If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 22
“They slept together last night!”
“That can’t be true…”
“Isn’t it over at the point where they already slept together ..?”
The murmuring of a maid made the other maids around sharply open their eyes.
“Isn’t it impossible in the first place since they’re from different tribes?”
“But… don’t the Wolf Tribe men keep only one mate by their side for their whole lives?”
“…I don’t want to believe it.”
Upon her words, the surrounding maids also fell silent. Among the wolf tribe, men love and yearn for only one mate throughout their lives, until death separates them. It’s not limited to men, but the attachment to a mate is stronger in wolf tribe men compared to wolf tribe women.
“Are you all fools?” A maid’s cold voice interrupted.
At her appearance, the assembled maids asked in questioning voices. “Why start another argument out of nowhere, Leslie?”
“No matter how much the butler supervises the Duke, lowly ones like us will always have our ways.”
“Who doesn’t know that?”
“I mean, look at you trying to lecture us again.”
Leslie was already known for being sharp-tongued, so the reactions around her weren’t positive. However, she didn’t seem to mind.
“I checked with the maid who washed the Duke’s bedding,” said Leslie, “and she said there were no traces of any intimate relations anywhere.”
“…Really?”
“It’s ridiculous that you’re so ignorant and dare to covet the Duke’s company. Why don’t you two just give up?” Leslie brushed aside her glistening black hair and continued with a mocking tone. “I see no difference between you and that absurd hare-brained rabbit person.”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh?” One maid stepped forward, speaking fiercely.
But Leslie remained unfazed. Instead, she brightened her dark eyes and questioned, “Can any of you compete with Isabelle?”
“…”
“You can’t, can you? The rabbit is easy going, so she must be vying for the Duke as well, but what if the Duke’s intended was Isabelle? Would you still be as divided as you are now?”
It was an undeniable truth, leaving no one to rebut. Isabelle was of the Morado family, a noble lineage within the Negro lineage. She had called Ivan her brother since she was a little girl, and rumor had it that she was the most suitable candidate for the Duke’s hand in marriage. Though they had not yet been betrothed, it was rumored that they had verbally promised each other as children.
Leslie, glancing mockingly at the gathering maids, remarked, “If you don’t intend to surpass Isabelle, then give it up. Don’t go talking nonsense like this behind her back.”
“You… You, how are you so different from the rest of us?” exclaimed one of the maids.
Leslie chuckled in disbelief. “I’m different from you all. I don’t skulk in the background and complain. How can you compare me, waiting for an opportunity, to you lot, who just grumble?”
Leslie was watching for an opportunity. At present, she couldn’t do much with that hare-brained girl sticking close to the Duke, but undoubtedly, the day would come when she’d be alone. Of course, she didn’t intend to stay idle until then. She would continue to check the Duke’s bedding and unravel their relationship.
The remaining maids were speechless as they watched Leslie turn away with a sullen expression on her face.
* * *
“…Ahem.”
Even with Ivan’s fake coughs, Ruby, engrossed in her book, didn’t show any reaction. He continued coughing until she finally glanced back.
“Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!”
After several repetitions, Ruby lifted her head. “Is your throat bothering you?”
“Why are you looking at your book in that position?”
After opening their mouths at the same time, the two were silent for a moment.
“What’s wrong with this posture?”
“I don’t have a sore throat, it’s just a cough.”
Once again, the two opened their mouths, speaking simultaneously, before staring at each other. Then Ivan raised his hand, as if declaring, ‘I’ll speak first.’
As Ruby nodded, he asked again, “Isn’t that posture uncomfortable?”
“Not at all.”
“The person looking might feel a bit uncomfortable…”
Ivan, intending to suggest she move to the nearby sofa, suddenly turned his head at something that caught his eye. Ruby was sitting with her knees bent, hunched over, causing her chest to gather in one place. The outfit never quite fit her chest from the beginning, and now the fabric seemed to protrude awkwardly over the upper part of her chest.
