It had already been four days since Beni started working in the Greenhouse. Though no other servants had been assigned besides Beni yet, the work he’d been given wasn’t as overwhelming as he’d thought.
This was thanks to the instruction that they would call in a specialist maintenance worker for the Demon King’s facilities to handle the exterior and glass walls, so Beni only needed to take care of the interior. Everyone must have come and gone at some point—when Beni arrived for work, the vines that had been covering the dome-shaped Greenhouse had vanished without a trace, and the glass walls had been polished so clean that sunlight scattered through them.
Even the tall trees surrounding the outside had been neatly trimmed and shaped, so inside the Greenhouse there was even a warm spring-like atmosphere that contrasted with the cold winds of the Demon Realm’s winter.
Beni was oiling the wooden stairs that led to the second floor. When he’d first arrived, it had looked dirty in places, but when he actually went to clean it, it was cleaner than expected. Because of this, the interior of the Greenhouse was already mostly organized, and now he just needed to record the places that needed repairs here and there and what supplies were needed.
Having finished oiling the stairs all the way to the top of the second floor, Beni straightened up and stretched with a big yawn.
“Mmm.”
Lightly patting his lower back, he rested his elbows on the railing and looked around the entire Greenhouse.
The strangely eerie atmosphere that had permeated various spots in the Greenhouse couldn’t be felt at all anymore. Only a gentle scene of warm air infused with light softly circulating through the spacious area was captured in Beni’s sun-like eyes.
The corners of his mouth twitched at the Greenhouse that had changed so dramatically through his own hands. He wanted to hurry up and decorate the Greenhouse beautifully to make the Demon King happy.
When he pictured him looking at the beautified Greenhouse, Beni felt a warm, tingling sensation around his chest for some reason.
While he was catching his breath at the railing for a moment, the Greenhouse door opened. Beni’s eyes widened as he immediately trotted down the stairs.
“Your Majesty!”
Ruan clasped his hands behind his back and gazed at Beni, who was greeting him so gently.
“You came a bit early today!”
The reason Beni hadn’t felt lonely at all, even though it was a Greenhouse with no one else, unlike his previous workplace.
“Work finished a little early.”
It was precisely because Ruan visited the Greenhouse every single day. He gently stroked the white hair swaying before him, and Beni received the touch familiarly. Then Beni reached his arms toward the open front of the Demon King’s shirt.
“It’s really cold today. I wish Your Majesty would dress more warmly.”
He was worried he might collapse again like last time, but he didn’t seem to have much intention of dressing properly. If anything, he seemed to be wearing his clothes more loosely as time went on. It was when Beni, seeing everything from his exposed neck down to his chest, let out a deep sigh and rose on his heels to button up the shirt.
Through the gap in the open clothing, Ruan’s dark skin was revealed. The firm contours, so distinctly different from his own, made him feel strange somehow. Even at the Count’s household, he’d shared bathing facilities with the other servants, and at the Demon King’s Castle too, they all bathed together.
That’s why Beni himself had never minded showing his naked body to others, nor seeing others’ naked bodies, so why did he feel more embarrassed now? He felt tense that his fingertips might touch his skin. Was it because his skin had a sheen to it, unlike the servants’?
Hurry, hurry and button it up for him.
Stiffening with tension, his hands fumbled even at the simple task of fastening buttons. The more this happened, the more urgent he felt, and in the end his finger caught on a lower button and he ended up unfastening it instead.
“Ah!”
Startled, Beni pulled his hand back, but that only made the shirt fall open more, and Beni saw it. A portion of a scar, grotesquely distorted in a way that seemed rather unsuitable for the most noble person in this castle to possess.
It was the moment when Beni, wondering if he’d seen wrong, couldn’t tear his eyes away from Ruan’s chest. Beni’s chin was gently caught and lifted upward. Whoosh—the Demon King’s face came right up to his nose. At the excessively close distance, Beni gasped and flinched.
His eyes, which filled Beni’s entire field of vision, were leisurely curved in an arc.
