Chapter 22
I’m a Villain’s Power Broker, a Real Monster Prodigy
I glanced around at the maids and secretly passed over the note. Living up to his reputation as a seasoned butler, Haiden accepted it in an instant and slipped it into his waistband.
“You’re impressive, Lady Marie. To think you’d come up with such a plan just to deliver a note.”
He didn’t forget to whisper quietly, either.
But could you maybe… move your face away?
You already got the note, so why do you keep shoving your face in here? This is seriously uncomfortable.
I pushed his huge face away with my paw, claws still retracted.
It felt like a feral growl might burst out of my mouth at any moment.
“Ah, as expected, Jelly really is so soft.”
“……”
No matter how I looked at it, he seemed like the type who was just begging to be punished. Showing restraint by keeping my claws hidden was wasted on Haiden.
Face or body, I’d happily rake him all over.
“Nyaak!”
Just as I was about to engage him in a battle of souls, the maids came running over toward us.
“Did Lady Marie catch a bug?”
“……Ah, yes!”
Haiden, who had panicked when he saw my claws flash, hurriedly answered.
“As expected of Lady Marie!”
Couldn’t they see me, claws out, standing right on top of Haiden?
The maids were too busy showering me with praise.
Feeling awkward, I deliberately smacked Haiden’s face once with my tail and then hopped off his body.
I heard sounds like “ptui, ptui” behind me, but I didn’t care in the slightest. Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed our secretive little act.
I stuck close behind Plan’s legs and flashed a victorious smile.
At some point, Haiden had already gotten back up and was standing neatly.
“……Then I’ll be going now. Lady Marie, please enjoy your meal.”
As if to signal that he’d received the note properly, he tapped his pants lightly where only I could see.
A resolute expression—completely at odds with the state he was in, covered in fur.
For a brief moment, our gazes met.
“Lady Marie, may I come in? As you instructed, there’s no one nearby right now.”
I told him to come when no one was around, but how on earth did he manage that?
As soon as dinner ended, Haiden dismissed all the servants and came straight to my room.
Which meant even Plan, the head maid, had stepped aside without protest.
…No matter how you looked at it, did a butler really have that much authority?
But as if he had no intention of giving me time to think, Haiden urged me from outside.
“Please let me know when you’re ready. I’ll be waiting.”
Haaah. Fine. I was the one who called him, and what’s done is done.
I grabbed a simple one-piece dress from the dressing room and put it on.
Then I sat on the sofa facing the door, staying on guard, and called out to him.
“Come in.”
Bang—!
“To think Lady Marie would summon me personally! I don’t know where to put myself!”
The door flew open as if he’d been waiting for that exact moment.
His cheeks were faintly flushed for some reason, and his eyes gleamed with a hint of madness.
“……”
Ah. Yeah. This really feels like a mistake.
No matter how hard it was to think things through on my own, calling Haiden was definitely not the right choice.
I pressed my fingers to my forehead as I faced Haiden, who was still gripping the wide-open door handle and staring at me with eyes full of anticipation.
Honestly, I wanted to kick him out right then and there, but it was too late to tell him to leave now.
And even if I did, I doubted he’d go quietly. Who knew what might happen starting tomorrow?
Knowing the author’s personality, probably something like—
“Lady Marie. Today, the Grand Duke suggested a walk. Ah, and he said you should come cradled in my arms on the way.”
—or—
“Today, I’ll be in charge of Lady Marie’s bathroom needs in place of the maids.”
He’d torment me with ridiculous nonsense like that.
I closed my eyes at the horrifying thought, but for some reason I could feel a sticky gaze pressing down on my eyelids.
…Ugh, seriously, this is too much pressure!
Even Tionis wasn’t this bad. Unable to endure his blatant stare, I finally spoke.
“Haiden. For now… why don’t you sit on the sofa?”
“Yes, Lady Marie!”
The sound of his shoes approaching briskly, as if he’d been waiting for permission.
Judging by how deliberately loud he made them, honestly, there wasn’t a single thing about him that suited me.
Still, my circle of ‘human’ relationships was painfully small, and I needed Haiden’s help to ask about Tionis.
Just thinking about that made me sigh.
‘Why does Tionis trust someone like this, anyway?’
