The lady reached out her hand toward .
"Show ."
"What would you like to see?"
"Your hand."
The lady spoke, looking at my right hand hidden behind my back.
"I don't understand what you an."
Pretending ignorance, I whistled, and the lady responded by throwing her beloved yellow rubber duck at .
-Quack-
The rubber duck t its dramatic end.
I picked up the fallen duck toy from the floor and threw it back at the lady.
"Quack!"
This ti the sound of a heroic fall ca from the lady herself.
She glared at with ferocity.
She outstretched her hand and made a beckoning gesture. It's not like I’m so dog that needs to give a paw.
I, too, crossed my arms and demonstrated my resolve to resist. How dare she try to look at my body so casually. This isn't how things are done in the land of the dignified East… well, never mind that.
Anyway.
I could not indulge the lady this ti.
"Give your hand."
"I refuse."
"Give it."
"I said no."
It was like a stalemate, reminiscent of playing ‘boribori rice,' a ga of exchange.
The lady reached out to grab my hand, and I kept her at a teasing distance while escaping her grasp, making it feel like we were playing ‘boribori rice.'
As it is known, in ‘boribori rice,' offense dominates defense. As a forr master of ‘boribori rice' who had turned kids' foreheads into unicorns with flicks, dodging the languid lady’s attempts was easier than drawing tears from children.
The lady looked at with pouting indignation.
It seems she didn't like being toyed with.
"Why are you hiding?"
"There's chocolate in the fridge."
"Oh…! Right."
Misdirection about the hidden treasure trove. I caught on to the lady's attempt to change the subject and shook my head vigorously.
"No! Not chocolate, I'm talking about your arm. I definitely saw it!"
She definitely saw it?
I thought she hadn't.
Usually slow, this was one of those tis when her perceptiveness seed sharper than a sword master's.
I hastily hid my hand behind my back, but in that fleeting mont, it seems the lady had seen the scars on my arm.
One piece of good news is that she didn't see them exactly.
It appears she only saw a vague silhouette through my wet shirt, as her gaze was still fixed on my wrist.
I thought maybe I could naturally brush it off.
Not knowing about it was a good thing for both the lady and . After all, it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie.
I contemplated excuses to tell the lady in my head, but under her piercing psychic assault, I couldn't easily co up with lies.
‘I need to make up a good excuse.'
A clumsy excuse would make it all the more easy for the lady to notice.
But why would she be curious about it?
I awkwardly brushed my right hand at my back once more.
The dark silhouette turned murky from being wet. It was inexplicably curious, but not sothing worth staking a life on.
Neither a tattoo symbolizing the heretics.
Nor one representing Yuria's fan club.
Nor a tattoo detailing the family's secret.
Just a repulsive-looking scar, nothing more.
Especially. A scar I hope the lady would never have to see.
Both unsightly and unwanted.
Of course, I knew it would be discovered soday.
It wouldn’t be proper to always wear long sleeves.
I thought when the scar faded with ti, I’d casually reveal it while working and say I had been injured—a wound to which she would eventually understand when it gets faint enough. I didn't expect to be caught like this.
But luckily.
I had prepared excuses in advance.
I had co up with excuses while cleaning the mansion, just in case.
Whether the lady believes this way or that, I could show a plausible reaction.
If she says it’s dirty.
-I haven’t bathed; that's why.
If she questions why there’s such a big spot on my arm.
-There's a huge birthmark on my forearm.
If she says it’s scary.
-Gasp. There lives a black dragon on my right hand…
With such excuses, I was not scared. Of course, my heart was pounding madly, but it was a matter I could smoothly deal with.
The lady was reaching out to .
And I was awkwardly hiding my hand.
Our awkward gazes crossed, and after about a minute of silence, the lady who couldn't wait any longer spoke up first.
"Ricardo."
"Yes."
"The truth is, I already know."
She said she knew.
I swallowed dryly.
How long has she known?
I didn't show any signs.
Usually, I wore a shirt that was not easily seen through. I was admittedly hot, but I always wore a shirt that wouldn’t reveal anything, even under light moisture like sweat. How did the lady figure it out?
Countless thoughts raced through my head. Getting caught was not a scenario I had considered.
If indeed I were caught.
The atmosphere in the mansion would have been quite poor.
Tension swirled in the bath.
The lady spoke to with cold eyes.
"You know, Ricardo, humans are creatures who make mistakes."
"Yes."
"And they have secrets that cannot be told."
"That's true."
"See, sotis, like , you might hit soone or even cause soone to go bald in a quarrel."
"That might be taking it too far."
The lady opened her eyes ferociously.
"Listen to ."
For just this mont, she felt like the youngest daughter of the Desmond family. The conversation might befit a confession in church, but the aura and intimidation she exuded were like those of the Desmond family head.
The lady said,
"I have my own secrets to keep."
"The lady does?"
"Yes."
The lady rustled her chest again.
"Actually, I stole so chocolate today."
"?"
She smiled while showing the lting chocolate.
"A whole three pieces."
The lady laughed mischievously.
I genuinely wanted to flick her on the forehead.
-Under the bed.
-Between the pillow covers.
-Inside her hair.
As she continued to reveal the locations of her ergency rations, I had a hunch.
The lady was looking in the wrong direction.
I was a fool to be nervous.
The lady has always been oblivious. When everyone talks about black bean noodles, she’s the one shouting for spicy seafood noodle soup on her own.
That's why I was a fool to think she had noticed sothing.
My previously tense mind started to run actively again.
