t I? I knew it, seeing as how you followed him here under the guise of friendship when you were just kids.” (Kassar)
“…”
“What? If you have something to say, just say it. You were just talking about your gaping maw earlier, and now you’re all tight-lipped again.” (Kassar)
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Any moment now, if I opened my eyes, I would throw the teacup in front of me, so I needed to calm down a bit.
Even after that, I could still hear Kassar’s rambling voice.
But none of his words reached my ears. The words were all mangled and scattered into a muffled noise.
‘Hoo…ha… Hoo… Ha…’ (Inhale, exhale)
I took a few deep breaths. Inhaling to calm, exhaling to relax.
If I get swept up in him and get angry together, I’ll lose. That’s what he wants, and that’s when I need to be the calmest.
With more reason than I could muster in choosing a business to invest in, I need to figure out how I should make him pay for all this shame.
Feeling like a meditating saint, I was in control of my mind. In front of me, an argument was already brewing.
“You’ve suddenly come out of nowhere, and you’re getting impatient because I keep interrupting you. I can’t stand your ugly, disgusting behavior…” (Kassar)
“That’s enough! What are you trying to do to the princess…” (Cecil)
“What’s with this stupid girl, don’t interrupt me and leave…” (Kassar)
“Cecil.”
I snapped my eyes open. And said in a voice as gentle as a breeze.
“I’m fine, stay back.”
“But Princess…”
“Cecil.”
Glancing back at her, I saw her eyes lock with mine and her mouth agape as if she realized something. Perhaps she sensed the silent rage burning in my eyes.
But the still-unaware Kassar was too busy chattering away. His lips curled up in a wry smile as he looked at me.
“Why, you’re starting to get the hang of things, aren’t you?” (Kassar)
“…”
“How dare you look down on me, considering the kind of person you are. Now that you know that, you’ll behave yourself and—” (Kassar)
“Lord Button.” (Dahlia)
My calm tone set him off.
“Again, again, that Button…” (Kassar)
“Do you like men?” (Dahlia)
“…What?” (Kassar)
Seeing his bewildered face, I tilt my head, genuinely curious.
“From earlier, Rudrick, Rudrick. You seem to like Rudrick so much. What, is it something like, ‘I’m not going to let anyone else have my favorite person if I can’t have him’.” (Dahlia)
“Well, that’s not…!” (Kassar)
“It’s okay, I’m an open-minded person, I can accept whatever your preference is…” (Dahlia)
“Are you crazy!” (Kassar)
He interrupted, fuming.
“Don’t you dare say such disrespectful things! His Excellency is a man of great power, far too powerful to be compared to the likes of you, and he deserves the utmost respect…”
“Ah, so it is.” (Dahlia)
I quickly rose from my seat and strode confidently toward him. Kassar, who had been spouting praise for Rudrick without pause, stiffened at my sudden approach.
Whether he realized it or not, I stood a foot in front of him.
I locked eyes with him as he looked down at me, mouth agape and anxious.
He stared at me with those deadly serious eyes, and then chuckled.
“Do you like me?” Dahlia asked.
The night I spent gossiping gleefully about Kassar with Cecil, the attendant maid, whom I had befriended for the very first time since my arrival at Duke Bouser’s.
For the first night in a long time, I was able to stretch out and sleep soundly.
Not because I was cussing out Kassar, but because I was glad to be out of the awkward atmosphere after so long.
Rather, I was grateful to him. They say the best way to get to know someone quickly was to have a common enemy.
Since he had managed to create a grudge among us, I was able to get acquainted with the maidservant without much effort.
The stifling silence that followed each service had been a bit stressful, but now I was breathing a little freer, remembering my time in Averine.
‘I’ll do the same thing tomorrow.’
With that thought, I drifted off to my first peaceful night’s sleep at the Duke’s residence.
But it wasn’t long before I realized something was amiss.
I didn’t think anything of it until the morning.
As usual, I greeted Cecil as she came in the morning with the washing water, and she returned my greeting shyly, perhaps feeling more at ease after yesterday’s events.
There was still some awkwardness as we hadn’t gotten to know each other, but her face showed less fear than before.
