“When I look at you, I feel strange.”

“… Pardon?”

Reniel was painfully swallowing a large piece of meat stuck in her throat.

She did not know how delicious the food she was eating was.

Seeing Felix’s mood suddenly turn sour, she wondered if she had made some mistake.

“Perhaps I shouldn’t be sitting here together…”

“No.”

Felix felt odd every time he saw Reniel fearing him.

His body was clearly male.

Though his neck was slender and long, an Adam’s apple sat in the center like other men.

It was a strange appearance that both suited and didn’t suit him.

His hair was cut short and swept back like ordinary servants.

Yet with just a moment of carelessness, his appearance seemed like that of a woman seen in a dream.

Felix wondered if Reniel might also be an assassin sent to kill him.

Because he kept women at such a distance, it was clear they were now sending a man more beautiful than anyone to kill him.

Since he no longer hesitated to kill even female assassins, perhaps they had changed their methods.

As this thought occurred to him, Felix crumpled his fork in a surge of anger.

“Master!”

So although he had confirmed there was no poison in the food, he decided to pass his meal to Reniel, saying his mood was too foul.

“Eat all of that.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Apart from his mood, Reniel couldn’t hide her reaction of genuine gratitude for the food before her, even as she feared his anger.

It was like watching a small animal trembling and shaking.

“Ah, Master! Will you be going to the casino after this?”

Felix suddenly stood up, and Reniel followed suit.

He didn’t answer, but Reniel, who knew his general routines, immediately went to the closet to prepare an overcoat and draped it over his shoulders.

Felix was incredibly irritated by Reniel’s hands, oddly small for a man.

“Master…?”

As if entranced, he interlocked fingers with her hand, making a strange expression.

“…Don’t touch me carelessly.”

Felix said this while releasing Reniel’s hand, despite having grabbed it first.

“I apologize.”

Seeing Reniel’s cowed expression, Felix’s conviction wavered momentarily.

Such perfect acting.

He was reassessing his evaluation of Reniel.

A perfect servant who had never made a mistake. Capable enough to become a full servant after just one year as an apprentice, and beloved by the retired head servant.

And seemingly intelligent enough to perfectly draft budget proposals.

This was clearly a level only possible for someone with higher education. On top of that, his beauty was intense enough to bewitch people.

Felix reminded himself once again that there was no way such a person would have simply entered his mansion.

Frowning as his mood soured at having almost been fooled by Reniel, even if just for a moment, Felix said:

“Don’t see me off.”

“But…”

“I thought I told you not to make me repeat myself.”

“Yes, Master.”

He then left Reniel in the room, throwing his coat on the floor as he walked out.

Reniel’s ears rang from the ‘bang!’ of the door slamming shut.

She tilted her head, unable to understand what had put him in such a bad mood.

“Why is he acting like that?”

She picked up the overcoat Felix had discarded.

The sleek, jet-black, well-ironed coat showed how much care she had put into it, with crisp edges.

Knowing he would be angry if he found out she had put it back on after it fell on the floor, she thought she would probably have to wash and iron it again.

Thinking this, Reniel hung his coat on the chair where Felix had been sitting.

Then she looked again at the plate of food.

“He did tell me to eat it all!”

Her mood seemed to improve a bit now that she was alone.

Though she couldn’t understand why Felix had left in such an agitated state, if it was something important, he would tell her later.

Felix was her master, and she was in his employ after all.

It was also normal for him to speak first if he had any issues with her.

“Oh my.”

The meat eaten in a comfortable state had a distinctly different texture from when Felix had shoved in large pieces to check for poison.

“It’s so delicious… Oh my.”

She cut the steak into small pieces and put them in her mouth, shuddering in surprise at the flavor.

It was amazing that such delicious food could exist in the world.

As it entered her mouth, it felt like the meat juices were melting.

However it had been seasoned, the flavors swirled, delivering a sweet aroma in her mouth.

“Oh my.”

Reniel unconsciously repeated exclamations as she put more steak in her mouth. Yet inwardly, she thought it natural for it to taste this good.

The chef of the Le Pelique ducal family had originally been the imperial chef. Felix had brought him here by offering ten times the imperial salary.

