3.
“Should I make a reservation even now?”
Her tone was light. But I could tell clearly.
It wasn’t a question directed at me, but a notice to the other maids.
I turned my head and looked back at the maids standing in line.
The five maids who had been bickering until just a moment ago. The women who had been waiting for me to call their names lowered their heads with gloomy expressions.
“Then we’ll be going….”
“I’ll come next time….”
Rustle, rustle.
They all backed away at once.
The alley, which had been crowded just moments ago, was now empty without even a trace left behind.
…To that extent?
At a glance, she did look like some noble, but enough for them to leave as a group?
I turned my head.
Radiant blonde hair.
A wide-brimmed white hat resting lightly atop it.
A stylish, high-class dress.
I had no idea.
I could tell she was pretty and a noble, but for everyone to vanish the moment they saw her?
Well, I should think of it simply.
The maids had left, and she was the only customer remaining.
In that case, there was only one thing I had to do.
“No, it’s first come, first served. Please come in.”
I had no choice but to take her as a customer.
***
As soon as she stepped inside, she looked around the small consultation office.
One old desk. Two sofas.
That was all there was, so her gaze soon turned to me.
Lightly holding the hem of her dress, she gave a faint smile with her eyes.
“I shall introduce myself. I am Chloe Levantia.”
A neat bow that did not disturb even a single crease of her dress. It was a noble greeting that looked as though it had been cut straight out of a textbook.
Levantia….
I had definitely heard that name a few days ago.
‘I work as the head maid of the Levantia Count’s household.’
Helen.
It was certainly the name the head maid of this person’s household had given when she came here.
Even the money Helen had handed over was a silver coin, unlike the other maids, and this was the person Helen served.
…I don’t know about anything else, but the money’s definitely reliable.
“I am Isaac, the counselor who runs this place.”
“I see.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then it would be fine to call you Mr. Counselor, yes?”
Then she covered her mouth with the end of her sleeve and laughed.
Through that elegant gaze, I could feel her observing me.
She looked at me like that for a moment, then tilted her head slightly.
Her gaze swept over the desk.
Ah.
Usually, in a place like this, I was supposed to serve a cup of tea or something, wasn’t I?
But the consultation office had nothing like that.
Forget teacups, I didn’t even have a cup to offer a glass of water.
Until now, the only customers who came had been Marie or the maids Marie introduced. They were all people who came by squeezing out time during work, so there had been no need for formalities or anything….
Was it okay to receive a noble like this?
It probably wasn’t, right?
“As I heard from Helen, it is quite simple….”
Lady Levantia seemed to understand the meaning of her own gaze and looked at me, who was standing there blankly, before opening her mouth.
“…No, frugal.”
A momentary consideration, changing “simple” to “frugal.”
The fact that I didn’t even have a cup to bring her water did sting a little.
“…I’m embarrassed. This shop only just opened, so I’m unable to properly receive you.”
“Not at all.”
She lightly waved her hand.
“The fact that you have customers lining up regardless is, rather, proof of your ability.”
The smiling corners of her mouth.
Her narrowed blue eyes.
It was a strange nuance, like a compliment and yet not quite a compliment.
Ah, damn it.
As expected, this wasn’t working.
With only this short exchange, the initiative had passed to her side.
The flow of the conversation, and the composure to control the atmosphere as well.
Still, there was no particular problem.
“First, please tell me.”
Because once the consultation began, none of that would matter anyway.
“What concern do you have?”
***
Lady Levantia placed her interlaced hands on the desk.
“To think you wish to know a lady’s heart. How improper.”
Her tone was playful.
But the voice that followed had no playfulness in it.
“I shall get straight to the point. Can you imagine it? A life in which you are always conscious of others’ gazes.”
Our eyes met briefly, and she continued speaking.
“When you open your eyes in the morning, do you know what the first thought is?”
“What is it?”
“How perfect must I be today?”
