Every Arc Ends with My Death

Chapter 7. Calm Before the Storm

Frankly, I was mildly nervous since this was supposed to be my first day serving Grand Duke Averill. Well, shit. I didn't think it'd be my last, too.

Forget about being mildly nervous. I'm basically quaking in my shoes after Ma'am Olivia decided that she had nothing better to do than to splash a bucket of water on the grand duke.

"M-Ma'am," I stammered. There's only the two of us here and no one saw us yet, so we can still save our asses. "It's not too late to make a run for it."

To my surprise, the Grand Duke opened his eyes and jolted out of the bed. His eyes roamed around in confusion, and he looked like a lost puppy as his body shivered from the ice-cold water.

I waited for him to reproach the head maid, but Alistair simply stared blankly at us then rubbed his half-lidded eyes. He seemed half-asleep.

"As you can see, he's a morning dunce." Ma'am Olivia implied, even gesturing her palm towards the Grand Duke.

"D-Dunce?" I sweated profusely. "I'm not sure if we should be calling the grand duke a dunce..."

"A dunce, dolt, birdbrain, or blockhead... It doesn't matter what you call him. It just means that he's as useless as a newborn in the morning." Her words made me shriek in horror. Jesus, don't say that while I'm here! If you want to die, at least don't drag me to hell with you!

Thankfully, Alistair didn't seem to be on the right mind to listen to our conversation. Seriously, he looked like he was on cloud nine.

"Anyway, like I've said, His Grace requires a lot of help at this hour. He'll only get into his senses once he's had his tea, so make sure it's already brewed before you do this." Ma'am Olivia explained to me while pouring a cup of tea.

I bit my nails nervously. "Do I also have to wake him up like this?"

"You can slap him if you want." She suggested.

"Haha, I'd rather not." I laughed awkwardly then shot her a horrified look. Like hell I'd do that. Stop suggesting things that would get me killed.

"Your Grace," Ma'am Olivia tapped the lord's shoulder lightly. "Please have some tea."

The Grand Duke absentmindedly took up on her offer then relished the chamomile tea. While waiting for him to finish it, the head maid and I stood quietly on the side of his bed. After quite some time, Alistair handed the cup to us, not leaving a single drop. Looks like the tea really helped since he seemed fully awake now.

"Thank you, Olivia. The tea is especially delicious today." The Averill lord softly remarked.

"It was prepared by Belle, Your Grace." Ma'am Olivia replied.

"Ah," His eyes darted on me. "You were here, too."

You're only noticing me now? I've been here the whole time. Is this what it means to be an extra?

"Good morning, Your Grace." I politely greeted.

"Yes." He gave me a lazy smile. "Good morning."

The grand duke finally got up from his bed to get ready for today. When Ma'am Olivia said that the bath was ready, Alistair told us not to disturb him and that he didn't need any assistance in the bath. With that, he departed and left the two of us in the room.

"So that's the end of my morning duties, Ma'am?" I asked the head maid once we were alone.

"No. I told you, didn't I? He's a morning dunce."

Despite the Grand Duke's orders, Ma'am Olivia headed to the bath so I had no choice but to follow her. When we stopped by the door, the head maid turned to me with a stern face.