Chapter 33
An ember flew and landed on bare skin.
My finger instinctively jerked.
The letter envelope, having lost its support, plopped down. Right into the center of the roaring fireplace.
“Eek!”
The high-quality paper of the Euphorian Kingdom is made using a special process to prevent it from getting wet.
To protect the paper and keep the ink-written letters from being damaged.
Added to that was a pleasing gloss, so it was primarily used for letters by the upper class.
While it had many advantages, it also had one fatal flaw.
It made for excellent kindling.
“What do I do!”
If I don’t do anything now, it will look like I intentionally destroyed the letter.
I have no choice.
Besides, Vivian’s letter wasn’t completely incinerated yet.
If even its form remains now… .
I reached my hand towards the fireplace.
“What on earth are you doing?”
However, a large hand grabbed my wrist, lifting me into the air before I could even reach the edge of the firewood.
Ash Canis, who had approached without me noticing, was interfering.
“The letter is burning! We have to get it out quickly!”
“So you’re going to stick your hand into a fire pit? Are you in your right mind?”
His voice was even-toned, as if he was suppressing his emotions as much as possible.
Yet, the viciously bulging veins on the back of his hand spoke volumes about Ash Canis’s mood.
“But this is… .”
“Come with me.”
Ash Canis pulled my wrist.
The difference in strength was evident. I was dragged away without a chance to resist, yet I couldn’t take my eyes off the letter.
The sky-blue envelope was now charred black. The inner paper was perfectly carbonized, turning the color of Ash Canis’s hair. The envelope, now reduced to fine particles, mixed uniformly with the ashes scattered on the floor.
My despair that I would never be able to confirm Vivian’s true intent came only after we had left the office.
The place we arrived at shortly after was a lounge on the floor directly above.
Ash Canis, standing in front of the washbasin, twisted the faucet handle sideways.
Splash-!
“Eugh!”
The waterfall-like stream of cold water gradually washed away the scorching pain.
“Why did you bring the letter near the fireplace?”
I flinched for a moment. I thought the interrogation had finally begun.
“Th, that’s… .”
Thinking it over slowly, it also sounded like a reproach for why I did something dangerous.
“I picked up the letter after dropping it while cleaning. I went near the fireplace because it was too cold, and I couldn’t bear it, so I went to warm myself by the fire.”
Lies flowed effortlessly from my mouth.
“It’s almost summer, and you’re cold?”
“It’s raining. Besides, the temperature varies drastically with the weather… .”
Ash Canis frowned as if he couldn’t agree. Then, his scrutinizing gaze swept over my wrist and finger joints.
“No wonder you’re cold, being this skinny. Do you even eat?”
“O, of course. If you want to work, you have to eat well, right?”
“These days, it seems they call bird feed ‘food’ too.”
“Without even having seen me eat… .”
“Don’t need to see to know.”
He didn’t concede a single word.
Then, the conversation ended. The silence was unbearably awkward.
How long do I have to keep this up?
I subtly tried to twist my wrist, but Ash Canis held on even tighter.
“Master, aren’t you angry?”
“About what?”
“That I burned the letter.”
“Ah, that.”
It’s better to get scolded first, so I deliberately brought up what just happened. Even so, Ash merely stared at my hand being rinsed under the water, showing no particular reaction.
“The sender’s name was Vivian Jasmine Euphorian.”
A princess of a nation. Moreover, a princess from an allied country.
He witnessed the scene of her letter being burned.
He should show at least a little agitation.
“If it’s bothersome, have her send it again or something.”
“……”
How can he be so brazen?
He must know that being negligent with a letter is almost disrespectful to the sender.
“If it’s urgent, she’ll come herself.”
“……”
It was the Grey Desert that made Canis an impregnable fortress.
How many people can cross that land of death unscathed?
“Aren’t you worried it might be something important, like diplomatic talks? I feel like I’ve put you in a difficult position… .”
“That will absolutely never happen, so stop worrying.”
His tone was filled with conviction. As if he more or less knew what the letter was about without even seeing it.
Maybe this letter isn’t the first.
Come to think of it, he seemed oddly irritated.
If I had to define it, it felt more like he was annoyed.
