Lunchtime.
Beni swallowed his dry saliva while standing not inside the greenhouse but outside the greenhouse door. It was almost time for the Demon King to arrive. Beni’s cheeks were reddened from the cold as he unnecessarily checked his attire.
But without showing it at all, he straightened his shoulders and back and stared stiffly straight ahead. Before long, Ruan’s figure came into view. Beni reflexively held back from smiling brightly and running to him.
Don’t be frivolous, stay calm.
When Ruan spotted Beni while walking over, his face showed both delight and questions mixed together about why Beni was outside.
“Beni. It’s terribly cold today. Why are you out here?”
It was when Ruan approached with quick steps and covered both of Beni’s reddened cheeks with his hands, about to open the door.
“Your… Majesty. I will guide you.”
Beni spoke with an extremely solemn expression. Although his speech was more clumsy than usual because his cheeks were being pressed.
A completely different tone from usual, signs of tension somewhere. Ruan looked at Beni questioningly, but Beni said nothing and escaped from Ruan’s hands to throw open the greenhouse door. Then he looked at Ruan.
“…Ah.”
Belatedly realizing it meant for him to enter first, Ruan moved his steps. Only after he entered did Beni carefully close the door without making a sound and follow Ruan. Ruan walked while wondering what Beni was suddenly doing, when he felt his side empty.
When he turned around, Beni, who always stuck to his side, was walking quietly two steps behind him.
“Beni? Why are you in the back?”
Ruan gestured, but Beni hesitated while about to shake his head.
“This is my proper place, Your Majesty.”
What nonsense is this? What did Marcel say? From the looks of it, Beni was suddenly trying to be formal with him.
“Did someone say something to you?”
At those words, Beni was startled and waved both hands.
“No, not at all! I just wanted to do this myself… so I’m doing it! Your Majesty!”
From his expression, he seemed sincere. This time he really couldn’t predict it, but Ruan decided to go along with it for now. He no longer asked and sat on the couch, and Beni stood near him with both hands politely clasped together instead of sitting across from him as usual.
It was somewhat cute how he was being formal in an uncharacteristic way, so Ruan laughed, but that laughter didn’t last long. It was because Beni, who had been chattering away, shut his mouth. The greenhouse atmosphere was excessively heavy with Beni being quiet when he should already be chattering about what he did today and what came out for breakfast.
Was silence originally this awkward?
When he was with others, it was rather annoying if someone even coughed. With Beni being this quiet, Ruan unnecessarily crossed his legs the other way then uncrossed them while glancing at Beni. It was the moment when Ruan, whose patience had run out, was about to ask Beni.
When the greenhouse door opened, both of them turned their faces there simultaneously. Ruan decided to ask after eating first.
“Beni, stop that now and just sit down.”
The servants with lowered gazes set up the trays beside the table. However, far from sitting, Beni instead approached the tray. The servants flinched in surprise at his sudden action.
“Your Majesty, today may I… set the table? I want to do it…”
Ruan was bewildered but told him to go ahead, gesturing to the servants. The servants exchanged glances with each other then quickly left the greenhouse. Beni stared blankly at their backs for a moment before turning his head to the tray.
He had been continuously checking and noting down what order the servants set the table. Beni first confirmed the dining table was clean, then set down the plate in front of Ruan.
Two forks in order on the left of the plate, on the right place the knife facing inward and the spoon. Then place the small dessert spoon and fork above.
Then the water glass on the upper right…
Beni set them down as calmly and neatly as possible according to the table setting order he memorized every night before bed. He’d simulated it countless times in his head, but actually doing it for real made him break out in cold sweat because the order was a bit confusing. By the time he barely finished the table setting, much more time had passed compared to other skilled servants.
Beni knew this too, so when he looked at Ruan nervously, his eyes were slightly furrowed.
‘As expected, this much isn’t… enough?’
His fingertips grew cold as he clenched both hands tightly. Moreover, his gaze kept not leaving the table, so Beni looked again wondering if he’d placed something wrong, but he couldn’t tell. He wanted to look at his memo pad again, but taking out the memo pad to check seemed too informal.
Beni gulped down his dry saliva and took one deep breath.
Still, he had to say what he’d decided to say.
“Your Majesty the Demon King.”
“…Genius rabbit… aren’t you…”
“Pardon?”
What is he suddenly saying? When Beni looked flustered, Ruan finally looked at him and marveled.
“Did you memorize all this order, Beni? Amazing.”
Ruan honestly thought Beni would set it up in a complete mess when he suddenly said he’d do the setting. He thought he just wanted to try it once, but it was so much more perfect than expected that he was taken aback.
What can’t he do—he has a good personality, a pretty and cute face, secretly has aegyo, now manages the greenhouse skillfully, and now on top of everything he even knows how to set meals.
Even if he couldn’t do anything he’d be lovable, but he keeps accomplishing things, so Ruan let out a long breath as his emotions overflowed.
Beni gained courage from the unexpected praise.
“If Your Majesty the Demon King has already changed your mind, it can’t be helped, but I want to become Your Majesty’s personal attendant. However, as Your Majesty knows, I’m a beastkin half-breed, and I wasn’t treated very well at the count household either, so I lack refinement and don’t know much…”
Beni’s head gradually lowered.
“I’m far from adequate to be the personal attendant of Your Majesty the Demon King, the most precious person in the castle, and I might make many mistakes. I want to be a useful existence to Your Majesty, and even now thanks to Your Majesty’s kindness I’m living truly happily every day, so I thought being a personal attendant was too much for me.”
Beni raised his face to look directly at Ruan. His bright yellow eyes were filled with determination and earnestness.
“I’ll work harder and harder and harder to make up for my inadequacies and learn and master it, so could you please make me Your Majesty’s personal attendant?”
Ruan momentarily couldn’t say anything and just looked at Beni.
“It’s already been quite some time since Your Majesty stopped bringing up talk about a personal attendant… But I felt I needed at least some minimal ability to have the right to speak about it, so I couldn’t tell you right away… I’m sorry.”
Only after a brief silence did Ruan barely manage to begin.
“…Then all this time, to become my attendant?”
“I read as many books as possible from the library about servant duties and etiquette and refinement, and I learned by asking James-ssi about words I didn’t know…! Even so, I know much more than before and I’ve realized what virtues a personal attendant should have…!”
Beni, who had been working hard on self-promotion, added shrinking at the end, “Still, if Your Majesty has already changed your mind, it can’t be helped.” Because there was an appropriate time for everything.
Ruan burst into helpless laughter. He felt himself, who had felt hurt by Beni even for a moment, was too immature and narrow-minded.
Ruan stretched his arms to the nervous Beni, wrapped around his waist and pulled him close. He buried his face in his solar plexus and nodded.
“…Of course you will, Beni.”
He mumbled the last words saying he’d been waiting for when he’d speak, so slurred the pronunciation was all mashed together. From Ruan’s lowered nape to his entire face was dyed bright red.
* * *
James climbed the stairs with a completely stiff face. After dinner, he’d suddenly received orders to come to the VIP reception room on the second floor of the main palace.
James retraced his actions so far and thought back on whether he’d made any mistakes, but there were none.
He’d simply done warehouse management and field work every day, and prepared for winter. Beni came to mind in one corner of his heart, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong to him either.
Rather, Beni followed him well if anything…, ah.
Even if it’s a secret, was it because he’d gotten along too casually with the Demon King’s child?
That must be it. There was no other reason for the Demon King to summon him besides that.
