“Good morning, the traces of sleep lingering on your beautiful eyes mesmerize me. I love you.”

“Good morning, Ophelia. Unfortunately, your confession did nothing to abate my disdain towards women.”

…Thus, the memorable 333^rd confession ended in miserable failure.

***

“What, you confessed again!? Ophelia, when will you learn?”

As I polished the silverware, my fellow maid—Anne, gave me an incredulous look.

“With this, how many times have you been rejected?”

“Since I came here, I’ve been confessing every day, so this was the 333^rd time.”

“…Amazing. Wait, you’re counting!?”

“Well, it’s important.”

The day passed slowly—but to me, those days were irreplaceable.

“Even after being rejected 332 times, you still confessed to him again…

“Are you made of steel…? I don’t know if I should envy you or not…”

I didn’t know if I was being praised or criticized.

Well, probably both.

It didn’t matter if others didn’t understand.

After all, it was important for me to confess to Kyle. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I lived for it.

Not only that, I had already confessed for 333 days, it was too late for me to stop.

“But Anne, when you fall in love, you’ll surely understand. Yes, this desire—”

“—I don’t care, just move your hands, you hopeless romantic.”

“I’m done.”

“So fast—! Somehow, I just can’t accept losing to someone like you in terms of speed…”

How rude…

“Anyway, you are aware that the lord will never accept you, right?”

Exactly, it was as Anne said.

“After all, the lord despises women to death.”

***

Kyle Brendan

At the age of 22, he was bereaved of his parents and had to succeed the duke family, all with lustrous black hair and enigmatic purple eyes as his charm points.

As the young, unmarried head of a ducal family—who also inherited the beauty of his late mother—the late duchess, he was extremely popular. Perhaps even more so than the crown prince.

Moreover, when one considered the massive responsibility of a crown princess, becoming the wife of a duke—the next highest-ranking figure—seemed tempting in comparison.

Thus, day after day, he was flooded with marriage proposals. If he were to attend a party, he’d be surrounded, and when he went somewhere, he was ambushed. When it came to the gazillion love letters that arrived at the duke’s house, the head butler lamented the fact that he had to write the replies in his master’s stead.

Romance could be frightening when pursued too far.

At the same time, it wasn’t limited to the aforementioned above, since there were also those who resorted to using suspicious drugs, abducting, or spreading salacious rumors about Kyle.

…Hence, if this continues—what’ll happen?

Indeed, Kyle ended up loathing women.

In fact, claiming that he had gynophobia wouldn’t be strange.

He didn’t want any women near him, much else be touched by them. It reached the point where he didn’t hesitate to shake them off in public—and as a result, his hatred for women became infamous.

However, despite the rumors, Kyle’s popularity didn’t decline, although the number of marriage proposals did decrease a bit.

After all, rather than wasting their time on Kyle, who wasn’t likely to accept them, they’d rather marry while they were still of age.

“Well, even if he doesn’t choose me, Lord Kyle is the only one for me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Tea.”

“Understood, and welcome home.”

As per Kyle’s request, I brewed some tea.

“Here you are.”

“OK.”

After taking a sip of tea, Kyle exhaled.

“As always, the tea tastes good.”

“I’m honored.”

“Has it been almost a year since you came? In all that time, no one’s ever come close to this flavor.”

“Of course, because it’s a skill I mastered in order to survive.”

I smiled.

I had a hard time, but thanks to that, I was able to be the tea brewer and caretaker for Kyle.

You never know what’ll happen in life.

“When I think that I’m the only woman who can be close to you despite your dislike for women, I’m filled with a sense of superiority. I love you.”

“I see, I refuse. To me, you’re merely the safer choice than some dubious maids. Not only that, I’m also in need of a caretaker.”

I was fully aware of my own situation.

Kyle was the head of the ducal family, while I was a maid. There were lines that couldn’t be crossed, while my past was also nothing to be proud of.

