CH 48

Chapter 48: The Worst Awakening

“I did it…”

In a dark room, inside a soft blanket. I wake up with self-loathing.

In the warmth of the blanket, a smooth and soft sensation I have never experienced before, I feel a heat that does not belong to me, wrapped around my right arm.

Until the Exiled Duke’s Daughter,...

“Mina…”

No response. Just peaceful snoring near my ear, surprisingly close.

My right hand was being held by her left hand, and she must have turned over in her sleep as she was a little closer from me. Her face is near my right shoulder and she is sleeping while holding my right hand with both arms.

Despite me trying to stay still and not move while I was sleeping because I was nervous!

I slowly twist my body, pushing away my consciousness from the soft object that hits my right elbow.

I carefully remove my arm, trying not to wake her up by wrapping her platinum hair.

“Nn…”

She made a sexy voice while sighing.

It’s sweet like a rose and fresh like new green, with a scent that rises.

Yes, part of why I feel numb inside is also because of this scent. Last night, before bed, I was overcome by the fragrance coming from Mina who was sitting next to me after taking a bath.

I got out of bed and onto the floor. The warmth I was surrounded by was lost and my body shuddered from the coldness.

Looking through the curtain, the window outside is a starry sky and the edge of the capital city’s castle walls were dyed purple.

I quietly leave the room.

“Good morning, master. What brought you up so early in the morning?”

“Uwaaahh!”

There’s a maid sitting just outside the room!

Hmm. And I can hear some mumbling from the bed.

“Shh.”

I nod and quietly close the door, facing the maid.

“Are you awake this early?”

“I am on night duty. I will be sleeping when my shift is over. We have someone waiting outside the master bedroom every night, so if you need anything, please let us know.  Can I help you?

“N-No! Just going to the bathroom.”

Her gaze wanders over my face and lower body, and her nose twitches slightly.

A blue odor.

“I see, you need to change. I’ll prepare it right away.”

Uwaaahh… I can feel the heat gathering in my face.

She leads me to the bathroom with a handheld lamp in one hand.

“Please wait a moment while I bring you a change of clothes.”

Ahh… I sat on the toilet seat and let out a sigh.

“I’ll put the bucket and towel here.”

A voice calls from outside.

Before I can say thank you, the footsteps have already disappeared, so I silently wipe my lower body.

“n the meantime, she brought a change of pajamas for me, so I changed into that.

“…thank you.”

“No, it’s just our job.”

“…you seem to be trying to tell something.”

She soaks the towel and slippers in the bucket of water and says.

“Don’t waste your “shots”. It would be better if you held your wife properly and offered it to her.”

I sighed and asked something I suddenly wanted to know.

“I want to ask a little bit, were you serving Vilhelmina in the Periknen household?”

She nods.

“Yes, we were not directly serving as servants, but everyone was like that.”

“You know, do you have no problem with a commoner like me having Mina, Vilhelmina, as my wife, or even more specifically, the Duke’s daughter as my wife?”

“Hm,” she raised her voice.

“Of course, if a commoner had defiled the former Duke’s daughter, Vilhelmina-sama, we would have stood up to stop it, and if she had been defiled, we would have chased and killed him to the ends of the earth.”

The answer was even more harsh than I thought.

“O-Oh.”

“However, that is different from the current situation. Our master who was a Duke’s daughter had her position stripped away and was disowned from the house. Isn’t there a commoner who would respect and help her, allowing her to live in the mansion again?”

“It’s not that there isn’t one.”

“No, please be confident. We were truly happy from the bottom of our hearts. Yesterday, Vilhelmina-sama who got off the carriage escorted by her husband was smiling.”

“I see…”

“Vilhelmina-sama is both caustic and compassionate.”

Days since I met her come to mind.

“…I understand.”

“How valuable it is to bring out a smile from that person. She was made fun of by that F*cking…excuse me…by her former fiancé, His Highness Elias. I have never seen her laughed at while she was with him.”

“…I see.”

I go back to the bedroom to change.

When I closed the door, she whispered softly.

“Please understand that we servants, not only wish for Vilhelmina-sama’s happiness, but also for Alex-sama’s happiness from the bottom of our hearts. Goodnight.”

The light of dawn is starting to leak white from under the curtains. It’s still too early to wake up, I’ll be able to sleep for another hour.

I quietly slipped into the futon and held Mina’s hand.

“Lex…?”

A sleepy voice can be heard, and her eyes open slightly.

“Did I wake you up? Mina, it’s still a bit early to wake up.”

“Fufu.”

She laughs.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m just happy to be sleeping with Lex… goodnight…”

Her voice quickly changed to a snore.