Felix was a person sensitive about everything, so he was known to be extremely picky about food tastes.

Even though this was lower quality than usual, it was still this delicious.

Reniel had thought the food the servants usually ate was tasty, but she was amazed at how the food eaten by the mansion’s master was on a completely different level of deliciousness.

“This is the best. Truly the best workplace.”

She said this in awe as she happily finished the remaining food.

Completely unaware that Felix suspected her of being an assassin.

****

“Investigate Reniel Beila.”

Felix ordered Ianathas as soon as he arrived at the casino.

“Yes, my lord.”

Ianathas smiled slightly, realizing that his lord had finally noticed something off about that servant.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Well, isn’t he exactly the type of person you dislike, my lord?”

“…Me?”

“Yes, you hate people who smile so ingenuously the most.”

“Then shouldn’t I hate you the most?”

“I’m the exception.”

Ianathas smiled like a fox as he stepped to the side. For some reason, it was strange that his lord had come out without an overcoat.

Even Felix himself seemed unaware that he had come out without a coat, as he kept frowning and searching for the inner pocket of a coat that wasn’t there.

Soon, Ianathas tactfully took out a cigar and handed it to him.

Felix hesitated for a moment before taking it. But then he took out a cigar cutter and opened the blade.

“My lord?”

But he suddenly stopped.

“…Never mind.”

Felix closed the cigar cutter again and put it in his shirt’s breast pocket. Then he handed the cigar back to Ianathas.

“…My lord.”

Ianathas was genuinely surprised.

His lord was someone who used powerful abilities at the cost of severe mana corruption.

Because of that corrupted mana, he was cursed to be unable to sleep normally.

Felix smoked cigars to suppress the pain. The cigars contained an anesthetic effect.

In the first place, the reason Felix was so extremely sensitive was that he couldn’t sleep without absorbing mana stones.

For him to refuse a cigar…

Ianathas couldn’t deny this was reality, even as he wondered if it was real, seeing his lord’s grim brow.

“Why are you suddenly doing this?”

“Who knows?”

Felix didn’t answer properly.

He too couldn’t understand why he wasn’t smoking a cigar when he should be torturing Reniel to find out who sent the assassin.

His body was clearly better than usual. In the past, he couldn’t have endured the headaches and discomfort.

Now he was fine without smoking a cigar.

All of this was thanks to Reniel putting him to sleep.

Felix didn’t overlook this point.

At the same time, it wasn’t hard to guess who might be behind a servant who had risen perfectly to his side for 10 years without incident.

Felix’s expression was sharply creased with confusion rather than his usual sensitivity.

“Just investigate.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Pleased that Felix was at least wary of Reniel, Ianathas grinned as he assisted his lord in checking on the casino.

In truth, Ianathas disliked when his lord gave others a chance to prove their trustworthiness.

He didn’t want to see him betrayed and hurt again.

****

“Agh, ugh…! Stop!”

“Why should I?”

Reniel came down to the basement at dawn.

Because Felix had ordered that Thanasis be kept alive, she would come down to the basement with supplies around 1 AM every dawn.

She never imagined there would be another visitor today, as there had never been anyone else during her previous visits.

“Aaargh!”

She froze in shock at the screams coming from inside.

As her footsteps stopped, the sounds from the secret room also ceased.

“Oh my. It seems we have a guest.”

Soon Reniel realized they were referring to her. She decided to give up on turning back and enter.

With a creak, the door opened. And Reniel was involuntarily startled by the horrific sight inside.

“Good heavens.”

Reniel was shocked by the gruesome scene that entered her view.

“Welcome, Deputy Head Servant Reniel.”

Ianathas was smiling as if pleased, holding a whip.

“Ah, isn’t it still time for you to be at the casino?”

“It’s Monday, so we close early today.”

Ianathas said this as he raised the whip high.

At that moment, Reniel leapt in front of Thanasis’s battered body and cried out as if screaming:

“S-stop!”

Reniel regretted grabbing Ianathas’s wrist before she knew it.

Meanwhile, Thanasis was bewildered, wondering if this person trembling like a frightened rabbit had just shielded him.

In reality, Reniel had only done so out of fear that Thanasis, like a time bomb, might explode.