Perhaps that made me feel better. Excited to go for a walk, I asked her to get dressed up, picked out the most colorful dress I had brought, put it on, and left the room.
Granted, the mansion was as deafeningly quiet as before, but I thought that was okay, as I was getting used to it.
That’s when I walked down the stairs.
‘Huh?’
I soon ran into a group of maids.
They were dressed in black, heavy maids’ robes, and as soon as they saw me, they stiffened. And then, as usual, they scurried away, looking terrified…
‘… Aren’t they avoiding me?’
That was true even when I got close. At this point, it was time to scurry away, but they stood still until I greeted them in the morning.
Not only that, but they returned my greeting.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Princess. You slept well.”
“Thanks. What were you doing?”
“Well…”
The maids glanced at each other. There was a look on their faces that reminded me of Cecil in a way, dying to say something, even as they watched me intently…
“The first division commander…”
“Huh? Why?”
“You really… did you?”
Kassar what? Shaking my head, I nudged the memory of yesterday from my mind.
“The one where the shirt burst?”
“Huh…! Yeah, right… that was really…”
“Yep. I heard the button popped off his chest?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“And the button even hit a nearby maid in the head.”
“Oh, no…”
They sounded worried, but their eyes were shining with the most amused faces in the world.
After all, people are the same no matter where they live, I guess. Amid my excitement, I said something I shouldn’t have.
“And I’ll tell you this in secret: we have a nickname for him.”
“A nickname?”
“Lord Button Knight, for popping buttons.”
“Huh— oh my!”
“Shh, it’s our secret okay?”
As they squealed with delight, I playfully put my finger to my lips.
They blushed, nodded fervently, and spoke up.
“This is a story I heard…”
I chatted with them for some time, thrilled, thinking. Honestly, I didn’t ask them to keep it a secret, I just hoped that one day the word would spread and Kassar would lose his mind.
But I didn’t expect word to spread so quickly.
The maids who heard the nickname ‘Lord Button Knight’ from me quickly told their colleagues.
“Shhh, it’s a secret. You know the commander of the 1st Division, he wore a shirt…”
Their colleagues told other servants.
“Shhh, it’s a secret, that scary knight has such big boobs…”
Even to the knights escorting the mansion.
“Shhh, it’s a secret, Sir Kassar has a button that popped and…”
Before I knew it, it had spread like wildfire through the manor. In the short time since lunch, to be exact.
It had taken nothing for me to realize it.
“You, dreadful witch!” (Kassar)
This was because Lord Button himself, who had heard the rumors, came stomping up to me. I was in the middle of enjoying my teatime in my room when the door suddenly burst open with a slam, and I was startled to look in that direction. There stood Kassar, flushed and agitated.
“What the hell!”
“What?” (Kassar)
I asked nonchalantly, trying to calm my sinking heart.
Part of me wanted to retort, ‘You’re being rude,’ but I had a hunch that playing dumb would only piss him off more.
And my prediction was spot on.
“Do you have any business with me?”
“Business? Business after all this crap you’ve done?” (Kassar)
“What business? I’m not a mind reader, so you’ll have to tell me exactly what it is, my lord.”
“You have the nerve to call me that, that damned nickname!” (Kassar)
I blinked innocently, “What nickname?”
“You know, the one you pretend not to know…” (Kassar)
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know, but can you tell me?”
“…”
It was an act I’d been practicing since I was a kid, teasing Rudrick.
I stared at him in bewilderment, and as I continued to fumble, the nervous Kassar stuttered and stuttered.
“Bu, bu, but…” (Kassar)
“But?”
“…Button!” (Kassar)
I grinned from ear to ear as he turned bright red. And as soon as he saw my grin, he crumpled up in a heap.
“Ah! Yes, that’s right, there it is, Lord Button.”
“Oh, don’t give me that nickname!” (Kassar)
“It’s better than Lord Stone, what a cute nickname. Round, little, popping.”
“Please shut up!” (Kassar)
I raised an eyebrow at him as he continued to berate me.
“Why are you telling me what to do? If you blame me for your big boobs…”
“Bo, boobs. What?!” (Kassar)
“I heard the button flew off your chest, so unbutton it like this, and expose your chest, and the button pops!”
