Becky turned around. It couldn’t be.
Greeting Dietrich Delgado in this estate was tantamount to suicide.
The servants tried not to catch his eye, as rumors abounded that he mercilessly cut down anyone who irked him.
But did someone just say “Good morning” to him?
Who on earth could it be?
Wide-eyed, Becky took in the unbelievable situation.
A maid from the main building was bowing her head, politely greeting him.
A gentle smile appeared on the maid’s face.
‘Has she completely lost her mind?’
Becky thought the maid might be new, but she had seen her going back and forth in the main building a few times before.
With a shocked expression, Becky hastily glanced at Dietrich.
His face was turned away so she couldn’t see his expression, but his rigid posture seemed unusual.
After a brief silence, a low, quiet voice was heard.
“Yes.”
It was a short but astonishing reply.
Becky stared at the two of them with a dazed face.
‘What in the world is going on?’
Did Dietrich Delgado just say “Yes” to a “Good morning” greeting?
She couldn’t believe it.
But when the maid who greeted Dietrich slightly bowed her head while looking at Becky, it sank in.
The fact that the maid had greeted Dietrich, and he had accepted the greeting.
‘Wait a minute. Why did that maid greet him in the first place?’
Could there be some special reason why she wasn’t afraid of the young master?
Perhaps that maid could be helpful, since Becky hadn’t been able to find out anything about Dietrich’s recent activities.
Becky hurriedly turned around and grabbed the arm of the passing maid.
“Excuse me, just a moment.”
“Yes?”
The startled maid stopped, her eyes wide open.
Becky hesitated for a moment with an awkward expression. But soon, as if determined, she asked.
“Did you just greet Dietrich Delgado?”
“Yes, I did.”
The maid’s gentle eyes wavered, lost and confused.
Seeing her flustered, not knowing what was wrong, Becky hurriedly got to the point.
“Aren’t you afraid of Dietrich Delgado?”
“Pardon?”
“No, I mean…”
She had to be careful about expressing her feelings that Dietrich Delgado was frightening, even if she thought so.
Becky asked in a gentler tone than before.
“Have you always greeted Dietrich Delgado?”
“Oh, no. It’s not like that.”
“Then why did you greet him just now?”
It wasn’t a scolding tone, but there was a clear class difference between a lady’s maid and a maid, so the maid spoke cautiously while gauging Becky’s reaction.
“I greeted him wishing Dietrich Delgado a good morning. Everyone says he’s not a scary person, so I gathered my courage to greet him… Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no! Of course not! Alright, hurry along and get to work.”
The maid still looked puzzled, but she soon bowed her head and went back to her duties.
Becky pondered the words she had clearly heard but couldn’t quite believe.
And she recalled the rumors that had been circulating in the Delgado estate recently.
Perhaps those rumors were true, she thought.
She carefully recalled the duchess’s venomous face as she had shouted at her.
‘Maybe the rumors are true that madam’s recent irritable attitude isn’t her original personality.’
Becky pressed her lips tightly together. Before telling the duchess about the scene she witnessed today, there was something she needed to find out.
She thought of the name “Heidi”.
The duchess had definitely shown disgust and irritation as soon as she heard the name “Heidi”.
Moreover, that maid seemed to know very well about the rumors circulating in the estate recently regarding Dietrich Delgado.
She had heard that the maid was close to the young master.
Though Becky wasn’t sure which of the two rumors was true.
She wanted to properly ask the maid named “Heidi”.
The image of the duchess irritably snapping at her wouldn’t leave her mind.
If both rumors turned out to be true.
If it was all a misunderstanding that Dietrich Delgado was a cold and frightening person.
If that were the case, who would be the suitable master of this estate?
[This is the timeline separator]“…Young master? Is something the matter?”
He had eaten an even more meticulously prepared breakfast than usual and had come to the training grounds, but he was still unable to recover from the shock of the sudden greeting he had received on the way.
‘…That maid definitely greeted me, right?’
Does this make any sense?
Dietrich was deep in thought. Was there any servant in this estate who had been friendly with him besides Heidi?
He was so surprised by the unexpected greeting that he couldn’t even remember how he had replied.
He didn’t know why such perplexing things kept happening to him lately.
