The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#32

Kain Starchis had to continue entertaining the humans at the training grounds for quite some time after that. This went on until Jersian said, “That’s enough,” and dragged him out.

Only then did Kain gain his freedom and could spend time leisurely in Jersian’s office as usual. As it turned out, checking on the Gerold Marquis’s knights’ training every morning was part of Jersian’s routine. Thinking he could skip that schedule from now on, Kain sat by the window in Jersian’s office.

It was then.

Knock knock, a knocking sound was heard, and Jersian briefly said, “Come in.” The large door of the office opened, and maids rushed in, bowing their heads.

“Good day.”

“Good day, Young Master Jersian.”

It was more people than usual.

Did so many come to call for Jersian? As Kain, leaning against the window, stared at them, the oldest-looking woman among the maids said,

“Lord Kain. The preparations for you are all complete. Shall we assist you right away?”

“…?”

Me? Kain’s pupils slightly widened. Usually, when maids or servants came to the mansion, they were looking for Jersian, but unusually, this time they called for him.

What’s this about? As he glanced at Jersian sitting at the office table, Jersian, who was writing on parchment with a quill, said,

“Go on.”

“… Can I hear what this is about first?”

Of course, he would go if Jersian said so… but he couldn’t help but be curious about the reason. Then Jersian, who had been frowning while looking down at the parchment, raised his head and examined Kain sitting on the guest sofa.

He stared at Kain Starchis’s face, which was looking only at him for a moment, and then burst into a short laugh. Then, after clearing his throat once, he lowered his gaze back to the parchment and answered.

“No. If I tell you, I think you’ll run away.”

At those words, Kain’s face scrunched up even more. What kind of strange task was he trying to assign that made even the great Jersian hold back his laughter like that?

But unfortunately, Kain Starchis had no right of refusal.

“… I’ll be going then.”

He stood up from the sofa and walked across Jersian’s large room. He could feel Jersian’s gaze from behind.

… What on earth is he trying to make me do?

Kain Starchis wondered inwardly. As he left the room, the head maid standing at the front of the maids waiting outside the door said, “This way, please.” Then she led Kain somewhere.

* * *

“Since you have a good frame, we don’t need to prepare any clothes to hide flaws.”

“Your hair is so soft. Just applying a little fragrant oil to make it shine should be enough.”

“Is the water temperature to your liking?”

To the seemingly endless stream of questions, Kain now only nodded his head to express his intentions without opening his mouth. After all, the answers they wanted were all predetermined.

“…”

Suddenly, what kind of bolt from the blue is this?

When he was first brought here and the grooming began, it seemed the maids were moving according to the order the head maid had mentioned… But since he hadn’t listened carefully then, he was now at a level where he was being dragged along, unable to imagine when it would end.

The maids said they had received prior instructions from Jersian and didn’t enter the large bathtub. Instead, they set up screens around the bath and asked him to speak to them after washing his body.

Ah, so that’s why. Kain thought as he immersed his body in the hot water, looking down at Jersian’s name written on his chest. He realized anew how meticulous Jersian’s personality was.

Only today did he learn how many different ways there were to groom hair. In the Fiokhim Mountains, he had never done any grooming other than dipping his head in a waterfall. Here, they lathered his hair with foam, applied a strange liquid, left it for a while, then combed it, rinsed it out, and combed it again.

‘I understand now why he said I might run away.’

Kain comfortably stretched his neck and let out a long sigh inwardly.

By now, he was even tired of counting the patterns on the ceiling.

The place Kain was led to by the maids’ hands was a huge bathroom attached to the mansion and a large room filled with clothes, mirrors, and accessories whose purpose was hard to discern.

‘Lord Kain, please raise your arms.’

‘Now this leg.’

‘I’m going to touch your hair for a moment. Please turn your head this way.’

As soon as he entered, their endless commands were enough to make his soul leave his body. Later, he moved like a doll, doing exactly as they said without any resistance.

The maids who had taken on the task of grooming the guest with great tension were now humming softly and working diligently.

‘We thought he’d be demanding, but he’s so docile.’

He was an important guest of the young master and an elf. While combing his long hair, they could curiously glance at the famous pointed ears of the elf.

Those ears were particularly useful for the maids. When something wasn’t to his liking, those pointed ears would move slightly up and down, and when they noticed this and changed things that might be uncomfortable, the ears would immediately return to their original position.

“You must be bored. This is the last of the hair grooming.”

As she said this while taking out the finest comb, the drooping pointed ears perked up.

“…”

Of course, there was no other reaction, but from the movement of the ears alone, the maid could tell that he was very bored with this place.

Unlike the tall stature and cold face they had glimpsed while moving around the mansion, he was very honest when faced directly. Haha, she laughed shortly to herself and moved her hands quickly. The head maid, who had been watching all this grooming with eagle eyes right beside them, seemed to feel the same way, her face slightly relaxed.

Is it finally over?

Kain looked at the busy hands of the maids diligently brushing his hair from various angles in front of a large mirror, waiting for this time to end quickly. In the Fiokhim Mountains, bathing meant simply dipping in a waterfall for a moment and getting out, but bathing in the Gerold mansion had a completely different meaning.

Surely, that maid had said it was the last hair grooming, so he just had to wait a little longer. He was watching his flowing silver hair with an indifferent face for the umpteenth time when all the maids gathered the combs they had been using and put them away. The sound of the comb storage box closing was particularly loud.

Phew, just as Kain was about to let out a sigh of relief.

“Young Master Jersian, is it alright to finish Lord Kain’s hair like this?”

“…?”

Young Master? At those words, Kain quickly turned his head towards the back.

There stood Jersian, leaning against the doorway.

The culprit who had pushed him into this hell had finally appeared. He looked at Kain, who was sitting demurely after finishing his grooming for a long time, and then opened his lips.

“… Yes. Good job.”

Jersian’s gaze was directed at Kain, who had finished his hair grooming.

Originally, Kain’s platinum blonde hair had some naturally floating parts and some parts sticking out here and there, but after the maids’ hands, it felt too straight and smooth, like flowing water.

‘Is it too strange?’

Seeing Jersian’s slightly stiffened face, Kain tried to slightly comb his hair with his fingers.

“Is it strange? This is my first time having it arranged like this, so it feels awkward…”

“Don’t touch it.”

Jersian quickly grabbed Kain’s wrist lightly to stop that action. A slightly warm but appropriately cool palm was felt on the inside of his arm.

“…”

“…”

Their gazes collided in mid-air for a moment. Because Kain was taller than Jersian, Jersian had to look up at him with his red pupils.

Silence hovered between the two for a moment.

Eventually, Kain glanced at Jersian’s hand holding his wrist.

“… I won’t touch it.”

So the hair grooming is better this way. Fortunately, it didn’t seem strange. Kain, who had been about to mess up his neatly groomed hair, asked in a softened tone.

“But why did you suddenly order this?”

“This? What do you mean? The bath? Surely you weren’t planning to walk around like that forever? To be exhausted at just the first step, there’s a tailor waiting for you in the very next room.”

“…”

Like that?

Kain furrowed his brow as he recalled his original appearance.

Honestly, he thought it was fine. Kain, who had never been negatively evaluated by those around him, was taken aback. Moreover, what about the tailor said to be in the next room? It seemed that Jersian’s strange orders were not over yet.