“Lord Nadir! Please wake up!”
To get the first task on my list done, I knocked on Nadir’s door, calling out for him. There was no response.
Hmm. It didn’t specify how to wake him, I mused. Am I allowed to just go inside?
Suddenly barging into his room might put him in a bad mood, however, so I tried knocking once more.
“Lord Nadir! It’s morning!”
Knock, knock, knock.
As I wondered if perhaps he had low blood pressure, I heard a voice coming from inside the room. The sound was muffled by the door, however, so I couldn’t make it out clearly. I put my ear to the door.
“You’ll need to come closer to wake me up.”
What was he, a child?!
“Lord Nadir!” I called out again, storming into his room, prepared to shout right into his ear if I had to. Then I stopped in my tracks. “Uhh...”
The sight of him bathed in sunlight rendered me speechless for a moment. His personality was so awful I’d forgotten how easy on the eyes he was. The sight of his face, glittering under the morning sun, was enough to make anyone swoon.
It felt sensual, somehow. Perhaps it was the lack of his usual formal attire. His sleepwear made him look oddly vulnerable.
Ah, what long lashes, I thought, unwittingly leaning closer for a moment before hurriedly pulling back. How careless of me!
If I hadn’t known better, I could’ve sworn I’d heard him click his tongue as I pulled away. No, no, of course not. Right? Right.
He’s horrible, I frantically tried to remind myself. Awful, terrible, abhorrent, detestable, heinous, vile! A fiend! Yes. Nothing but.
“Lord Nadir!” I yelled into his ear. “Please wake up!”
He twitched slightly in response, but didn’t open his eyes.
“I know you’re awake, my lord!” I protested. “You just spoke a moment ago!”
Nadir clicked his tongue. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, then tossed the covers aside and sat up.
“Be more charming when waking me up next time,” he said.
“I beg your pardon?” What was this man going on about?! “I offer no such services!” I said firmly. “Now please, my lord, do get your ass up!”
“Mind your language,” he admonished me.
“Huh?” It occurred to me then that I’d just used a less-than-polite word. “Oh, yes. Please forgive me, my lord. It was a slip of the tongue.”
“I’m not talking about that.” Apparently it wasn’t my impolite choice of vocabulary that had bothered him. “Just talk to me as you usually do.”
“What? But I’m acting as a maid, so I should show you proper respect and address you—”
“As you usually do,” he insisted.
“Fine!” I relented. “But don’t grip me menacingly every time!”
I brushed Nadir’s hand off my shoulder. Was that a habit of his whenever he wanted to say something, or what?
“No more of this ‘my lord’ business,” he stressed.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “I mean—”
“Got it?”
He reached for my shoulder again, and I quickly replied, “Yes, yes, I got it!”
Seemingly satisfied, Nadir got out of bed. “Hey,” he said.
“What?”
“Help me get changed.”
He was actually serious about that?
One of the tasks written on the paper he’d given me yesterday was “assist me with changing clothes,” but I hadn’t taken it very seriously.
“Say, can’t your butler do this?” I asked. “I’m more used to cleaning, you see.”
“Do it.” He wasn’t listening.
Reluctantly, I handed Nadir the outfit I’d prepared for him, and he gave me a puzzled look. Why?
“What?”
“Undress me,” he commanded.
“Come again?”
“Handing me the clothes isn’t helping me get changed. You’re undressing me first, then dressing me.”
“You’re undressing me first, then dressing me.” He’d really said that.
I was an unmarried noble lady. Obviously, I’d never helped a man get changed before. And this man was asking me to do it for him.
Doing my best to hide my discomposure, I puffed out my chest. “You can’t get dressed yourself? Are you a child?”
“Trying to make me angry so you can escape this won’t work,” he said flatly. “Hurry and do it.”
It was like he could read my thoughts.
With no way out of this predicament, I slowly approached Nadir and reached for the buttons on his top.
“Maybe you should do it yourself,” I offered.
“No,” he countered.
“Of course...”
Ugh. My father was the only man I’d ever seen in any stage of undress.
Oh! Perhaps I didn’t have to see this!
“What are you doing?” Nadir asked.
“I figured I could help you change with my eyes closed,” I explained.
“That’s not going to work.”
“Of course...”
It was hopeless.
Preparing myself, I opened my eyes. “H-Here I go.”
“Mm-hmm.”
I swallowed nervously as my fingers, trembling slightly, touched the buttons. This wasn’t an issue when I was changing on my own, but now? My heart felt tight.
“Hurry up,” he snapped.
“I know, I know!” I snapped back.
My quivering fingers made the task difficult, and it took me much longer to unbutton his pajama shirt than it would’ve normally. Besides, this was about much more than simply working the buttons. Even though I was careful when trying to slide the shirt off his arms, our bodies still touched—I accidentally pressed my chest against him. Ugh!
“A perk,” he mumbled.
“What was that?” I asked. I’d been too tense to catch what he’d said.
“Nothing.”
Somehow, I managed to undress him. The tension was such that I was breathing heavily by the end of it.
“Hey,” he snapped. “Why are your eyes closed again?”
“B-Because you’re nude!” I stammered.
“I’m wearing bottoms.”
“That’s beside the point!”
“You can’t exactly help me with my top if your eyes are closed.”
Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. I’d never seen a man around my own age undressed before, so this was the first time I’d been exposed to the upper body of one.
Nadir’s fully undressed torso was moderately toned, and he had a masculine aura about him. His broad shoulders were a stark contrast to mine. He was sensual, despite being a man. Perhaps it was the fact he’d just woken up—his languid demeanor added a touch of seduction to the whole thing.
“What’s the matter?” he asked teasingly, despite no doubt being aware of my flustered state.
“Uh, umm...” With no idea how to conceal the blush on my cheeks, I helped him put on his shirt.
“This is taking a lot longer than usual.”
“Perhaps you shouldn’t make me do this, then,” I pleaded earnestly.
“No, I definitely should.”
Denied.
“I’ll do the bottom half myself,” he said.
“Then why didn’t you just do the top too—” I began, before he boldly began to remove his pants as if my presence was of no consequence. “Eek! Don’t undress in front of me!”
“Why are you staring so intently?”
“I-I’m not!” I protested as he began to walk toward me. “And don’t come over like that!”
“Your reaction’s entertaining. I’ll give you a better look.”
“No! No, thank you!” I said, trying to put distance between us. Unfortunately, the bed stood between me and freedom, and I was cornered. “Eek! G-Go to work, or whatever it is you do!”
“I can afford to be a little late.”
“No you can’t!”
As the two of us argued back and forth, the door to the room swung open. There stood the young butler I’d met once before.
“Young master!” he called out. “How much longer are you going to be in your...room...?” His words trailed off as he stared at us in amazement for a moment. Suddenly, a grin spread across his face.
I gasped, realizing the situation we were in. Pinned to the bed, my cheeks bright red. Nadir on top of me, only in his underwear.
“Th-This isn’t—” I tried to explain.
“Well, well!” the butler interrupted. “It seems I was right about that! Such energy, so early in the morning!” At the word “that,” he made a heart with his fingers again.
I shook my head very vigorously. “You’ve got it all wrong!”