“How bold of you, undressing the Demon King.”
He whispered in a voice lowered like a breath.
“Is it time now? Time to accommodate my servant’s tastes.”
Wow, he’s handsome… Beni had known Ruan was handsome, but his face in the shadows cast by the sunlight made his high nose bridge and sharp lines stand out even more. Beni, who had been momentarily entranced by him, so vivid that the surrounding scenery seemed blurry, tilted his head.
My servant’s… tastes?
The moment he wondered what tastes he meant, it came to him.
“I didn’t know my servant had a hobby of undressing outdoors.”
Beni’s snow-white face flushed bright red as he belatedly understood the meaning. His entire skin turning red like a tomato, Beni jumped back.
“N-no! I don’t have that kind of taste!”
Having inadvertently raised his voice, Beni gasped and covered his mouth with both hands. No matter how kindly he acted, to raise his voice at the Demon King. Fear flashed through his yellow eyes.
However, what soon followed wasn’t a raised voice asking what he thought he was doing, but cheerful, loud laughter. Ruan opened his mouth wide enough to reveal his pointed teeth as he laughed heartily.
Though Beni couldn’t tell what was so enjoyable, without any sign of displeasure, he looked at Beni and then straightened his own clothing.
“How unfortunate. I’m quite fond of that kind of taste too, Beni.”
Ruan took a step forward, and Beni hopped back again like a rabbit. Like driving prey, Ruan closed the distance. With a leisurely gaze scanning Beni from head to toe, Ruan casually wrapped his arm around his waist.
When he subtly pulled him toward himself, Beni drew helplessly closer. The two men’s legs became subtly entangled. The sound of his heartbeat boomed loudly inside his ears.
“Of course, the undressing should only happen when it’s just the two of us.”
Beni recalled the many days of bathing together with others, but it seemed like this strange position would continue unless he nodded. When Beni hastily bobbed his head, Ruan finally released the arm that had been trapping him.
“Well then, let’s have our meal a little early today.”
Beni watched questioningly as Ruan walked ahead to the central couch.
Does His Majesty want to bathe with me? he wondered.
* * *
Today too, after eating fresh fruit and even donuts following his meal, Beni slumped and leaned against the backrest. Ruan propped his chin on his hand and watched with satisfaction as Beni’s meal portions increased more and more. Ruan hoped Beni would quickly become like a plump baby pig.
With a full stomach and the Greenhouse’s cozy air enveloping him, this was heaven. Previously, after lunch, he’d wandered around looking for a suitable resting place.
“I feel kind of sorry being like this by myself.”
Ren must have finished eating at the dining hall by now. Since that breakfast incident, Beni had become more concerned about Ren than before.
He pretended to be fine, but there was no guarantee that was actually true. He wished he could be here together with him too, but it wasn’t a place he could bring someone to on his own. And somehow…
“Do you wish there were other servants here?”
Beni, who had been tilting his head back to look at the glass ceiling, straightened it immediately. To be honest, Beni liked that he was in charge of this Greenhouse alone right now.
Of course, he knew that his abilities were far from sufficient to manage this enormous and important place. Even so, if other servants and attendants came, it seemed like it would be quite regrettable to lose this time alone with Ruan.
But this was just his own greed. An presumptuous desire that a mere servant of the Demon King’s Castle shouldn’t have—wanting to monopolize the Demon King’s time.
“I’m still inexperienced at managing it alone. If there were others here as well, a Greenhouse where Your Majesty can rest comfortably would be completed quickly.”
“Is that so? I’m already quite satisfied with how things are now.”
“…Really?”
“Really. And I’m also more comfortable being with just you, Beni.”
Beni’s upper body, as if enduring something, gradually leaned toward the Demon King. His large yellow eyes sparkled as if clearly reflecting Beni’s inner feelings. Ruan covered his mouth slightly with the hand that had been propping up his chin and said,
“However, since our servant says it would be good to have others here too, I’ll have them assigned first thing tomorrow.”
Uh… Beni’s gaze watching Ruan wavered finely.
