episode_0007

Christia was truly a powerful knight.

“He’s really sipping it…”

I never believed the nonsense that Christia enjoyed drinking espresso.

Even if Astia’s words were true, I thought Christia was deceiving Astia.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

It’s amazing to see someone who can’t even drink Americano forcing down such bitter espresso.

“I didn’t know there would be someone who could drink this bitter coffee so well.”

“I don’t really know if it’s that bitter. It’s just right for my taste.”

Nonsense.

While others may not notice, I could tell.

Christia doesn’t enjoy bitter things.

To be precise, he endures the bitter taste well.

At this point, Christia’s strength was still around level 10, with an incredible ability to endure bitterness.

Of course, it’s possible his tastes have changed, but then he wouldn’t have eaten the sweet foods I brought yesterday.

“That’s too bad. I can only make hot chocolate.”

“It can’t be helped. But at least you can drink hot chocolate, so don’t worry.”

By saying I couldn’t make espresso, I gave her a reason not to feel obligated.

Now, at least she should be able to drink the hot chocolate I bring without feeling overly concerned.

“Sigh…”

Astia sighed lightly and looked at me.

It seemed as if she was asking why I kept trying to feed her sweet food that probably wasn’t to Christia’s taste, but she seemed genuinely unaware of the fact that Christia liked sweet food.

-Tok

I later learned that knocking on the door a certain number of times was a kind of signal. Two knocks meant coming into the study, while one knock meant just exchanging words outside.

“What’s the matter, Laila?”

It seemed our Lord Christia had the ability to recognize who was in front of the door just by the sound of the knocking.

“I want to talk with Sir Soccer.”

“… Go out with Astia and talk.”

The expression was a bit stiff, but it was a face that granted permission.

Although the base of the face was clearly Christian, it was quite amusing to see her frequently made expressions distinctly.

– Ugh

The sound when opening the door was quite intriguing, as if it had been well oiled.

There was a slight sound, but would you call it dignified too?

“So this woman is Laila?”

She was one of the people I briefly saw passing by, and she was the chief steward of the mansion’s stewards.

“Christiaan, I am Christia’s personal steward, so I don’t have to obey her orders,” I said.

Her neat, brown hair was elegant, but it didn’t feel dignified.

“First, I would like to offer an apology. Our children apologize for their rudeness.”

She said, bowing her waist at a 45-degree angle.

As mentioned before, Northerners had quite rough manners, so bowing at a 45-degree angle to apologize could be considered a great courtesy.

“Probably not apologizing to me.”

Being a body of stewards, there might be political intentions mixed in.

She didn’t hit me or intimidate me.

Just by asking how I got in, Christia made the stewards tremble.

Anyone with a head would know that I receive great favor from Christia.

And if no one apologizes on behalf, or as a group, Christia might get angry for no reason.

“No, I just asked out of curiosity.”

As Christia said, it wasn’t a personal issue.

“I’m really okay.”

“I’ll send Sophia later to apologize formally.”

“I’m really okay.”

I said, trembling.

When Sophia comes, I should comfort her and send her back. She must have suffered more than me.

“Well then, I’ll go in now. I have to assist Christia.”

I turned around and opened the door, and Laila and Astia looked at me in astonishment.

“Hmm? Why?”

Christia looked at me with the eyes of a predator, as if she had caught her prey.

At this point, I realized that something was wrong, but it didn’t mean I could do anything about it.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t explained the basic etiquette of my estate to you yet, have I?”

“T-that’s right! I haven’t heard about it!”

I appealed as much as possible, trying to make it seem like it wasn’t my fault.

And then I realized that I had made a really big mistake.

‘Ah…’

Let’s make it easy to understand by using an example from the military. Let’s say a new recruit came in. But that recruit is so new that they don’t know the etiquette of the unit.

For example, when a senior passes by, you should greet them and say “Good work.” So, they didn’t greet the senior as they passed by.

So when asked why they didn’t greet them, they confidently said they hadn’t heard about it.

It’s not the new recruit’s fault, but… it’s something, isn’t it? If it were just a relationship between seniors and juniors, it could have been overlooked as a happening, but the problem was that the person I did that to was someone of a rank higher than a division commander.

“Sigh…”

Astia’s sigh echoed loudly.

“Is that so? Then I guess I’ll have to inform you. Astia and Laila, stay here for me.”

The two of them quickly ushered me into the office and closed the door behind them.

“Darn it…”

This was all due to my high level of intimacy with Christia.

I used to think of her as a cruel and wicked tyrant in the beginning, but now I look at her with a perspective not much different from seeing a girlfriend.

“Come closer.”

“Yes, Christia.”

I barely managed to move my stiff body and approached her side.

“There are several rules that must be followed in my estate. Some are explicitly stated by me, and there are also unspoken rules that are being observed.”

I violated one of them.

Judging by the immediate reaction upon opening the door, the problem seemed to be entering without knocking.

‘Wait, I just went out for a moment, why should I knock again when I come back in?’

That excuse was meaningless.

Such excuses might work between close friends or even between a girlfriend and boyfriend, but they wouldn’t fly in a relationship with a woman of such high status that she’s referred to as the “Northern Queen.”

“First of all, you must knock when entering my study. If you have a reason to enter, knock twice; if it’s just to convey a message, knock once.”

“I’m sorry!”

She didn’t add anything else.

“There are many other rules I need to inform you about… But for now, let’s start with the punishment for breaking the rules of my mansion. Don’t worry too much; I understand that you didn’t know the rules, so I’ll take that into consideration.”

She gave a sinister smile and gestured towards herself, as if beckoning me over.

“It seems like I’m already close enough… Probably means to come right next to her. I wonder if I’m really going to receive a severe punishment this time… A real punishment, not just some tickling.”

Maybe she’ll give me a Christian-style punishment.

I couldn’t hide my tension, which only seemed to deepen the smile on Christian’s lips.

“Come to think of it, I distinctly remember telling you not to blame yourself earlier.”

“But… isn’t this clearly my fault?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Christian reached out towards my face, maintaining the same smile.

“Is this right?”

Considering Christian’s original temperament, she’d probably start by slapping my cheek… And considering the personality of my girlfriend, who looks surprisingly similar to Christian right now…

*S-T-R-E-T-C-H!*

“Ah, ugh!”

As Christian grabbed my cheek, my usually delicate skin stretched out in an instant.

“This is… astonishing.”

Even Christian, the one doing the stretching, couldn’t hide her surprise.

“It’s addictive.”

She seemed to be enjoying the sensation of my stretched cheek, but it hurt way more than I had anticipated.

The pain intensified as it stretched longer.

“Ouch…”

But I couldn’t show any signs of discomfort.

After all, I was the one receiving the punishment.

“How can it be so stretchy and elastic like this…”

“It hurts! It hurts!”

Internally, while harboring fierce emotions, I made my eyes appear as submissive as possible.

“Well, for a first punishment, this seems sufficient.”

It was only then that Cristia released my cheek.

“A first punishment?”

Then does that mean there’s a second punishment too?

“The second punishment will last quite a while.”

Cristia chuckled.

‘Considering Cristia’s temperament…’

Whether enduring her coldness barefoot, or worse, serving as a chair, both were equally excruciating.

“Don’t squirm. You’re distracting me.”

Ultimately, enduring her coldness was the punishment I received. She was now sitting with me on her lap, almost embracing me, while attending to her work.