When I asked Karl for records on my fiancée, he surprised me by asking whether I would be willing to wait until tomorrow. He said he could get them right away if it was urgent, of course, but I wasn’t in any hurry, so I told him it was fine.
That’s not like him, though. I guess nobody’s touched those records in ages... Did they end up buried way in the back or something? Anyway, it’s no big deal. The real issue is—
“...ce. ...Grace. Your Grace?”
My consciousness suddenly floated back to the surface as I flickered awake. When my eyes opened, they met a deep emerald gaze shining with the sunlight streaming in through the window.
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
“Morning...”
Why’s he standing so close? He’s not right up in my face, but he’s totally in my personal space.
We exchanged what had become our usual morning greeting, while Craig stood there staring at me from a not-at-all-usual distance. I pushed him aside and got up from the bed.
Craig had been acting weird ever since we’d returned from the garden yesterday. Well, he’d been acting weird in the garden too, but anyway, he just wouldn’t stop staring a hole through me. After everything that had happened, I would’ve understood him glaring at me, but what confused me was the lack of any anger in his expression. If he were just putting on a front, then he wouldn’t have been giving me those impolite stares at all.
Normally, if you’re dealing with someone you hate, you’ll either be hostile to them or ignore them completely, right? Is Craig not like that? Wait—he isn’t becoming self-destructive after wounding Sig, is he?
Frankly, his behavior was setting my nerves on edge, and I really wanted him to cut it out. But after everything I’d already subjected him to, I couldn’t bring myself to be too harsh with him.
I had to do something, though.
“Craig?”
“Your Grace?”
Don’t “Your Grace?” me, dammit.
“Um, I’m already up.”
“I am aware.”
“If you’re aware, then could you get out? I need to change.”
Normally, the moment I got up, Craig would consider his duties complete and leave the room right away. But for some reason, today he was just standing right there. I mean, we were both guys, so it didn’t really matter if he saw me undressed, but he was staring really hard at me right now. Getting changed while pinned beneath that gaze was obviously going to be a little—no, more than a little uncomfortable. That was why I’d asked him to leave. But not only did he ignore my orders, he immediately dropped a bombshell.
“Allow me to assist you, Your Grace.”
“Huh?”
What the hell is he saying? Did he hit his head and switch personalities or something? Wait, no, that was me. But how else do you explain this?
“There’s nothing unusual about it. Servants helping their masters dress is perfectly normal among the nobility. In fact, you often have your butler do the same, do you not, Your Grace?”
I could feel my face locked in a grimace, but Craig was completely unfazed.
Sure, Karl helped fix up my clothes sometimes when I was about to go out—but that was it. In my past life, I’d been in kindergarten the last time I’d had anyone help me change out of my pajamas and into my daily wear, and I wasn’t about to start again now.
Something was wrong here. There was no way Craig would offer to do that normally, and there was absolutely no way he’d get so insistent about it that he’d talk back to Heinreid.
Have I been getting too relaxed because I know he’s one of the good guys? I definitely don’t want us letting our guard down too much around each other. Guess I can’t just coast on all my past evil deeds—I’ve gotta crack the whip now and then. Dammit, I’d been hoping I wouldn’t have to do this for a while...
“Did I request any such thing of you? I do not recall granting you permission to act without orders or to make proposals of your own.”
I reluctantly hit Craig with some of Heinreid’s heartless words and fixed him with an icy glare. But...
“Is that so? Very well, Your Grace. Please call for me if you require anything.” He turned and stepped out of the room.
He... He’s not fazed at all. At least he’s gone, but what the hell was that reaction? He acted like a parent brushing off a kid’s tantrum! Why—? Why’s he so full of himself?!
Still frustrated, I began dressing myself in my finally empty room.