Beni was appointed as the Demon King’s personal attendant the very next day. Since an unknown fellow suddenly took the position that had been vacant, complaints spread everywhere.
Several children of high-ranking noble families even quit their jobs and left that day. The reason was that they couldn’t serve a master who was served by a commoner who wasn’t even a noble and had no surname. Since Ruan, at Beni’s request, only announced the name “Beni” without a surname, everyone naturally had no choice but to assume Beni was a commoner.
Fortunately, the idle speculation bursting out everywhere didn’t reach Beni’s ears.
Beni just said goodbye to Ren, packed his things, and hurried to the main palace.
Ruan had told him to come to the study on the fourth floor before lunch, but Beni dashed off as soon as he finished breakfast. Running with lively steps almost skipping, he didn’t even get out of breath.
After arriving in front of the study door, Beni caught his breath once, combed his hair with his hand to tidy it as much as possible, and unnecessarily brushed off his clothes. Then just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly opened first.
Inside, Ruan was standing right there with his face tilted, smiling. He, who was usually in comfortable everyday clothes, was today wearing a dark uniform and a dark red cape. The hem of the cape hung from his left shoulder and swayed. Beni stepped back at the splendid appearance.
“Welcome, Beni.”
“Ah… Hello! Your… Majesty!”
The title “Your Majesty the Demon King” still didn’t come naturally to his mouth. It might be fine when he was just a servant, but they said a personal attendant should have dignity. The title “Demon King-nim” seemed somewhat informal.
“You don’t need to change how you address me just because you became a personal attendant.”
As he spoke, Ruan bent his waist and took the luggage bag that Beni was clutching tightly with both hands. Beni flinched and tried to take it back, but failed because Ruan wrapped his shoulder and turned his body to the side.
“Your Majesty, you shouldn’t carry such things…”
“Call me Demon King-nim like before, Beni.”
“I learned from a book that a personal attendant should exude dignity in all words and actions!”
Because of Beni using the formal speech style that didn’t even suit him, Ruan finally burst into loud laughter.
“But Beni, think about it. You’re my attendant alone, right?”
Moving his steps, Ruan gently leaned his body toward Beni. Beni was about to nod but awkwardly answered, “Yes, that is correct.” Ruan lightly brushed the white hair with his large hand.
“Then wouldn’t it be right to match my preferences?”
At those words, Beni’s mouth opened wide as if he’d gained great enlightenment and wouldn’t close. Beni immediately took out a notebook and pencil from his pocket.
“What are Demon King-nim’s preferences? I’ll match them all!”
It was a question that sounded somehow intimate to Ruan, but the face looking up at him was so innocent it was overflowing with passion, giving him a slight sense of guilt. Ruan pondered for a moment then picked up Beni’s worn notebook.
“Demon King-nim?”
When he looked up questioningly, Ruan, who had stopped, scribbled something in the notebook. He’s going to tell me his preferences directly! Touched by his kindness, Beni resolved to memorize them all even if Ruan’s preferences filled 30 pages of the notebook. But Ruan returned the notebook to Beni without turning even one page.
When Beni received it and looked at the notebook, a short word was written in neat handwriting completely different from his own.
Ruan Astra Bel Carnean’s Preference: Beni
Beni blinked and looked again several times. However, the letters didn’t change and he couldn’t understand what this meant either. He looked up with a face hoping for an explanation.
“It means I like your natural self, so you don’t need to try to change.”
Strength entered Beni’s hand holding the notebook. Ruan tickled Beni’s chin as if treating a rabbit. Beni instinctively stretched out his chin.
“If anyone blabbers nonsense that you lack dignity, show them this notebook. Or you can call me.”
When Ruan’s hand fell away, Beni couldn’t raise his head, keeping it deeply lowered.
“I will, Demon King-nim…”
The answer that barely leaked out very quietly trembled finely following his quickened heartbeat. Ruan looked at Beni with satisfaction and moved his steps again.
“Then let’s look at your room first.”
Since Ruan was wrapping his shoulder, Beni’s steps moved along too. A new room—his heart pounded.
