Help, I'm in Another World and All the Men Are So Hot! [BL]-Chapter 92: Perfectly Professional

Wait, what? No one had told Damien about this.

Now that he thought about it, when they’d mentioned that Leonide and the others would be his personal attendants, someone had said their wages would be paid from the official consort’s estate funds.

It seemed they’d made these decisions without his knowledge. Damien gave Theo a narrow-eyed look, but Theo refused to meet his gaze.

"A-Anyway," Theo stammered, "it was just a matter of internal family drama, and I didn’t want to trouble you with it since it’s not related to you. Now, I should get to the office and handle this situation."

Theo tried to excuse himself quickly, but Damien caught hold of Theo’s robe before he could escape.

Though the lack of any ominous signs confirmed that this really wasn’t a dangerous matter for him, he wasn’t about to let Theo go without a proper explanation about this "favored companion" business. He tightened his grip, determined to get answers.

"I’m terribly sorry, Sir Damien," Sebas interjected. "The urgency of this matter is indeed genuine. I beg for your understanding."

At Sebas’s words, Damien reluctantly released his hold on Theo’s robe.

"Thank you. And, of course, you may address any reprimands in private later this evening," Sebas said, keeping a completely straight face.

Theo turned bright red. "Sebas!"

Ignoring Theo’s outburst, Sebas gave Damien a bow, gently pulling Theo with him as they exited the room.

Damien watched them go, hoping this would blow over smoothly.

...

After Theo and Sebas left, the bedroom fell quiet.

Since there wasn’t anything pressing for him to do, Damien figured he’d get a bit more rest. He felt a bit guilty since Theo had been pulled into work so early, but with more experiments scheduled for the afternoon, he thought he’d better take the chance to nap while he could.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?"

Damien jumped slightly—he’d forgotten Leonide was still there. Though Leonide’s presence wasn’t as imperceptible as Sebas’s, he was so quiet that Damien had almost forgotten about him.

"Oh, um... right. Could I have another cup of tea?"

Since Leonide was here, Damien decided against going back to sleep and opted for a tea refill instead.

"Right away, sir."

Leonide poured him another cup, and Damien took a sip.

"Mm, delicious!" he remarked, giving Leonide a warm smile. Leonide, however, just nodded slightly, maintaining his usual composed expression with his gaze lowered.

...

"So, um... are you doing well?"

"Thanks to you, sir, I have no problems at all," Leonide responded.

"I-I see, that’s good to hear," Damien replied awkwardly.

Uh... what else to say?

"So, um, how’s the work going? Today’s your first day taking care of me, right?" Damien asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Indeed. I am here to assist you with anything you need. Should there be any issues, please don’t hesitate to correct me."

"Oh, uh... right... thank you."

Okay, what next?

"Um... actually... never mind."

The atmosphere felt... tense.

Damien had hoped for a little friendly conversation, but the vibe was all wrong. Leonide was acting so efficient and composed, it was like a miniature version of Sebas was here. Feeling a bit of pressure, Damien simply drank his tea in silence, and before he knew it, his cup was empty.

"Would you care for a refill, sir?" Leonide asked.

A refill... did he want one?

His drowsiness had worn off, but this wasn’t really the kind of relaxed setting he’d hoped for... Maybe he’d just go back to sleep after all.

"Would you care for a refill?" Leonide repeated, when Damien didn’t answer right away.

"Oh, n-no, I’m fine," he stammered in response.

Why was he speaking so formally?

"Understood. Is there anything else you need, sir?"

Anything else... Anything else...

He’d just declined the tea, breakfast wasn’t ready yet, and he didn’t need to change. Come to think of it, there wasn’t anything else he really needed.

"Anything else, sir?" Leonide pressed again.

Was he in a hurry to get through the tasks?

Damien realized Leonide might have other duties beyond attending to him.

"No, no more needs. I’m all set, so you’re good," he said hurriedly, hoping he hadn’t inconvenienced him.

"Understood," Leonide replied, bowing deeply.

But instead of leaving, he asked, "What do you intend to do now, sir?"

Confused, Damien answered honestly. "Uh, well, my drowsiness is gone, so I guess I’ll just kill time until breakfast?"

"So... no more tasks, then?"

Leonide repeated the question with a hint of insistence.

Damien wasn’t entirely sure what he was getting at, but since he truly had no further needs, he nodded. For the first time that day, Leonide’s usual composed expression softened into a thoughtful look.

Then, Leonide knelt in front of Damien, leaned forward, and pressed his face against Damien’s stomach, wrapping his arms around him. Frozen in surprise, Damien looked down as Leonide nuzzled his stomach, then looked up at him with a bright, cheerful expression.

"Work’s done!" Leonide declared with a big grin.

Uh... what?

...

"Wow, you really did a good job! You’re amazing, Leonide, such a good boy," Damien said, now seated on the bed with Leonide clinging to his waist. He stroked Leonide’s head as the younger man leaned against him, looking pleased as could be.

Since Leonide was down to his undergarments, Damien wasn’t quite sure where to look. He supposed the clothing wrinkles would be worse otherwise.

"Well, you know, Lord Rostov told me that if I didn’t do my job properly, it wouldn’t just embarrass me, it would embarrass you, Master," Leonide explained. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

It all made sense now. Leonide had switched so quickly from the perfectly stoic servant to a more playful, affectionate version of himself. Apparently, when he had first helped Damien with his bath—the day he’d "messed up"—all four of them had received a thorough scolding from Sebas.

"You did everything perfectly. Anyone would be proud to have a servant like you," Damien praised, remembering just how professional Leonide had been—it had almost made him feel lonely.