Vivian, who is the spitting image of the Queen, was like a delicate daffodil blooming by the water’s edge, stimulating people’s protective instincts.
On top of that, her background as a legitimate princess and the granddaughter of the Duke of Paradis.
Vivian, accustomed to being the center of attention, wasn’t in the habit of writing letters by hand herself.
But the handwriting on the envelope I just turned to ash was undoubtedly Vivian’s.
Sending a handwritten letter implies either closeness or significant effort… .
“Rather than worrying about that useless piece of paper, worry about your own body.”
Good heavens. Who would have thought there was a man who would turn down the incomparable Vivian.
“I’ll ask again. Why were you in my office? What’s this about cleaning?”
Oh no.
The arrow is flying back at me.
“The head maid assigned the office cleaning to me.”
“Louis did?”
I nodded.
Ash withdrew his hand and stroked his chin. As if lost in his own thoughts, a peculiar light appeared in his maroon eyes.
With my wrist freed, I tentatively withdrew my hand from the stream. It was still a bit hot but bearable enough, so I turned off the faucet.
Drip- drip-
With only the sound of a few water drops remaining, silence once again filled the lounge.
Only then did the surroundings come into view.
The marble-finished countertop of the sink and the fresh flower decorations that seemed just picked from the greenhouse. A landscape painting of a valley and soft lighting adorned the walls.
Right. This is the floor directly above the office.
It was the living quarters of the direct lineage of the Canis family, no less.
A sort of sanctuary where not even a select few, including the head maid and the estate manager, were allowed to set foot.
Even if first aid was needed, there are washbasins near the office, so why did he come all the way here?
“……Hah. You used your head a bit, didn’t you.”
“?”
What does that mean?
This man is full of mysteries from start to finish.
“So this is how you pay for your meals… .”
Muttering to himself, Ash Canis swept back the bangs crossing his forehead.
As the heavy hair moved aside, his damp forehead was revealed.
The water dripping incessantly from his hair and clothes had long since formed a puddle on the floor.
It poured rain since dawn, and judging by his arrival before noon, it seems he rode at full speed.
Did some urgent business come up?
But… .
“Master, if you stay like this, you might catch a cold.”
“Do you think a mere cold can threaten a Canis?”
Is he saying only monsters can be a problem?
What remarkable confidence.
Humans can even die from a cold. Let alone from a single blade of grass.
“Don’t you know you should wash your hands and change your clothes after going out?”
“……Do I look like a child to you?”
“You might become one today.”
Ash Canis’s eyes frowned as if in disbelief.
“Wouldn’t it be better to at least take a bath first?”
From the maid cleaning the entrance hall to Fritz preparing the report, everyone was moving under the assumption this man would arrive in the evening.
If he appears out of nowhere like this, it puts everyone in a difficult position.
So, there’s no choice but to stall for time, even a little.
“Exterminating monsters, camping, long-distance travel… You must be tired. A bath to relieve fatigue might help.”
When I changed to a polite tone, the corner of Ash Canis’s mouth subtly rose.
“……A reasonable suggestion.”
Fortunately, it seemed to pique his interest.
But I soon realized that was something I should never have said.
* * *
Before I knew it, the surroundings were filled with white steam.
The nostalgia from my days working in the laundry room rose mingled with the steam, but I snapped back to reality upon seeing my face reflected in the surface of the water filling the ivory bathtub.
What am I doing here right now?
“How’s the water temperature?”
The sound echoing off the bathroom walls sent a prickling electric current through all the nerve pathways in my body.
I swiftly dipped my fingertips into the bathwater.
“I, I think it’s fine for you to get in.”
Truthfully, I couldn’t tell if it was hot or cold.
How could I, when a man in a white bathrobe was staring holes into the back of my head from behind.
I just need to get out of here. And run without looking back.
You said you’re not a child, so you’ll handle the rest.
Without even looking at Ash Canis’s face, I promptly bowed.
“Then, enjoy your bath. I’ll tell the dining room to bring up a drink… .”
As I tried to sidestep quietly towards the exit, a hand that had been adjusting the waistband grabbed me.
“Where do you think you’re going.”