Her blue eyes turned beyond the window.
“In high society, every single step receives someone’s evaluation. The angle of a smile, the depth of a greeting, even the height of the hand lifting a teacup. Everything is subject to scoring.”
“That must be difficult.”
“It is not difficult. It is tiresome.”
Her deep eyes turned to me.
“What is tiresome is worse than what is difficult. Because there is no end in sight.”
Even as she spoke of hardship, her expression was always smiling.
Even as she spoke of weariness, even her eyes were smiling.
That was why I could tell.
Her smile had been thoroughly learned, and had now become a shackle she could no longer remove.
A calculated expression. Designed movements.
A person who had done this her entire life was now confiding her worries to me.
Thinking that, I felt a little sorry for her for no reason, but cowardly, I thought this to myself.
‘Is it now?’
Yes, it must be now.
The moment someone entrusts their heart is the most effective time, after all.
[Perk: Hypnosis has activated.]
Her ever-smiling eyes slowly closed.
The mouth that had been speaking of a controlled life,
“And so, I always—”
Stopped there.
One, two, three.
Snore—
Her mouth was slightly open. The perfect smile from a moment ago had vanished without a trace, and now it was simply the face of someone sleeping.
…Hm.
It’s not like even a young lady’s snoring is particularly elegant, huh.
Thinking something that would likely make her turn bright red with anger if she heard it, I stood up.
Then I went behind her and placed my hands on her shoulders.
Knotted shoulders. If I said they were similar to a maid’s, they were similar, but there were no signs of having been hardened by labor.
Shoulders stiffened purely by tension.
Even so, in the broad sense, there was no difference, so I did the same thing.
Kneading her shoulders with my thumbs and middle fingers.
Pressing down on her shoulder blades with my ring fingers.
Repeat.
“Mmn….”
With a faint moan, her stiff shoulders gradually lowered.
Her body slowly tilted to one side, and her breathing became even.
“Hnn….”
Listening to the moans that escaped each time the knots loosened, fifteen minutes passed like that.
I withdrew my hands and naturally returned to sit across from her.
Her body seemed to have loosened up a bit, so it should be fine now.
“Lady Levantia. How do you feel?”
***
Her eyes slowly opened.
One second for her focus to return.
Another second to recognize me.
Then, in an instant, the faint smiling eyes returned.
Was this what it meant for something to be ingrained in the body? The speed at which she returned to a smiling face was frighteningly fast.
“I see.”
She nodded slightly.
“Instead of seeing others’ gazes as something to endure, I should treat them as part of self-control.”
She briefly moved her gaze to her lightened shoulders and spoke.
“An interesting perspective. Though I cannot say I think it is entirely correct.”
As expected, she was no different.
The result of her body loosening. A period of time she did not remember.
She believed that during that time, we had “conversed,” and created a conversation that had never happened on her own.
Even while doing so, her attitude was, “It is merely your perspective, and I have not accepted it, you know?” but it was only an attitude.
The truth could be known by looking into her eyes.
Before I knew it, the gaze in her eyes that seemed to evaluate me had disappeared, leaving only a thread of trust.
“That is true.”
For now, I agreed along and waited for the moment to receive the consultation fee, but….
“However.”
…However?
“What if one does not want a controlled life?”
It wasn’t ending.
Lady Levantia leaned back slightly against the sofa and continued speaking.
Her voice was lighter than before. Her shoulders, which had been sharply raised with tension, had lowered, and her back was not as rigid as earlier.
From the look of it, the massage definitely had an effect.
“I know it is the fate of one who possesses blue blood. However, at times, it can be difficult to bear.”
She tilted her head.
“What do you think, Mr. Counselor?”
Wait. Why isn’t the consultation ending?
…Come to think of it, this person has no awareness that she fell asleep.
Naturally, the conversation is still ongoing.
She simply thinks I asked, “How do you feel?” in the middle of our conversation, so she’s continuing like this.