Only when Dietrich sensed Calt’s gaze eyeing him strangely did he finally come to his senses.
“Ah, Knight-Lieutenant Calt.”
“You didn’t even say to start sparring right away today. I thought something might have happened.”
Something did happen.
Dietrich roughly brushed his hair back and tilted his head.
Come to think of it, he had recently thought that the servants seemed to be staring at him too intently.
‘Something is indeed strange.’
The servants at the Delgado estate never looked directly at him.
Even if their eyes met, they would always slightly turn their heads, silently greet him, and disappear.
But now they were looking straight at him?
Dietrich quietly looked down at Knight-Lieutenant Calt, who was arranging his scabbard beside him.
Startled by the intense gaze, Calt slightly lifted his head and took a step back in surprise.
Then he quickly straightened his body and stood at attention.
“Do you have something to say to me?”
Calt pressed his lips tightly together at the expressionless gaze silently observing him.
He felt cold sweat running down his back.
Calt recalled Heidi, who had chattered on about how Dietrich Delgado wasn’t scary at all.
She had boldly declared with her green eyes sparkling, “Hey, Dietrich Delgado isn’t that scary!”
‘Heidi, I newly respect you.’
Even after seeing him for over a decade, Dietrich’s chilling gaze always made his body shudder.
Calt waited for Dietrich to speak.
Eventually, Dietrich’s smooth lips slowly parted.
“Knight-Lieutenant Calt.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
“Am I scary or not scary?”
And upon hearing the out-of-the-blue question, Calt froze on the spot.
He almost nodded his head to indicate that Dietrich was scary but managed to hold back.
‘Is he asking if he himself is scary?’
Very, very scary!
Goodness, it’s surprising that he still doesn’t know that.
‘Why is he suddenly asking this question?’
In the Delgado family, the only people who didn’t fear Dietrich were his mother, the former duchess, and Heidi.
However, he hesitated to tell the truth.
Perhaps it was because he had heard so much from Heidi lately.
‘It would be a lie to say Dietrich Delgado isn’t scary, but…’
There were aspects that felt more approachable than before.
As Heidi said, when he frowned or had a blank expression, it seemed like he was just deep in thought.
He was always as silent as a chilling wind, but that was all.
He didn’t throw fits, get irritated, or snap at people around him in a scary way.
‘I always knew Dietrich Delgado wasn’t cold-hearted, but.’
Perhaps the other servants in the estate were starting to realize it too.
‘Since our Heidi has been chattering about it so much.’
He slowly shook his head at Dietrich, who was silently waiting for an answer.
“May I speak honestly?”
“By all means.”
Dietrich crossed his arms and tilted his head as if to say he would listen.
Calt spoke more seriously than ever.
“To me, you have always been a respectable swordsman.”
“I’m not talking about when I’m a swordsman.”
“Yes, I understand. Since you always have a blank expression, anyone might find you scary. But lately, that might not be the case.”
He was certain. Wherever Heidi went, tales of Dietrich’s virtues always bloomed.
Even though she loudly proclaimed that she didn’t like Dietrich at all, the moment someone badmouthed him, she would suddenly appear out of nowhere and angrily scold them.
“How do you know that, Knight-Lieutenant?”
“Well… Heidi goes around the neighborhood chattering so much about how you only appear scary on the outside but are actually kinder than expected. How could I not know?”
“Heidi does?”
“Yes. She talks so much even when she comes to the training grounds that there isn’t a single knight who hasn’t heard about you from her.”
“…”
Dietrich said nothing. But Calt noticed the warm emotion in his teal gaze.
“Heidi has been doing unnecessary things again, going around…”
“Isn’t that how Heidi always is? Every day she whines about how tired she is, but the moment you’re mentioned, she somehow finds the energy to bounce around.”
“Does she come to the training grounds often?”
“Of course. She’s become friends with all the knights. Now they ask me about her if she doesn’t show up. But she hasn’t been coming much lately since she’s busy.”
Calt paused for a moment, then scratched the back of his head and said,
“Ah, but she’s especially close with our youngest knight, Blaine.”
The corner of Dietrich’s mouth, which had been uncharacteristically relaxed in a good mood, quirked crookedly.
__________
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.