“…This is my bed.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Harvey froze.
‘Idiot.’
He realized almost immediately that he had said another meaningless piece of nonsense.
Maybe, as they said, he really was an idiot.
Harvey couldn’t figure it out.
On normal days, he was fairly articulate in front of others.
But the moment he was in front of the Head Maid, his tongue seemed to tie itself in knots, unable to get out a single complete sentence.
Evelyn’s brow furrowed slightly, impatience already showing on her face.
“I know.”
She shifted her position and glanced down at her skirt to check if it was wrinkled.
“So? I don’t recall asking that just now.”
“Or do you mind me using your bed?”
Those dark eyes looked at him calmly, carrying an emotion he couldn’t quite name.
Harvey stared at her blankly, not knowing how to respond.
He had never felt the Head Maid’s cold attitude so piercingly before.
By the rules, by status, she shouldn’t be taking this for granted.
There was some strange emotion flowing between them.
“Head Maid, are you… angry?”
Harvey asked hesitantly.
“You can, uh, just say it out loud.”
“Like you always do.”
Instead of making him feel this uneasy.
“Hmm?”
Evelyn tilted her head slightly, as if she hadn’t heard clearly.
“Why do you think I’m angry?”
She was actually a little confused.
The problem shouldn’t be on her side.
Someone who would freeze just by being looked at twice by her before now seemed to see something frightening.
Even though this was the first time she had taken the initiative to do something like this, the memories inherited from the Fairy bloodline were enough to let her know how to approach a human boy.
Especially someone like Harvey, whose thoughts were written all over his face, should not have deviated from her expectations.
She had even thought about how to push him back if he lost his composure.
But now, things weren’t going at all the way she had planned.
Evelyn pursed her lips.
Her original plan was disrupted again.
After being asked “Are you angry?” she actually felt a little inexplicable irritation in her heart.
She didn’t like this feeling of losing control.
It wasn’t because Harvey’s attitude stirred her emotions.
At most, at most a little dissatisfaction.
After all, she had already sat on his bed, yet Harvey acted as if she would pull out a whip and hang him for interrogation.
…Though she could actually do that.
But she didn’t mean it that way.
It was noon now, and there was no atmosphere for such things.
Seeing Harvey silent and unresponsive, Evelyn’s eyes grew colder.
“Answer me.”
“Am I that scary?”
Harvey’s expression stiffened for a moment, then he forced a barely decent smile.
“How could that be?”
“Head Maid… of course you’re not scary.”
He spoke quickly, as if afraid that if he hesitated even a moment, his guilt would show.
But the obvious attempt to gloss over things did not escape Evelyn’s eyes.
At first, she was just a little dissatisfied.
Now that dissatisfaction had finally solidified into anger.
“Harvey, I think what you’re lacking now is not just rules and manners.”
Evelyn said coldly.
“What you lack more is how to deal with women.”
Harvey was stunned.
Last night, Hades had said something similar, saying that if he continued like this, he would suffer for it.
And now, after just one night, the same assessment came from the Head Maid’s mouth.
Was he really that bad at dealing with people?
Or did the Head Maid just want a more convenient excuse to teach him a lesson again?
Thinking this, Harvey hesitated for a moment, then steeled himself to speak.
“I think… that’s not necessary.”
He said this without much confidence.
Evelyn brushed a strand of black hair from her shoulder.
“Is that so?”
Harvey’s heart pounded, and then he heard her speak.
“Then the gazes I felt today—was I imagining them?”
Harvey froze completely.
“Wh-what?”
Evelyn looked up at him.
“How you looked at me in the kitchen this morning.”
“And just now when you came in, what were you looking at?”
Her dark gaze fell on his flustered face, and Evelyn felt a rare moment of satisfaction.
“Do you want me to keep counting for you?”
Harvey nearly fell out of his chair.
He just managed to grab the armrest, then hurriedly tried to defend his honor.
“I didn’t—”
“Didn’t what?”
Evelyn cut off his argument.
“Didn’t look, or didn’t look that way?”
“…”
Harvey opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn’t know which one to deny first.
In truth, he couldn’t honestly deny either one.
“…I’m sorry.”
Harvey lowered his head.
“I was impolite.”
He expected to get a stern scolding, but to his surprise, Evelyn just shook her head.
“You’re always like this.”
“You start apologizing instinctively, without even knowing what you did wrong.”
Harvey took a deep breath and slumped in his chair, rubbing his hands together.
“But in the end, I made Head Maid uncomfortable. I, I need to take responsibility.”
Thinking back now, he admired those two male students even more.
He would rather be like Cassius, suffer punishment in public.
Than be forced to admit his feelings bit by bit in this kind of situation.
This shame was more unbearable than punishment itself.
“You’re just at an age where you’re influenced by the opposite sex, and you don’t know how to handle it. That’s normal. There’s no need to feel ashamed.”
Evelyn said flatly.
“But if you leave this kind of behavior unchecked, it will cause trouble sooner or later.”
Harvey instinctively wanted to retort “I didn’t,” but the words stuck in his throat, feeling unconvincing even to himself.
The current situation was the worst proof.
He looked at Evelyn by the bed.
Even though she was lecturing him in all seriousness, his gaze was still pulled by her subtle movements.
Was she really not doing this on purpose?
Harvey took a deep breath and simply closed his eyes.
Evelyn saw his silence and continued.
“What you need now is a different kind of guidance.”
“Different kind of guidance?”
“Mm.”
She looked at him.
“About the opposite sex, about desire, and about propriety.”
Harvey’s breath caught.
But Evelyn didn’t stop.
“Having desires toward the opposite sex is not something dirty.”
“Being attracted, feeling unsettled, losing composure over details you shouldn’t care about—that’s all normal.”
Harvey blinked, as if he hadn’t expected her to say such things so matter-of-factly.
Evelyn’s expression remained cold.
“But if you can’t grasp boundaries and propriety, it becomes an offense.”
“You need to understand that.”
Harvey opened his mouth, and after a long moment, said quietly.
“…So were you doing it on purpose?”
He even forgot to use her title.
Evelyn looked at him and didn’t answer immediately.
After a moment, she said flatly.
“So what if I was?”
Harvey’s breathing became erratic, and he stared at her blankly.
He never expected the Head Maid to admit it so bluntly.
“Head Maid, why did you do that?”
He asked nervously.
Evelyn didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
“Since you’ve started having these thoughts, I needed to make you understand one thing first.”
“…What?”
Evelyn slightly raised her eyes.
“Women are often much more aware of your supposedly covert glances than you think.”
As soon as she said this, Harvey froze completely, his eyes widening involuntarily.
As for what Evelyn said afterward, he couldn’t hear anymore.
His ears were ringing, and his face burned hot.
When he came back to himself, Harvey asked dejectedly.
“So, you came to my room today just to remind me… not to look at you like that anymore?”
Evelyn glanced at him, obviously dissatisfied.
“When did I say that?”
“You just haven’t been taught these things. This kind of feeling is neither right nor wrong to begin with.”
Harvey looked up at Evelyn, his voice hoarse.
“But… I only look at you like this.”
The room suddenly fell silent.
Evelyn didn’t speak.
Only those dark, calm eyes finally flickered at that moment.