Ah.
Is how I end my words when she wakes from hypnosis important too?
“I wonder if I dare tell Lady Levantia my thoughts, but….”
“I am curious, so please do.”
I have no idea what kind of conversation her mind packaged those blank fifteen minutes into.
So I spoke vaguely, rambling on.
Appropriate things that might appear in a self-improvement book.
“People often say effort is invisible, but I believe it does in fact exist. A moment when invisible effort becomes visible.”
A suitable theory of effooort.
“How about finding something to place your heart in? If you do nothing but make efforts, your body may not hold out.”
Since just telling her to try hard would be too much, a theory that she should play around in peace.
Even at this rambling nonsense, her blue eyes sparkled.
“The moment when invisible effort becomes visible….”
Usually, that’s called results, though.
In any case, hoping it would soothe whatever was pent up inside her, I continued the conversation appropriately, but.
“How would it be best to find something to place my heart in?”
I’m telling you to find a hobby.
“It would be difficult to find in high society, wouldn’t it?”
I said find a hobby.
…The conversation isn’t ending.
‘OK. Can’t be helped, then.’
I had tried not to use it for the next customer, but there was no choice.
“So, what I wish to say is—”
It was now.
[Perk: Hypnosis has activated.]
“—especially in high society these days…….”
Her eyes gently closed.
Fortunately, the effect did not weaken just because it was the second hypnosis.
As if to prove that, a sound was heard.
Snore—
I quickly went behind the sofa.
This time, I took her arms. Because I had loosened her shoulders earlier.
Kneading her upper arms.
Pressing firmly into her palms.
“Heheh….”
What is this?
A pathetic sound came from her mouth. I was sure she had been an elegant young lady just moments ago.
When I gently loosened the knotted flesh on the inside of her upper arms, her body sank deeper into the sofa.
Disheveled blonde hair.
Open mouth.
Head tilted to one side.
What would happen if the people of high society saw her in this state?
…I’d die.
I quickly finished and sat across from her.
And after a short while.
“Now, the consultation is over.”
This time, I planned to end it for sure.
“…Ah, I see.”
Her eyes were half-lidded.
Her expression was clearly more relaxed than before. In that state, she stared intently at me.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
What are you looking at?
“By any chance, your next appointment time is…?”
“No, I do not take reservations.”
I clasped my hands together and spoke.
“Because I must not send away a waiting customer.”
In other words, Lady, it would be best if you went back now. I hid that inner thought as I spoke, but.
She merely drew back the curtain for a moment and looked outside.
The alley was empty, just as it had been when she came in.
After confirming that, she whipped her head back around and spoke.
“It seems your time is free, so I shall impose upon you a little longer.”
“…….”
Lady Levantia sat back down on the sofa and smiled brightly.
“As Mr. Counselor said just now….”
Again, she opened by quoting words I had never said.
Was this the kind of ability trained in high society? Then it seemed like she could just grab a maid and talk to her….
‘Well, maids are in a strict hierarchy with her.’
She probably didn’t usually have anyone she could talk to this comfortably. In high society, every word was a subject of evaluation, and at home, she had to maintain the dignity of a count’s young lady.
But here?
A consultation office in a shabby alley that didn’t even serve a glass of water.
A place where no one was watching.
A space where she could speak without any evaluation.
I understood.
I did, but.
There’s a limit to the number of times I can use hypnosis.
I considered various things inwardly, but there was no particular solution.
If I waited, someone might visit, but for now, Lady Levantia before my eyes came first.
Besides, she had distorted memories of me having said something, and I had no way of even guessing what that content was.
There would be nothing good about drawing out this conversation.
‘Fine, you can have it all to yourself.’
[Perk: Hypnosis has activated.]
Thus, the hypnosis activated for the third time.
“—at that tea party, Lady Veronica.”
Her words, ending with a name that somehow sounded obnoxious, trailed off.
