Street Mouse [Yandere Archduke x Female Reader]

26. Growing Attachment.

Y/N wandered into the kitchen absent-mindedly. It had been a few weeks since she went on the picnic with Frosino. At first, she had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that she and Frosino had lost their families to the same carriage crash, but over time the shock faded away, only to be replaced by a new feeling.

Whenever she thought about Frosino, her heart would start pounding in her chest and her stomach would twist itself into nervous knots, but at the same time, it was not an altogether unpleasant feeling like nervousness. She was very confused. Just what was happening to her?

As Y/N sat in the kitchen, Tola re-entered from the pantry carrying a jar of spices. When the housekeeper caught sight of Y/N she immediately placed the jar on the nearby cutting table and hurried over to her with a sigh.

"Honestly, littlen, how many times do ay have to tell ya that yar corset goes under yar overdress, and not on top like mine does?" Tola loosened the tie in the back before she unhooked the opening at the front.

Setting the support garment on the table, Tola let out another sigh as she realized that the girl had also put her overdress on backward. "What is goin' on with ya littlen? Yar even more clumsy and careless then ya were before. Are ya goin' soft in the head?"

"No Tola," Y/N replied as the middle-aged woman showed Y/N the proper way to lace up the corset before pulling the overdress down over the girl's head, (the right way around this time.) Y/N had been skeptical about wearing the corset when it first arrived, but after Tola had shown her how to fasten the hooks at the front, Y/N found it to be surprisingly comfortable as it supported her rapidly developing womanly figure.

Tola then started to brush out Y/N's H/C hair as she continued her lecture: "Luckily for ya, the Archduke is gone for the whole day riding in the mountains, but what if ya had turned up for yar lesson with him looking like a soggy milkweed?"

Y/N sat quietly, she knew that she was indeed lucky. Over the past few weeks whenever she was around Frosino her face would heat up and she would feel embarrassed by the smallest of mistakes. These strange things just started one day out of the blue. She was just grateful that Frosino had been canceling so many of her lessons, because she was worried that she would faint from all of the new feelings passing through her.

Perhaps she had contracted a summer fever. It would explain why her cheeks so often were flushed, and why her heart seemed to be beating much too fast. She would have to ask Tola to make some medicine for her if she didn't recover soon.

. . .

"Excellent! Excellent work!" Ilidoro exclaimed after Y/N finished playing through the song that he had been teaching her on the harp.

Y/N had decided to start her music lesson early that day, seeing as the time she normally spent studying with Frosino had been freed up. Surprisingly, her new condition, (which she suspected was a case of the summer fever,) did not hinder her ability to play, and she was making great strides in her learning.

Ilidoro had recently begun teaching her first official song to her, and she had almost perfected it. The harp was a pleasant instrument to learn because even if she did make a mistake, no one but Ilidoro would notice.

As Y/N rested the instrument on the ground, she asked the question that had been on her mind: "Ilidoro, you have known Frosino for a long time, haven't you?"

"Indeed, I have," the brunette answered proudly.

"Then could you tell me what he was like when he was younger?" Y/N questioned, her curiosity growing. She settled herself on the floor in eager preparation.

"Well, I don't see why not," Ilidoro began, with a cheeky grin on his face. "Frosino is only five years my senior, but even when we were younger, he always acted so much older than his age. I remember the first time I met him I thought that he was incredibly skittish, but it turned out that he was just super aloof and anti-social. I think part of the reason why is because the late Archduke and his wife forbade him to leave the castle grounds, even after they died, he refused to leave the castle, and turned away any members of the nobility who came to pay their respects as well as most of the staff.

"But before he closed the castle off from the rest of the world, I remember coming to stay here whenever life in the royal court became too much for me. At first, Frosino and I despised the time that we were forced to spend together. You couldn't find two young dandies in all of the four kingdoms more different then we were. But, we both came to appreciate the other, Frosino kept me from being too reckless and introduced rationality into my life, while I gave Frosino a feeling of freedom. He acted as the formal Archduke he is now even when we were children, but whenever we were together he got the chance to just be a boy.

"Oh, forgive me, I have been rambling," Ilidoro came to an awkward halt in his reminiscing.

"It's ok, I like the way you tell stories," Y/N said, giggling at his awkwardness.

"Well, you would be the first," Ilidoro teased merrily. "Since we have extra time today, how would you like to learn the footwork to a basic social dance?"

"Yes, please!" Y/N cried, jumping to her feet excitedly.

A/N

The story is moving right along. ^~^

If you have any guesses as to why Frosino in canceling so many lessons let me know, and

Until next time I'll see you on the other side

~J. C. Coltt.~