I Became The Sword Of The Sword-Obsessed Male Lead (18 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 15
Unlike my anxious worry over whether Nocturne had heard my words, the banquet ended very well.
Nocturne left without any suspicion, and the banquet concluded without any particular issues.
The problem came afterward.
Once the banquet ended, an endless cleaning hell would begin the very next day.
How did I know?
I didn’t really want to know either.
Every day ended with my calves swollen and aching.
Today again, dragging my swollen legs, I was chewing on the raisin-studded bread I’d received for dinner and heading back to the maids’ quarters.
Slipping out behind the mansion and walking toward the quarters was perfect for a snack-time stroll, as the setting sun painted the sky in beautiful evening hues.
Walking with the refreshing evening breeze tickling my cheeks lifted my mood considerably.
“Hmmph, as soon as I get back, I’m going straight to bed!”
Just thinking about washing my feet and falling asleep the moment I returned to the quarters made the exhaustion of this grueling day already feel lighter.
Just one step away from arriving at the quarters, humming a little tune,
“Heidi.”
At the low, slow voice, I turned my head slowly—and there stood Dietrich, leaning crookedly against the wall of the maids’ quarters, whom I hadn’t seen even once since the banquet ended.
“Huh? What are you doing there…?”
I started to ask what he was doing, but abruptly stopped mid-sentence.
Upon reflection, there was nowhere in this mansion Dietrich couldn’t go.
Still, didn’t it look a bit strange for the young master of the ducal household to be standing outside the maids’ quarters?
Fearing someone might see us, I hastily grabbed his arm.
Dragging his much larger frame along took quite a bit of effort.
Only once we’d moved a good distance from the quarters did I realize I’d been clutching his wrist the whole time.
I dropped his hand almost flinging it away, and only then noticed he’d unusually followed me obediently.
Had the sun risen in the west today?
Or perhaps the person I’d dragged along wasn’t Dietrich at all?
I quickly checked his face—yes, it was definitely Dietrich, with that blindingly refined beauty.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Just… making sure it’s really you.”
At my unwavering gaze, Dietrich raised a hand and brushed it across his own face,
as if checking whether any dust had settled on it.
“I’m fine. I’m handsome.”
“…Don’t say that.”
“Hm? Say what?”
“Don’t say stuff like ‘I’m handsome.’”
What on earth was this guy talking about?
Bewildered, I placed a hand on my hip and tilted my head.
“Why not? If someone’s handsome, you say they’re handsome—what else would you say?”
Wouldn’t it be ridiculous to call a handsome person ugly?
“I can’t lie.”
His head snapped away abruptly, and his ears seemed slightly flushed—
though it was highly likely just my imagination.
After all, until meeting the female lead, Dietrich had never cared about anyone besides his sword.
“…Never mind. Just come with me.”
Without stating his destination, he bluntly ordered me to follow. I stood dumbfounded and shook my head firmly.
Of course I would.
I’d already clocked out!
My legs were swollen, and I craved nothing more than resting in my room.
“No.”
“No?”
He seemed genuinely surprised I’d refuse, his usually well-defined eyes scrunching in confusion.
“I’m tired.”
“Huh?”
“Being a maid isn’t easy. It’s exhausting.”
This wasn’t an excuse—it was the truth.
Serving nonstop from early morning until late evening required exceptional stamina.
By the end of the day, there wasn’t a single spot from my waist down to my toes that didn’t ache.
I thumped my arms and thrust my swollen hands right before his eyes.
His eyes widened slightly as he stared at my palms, reddened and burning from a full day of scrubbing floors.
“Well? Do I look exhausted or what?”
I’d expected him to retort grumpily, “What does my help matter to you?”—yet, strangely, he stayed silent.
After staring at my hands for a long while, he finally spoke slowly.
“How about becoming my personal maid, then?”
“…What?”
His slow, leisurely voice wasn’t hard to understand—but I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard.
I rubbed my ear and scrutinized his expression.
Could it be this person before me wasn’t actually Dietrich?
No, that couldn’t be. No one else was this unfairly handsome except Dietrich.
“Could you at least try hiding that look of utter disbelief and bewilderment?”
“Was it that obvious?”
“So—will you do it or not?”
Honestly, it was a tempting offer.
In this rigidly hierarchical society, the difference between a general maid and a personal maid was enormous.
Unlike general maids who handled all sorts of menial chores around the mansion, personal maids served nobles directly—a far more prestigious role.
But I was curious why he’d suddenly make such an offer.
“I wouldn’t mind, but why all of a sudden?”
It made no sense for a commoner like me, with no clear background, to become a personal maid.
“If you don’t want to, fine.”
Hearing him retract his offer so casually—uncharacteristically less gruff than usual—I grabbed his arm just as he turned to leave without a backward glance and stubbornly held on.
