Vivi. Being called Vivi.

While she had imagined being called by a nickname before, she never imagined it would be now.

And had she ever told him her nickname? How did he know?

Her mind was as tangled as a mess of threads.

“I’ve noticed since yesterday. Have you decided to skip greeting me?”

Though he spoke casually, it was clearly a comment on her conduct.

“…G-good morning.”

Vivianne quickly bowed her head in greeting. Yesterday and today both. She must have forgotten to greet him because she was too flustered.

Such a basic thing. How foolish.

Her face burned hot.

“Good morning.”

He smiled faintly.

“Good morning indeed.”

She had never seen it before. Kian smiling so harmlessly. He usually wore an empty expression, or had a contemplative look when concentrating. He’d even shown somewhat agitated expressions recently. Who knew he could smile like this too.

Anyway. Seeing him smile, he didn’t seem particularly angry. Rather, he seemed even more peaceful than yesterday.

‘He looks much more handsome when he smiles.’

The fact that such an idle thought could cross her mind. This unrequited love was definitely a terrible illness.

Even when she felt resentful about why he went so far, just seeing his face made that resentment evaporate as if it had never existed. It was strange. Such behavior made her feel like she was malfunctioning.

‘Right. This isn’t the time to space out. Work. Focus on work.’

She took a deep breath. Though slower than before, her heart was still beating with clear pulses.

Vivianne gathered her wits and concentrated on serving tea again. She opened the balcony doors wide, set down the tea set on the side table, and placed the newspaper on the table.

As he fixed his gaze on the newspaper, she began pouring tea with nervous hands.

Splash—

The sound of pouring water trembled more than yesterday. Simultaneously, quiet ripples formed in the teacup.

Why was she so nervous? She held her breath for a moment to avoid making mistakes.

When the teacup was filled, he lifted the handle. After savoring the aroma of the tea leaves for a moment, he began to wet his lips. The time waiting for him to finish his tea felt unbearably long.

Meanwhile, her mind was busy rolling through various thoughts. She had definitely come at the right time, so why was he still in his shower robe?

He had gotten so angry and raised his voice about that very thing. Yet somehow today he didn’t seem angry at all. He was truly impossible to figure out.

How much time had passed? Kian closed the newspaper and set down his teacup. There was still some unfinished Darjeeling in the cup, but since he wasn’t touching it anymore, this seemed to be the end.

After hesitating for a while, Vivianne gathered her courage to ask first.

“Um… should I come a bit later tomorrow?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

Did that mean it didn’t matter? Or did he do this on purpose? It seemed like she was the only one who felt uncomfortable and had a dry mouth in this situation.

“Then perhaps did you oversleep today? Since you haven’t changed clothes yet.”

“Ah, are you afraid you’ll be fired because I’m undressed?”

A playful voice. Though he was clearly joking, the memory of yesterday’s situation made it not particularly amusing.

“…No. Since I came at the appointed time, it’s not my fault.”

“So precisely speaking, it’s my fault and thus not grounds for dismissal?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s your fault. I just thought you might be uncomfortable…”

“Well, if it’s not your fault, there doesn’t seem to be any reason to be afraid.”

Though he wasn’t wrong.

Still, she couldn’t help but be mindful of his mood given her position.

Their eyes met suddenly as she was avoiding his gaze. She had felt like she was being watched, and it seemed he had been staring intently ever since putting down his teacup.

At first, there were times when she wished for his gaze. But being stared at so openly in this situation where she couldn’t even guess his thoughts was somewhat burdensome.

Somehow wanting to escape, she reached to collect the teacup, but Kian snatched it up again and sipped the remaining tea.

Hadn’t he finished drinking?

“Just drinking like this yesterday. It wasn’t unpleasant.”

The corners of his mouth turned up again. He broke expectations once more with his leisurely smile. This was impossible. After causing such a scene yesterday. She couldn’t believe it.

“You must be thinking what a terrible whim this is.”

“Ah, no, I…”

He seemed to have seen right through her thoughts.

Vivianne’s face turned bright red.

“By the way. I don’t smell it today.”

“What smell?”

“It was bothersome. The herb smell.”

“……”

He must mean the herbal ointment Theodore had given her. She had applied it because her wrist was stinging and aching. So he dislikes the smell of herbs. Vivianne unconsciously clutched her right wrist.

“Tomorrow will be a week since you came here, right?”

“Yes.”

“Time has already passed that much.”

He finally set down the empty teacup. Then suddenly held out a box.

