By Zephyria 
“Oh, how was it, Master?”
“Huh? What?”
“H-His, His Grace, the Grand Duke… Is he really, really scary? Rumor has it that he even eats people for fun…”
Ugh… Fortunately, it didn’t seem like anything harmful had happened to Nicole himself. Nicole was almost in a panic, trembling and rattling on about how the lake in the center of the Grand Duke’s territory was filled with mountains of corpses and so on.
What should I do? I had never thought that someone who believed such ridiculous rumors would be so close to me…
I hurriedly collected my fading, cloudy eyes. This was not 21st-century Korea, but a fantasy world where half of the imperial citizens firmly believed in rumors deliberately spread by the imperial family to damage the image of the family that was the head of the merged independent kingdom. It was only natural to think so.
I didn’t want to suddenly burst out here, saying that it was a rumor spread by the imperial family for political purposes and that you shouldn’t so easily believe unreliable stories. Instead, I flopped down on the bed and casually opened my mouth.
“Huh? No, I think it’s just a rumor. His Grace the Grand Duke was really handsome, no, kind.”
“Handsome? How much?”
I thought I had quickly glossed over it, but Nicole quickly caught the key point and asked back. His voice, which had been trembling with fear until a few seconds ago, was now strangely competitive and belligerent.
“Um…? How much…? Is it possible to express handsomeness quantitatively…?”
“If Master’s face is 10 out of 10 points.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then maybe twelve…”
I was about to shout about twelve points? when Nicole waved his hand and snorted as soon as the word ‘twelve’ came out of my mouth.
“Ah. I don’t want to hear it. I forgot for a moment that Master’s eye for Alphas is crooked. It’s obvious this time too. How can it be more than ten points? That’s impossible. Our Master is the most handsome in the world.”
“Um…, Nicole? Is this a compliment or an insult…?”
I was hesitant to call it a compliment, and hesitant to call it an insult. Nicole laughed and raised his voice, saying it was a compliment! He said he would never insult our Master… I don’t know what it is if saying my eye for Alphas is crooked isn’t an insult, but that’s what he said.
“Ah, right. Nicole. There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Yes, Master. Tell me.”
“Promise you’ll listen first.”
“……”
His glare was particularly sharp. I didn’t back down and continued to speak. I had a reckless mindset that I was the master, so what could he do?
“Promise you won’t tell the nanny either.”
“Maaasster.”
“Huh? Nicole, huh? Who else would I ask if not Nicole, huh? Huh?”
Nicole, who firmly believed that our Master was the most handsome in the world, was indeed weak to my face. When I clasped my hands together earnestly and sent him an affectionate look with fluttering eyelashes, the sharpness slowly disappeared from his glare. Based on my experience so far, I should consider that I was already halfway there, but I decided not to let my guard down until the end.
“Huuu… Tell me what it is first. The promise comes after.”
“Uhh, well, you see…”
It was a request that even I thought Nicole would never grant. But at this point, there was no way out and no Plan B. This method was definitely the best if I wanted to push forward with my plan as I had envisioned.
“While we’re here, how about we switch identities and live like that?”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, it’s not that difficult, right? I’ve already received all the necessary artifacts from His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Excuse me? What kind of nonsense are you talking about…?”
“Nicole becomes me, and I become Nicole. How’s that? Simple, right! It’ll be fun!”
“Master, I’m sorry, but are you crazy?”
Seeing me so enthusiastic for the sole reason of wanting to die comfortably now, it seemed certain that I wasn’t in my right mind. But I couldn’t tell Nicole the whole long story. Instead of nodding, I smiled coquettishly and buried my forehead in Nicole’s shoulder.
Thinking about it again, this was a really perfect plan! I had even bought a more expensive and lower-quality artifact separately, fearing that the Crown Prince might not lend it to me, but the Crown Prince gave me even unnecessary things on top of what I asked for.
The effort I had put into buying the artifact with the private funds I had stashed away from the Hamilton family was wasted, but it was definitely a good thing because the quality of the items the Crown Prince had was incomparably better.
It was worth all the trouble I had gone through so far. Finding Lennox so luckily, and the procedures for Grand Duke Graham falling into place so smoothly. It seemed that God had finally decided to be on my side.
“Nicole, really. My last wish. Really, really. There won’t be anything like this again. Huh? Nicole.”
“Goodness, say something that makes sense! I think I’ve spoiled you too much, Master!”
“No, even if you’re older, I’m the one who’s older, so it’s not like Nicole raised me, right? Strictly speaking, we grew up together. Under Nanny’s care.”
“Be quiet!”
“Ugh, presumptuous servant…”
“Can I tell your mother about this right away?”
“No… Please…”
Nicole frowned deeply as if he had a headache, glared at me for a long time, and then sighed and muttered weakly.
“So what are you going to do… I absolutely can’t allow it unless you have a plan to protect Master’s safety…”
“Yeah! Of course!”
This was 100% a yes. It was one of those days, one of those moments when everything seemed to be going to work out like magic. That was exactly how it felt to me.
Finally. I was always on your side, Noah.
“……?”
“What’s wrong, Master? Why did you stop talking?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I must have misheard the sound of the wind. It sounded like someone said something… I don’t know. Now, listen. So, what we need to do is…!”
Wait for me, Carlisle Graham. You’re (probably soon) mine…!
“How is it, another miss today?”
“Sigh… Why do you even ask when it’s obvious?”
“He needs to eat something, what should we do?”
The mournful lamentations of the kitchen servants continued endlessly. Pretending to prepare refreshments, I pricked up my ears and secretly rejoiced inside. It was information I already knew, but it was worth checking just to be sure, as if crossing a stone bridge after tapping it. It seemed that the Grand Duke’s setting of being particularly affected by the summer and barely eating during this season hadn’t changed.
I had come down to the kitchen to eavesdrop, both to check on the Grand Duke’s well-being and to learn about the atmosphere of the Grand Duke’s family. It was an absurd place for the third young master of Hamilton to visit, but it was okay.
‘M-Master… Do you really have to go this far…?’
‘Yeah. I really, really have to do this.’
Because I was not Noah Hamilton, but Noah Hamilton’s servant, Nicole Seymour.
‘Ah, Nicole. Just this once. Really, the first and last time, okay? Think about it, if I ever become the Crown Princess and enter the palace, I’ll be trapped like a bird in a cage for the rest of my life. Don’t you feel sorry for me? When I’m at the mansion, I can’t even go out and come back comfortably because of Father and Mother’s surveillance.’
‘Huuu, that’s true, but…’
‘I promise. I won’t go outside the Grand Ducal Palace. I won’t even go near the marketplace. I’ll just walk around inside this castle. I’m just so stuffy and suffocated.’
‘Ugh.’
The ridiculous emotional appeal that had worked so well on the Crown Prince, about what would happen if I entered the palace later, worked well on Nicole as expected.
Nicole, who had been making a very sad face, eventually nodded, perhaps feeling sorry for me.
Even after that, he couldn’t help but worry, so I showed him various protective magic items that the Crown Prince had prepared himself, and only then did he seem a little relieved…
‘I understand for now. But when did you get so close to His Highness the Crown Prince, Master? I knew that His Highness had chosen our Master a long time ago, but when I saw him coming down this time, I was surprised to see that the two of you seemed quite comfortable with each other.’