I just want to get out of this frustrating place quickly.
'Haa...'
Thinking about it, it was funny.
I really wanted to come here before.
I wanted to face the Duke and have a conversation like this.
It was a moment I had considered a lifelong wish, but now I just want it to end quickly.
I realized anew that a lot had changed.
But...
"You have made a great contribution, so I will give you a reward."
"......?"
"Tell me what you want."
...What is this all about?
He's going to give me something?
I doubted my ears at the words I hadn't even thought of.
I carefully asked again, wondering if I had misheard something.
"I'm sorry, Duke. Did you... say you would give me something?"
"I said I would give you a reward, so tell me what you want."
I didn't mishear.
He even repeated the same words.
Repeating the same words was the Duke's most hated thing. But he doesn't seem particularly displeased.
Rather, he urged me with his eyes as if to answer quickly.
I turned my gaze to the notes scattered haphazardly on the desk.
'Is there that much value in that?'
Judging by how far the Duke is going, it seems to be of great value than I thought.
I unknowingly did a great job.
'A wish.'
I was still dazed, but I couldn't miss this opportunity.
What should I wish for?
While I was pondering, the Duke, who was quietly staring at me, gave me a hint.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you'd better think carefully. Haven't you wished for something normally? Something you wanted to have, or someone you wanted to call comfortably. A name, or a father."
I stared at him quietly and opened my mouth.
"There is something I really... want to do."
"...Tell me."
The Duke replied with a serious expression.
I slowly parted my lips.
"What I want is..."
Soon, his expression froze stiffly when he heard my wish.
"...I heard from the Lordship. That you found Adore Novan's bribery ledger."
"Yes, that's right."
"...And you wanted a lesson with me as compensation."
"To be exact, a one-day lesson."
"...Huh."
Like someone suddenly slapped on the street, Rigreen looked at me with an absurd expression.
'Well, is that right?'
He had just heard all the circumstances and the resulting consequences at once and was immediately dragged in front of me.
Inevitably, he had to pack up all the textbooks as well.
"...Since the Lordship has ordered, I will proceed with Miss Lucia's lesson for today."
In the end, he accepted this situation with a long sigh and tried to start the lesson.
But.
"Before that, I would like to make a suggestion to the head butler."
"...A suggestion, you say?"
He asked with a somewhat exhausted face.
'Well, it's understandable that he's exhausted.'
Recently, he has only been dragged around. Even now, he is reluctantly giving me lessons by order of the Duke.
Considering Rigreen's tendency to hate being dragged around without knowing why, he must be feeling extreme fatigue by now.
He must be hoping this time will end soon.
I'm sorry, Rigreen.
'I can't do that.'
I have no intention of letting you go.
But Rigreen frowned at this situation as if he was just tired of it.
His cool and sensitive impression made even the surrounding air stiff when he even frowned.
"Do I have an obligation to listen to that?"
He retorted in a stiff tone.
"You said before that I have to keep the Lordship's words."
"......"
I could immediately tell what he was talking about.
'He's talking about that time.'
When the Duke summoned me due to the poison incident.
When I couldn't reach the pattern on the study door and asked Rigreen for help, he asked if he had a reason to do so.
At that time, I-
'Yes. You do.'
'......'
'The Duke told you to bring me. You have to keep those words.'
-I replied.
In the end, Rigreen, who couldn't refute, had to pick me up.
Rigreen was talking about that time.
Quite a lot…….
"What the Lordship ordered me to do was to proceed with your lesson today."
"......"
"There was no order to listen to your suggestion."
"......"
"Do I still have to listen to your suggestion?"
… With an appearance full of negative emotions.
'He's become a mass of resentment.'
He pretends not to with a blunt expression and a monotone voice, but it seemed that he had a lot of emotions piled up for me.
'Well, that's to be expected.'
I understand.
But…….
"Yes."
Rigreen was speechless at my answer, which fell without hesitation this time.
Soon, he frowned and asked again.
"...What's the reason?"
I answered immediately.
"It's not bad for the head butler either. Maybe you can get what you want."
"You can get what you want……."
He muttered quietly and soon sneered coldly.
"Do you know what I want and are so sure? And even if you find out, do you have the ability to give it to me?"
He asked back in a completely twisted manner, as if he wasn't even thinking of hiding his emotions anymore.
I quietly stared at him without answering immediately.
Rigreen's pupils shook as if he realized that he was overly excited.
Soon he lowered his head.
"I'm sorry. I was too much."
"......"
"Anyway, I'll pretend I didn't hear what you said-"
"The head butler is right."
Rigreen raised his head to look at me.
I looked straight into his green eyes and said.
"I'm just a bastard, so I have no power. But that's why I need the head butler's help even more. Maybe it's not a bad condition for the head butler either."
"...Haha... I must have overestimated you."
In the end, he took off his glasses and pressed his eyes hard, looking at me with clouded eyes and reciting.
"If you wanted something from me so much, shouldn't you have told the Lordship? He said he would grant you one wish as a reward for your contribution."
"......"
"If that's the case, go to the Lordship now and say you'll change your wish. You can still change it because it's before the lesson. If it's difficult, I'll speak for you instead."
"......"
"You can use me with that wish. Then you will be able to get what you want without going through the troublesome methods of a proposal, etc."
He was already teaching me.
With tired, pathetic eyes.
I quietly looked at him and.
"I thought about that method at first."
Nodded.
Rigreen looked surprised.
"You thought about it? Then why didn't you do that?"
"Because what I wanted was the head butler, Rigreen Pedlan's approval."
Rigreen's pupils shook at my words.
I looked straight into those eyes and said.
"If you follow the method the head butler said, I will definitely be able to do whatever I want with the head butler."
"......"
"But that's because you're treating me inevitably according to the Duke's orders."
Shook his head.
"I don't like that."
"...Then, if I listen to your proposal, does that mean something will change?"
"I think so. If your mind doesn't change even after listening, you can end it with this lesson."
"......"
Maybe it's because he took off his glasses.
His agitation was particularly visible.
But soon he put on his glasses again and returned to his original poker face and said.
"Okay. I'll listen to what the proposal is. I hope it's not a trivial story."
'Good.'
First of all, I succeeded in making him listen.
'Speaking kindly is not an easy task either.'
I was a little embarrassed because his refusal was more severe than I thought, but anyway, I passed the first hurdle.
'But from now on is the real thing.'
Hoo.
I took a deep breath inside and looked at Rigreen with a serious expression and said.
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