To be honest, I was most proud of my current job as a maid.

Kyle, who was enjoying tea time in between work, exclaimed.

“Ah.”

Then, he proceeded to clutch his head.

“What happened?”

“…I totally forgot.”

With a repulsed expression, Kyle took out a letter from the drawer of his desk.

“Is that an invitation?”

“That’s right, to a banquet being hosted by the crown prince… I completely forgot.”

“Is there anything wrong with that?”

When I tilted my head, Kyle sighed deeply.

“I have to bring a partner with me…”

“What!?”

…To invite Kyle, who disliked women, to a party that required a partner?

“It’s plain harassment. The crown prince seems to dislike me.”

Kyle held his head.

Kyle hated women.

As a matter of course, he’d refuse to have a female partner, but it wasn’t like he could go against the rules of the crown prince’s party.

On the other hand, if he just picked any women, she might misunderstand that she was being chosen as a marriage partner.

To Kyle, who gave the ‘I-don’t-want-to-go’ aura, I spoke—

“—Then, what about me?”

“What?”

“I can dance, and I’m knowledgeable about banquets. I’m also confident that I’ll be able to disguise myself well enough that no one’ll ever discover that I’m a maid.”

I pressed my appeal even further.

“Above all, I’m aware of my own position.”

Kyle was dumbfounded by the sudden proposal, and then began to speak.

“Why do you have such knowledge?”

“Women always have a secret or two. Oh, by the way, the party’s in 31 days… That day, it’ll be my one-year anniversary working here as a maid. Therefore, please take me there to celebrate. Afterwards, I shall engrave the memory in my heart and take it to the grave.”

After I had finished interjecting, Kyle let out a deep sigh.

“I understand. Certainly, it’ll be safer to take you. After all, you know where you stand.”

“Yes, of course!”

“That was the first time someone confessed to me and said she didn’t need a reply.”

I smiled.

…I was satisfied with just being able to convey my feelings.

***

The day of the banquet came in no time.

“Lord Kyle and the banquet. Lord Kyle and the banquet. Lord Kyle and the banquet. LordKyleandthebanquet —”

“—Calm down.”

“I’m as calm as I can be. Look, I don’t have a nosebleed yet!”

“…Exactly what is your definition of being calm?”

While saying that, Kyle inspected me from top to bottom.

“It suits you.”

“I know you’re just being polite, but I’m still excited nonetheless. Thank you. Despite how sudden it was, they still managed to tailor us the finest dress.”

As Kyle had completely forgotten about the banquet, we had to order the dress in a hurry. Even more so because the dress Kyle’s late mother was out of fashion, and I had no other dress to wear.

I was actually panicking because there were only a few days left. However, as expected of the duke house. After taking my measurements, the dress was delivered in time for the banquet.

With the finest dress, accessories, and make-up, I could confidently say that I was doing well, to say the least…

…A woman will shine if she was polished.

I certainly felt that way.

“I’m not being polite. I merely speaking my honest opinion. You look beautiful.”

Kyle spoke without any hesitation.

“I see…”

To hide my reddening cheeks, I looked down.

He probably didn’t realize it.

He merely said what he thought.

No wonder a lot of women are infatuated with him.

—As for me, I love everything about Kyle, and that part wasn’t an exception.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

His reply was the same as usual.

—This is fine.

After all, that was what I wanted.

“—Why won’t you ask for my reply?”

However, Kyle unexpectedly asked me.

That was a first.

After I confessed for the first time and told him that I didn’t need a reply, he never mentioned it again.

“Because I don’t want to lose what we have.”

In front of the carriage, Kyle extended his hand to me, and I proceeded to take it, before saying.

“…I like the way things are now. If I can just express my feelings, I’m already happy.”

In response to my words, Kyle simply said.

“I see.”  

---

***T/N: It’s rare to have a maid as a prota! Now wendy’s and donut.co his heart to max!

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