The hallways of Britannia's royal palace were less bustling in the afternoons. Most of the servants had already finished their morning duties and were now resting in their quarters or preparing for dinner service. I, on the other hand, took advantage of those calm hours to wander aimlessly, hands in my pockets, my gaze lost in the tall windows that let in the golden light of dusk.
That was when I saw her.
Leonora walked down the west wing corridor, an empty tray in her hands and her maid uniform impeccably ironed. Her dark blue hair was tied in a low bun, and her eyes, the same color as her hair, always alert, detected me before I could even smile.
"Ah, if it isn't my favorite maid," I said, approaching her with slow steps and a mischievous smile.
She frowned and quickened her pace.
"I am not your maid, Razel-sama. I belong to the palace service, not to yours."
"That's what you say, but ever since I caught you trying to kill me, I think you've become a little bit mine, don't you think?"
"Don't come near me."
Leonora stopped dead and shot me a look that could have melted steel. But I knew that facade well by now.
"I've seen how you seduce all the women around you," she said, her tone sharp. "I don't want to be seduced too. So keep your distance."
(Seduce? That kind of wording bothers me a little. She's just trying to protect herself.)
"Me? Seduce anyone? I'm just being nice," I replied, taking a step forward.
She stepped back.
"Don't come near me."
"What if I do?"
"It smells like wolf and I don't like it!"
And with that, Leonora ran off.
I couldn't help but laugh. She ran as if her life depended on it — perhaps, for her, it did. Her footsteps echoed on the marble as she turned a corner toward the inner garden. I followed her, not in a hurry, but with the calm of a predator who knows his prey cannot escape.
The garden was empty. The rose bushes perfumed the air, and a stone fountain sang its monotonous melody. Leonora tried to circle a hedge, but I had already anticipated her move. I reached out, grabbed her forearm, and in a smooth twist, we both fell onto the grass.
She ended up beneath me, her eyes wide as saucers, her breath ragged. She tried to break free, struggled, even tried to knee me, but I immobilized her with my weight.
"Let me go," she hissed, with contained fury.
"No."
"You're a stalker!"
"And you're an assassin who tried to kill me. I'd say that makes us a pretty balanced pair."
(Her body is tense, but not from fear. It's the tension of someone who has always fled from any kind of contact.)
"Listen," I said, lowering my voice. "Ever since you tried to kill me, I consider you my property. Not out of whim, but because that's how the rules of the street work. The hunter catches the prey, and the prey becomes his."
Leonora stopped struggling. Her grey eyes pierced through me.
"You're a horrible man."
"Maybe."
"I've never been with a man. Not before, not now. I don't know what that is, and I don't plan to find out with someone like you."
I was silent for a moment. Then I burst out laughing.
"Were you joking?" she said, confused.
"No. I was just teasing a little. I'm not going to force you to do anything, Leonora. I'm not that kind of person."
Her expression changed. It was no longer fury, but bewilderment.
"Then what do you want from me?"
I got up and offered her my hand to help her to her feet. She looked at it distrustfully, but in the end she accepted.
"I don't want anything you don't give me of your own free will."
We stood in silence by the fountain. The sun was setting behind the trees, and the shadows grew longer.
"I've been thinking," I said, putting my hands in my pockets. "Since Iris and the girls' confessions… maybe it's time to stop playing at dodging affection. Maybe I should take them all."
Leonora looked at me as if I had said the craziest thing in the world.
"All of them?"
"All of them. And then put up with their complaints if they have any."
(Mainly back in the empire.)
"You are the most ambitious man I have ever known. One day, all those women will get tired of you and kill you."
I laughed, a sincere laugh that echoed among the rose bushes.
"Maybe. But at least it'll be a fun death."
(The way she says that, with that serious face, makes me laugh. She doesn't know I'm almost immortal.)
"But my biggest problem isn't them. It's that they keep coming one after another."
Leonora shook her head.
"I don't understand how women can put up with you."
"Because I'm charming."
"That's debatable."
I let go of her hand and stepped back.
"Look, Leonora. I want a harem. But I want all the women who are with me to be there because they want to, not because I force them. I will never force anyone. And that includes a former assassin who now pretends to be a maid while spying on Baron Olston."
Her eyes widened.
"How do you know that?"
"It's pretty obvious why you haven't been executed. Anyway, we're allies with the same goal."
Leonora fell silent, processing my words.
"By the way," I said, changing the subject. "Do you want something to eat? Dinner time is approaching."
She blinked, surprised by the sudden ordinariness of the question.
"…I like soufflé," she replied, quietly.
"Really? The assassin who wanted to kill me is a soufflé fan?"
"Don't make fun of me."
"I'm not making fun. Come on, I'll treat you."
And so, as the sun set over the palace garden, we walked together toward the kitchen. She in silence, me whistling a tune.
(Maybe getting my way isn't so bad after all.)
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The final fanservice goes to Liddy, to close out the new girls of this story.
https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/11423272