Perhaps because he was a personal attendant, the two didn’t go down from the fourth floor but walked down the eastern corridor and stopped at a corner that appeared. Strangely, there was an out-of-place doorknob on the wall. That is, really just a doorknob dangling on the wall. Beni tilted his head at the golden doorknob existing without a door and looked at the Demon King.
Then Ruan pointed at the doorknob with one hand and said:
“Try grabbing that doorknob.”
It was a somewhat suspicious doorknob, but Beni grabbed it right away without doubt. At that moment, the doorknob suddenly became warm and the wall distorted. When he panicked and tried to let go of the doorknob, Ruan covered the back of his hand and gave him a look saying it was okay.
Before long, a white door appeared where there had clearly been an empty wall.
“Wh-what is this?”
Ruan finally let go of Beni’s hand he’d been holding, and Beni looked back and forth in astonishment at the door that appeared before him and Ruan.
“It’s your room.”
“…My room?”
Is the personal attendant’s room hidden like this? Beni carefully turned the doorknob. When the door opened and revealed the scene, Beni couldn’t help but gasp.
“…Really my room?”
It was the same question as before, but the emotion contained was completely different. It was an enormous size, like connecting about 20 of his previous room. The bed was as wide as the one in the Demon King’s bedroom, and all the furniture was shiny and polished.
Unable to believe it, Beni hesitantly stepped inside. On one wall, three wide, tall windows were spaced at appropriate intervals. Beyond them, Lake Belluard spread out. It was similar to the scenery he’d seen from the room he was assigned on his first day at the castle.
Beni, who approached the window almost running, asked the Demon King in an excited voice. The heels of both feet lightly rose up then sat down repeatedly.
“Can I really stay here?”
Ruan approached from behind such a Beni.
“Of course. From now on, this is your room.”
“Wow, it’s really, really so nice!”
So personal attendants really do stay in such good rooms. Beni once again thought he’d done well to speak up courageously to Ruan.
“The door is always connected to the corridor you saw earlier, and when you enter, you just need to come to the fourth floor of the main palace. And that doorknob is designed so the door only appears when you or I grab it.”
“Wow… amazing.”
There were many things throughout the Demon King’s Castle that he’d never seen once at the count household, but this was definitely amazing among them.
“Beni, there probably won’t be anywhere in the castle you can’t enter. You can look around here and there, but.”
Ruan lowered himself slightly to match Beni’s eye level.
“If you want to enter the main palace basement, do so together with me. There are many unpleasant and dangerous things there.”
Ruan also briefly thought of his study, but that intimate room was designed to only open when the exact location was pinpointed. Since it was a place difficult to enter easily, he decided not to mention it. Beni answered spiritedly as if he’d keep it in mind.
“Yes! I won’t go in!”
“Good, thank you.”
Ruan stroked Beni’s head. Thus began his life as the Demon King’s personal attendant.
* * *
Beni’s eyes snapped open. A pure white ceiling and a chandelier with sparkling crystals, a bed with plenty of space left even when stretching out both arms and legs.
Soft, thick blankets.
Being alone in this big room felt awkward so he lost a bit of sleep at night, but still, perhaps thanks to the fluffy and cozy bed, he wasn’t tired. Rather, his heart was already pounding.
Beni washed up right away in the bathroom attached to the room, put on a robe, and entered the dressing room where a separate partition wall had been set up. The large wardrobe was already filled with clothes that all looked splendid and expensive.
Do personal attendants originally wear things like this?
It was somewhat different from the servant attire Beni had seen in books, but as Ruan said yesterday, he should follow the master’s preferences.
Beni wore a white tunic blouse that looked the most modest among the clothes, along with dark ivory pants and a calm navy vest that came with them. After putting on a jacket and boots that came up to mid-calf, it was completely different from when he was a servant.
Beni looked at himself in the mirror spinning around, finding it newly fascinating. It was much prettier and better quality than Trellou’s clothes he wore when entering the Demon King’s Castle. Wearing this, even he seemed to look quite decent. While attaching the red brooch the Demon King had given him, a question suddenly arose.
The clothes… how do they fit so perfectly?
As if they were made for him, not a single piece was too loose or too small.
