Side Story: Cynthia, the Lady-in-Waiting
“WHAT do you think, Siraiya? Does it look good on me?”
Dressed in a fresh, black maid’s uniform, my hair was tied up so I could be more mobile. With Siraiya in front of me, I gave a little twirl to show it all off.
“Urk… S-So cute…” Siraiya turned bright red and clutched his chest.
I was glad he was sitting down, or else he might have gotten lightheaded and toppled over. But the intense love I sensed coming from Siraiya was satisfying.
“Hehe! Thank you, Siraiya. Oh, that’s not right. I must address you as Duke Brooke… Or would ‘Master’ be more appropriate?”
“M-Master…?!” Siraiya finally turned beet red and slumped back against the sofa.
The way he reacted to my every word with so much emotion was almost too adorable to bear. Pleased, I sat down next to him and nuzzled up close.
Ladies-in-waiting weren’t supposed to do this sort of thing, but fortunately, I wasn’t actually an official one. We were only playing a bit of pretend.
When I offered to work for him to study etiquette, Siraiya rejected me with the excuse that it would be too much for his nerves to handle. But I wasn’t ready to back down yet, so I retrieved one of the uniforms left behind by the ladies-in-waiting, eager to have a bit of fun with Siraiya for at least one day.
He agreed to it, but if a little silliness like this was enough to make him weak at the knees, I doubted I’d ever be hired as a lady-in-waiting at the Brooke manor.
“Do you like being called Master? Shall I call you that once we’re married?”
I blushed too, leaning in closer to his red face. Siraiya thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.
“I can feel your love no matter how you address me, but I want you to keep using my first name once we’re married. Hearing it from you makes me feel like it’s actually not so bad after all.”
“Not so bad…? Who was it that gave you your name, Siraiya?”
“I don’t know… I never had a chance to ask. Whoever chose it probably didn’t do so out of love, so I never liked my name. But when you say my name, it suddenly feels so precious. It gives me another reason to care about myself as a person, and that makes me happy.” Siraiya suddenly shrugged, and he smiled shyly. “It’s a simple reason, I know…”
All my life, I’d never had to search for a reason to care about myself. I’d never once considered my name as something given to me without any love.
I inhaled slowly, thinking about how best to console him. But nothing was coming to mind. Besides, I suspected he had more than enough happiness to tide him over, even without immediate comfort from me.
“What’s wrong with finding simple reasons? The human heart is a complex thing that quickly grows weary. I think it’s easiest to achieve happiness if you find simple, straightforward reasons to care about yourself that are true to your own desires.”
“I see… I hope I can do that.”
“You will. You’ll learn in no time at all.”
“No time at all?”
“No time at all.”
Smiling at the one you love, sharing peaceful times with them, and trusting them with your entire heart would naturally lead to caring about yourself as well. That sort of thing happened before you even knew it.
“I’m going to take good care of you today, Master, so please watch and learn!”
“Huh?! …Y-You’re still doing this?”
“Of course. If I stopped now, it would be nothing more than a game of dress-up. Caring for yourself… Yes, a simple way of doing that is tending to the body, so allow me to give you a massage!”
Siraiya recoiled for some reason. He stood up in a panic and backed away from me.
“Massage…? You’re going…to massage me…?”
“That’s right. I’m your lady-in-waiting right now, so I’m going to give you a thorough massage.”
When he heard that, he widened the distance between us. With no other choice, I stood up and began approaching him.
“Hang on. That would be a problem. I’ve enjoyed this game enough, so come on, let’s cut it out now.”
“But we haven’t even done anything yet! I still want to play pretend. Now, Master, please let me massage you.”
“No, let me be the butler instead! I’ll put on a uniform! Oh, I know, I’ll make you some madeleines!”
“Th-That would be a problem, too!”
“How come?!”
The more he retreated, the more I crept forward in pursuit.
“It’s my turn now, so please behave yourself, Siraiya.”
“Hang on, Cynthia. I’ll be blunt. I’ll feel like I’ve done something immoral if I let you massage me.”
“…Is that so wrong?”
When I muttered that, something in Siraiya snapped. He bolted straight out of the room.
I chased him as best I could, grateful that ladies-in-waiting wore low heels that were easy to run in.
“Wait, Siraiya! Fine, I’ll just massage your hands and feet!”
“That’s still too much!”
“Why must you be so pure of heart?!”
“Just let me stay that way for now!”
Passing servants watched us in amusement and bewilderment as I spent the rest of that day playing tag instead of pretend.
My love for that pure-hearted, adorable Siraiya would never die.