SIWALL Ch 21

Elliot wanted to bite his tongue. Arzen’s face, looking down at him coldly, was as beautiful as a sculpture carved from ice, which made it all the more terrifying.

“I couldn’t forgive myself for falling asleep first yesterday, so I just… I am truly, deeply sorry, Your Grace. Did you sleep well last night~?”

“Would I have? When my bedtime attendant fell asleep first. And that, after bragging to high heaven that he absolutely wouldn’t fall asleep.”

“I’m sorry!”

Elliot quickly dropped to his knees. Then, to signify his sincere apology, he lowered his head and tightly clenched both fists, resting them upon his knees. At a glance, that posture made him look rather like a scolded little kid, which was a special talent for making the other person uncomfortable. Would this even work on this absolute nightmare of a man?

“…Fine. I’ll watch you for the time being.”

It worked.

Though blunt, Arzen uttered a reprieve laden with forgiveness and turned away. Elliot maintained that posture with a gloomy expression until the sound of Arzen’s footsteps vanished.

However, the moment the hallway fell silent, Elliot stood straight up and brushed off his knees.

‘As I thought, he does have a soft spot after all….’

Anyway, since the man had said he would watch him for the time being, he probably couldn’t quit right away. If he resigned out of the blue, that in itself would look awfully suspicious.

And there was one more thing. There was a task he needed to clean up. It was writing Loran’s love letters to send to the Grand Duke.

“Sigh….”

Let’s go clean up what yesterday’s me left behind, me of today.

∞ ∞ ∞

“No… No… Not this either!”

Elliot crumpled up papers and tossed them everywhere like a madman. He was truly realizing what the agony of creation meant right now. As for Camembert, who was happily running around to catch the balls of paper bouncing off from around Elliot, he seemed to find Elliot ruining the letters endlessly amusing.

“How nice would it be if it were as easy as Generwin’s?”

Half on the verge of tears, Elliot picked up the letters laid out before him. Those letters, meant to be sent to Generwin’s lovers, contained content like this:

{To my lovely sugar candy,

A truly delicious pastry came out at today’s tea time. It was round with jam in the middle, made with plenty of butter. Ah yes, the very butter someone loves so much. The moment I saw that pastry, my mind wandered to my sugar candy young lady. When I go to see you next time, I’ll bring some of this pastry along. But truth be told, I think your kisses are even sweeter than this pastry.

Waiting only for our tea time,

Your lover Generwin}

This was meant for Helen—that Helen, the maid of Teron Grand Duke’s residence. Even Elliot knew that Helen was completely crazy about sweets. That was because Helen had shared pastries with Elliot a few times herself.

Even so, writing cheesy letters talking about a sugar candy young lady and kisses was quite difficult. Even though absolutely no one besides Camembert was watching, Elliot took deep breaths and fanned himself while writing those sentences. He could only find it fascinating that Generwin actually spoke such words out loud.

However, that wasn’t the only letter Elliot had written.

{To Violet, the one and only jewel in the world.

The young lady will never know how much my heart trembled just writing her name in the recipient blank. Violet, I am merely grateful that you allowed me that noble name. You scolded me for being frivolous, but if I can hide the coward inside me even with such frivolity, I will toss jokes and send eye-smiles at the young lady over and over again. So please look at me. Or will you scold me again next time?

From a coward scattered all over the world}

This was sent to Violet Flint, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Flint. Aside from this, there were letters addressed to a Viscount’s young lady and a certain merchant guild leader.

Actually, writing a few sweet sentences tailored to the personalities and anecdotes of each woman that Generwin had provided wasn’t all that difficult. The length was short, and since there was a fundamental basis that they were people who held affection for Generwin, if he wrote them down with the momentum of putting iron armor on his face, he could somehow get them done.

However, to Arzen Teron, this terrifying warlord, a lunatic of the original work whose dedication to mutilation and murder made calling him a nightmare seem laughable….

“What on earth am I supposed to write for the opening sentence… If I call this person sugar candy or a jewel, Loran is going to hit an instant death ending, right?”

“Meow!”

“I know, Camembert… Will you write it for me?”

“Meow.”

The sleek black cat paid not an ounce of attention to Elliot, merely tapping the tightly crumpled balls of paper back and forth with his front paws.

He simply couldn’t get a feel for it. Letting out his fifty-sixth sigh, Elliot organized the letters on the desk. Evening time had already arrived while he was writing the letters. Since today was the day he would look after Arzen’s sleeping quarters for the first time since yesterday’s chaos, he needed to pull himself together.

