Chapter 9.
“I’ll make it for you again.”
I made it with a purpose, but seeing Helios so happy made my conscience sting just a little.
“Billy? You don’t look well.”
I couldn’t hold out any longer.
I tried to force a smile, but eventually gave up.
*My stomach… it’s not good.*
Uugh!
The unbearable pain pushed me into unconsciousness.
The last thing I remembered was Helios’ face, looking shocked as if I were about to die.
—
The next day, I woke up once again in Helios’ arms.
*This is crazy.*
Why do I keep ending up sleeping with his arm as my pillow?
*The dizziness seems better now, though.*
Confirming that I could move my toes, I slowly reawakened the functions of my body.
I moved my fingers once, lifted my eyelids slightly.
Rubbing my eyes, I slowly pushed myself up.
Just as I was about to get out of bed—
“…?”
An arm suddenly wrapped firmly around my waist.
What is this now? I rubbed my eyes again.
It’s just the two of us in this big bed… right?
“Helios? You’re awake?”
“No.”
He answered shamelessly.
He was so brazen I was momentarily stunned.
“You don’t sound sleepy at all.”
“Yeah, because I didn’t open my eyes.”
“What kind of—”
I bit my tongue before saying *logic?*
A washcloth slid from my forehead and fell.
Just like I had placed one on him when he was sick, he had placed a wet towel on me as well.
“They said you fainted, but it’s not rare, and you just needed rest.”
“Ah, right. It’s common.”
“It’s not. I’ve never seen someone faint before.”
Helios spoke while still burying his face.
But I saw it—his shoulders were trembling slightly.
Why is he like this?
“…I thought you were going to die.”
“No way.”
After making the illusion perfume, my nose bleeds, I get dizzy, my head burns, and I vomit.
But die? Hardly.
I’m still so young.
*Did the perfume’s effect kick in? Or did he open his heart because of the gift?*
Helios hugged me tighter and even rubbed his cheek against me.
Completely different from yesterday.
I could clearly see he had opened up to me, and it felt strange.
If it was the gift that moved him… I almost felt sorry for him.
“You really look like a little black rabbit.”
“Yeah? Then I’ll be a rabbit.”
Why is he so obedient today?
He’s so different from the grumbling boy from before that it felt like he changed overnight.
“Say I’m pretty. Big sister.”
It happened then.
Helios lifted his eyelids slyly and gave me a shy smile.
He was already beautiful, but smiling like that was almost violently attractive.
I almost bit my tongue again as I replied calmly.
“Big sister?”
“Can I not call you that?”
“No… you can.”
You *can*, but…
I’ve never been called that—not even by Blaine—so it felt very awkward.
But strangely, I didn’t hate it. My chest tingled lightly.
Big sister.
It felt like suddenly bearing a great responsibility.
“I liked the gift yesterday.”
“Oh.”
“So I want to make yesterday my birthday. I don’t know when I was born, but I want it to be that day.”
He smelled faintly of apples—maybe he already used the perfume once before I woke up.
I reached out and lightly patted his shoulder.
*Ah, I just remembered.*
The name of my second perfume.
“To tame… me.”
**<Perfume of Domestiquer>**
It came to me suddenly, but I loved it.
I decided to dedicate this perfume to Helios.
—
Helios and I split a recovery potion in half and felt refreshed.
Our bodies were fine, but mental fatigue remained, so I decided not to go down to the dining hall and to eat in my room.
*Especially since that unpleasant Richard is there. I don’t want to run into him by accident.*
Considering all variables, I pulled the summoning cord.
Ding-ling-ling!
The bell chimed clearly.
But no matter how long I waited, the maid never came.
Understanding the situation, I sighed.
“I’d like it if people stopped messing with my maid…”
No choice. I’ll have to clean up again.
Last night she was absent because of that womanizer Richard, but she should be working properly today.
Once.
Twice.
Five times.
Only after pulling continuously did the maid finally appear.
“…You called?”
The curly-haired maid, looking half-sober and sluggish, was unsurprisingly rude.
Her loosened blouse and wrinkled skirt were just bonuses.
I ignored it and ordered coolly,
“Bring breakfast. And prepare bathwater.”
“Ah, yes.”
Clearly hungover, she bowed half-heartedly and left.
Helios tilted his head, baffled.
“That maid… is she sane?”
“Well… my dear brother probably filled her with nonsense about making her a baron’s wife. Forget it. It’s his hobby.”
I shrugged.
The vile Richard enjoyed giving maids false hope for unattainable dreams.
Then, when he got bored, he discarded them. I’ve lost count of how many maids who behaved like this later *disappeared*.
There were so many that I stopped remembering their names.
“What a nasty hobby.”
Helios muttered grimly.
I silently agreed.
“I brought it, my lady.”
My personal maid was painfully slow.
If I waited any longer, I wouldn’t even get to wash, so I called another maid to help me freshen up. Even then ten minutes passed before she returned.
Worse, she placed the meal tray on the small table with attitude—and there was only one set of utensils and dishes.
“Please eat.”
No need to explain she was insulting her master.
And I truly didn’t want to waste energy arguing.
*Thinking about it, this is all Viscount Sachet’s fault.*
I looked down coldly at the soup bowl—no steam, lukewarm.
Even without tasting it, I knew she had reheated leftover worker food from yesterday.
Chunks of carrot and turnip floated sadly.
I let out a short laugh.
“Hah.”
Because I behaved too obediently in front of Richard and father, new servants sometimes crossed the line like this.
They always forgot the fact that older staff, the head maid, and the butler treated me with respect.
After a night with Richard, it was always like this.
“Did I ask you to do something difficult?”
I asked quietly.
The maid smirked down at me, barely suppressing laughter.
“You called me for chores first thing in the morning. I had more important matters—Lord Richard is still in *my* room because I had to come here.”
“You are *my* maid, not my brother’s…”
I was not someone to vent my stress on the weak like the original Villiette. But I was not a lenient master either.
If I let this slide, she would grow bolder.
She would start spying on me and reporting to Richard.
*And with Helios here now, eyes watching me would be troublesome.*
Slaaap!
No hesitation—thought short, action quick. I swung my hand and struck the maid sharply.