“Why? You always said you didn’t need a personal maid! Why do you suddenly want me to be yours?”
“Don’t be annoying.”
“You came looking for me first!”
Eventually, worn down by my persistence, he stopped, hesitated, then sighed before speaking.
“…Never mind.”
“What? I didn’t catch that.”
“…I said I heard you. And I might occasionally need you too.”
“Heard what? Need what for?”
Frustrated by my inability to grasp it immediately, he peeled my hand off his wrist and snapped irritably,
“Argh! You just said you were exhausted! I might need your help, okay?!”
For the first time, that voice—normally so frosty it sent chills down your spine—raised its volume.
Though laced with irritation, it somehow felt… alive.
I tilted my head, dumbfounded.
“My help?”
He clicked his tongue awkwardly, as if the word “help” had never passed his lips before.
I felt just as awkward.
Help?
‘Could it be because of what I said at the banquet?’
On the night of the banquet, had he truly remembered that small comfort I’d offered the seemingly lonely Dietrich?
To me, who only knew Dietrich’s original cold-hearted personality from the story, seeing him look embarrassed was entirely unfamiliar.
And… refreshing.
I drifted off in thought.
‘A personal maid? It’d probably be easier than being a general maid.’
Surely anything would be better than the work general maids did.
‘But…’
I worried about the unkind stares I’d surely receive if I became Dietrich’s personal maid.
This wasn’t just about fearing people would dislike me.
For someone like me, with no connections, the only possible path to becoming a personal maid was through Dietrich himself.
In other words—parachute placement.
No one would view kindly a maid who’d sweet-talked the young master to climb from general maid to personal maid.
And this wouldn’t be good for Dietrich either.
However fond he might be of me, in this strictly class-based society, using his power to elevate a maid’s status would undoubtedly ruin his reputation.
Watching him still turned away, avoiding eye contact, I said firmly,
“No. I won’t do it.”
“…Why not?”
He genuinely couldn’t understand.
Thinking I’d just thrown away a great opportunity, he stressed again,
“I’m offering you the position.”
“Yeah, I get it. You’re offering to promote me from general maid to personal maid.”
“So why are you refusing? Are you stupid?”
I wasn’t stupid.
Of course I’d prefer easier work too.
But once I considered the backlash that would surely follow if I accepted, accepting really did seem like a foolish choice.
“I’m not stupid.”
“Then be my maid.”
“No.”
Thus began our endless back-and-forth.
Like a contest of stubbornness, repeating “Do it,” “No,” we eventually wore each other out.
“How tiresome. Why are you so damn stubborn?”
“Why don’t you listen to me for once? I have my reasons for saying no!”
Glaring at me with eyes full of irritation, I yelled back,
“Argh! If I become your maid, you’ll end up in trouble!”
“…What?”
“If someone with no connections like me becomes your maid thanks to you, your already bad reputation will only get worse! Everyone will complain it’s unfair and be shocked that the cold, heartless young master is playing favorites with his favorite maid!”
“I don’t understand.”
Despite claiming confusion, his expression mixed emotions too complex to describe—and I instinctively stepped back.
“Why? Are you angry I won’t be your maid?”
My ears grew warm as I blurted out nonsense.
Normally, right about now, he should’ve replied with a weighty, “Why ask something so obvious?”
Instead, after letting the awkward silence linger just long enough to become uncomfortable, he finally asked slowly,
“So… you don’t want me to get into trouble?”
What on earth was this about now?
His absurd remark made me retort instantly,
“Of course not! Does anyone actually enjoy making others uncomfortable?”
“Why should you care whether I’m seen as a bad person or not?”
His stubborn, tangled personality truly knew no bounds.
Seeming annoyed that I’d shown concern, his scowl twisted sharply sideways.
“Because you’re not actually that kind of bad person!”
“Are you serious? You always thought I was awful.”
Dietrich was surprisingly self-aware.
Embarrassed that he’d seen right through me, I scratched the back of my head awkwardly—and he let out a small, quiet chuckle.
I had no idea what part of all this had amused him.
Mumbling in a tiny, almost inaudible voice, I said,
“…Not every single day, okay…”
“Anyway, what you’re saying is—if selfish, cold-hearted me arbitrarily raises your status, everyone will think even worse of me.”
“Exactly. So I’m rejecting your offer to be your maid.”
Declining firmly left me feeling refreshingly relieved.
I didn’t even know what personal maids did, but I was slowly getting used to being a general maid—it’d be fine to stay as I was.
“Alright then. Go rest.”
He nodded in understanding and coolly turned away.
His retreating figure—walking quickly as if telling me not to bother him—somehow looked cheerful for once.
‘What a strange guy.’
Had he really come all this way just to ask if I’d be his maid?
As I headed back to the maids’ quarters, I looked up at the pitch-black sky and prayed:
Please let me never regret today’s decision.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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