“The Grand Duke’s letter… I’ll write it tomorrow.”

Tomorrow’s me will surely take care of what today’s me messed up. Engaging in a positive escape from reality, Elliot filled Camembert’s food and water bowls.

It was time to go to work.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Stop.”

As he was about to pour the tea, a blade-like voice flew in. Startled, Elliot put the teapot back down.

“We’ll skip the tea.”

It was a remark overflowing with suspicion, looking at it any way you slice it, essentially meaning, ‘You’re too suspicious so I can’t drink this,’ but Elliot couldn’t even manage any particular protest.

Yes, yes. You want to skip it, so you must.

Putting on the expression of a faithful and innocent subordinate, Elliot meekly walked over to the chair beside the bed and sat down.

Leaning back against the bed with an intensely sharp face, Arzen was wearing blue-striped pajamas today. It was getting to be a big problem that he now looked so accustomed to wearing a dress-style nightgown complete with a matching cap, just like a five-year-old. Becoming accustomed to something meant growing fond of it. Your mind must really be gone if this crazy bastard is starting to look endearing, Elliot Lim Seongsik Brown.

“What are you looking at?”

“The pajamas suit you so, so well, Your Grace. I think you’re a cool tone.”

“Cool tone? What is that?”

“Ah, I meant that blue seems to look really good on you.”

Elliot smiled brightly and gave a thumbs-up with one hand. Arzen glared coldly at Elliot, abruptly spun his body toward the opposite side of where Elliot was sitting, and lay right down.

“Read a book.”

“Yes, yes.”

Elliot unfolded a book.

“Then I will read again from where we left off last time.”

“Hold on.”

Arzen stopped Elliot. Then he pushed himself up, sitting with his back leaning against the headboard. Glaring at Elliot with suspicious eyes, he spoke mischievously.

“Read now.”

Oh gosh, that nightmare of a man….

It seemed he meant to stay sitting up and fight off sleep, but there was no telling why on earth he would do such a thing.

You said you have insomnia. You said it was severe enough that you couldn’t sleep for over a week.

Because of that damned paranoia of his, his readiness to willingly exploit even his own insomnia was so intense it almost brought tears to my eyes.

“Yes, yes, I will read, Your Grace~”

Displaying a friendly customer-appreciation smile contrary to his inner thoughts, Elliot began to read the book.

And five minutes later, Arzen drifted off to dreamland while sitting up. It was a new record.

Elliot quietly left Arzen’s room.

The next night, Elliot faced an Arzen whose face was filled with even more distrust than yesterday. Wearing light sky-blue pajamas, he was sitting crookedly on the sofa inside the room.

“Shall I read the book from the sofa today?”

Elliot asked carefully, picking up the book.

“No. Don’t read the book today.”

With a fierce look in his eyes, Arzen jerked his chin.

“Shut your mouth and sit here. Today, don’t say a word and try putting me to sleep.”

“…Pardon?”

“Your mouth.”

“Well….”

“Your mouth.”

“….”

He really is a top-tier nightmare.

Maintaining his gentle smile, Elliot sat opposite Arzen. Judging from his instruction to shut his mouth, Arzen seemed to think some sort of sleep magic was cast upon his voice.

Elliot opened his eyes wide toward Arzen and pressed a hand to his own chest, which meant, ‘What should I do?’

“Find busywork or something.”

That ill-mannered bastard.

However, acting like a true professional in the K-service industry, Elliot blinked his prettily opened eyes and pointed with his right thumb toward the doorway, as if stabbing it. It meant, ‘Then may I pop over to my room for a moment?’

“Do that.”

Elliot stood up, bent at the waist at a 90-degree angle, and scurried out of the room.

“Communication is working out remarkably well….”

It seemed to be working better than talking with words.

Anyway, since the man had told him to do some busywork, Elliot planned to use this nighttime hour usefully and productively. He was slightly annoyed because of Arzen’s absurd demands, but he didn’t feel bad.

It felt just like a day in middle school when exams ended early. Or that day when a convenience store part-timer coming after him arrived a little early and said it was fine to swap shifts right away.

The slightly empty, lingering air in the empty hallway wrapped around him pleasantly. A bit excited, Elliot ran back to his room with quick, small steps.

After giving Camembert’s brow a very swift pat—so as not to get bitten—within that short time and even treating him to some dried fish, Elliot soon emerged carrying a large basket.

“What is that?”

As soon as a returning Elliot caught his breath and sat down on the sofa, Arzen asked with a wary tone.

“Ah, this is….”

“Explain it with your mouth shut.”

That personality-bankrupt XX bastard….