Her eyes closed.
Her head drooped.
Snore—
It was now a familiar snoring sound.
I sighed and went behind the sofa again.
I had loosened everywhere else, so whatever, I pressed firmly into her neck and temples.
“Hehee—”
Listening to that strange sound.
“Euhee—”
Once the fifteen minutes were up, I returned to my seat.
“…….”
Blue eyes slowly opened.
This time, it was definitely different.
Not the observant gaze from earlier, but a hazy look in her eyes.
The languid expression of someone whose strength had completely drained from their body.
“It’s my first consultation… but it’s not entirely bad.”
She slowly stood and adjusted the hem of her dress.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
As though it had been a decent consultation, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Just as she was about to leave, as if returning after an ordinary conversation, she seemed to remember something belatedly, only pulling a pouch from her bosom once she reached the door.
She gave a slight bow, left the pouch behind, and went.
The moment the door closed, I quickly opened the pouch.
Clink—
Eight silver coins glinted inside.
“Are you serious.”
You were letting out weird groans like *hngh—*, yet
you paid my entire month’s rent like it was nothing?
I worship you, House Revantia.
There weren’t going to be any hypnosis sessions left for the day anyway, so I closed up early.
Celebrating the fact that the possibility of physically starving to death had been pushed far behind me.
***
From then on, it was an unremarkable routine.
I open the door.
I take the first three maids in line.
[Limit: 3 per day / 15 minutes per session]
Once I use them all up, I hang a sign on the door.
-Today’s consultations are closed.-
I repeat this.
I never met another customer as generous as the Lady of Revantia, but everyone paid more than the set consultation fee.
“Teacher, at least a simple lunchbox—”
“I-It’s a cookie I made!”
Most of the time, they gave gifts like these, so I saved on food expenses too.
Stable income. Free lunchboxes. Overflowing cookies.
*‘I Became the X-Man of an Exiled X Writer.’* Among the variations, isn’t this a pretty good life?
If only things kept going like this.
***
Then, one day.
“…Something’s off?”
Usually, the maids would be waiting even before I opened the door. Though I only took exactly three people a day, a few more would show up just in case, or asking me to at least accept their gifts.
Because of that, I would naturally hear them chattering from the morning, but.
“Today is strangely quiet.”
Could it be a day without customers by chance?
Intending to at least leave the shop door open, I went down to the first floor.
“Hmm… I don’t see anyone….”
And then I saw her.
A pervert pressing her nose against the window, peering inside.
Blonde hair.
Blue eyes.
A white dress.
‘…What the hell is that woman.’
The Lady of Revantia was pressed almost flat against the glass, shielding the light with both hands as she peered inside.
My eyes met hers through the window.
Her eyes went wide, then she cleared her throat with an “Ahem” and moved to the shop door as if nothing had happened.
When I opened the door and stepped out, I saw them just in time.
Two maids pattering down the alley from the other end.
They were my regulars, Mari and Rije.
But the moment they saw the blonde lady standing in front of the shop, they stopped dead.
And backed away.
Scurrying off.
…Ah.
I thought she was a good customer who paid well.
Turns out she’s an evil spirit that chases away customers.
When I made a disgruntled expression, the Lady of Revantia—who had driven away every customer merely by existing—covered her mouth with her hand and laughed softly.
Then, pretending she had seen nothing and done nothing, she said in a low voice.
“It’s rather quiet today, isn’t it?”
Well, if we’re being practical, taking one lady is more profitable than taking several maids.
It just felt physically wrong to pick and choose customers.
If she had chased them away through violent or obscene acts, that would be one thing….
“May I receive a consultation?”
If they had left on their own while she was standing here so naturally, it couldn’t be helped.
I was about to tell her to come in.
She looked at me steadily with blue eyes holding the morning sunlight.
Crimson-tinted cheeks. Glistening lips.
She added a word.
“As long as possible.”
…My wrist will suffer today too.