He should really introduce me to another servant he trusts.
Grumbling internally, I composed my expression.
Just as I lifted my head to look at Haiden sitting across from me, I felt a presence beside me for some reason.
The sofa suddenly seemed to sink down slightly…
No way.
Nah. That can’t be it.
But bad premonitions are never wrong.
When I turned my head, Haiden was sitting there with an innocent expression.
Right next to me.
“Hey… what are you doing?”
“Hm? I’m sitting on the sofa.”
“……”
It wasn’t even funny anymore.
Where did things go wrong? He shamelessly pushed his glasses up his nose.
When you tell someone to sit on the sofa, don’t they normally sit across from you?
Was something wrong with his head?
I raised my trembling index finger and pointed to the opposite side.
“Sit on that sofa.”
“Oh, I see. I thought you were inviting me to a secret rendezvous with you…”
Up until then, Haiden’s eyes had been sparkling—but suddenly, the light drained out of them.
I didn’t even want to know what he’d been imagining.
“Just go.”
“Yeees.”
If I let this drag on any longer, who knew what nonsense he’d start spouting again? I needed to get to the point quickly.
I was just about to speak when—
“You’re worried because the Grand Duke has been avoiding you lately, right?”
Haiden preemptively voiced the very concern that had kept me tossing and turning for nights on end.
Unlike his earlier teasing demeanor, his voice was low and serious.
As if he’d become a completely different person.
“……How did you know?”
When I asked, equally serious, he crossed his legs leisurely and rested his hands on his knee instead of answering.
It looked like he was trying to seem cool in his own way, but honestly—it was a pointless effort.
Only after I leaned back with a stiff expression did he hurriedly continue.
“It started after you adjusted the Grand Duke’s mana, didn’t it?”
“……Yeah.”
“He’s fine when you’re a cat, but when you’re in human form, he avoids eye contact and sometimes even stutters when he speaks.”
“…….”
“And he keeps bringing you gifts. Right?”
How do you even know that?
My eyes nearly popped out at the words spilling effortlessly from Haiden’s mouth.
I’d been wondering how to explain Tionis’s strange behavior one by one, but apparently it had been obvious even from the outside.
“Well, I mean… it’s not like he exactly offered them up or anything…”
I muttered while fiddling with the yellow ribbon tying my hair.
Because it was tied awkwardly, stray hairs poked out between my fingers.
The texture felt like fur sticking out at random, and I pressed my lips together.
Like a kitten who’d never groomed itself before.
Haiden’s white-gloved hand tapped lightly against the sofa armrest as if he were thinking.
“He’s not the type to deliberately visit a shop himself to buy accessories. So yes—he did ‘offer them up.’”
“…….”
Yeah. Even this yellow ribbon tying my hair was something Tionis gave me.
So what if it was?
Lately, we’d barely even met. During the day, he kept avoiding me.
And today, he disappeared without saying a word.
He left the estate entirely, saying he was going to inspect the core?
I’d thought we’d grown fairly close, but judging by his recent behavior, it felt like he was actually more awkward around me than before.
When I approached, he subtly avoided me. He wouldn’t even meet my eyes.
And yet, at night, he’d bring gifts and press them into my arms.
Whenever I thought he was getting closer, Tionis would pull away again.
Honestly, expecting anything more from the start had been greedy of me.
We weren’t in any special relationship. If I hadn’t had the ability to adjust mana, I’d probably have been kicked out of here already.
Tionis wrapped it up nicely by calling it a ‘relationship of equals,’ but in the end, I was just someone who’d gotten lucky enough to be employed at the Grand Duke’s estate.
Still… when I was a cat, he wasn’t like this.
I stopped mindlessly crumpling the hem of my dress.
When I cautiously glanced across from me, Haiden was wearing a very serious expression.
“Would you like to know what the Grand Duke is thinking right now?”
After a long pause, the words he spoke were exactly what I’d been desperate to hear.
“Huh? Yes. Yes.”
Filled with certainty, I nodded vigorously, as if possessed.
“Then…”
Haiden trailed off. Just as I swallowed and my throat bobbed, he snapped his fingers.
“May I touch your tail?”
Ah.
Of course. Trusting him was my mistake.