“Crazy woman! Don’t show me!” (Kassar)
“A crazy woman to a princess, what disrespect…!” (Cecil)
“It’s all right, Cecil. When a man feels a little shy, he can say anything.”
“What, what?” (Kassar)
“I’m sorry you don’t know how you feel, but…”
I put my hand on my chest and smiled wistfully.
“If you want to blame me for your shirt bursting open because you have big boobs, feel free, I’ll embrace it…”
“You— this…!” (Kassar)
I smiled ruefully at him, now speechless with a face that looked like it was about to explode.
Okay, I’ve made it up to him, there’s nothing left to hold a grudge against, so all I have to do to appease him in return at least was apologize properly…
“Okay, I guess I was a bit too much, so I apologize…”
“Are you trying to tell me that I treated you like a gold digger?” (Kassar)
“…A gold digger?” I asked, completely frozen.
He said with a snort, “But it’s true, isn’t it, because a stupid girl like you has no choice but to beg His Excellency for the power she doesn’t deserve.”
“Beg… for power?” (Dahlia)
“Ha, I guess I got it right, didn’t I? I knew it, seeing as how you followed him here under the guise of friendship when you were just kids.” (Kassar)
“…”
“What? If you have something to say, just say it. You were just talking about your gaping maw earlier, and now you’re all tight-lipped again.” (Kassar)
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Any moment now, if I opened my eyes, I would throw the teacup in front of me, so I needed to calm down a bit.
Even after that, I could still hear Kassar’s rambling voice.
But none of his words reached my ears. The words were all mangled and scattered into a muffled noise.
‘Hoo…ha… Hoo… Ha…’ (Inhale, exhale)
I took a few deep breaths. Inhaling to calm, exhaling to relax.
If I get swept up in him and get angry together, I’ll lose. That’s what he wants, and that’s when I need to be the calmest.
With more reason than I could muster in choosing a business to invest in, I need to figure out how I should make him pay for all this shame.
Feeling like a meditating saint, I was in control of my mind. In front of me, an argument was already brewing.
“You’ve suddenly come out of nowhere, and you’re getting impatient because I keep interrupting you. I can’t stand your ugly, disgusting behavior…” (Kassar)
“That’s enough! What are you trying to do to the princess…” (Cecil)
“What’s with this stupid girl, don’t interrupt me and leave…” (Kassar)
“Cecil.”
I snapped my eyes open. And said in a voice as gentle as a breeze.
“I’m fine, stay back.”
“But Princess…”
“Cecil.”
Glancing back at her, I saw her eyes lock with mine and her mouth agape as if she realized something. Perhaps she sensed the silent rage burning in my eyes.
But the still-unaware Kassar was too busy chattering away. His lips curled up in a wry smile as he looked at me.
“Why, you’re starting to get the hang of things, aren’t you?” (Kassar)
“…”
“How dare you look down on me, considering the kind of person you are. Now that you know that, you’ll behave yourself and—” (Kassar)
“Lord Button.” (Dahlia)
My calm tone set him off.
“Again, again, that Button…” (Kassar)
“Do you like men?” (Dahlia)
“…What?” (Kassar)
Seeing his bewildered face, I tilt my head, genuinely curious.
“From earlier, Rudrick, Rudrick. You seem to like Rudrick so much. What, is it something like, ‘I’m not going to let anyone else have my favorite person if I can’t have him’.” (Dahlia)
“Well, that’s not…!” (Kassar)
“It’s okay, I’m an open-minded person, I can accept whatever your preference is…” (Dahlia)
“Are you crazy!” (Kassar)
He interrupted, fuming.
“Don’t you dare say such disrespectful things! His Excellency is a man of great power, far too powerful to be compared to the likes of you, and he deserves the utmost respect…”
“Ah, so it is.” (Dahlia)
I quickly rose from my seat and strode confidently toward him. Kassar, who had been spouting praise for Rudrick without pause, stiffened at my sudden approach.
Whether he realized it or not, I stood a foot in front of him.
I locked eyes with him as he looked down at me, mouth agape and anxious.
He stared at me with those deadly serious eyes, and then chuckled.
“Do you like me?” Dahlia asked.