Vivianne received it in bewilderment and froze where she stood.

“Here. Open it.”

Following his command, she carefully opened the box. Inside lay a pair of shoes studded with pearls.

“Are you giving these to me?”

“Yes.”

Kian nodded with an indifferent expression. The shoes were clearly precious at a glance, too fine to be given just because she needed footwear.

Moreover, these pearls were quite high quality even to Vivianne, who had spent her whole life under the sea.

Receiving a gift from the man she liked. Of course she was excited and happy. But she couldn’t simply be joyful.

Everyone was already whispering just because she was wearing these slippers, and now luxurious shoes bestowed by the master? They didn’t suit a maid. The moment she wore such things, she would invite more hatred and obviously provoke feelings of relative deprivation. Vivianne squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’m grateful for the thought but I cannot accept something so expensive.”

When she expressed her refusal, cracks appeared in Kian’s previously serene expression.

“Why not?”

“It’s too much for someone like me.”

“Whether it’s too much or not is for the gift-giver to decide. It seems you have another reason.”

“Such shoes would be inconvenient for work.”

“That’s only if you continue working. Wouldn’t they be more comfortable than those huge slippers?”

“……”

“Your ankles are all swollen, Vivi. Are you going to keep struggling alone and putting on cheap ointment?”

Though his tone was somewhat irritable, he called her nickname affectionately again. His intentions were unclear and confusing.

Was he worried about her getting hurt? Or was he annoyed that she wasn’t docilely following his wishes?

Seeing how her heart was helplessly pounding, she clearly wanted to believe this was him being concerned.

Even so. Could she really accept this?

“You’re being quite troublesome.”

As she continued to hesitate, Kian looked thoroughly annoyed.

She didn’t want to tell the real reason, but it seemed her retreat was already cut off. Vivianne curled her toes, somehow feeling ashamed of herself wearing the indoor slippers.

“Stop wasting time. How about telling me the real reason now?”

“Well, if the other maids see this, they’ll feel upset…”

…and they’ll hate me more.

Vivianne deliberately omitted the latter part. She didn’t know how Kian might react.

“Is that sort of thing so important to you?”

Kian asked as if he found it ridiculous.

Yes. Actually, she knew she couldn’t help it. But that didn’t mean she was completely indifferent to others’ gazes.

He suddenly stood up and came in front of Vivianne. Then met her eyes with a smirk.

“Think carefully, Vivi. What good will putting on this pathetic modesty do for you now? No, forget about good—will it even be of any use?”

“……”

“The moment you stood before them wearing the slippers I gave you, you became something completely different from them. So what’s the use of struggling to pretend otherwise now?”

Yes. She agreed to some extent. Though she worked as a maid, she was thoroughly a stranger to them. Was this solely because she wore slippers given by the master?

Looking back, it had been that way from the start. A strange woman suddenly appearing, saying she wanted to learn to be a maid. Moreover, the circulating rumors about her being found collapsed on the beach must have seemed ominous.

No one welcomed her, so she went round and round until she ended up with the hardest work, but then was suddenly brought to the main house, served tea in the closest proximity to Kian, and then yesterday’s incident happened.

Even thinking about it from the opposite perspective, she was detestable.

But did that mean she should just act brazenly now? She spent most of her time surrounded by the maids when not serving tea. How could she be so shameless?

No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Fine. Then you choose.”

“…Choose?”

“Yes. Whether you’ll stay at Larson wearing these shoes. Or receive a week’s wages and leave this place.”

“……”

“It’s one or the other, Vivi. There is no other choice.”

His pitch-black eyes were staring at her persistently. Kian closed the lid of the box and whispered in her ear.

“I’ll give you until tomorrow to think about it. If you plan to continue, come to my room at the same time wearing those shoes.”

That sweet voice sounded just like a devil’s whisper promising to give her something sweet.

“Or since Matilda returns tomorrow, take your wages and leave this place.”

Of course, the devil was quite talented not only at temptation but also at intimidation.

The boundary was blurry between whether he was worried about her or had some hidden agenda.

To Vivianne, this was a dangerous consideration and an affectionate threat.

Vivianne silently cleaned up the tea set. She wanted to quickly escape from here, to avoid drowning in the confusion that was crashing over her like waves.

Perhaps because it was burdensome to hold the box under one arm while carrying the tray with the other hand, her shoulders trembled slightly.

“Then. See you tomorrow, Vivi.”

Meanwhile, he was relaxed. As if he already knew which choice she would make.