Lying in the tub, having turned into a blob, the lady slowly opened her mouth.
"Ricardo, you got a tattoo, didn't you?"
As expected, the lady was barking up the wrong tree. I felt at ease, seeing her consistent behavior.
"…"
"You got a tattoo, right? Are you hiding it because I hate tattoos?"
"Did I really get caught?"
With an awkward smile, the lady grinned, apparently believing her deduction was correct.
The lady was pleased, her curiosity resolved.
I awkwardly scratched my head.
I started a wholehearted performance to avoid suspicion and make her believe she had ‘caught .'
"Was it very noticeable?"
"Yeah. It was hard pretending not to know."
"I tried my best to hide it, but I guess the lady's eyes can't be deceived."
"Of course. Who do you think I am?"
The lady patted her chest.
I was thankful that she took the bait.
Now that it had co to this, I had to be sure to deceive the lady thoroughly.
The mont a lie is believed as the truth, turning the falsehood into reality isn't so difficult.
And since I was the only one who knew about this scar, as long as I kept quiet, there was no issue.
Fabrication was no problem at all.
I smoothly lied, coming up with a story on the spot.
"I got a tattoo without the lady's knowledge a while ago."
"Right?"
"I apologize for hiding it. I got a rather odd tattoo that I couldn’t just show around."
"Hmm… Really? Since when did you have it?"
The lady asked a sharp question.
"About… a year ago?"
"Yikes! You had it that long ago?! You butler! How could you keep it hidden for so long!"
Feeling betrayed, the lady threw a rubber duck.
-Quack-
I dodged it again.
"That attack was quite vicious."
I gave her a thumbs-up, and she hissed in frustration, venting her anger.
"Next ti, you'll get hit."
"Sorry. Dodging poor attacks is a habit of mine."
"Eek!"
It was about ti to leave the bathroom.
Three hours after the lady had subrged herself in the tub, she now had a sowhat otherworldly presence you wouldn't quite call human.
The lady, turned into sothing akin to a sli, seed to have forgotten all about the tattoo.
-Splash splash-
The lady was throwing her rubber duck against the wall, playing catch by herself.
-Quack!-
"Hii-YAH!"
-Quack!-
"Ho-Hii-YAH!"
With each contact against the wall, the rubber duck made progressively more pitiful squawks. Paying respects to the toy duck suffering at its master's hands, I got up from my spot.
"Where are you going?"
"I will get a towel."
"Towel?"
The lady looked at quizzically.
At the ntion of a towel, she was on high alert, like a cat with its fur standing on end.
But I couldn't back down.
I had to clock out and go ho now.
I communicated my intention to the lady with simple gestures.
Pointing at her.
‘You'
Then pointing outside the door.
‘Will leave.'
And then pointing at the floor.
‘Right now.'
"Eek!"
She threw the rubber duck at yet again.
***
Seated on the bed, the lady entrusted her hair to .
She wanted to dry it using my aura.
A true waste of premium labor. If Hanna saw this scene, she'd probably shriek and drag Olivia away.
Controlling aura finely enough for such tasks was anything but simple.
Even a Sword Master cannot do what I'm doing right now. But does the lady appreciate my greatness?
The lady, who mumbled contentedly with drowsy eyes, didn't seem to have a clue.
"Ooo… it's nice."
"Is it nice?"
"Yeah."
While drying her hair.
The lady asked inattentively.
"Ricardo."
"Yes?"
"Can I ask about the tattoo?"
It was unusual for the lady to ask so politely.
Typically, she would have demanded, ‘Show !'
I was touched that she seed grown-up, leaning into and asking so formally.
"Showing it seems difficult…"
"Uh huh, I won't look. No. I don’t want to."
"Is that so?"
"I hate tattoos."
I felt a sting when she said she hated it.
It was like watching a daughter run away from her bearded father, which hurt my heart.
Inwardly, I pondered deeply.
How did my scar co to be?
It was cracked like a drought-stricken land, and there were black burn marks in places. It resembled what, exactly?
Since the best lies are rooted in truth, I was determined to give a believable excuse.
After about three minutes of thinking.
I thought of the most similar thing I could co up with.
"Tree bark."
The lady looked at .
Her expression oddly changed. The look she gave seed very different from when she was bathing.
As she looked at , her face appeared as if she might cry.
Why was she behaving like this?
Perhaps I brushed the hair too forcefully.
Lost in various thoughts and unable to move easily.
The lady asked with a repressed voice.
"Why?"
"Just because."
I had thought of the closest resemblance.
I didn't expect her to ask why.
I replied plausibly to the lady’s question.
"Just, because it's strong and solid. It gives shade too."
"Really?"
The lady nodded her head.
"It's like you."
The lady, who answered , stared blankly at the ceiling.
The lady had been gazing blankly at the ceiling for a while now. I asked her in a soft voice.
"What are you looking at so intently?"
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."
The lady dismissed the question.
"Just…"
-A quest has arisen.
"Because tattoos are scary."
[Q. The Secret He Hides.]
On the day when the master he had served for 13 years collapsed, Ricardo was there.
Nobody knew what had happened that day, but.
Just one person,
Her butler, knew the truth about that day.
Ricardo intends to hide the events of that day forever. The secret that was to be quietly overlooked, without anyone else knowing.
(!) Unravel the secret of that day.
1. See the secret Ricardo hides. (0/1)
2. Touch the secret Ricardo hides. (0/1)
Reward: Access to read 〈Side Story 29〉 ‘The Man's Secret.'
Olivia knew everything.
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