In a quiet room, away from outside interference, my personal maid and I sat, face to face.
Racking our brains to solve one of the hardest problems I had ever encountered.
---
"This is just a feeling, but... I think Akira-kun doesn't like me?"
I sipped my tea and sighed.
She calmly sipped hers and replied,
"I assume this Akira is Chihiro's son, right?"
"Yes, I already told you before, haven't I?"
"Sorry, my lady, I tend to forget useless things. Especially when it comes to other people's love lives."
So cold! Don't be like that just because you don't have a boyfriend, Maid-chan!
"Anyways, he's only known you for a day or two. It's natural that he doesn't like you yet. Don't be so pushy, and he'll eventually come around."
"But... I think he hates me? Sometimes I can't stop myself from spoiling him too much, and I think he doesn't like that."
She sighed and gave me a disappointed look.
"Of course. He's already an adult, my lady. He doesn't want to be spoiled."
"Eh? Adult? I just found out he's still a minor. He's turning 18 in July."
The once composed and flawless maid couldn't help but spill her tea out of surprise.
"Pardon my clumsiness, my lady. Also, this might sound rude, but knowing you're a closet pervert, I do believe you tried to seduce or jump on him... am I right?"
She said it straight to my face, even though I'm her boss!
"Yes, uh, on our first night... I did try that..."
She looked at me with hopeless eyes that pierced my pride as a human.
"Pardon me, my lady. I forgot I still have work to attend to. Please excuse me."
"Maid-chan!! Don't leave me!! I'm your boss, prioritize me first!"
"This matter is outside my signed work contract, so I hope I can receive some benefits, my lady."
"Ohh, Maid-chan, manipulating even your boss, aren't you? As expected of you."
"If you do not agree, I'm afraid I cannot help you with this matter."
"Ah, fine, fine. Go with me to my house tonight. I'll treat you."
After that, she smiled and listened seriously.
---
"Listen, my lady. What you're doing might be fulfilling for you, but for him... it's sort of creepy. You know why?"
"Why though?"
"It might sound harsh..."
"Just say it, you're always harsh to me anyway."
"Okay, pardon me. The fact that he's only met you the other day, and you're already buying every sort of thing he likes, spoiling him to the point of suffocating him — it's making him uncomfortable. Plus the fact that he's still a minor... he probably thinks you're grooming him, or worse, using his debt to take advantage of him."
"GAH! YOU'RE RIGHT!"
"It got even worse when you jumped on him. If I were him, I might have reported you to the police."
"AH STOP! DON'T MENTION THE POLICE!"
She grabbed her phone from her pocket, opened it, and showed me something.
A well known meme of a loli character pointing a jail...
"Your new home, Onee-chan... or should I say Obaa-san?" My maid said, grinning.
"Don't be like that, Maid-chan! Just help me out!"
"Okay, fine. If you get thrown in jail, I'll lose my job too."
She's a tsundere, but she actually cares about me~
---
"My lady, as soon as you get home, act cold. Order him to do something. Stop spoiling him."
"And how can I make him like me back?"
"I don't know. Not my problem."
"Ah, you're not helping!"
Suddenly, she went beside me, placed her hand on my shoulder, and said in a soft, reassuring tone:
"My lady, the way you are now, you're already likable. Just be yourself and take your time. It's only a matter of time before Akira notices your love for him. And who knows? He might fall for you even harder than you fell for him..."
I smiled, feeling a little more hopeful.
But a lingering doubt rushed through my heart...
---
"What if Akira-kun won't be able to like me, despite everything I've done? What if I'm not his type? What if he already likes someone else?"
I spoke in a low, shaky voice.
"Are you concerned because you're already in your 30's?"
"DAMN IT, I'M JUST 25!"
"But rounding that off, it's 30. Am I wrong?"
"Hmph. Thanks for making me less worried. You really helped."
"Yes. Now I respectfully ask you to leave because I still have work to attend to."
"Hey, it's my building. Besides, you're coming with me, right?"
She stood up, brushed her skirt, and replied,
"Use this time to be alone with Akira-kun, my lady. After all, you did say earlier that he's your husband."
"DAMN IT, DON'T MENTION IT AGAIN! IT'S SO EMBARRASSING!"
And with that, we wrapped up our little girls' talk and went back to see Akira-kun.
---
I did some inspections around my hotel, and that took me forever to finish — after all, the hotel had 20 floors.
I also had dinner with my personal maid as a treat for helping me.
Too much work made me forget what time it was, and it made me worried about Akira-kun.
He's the only person in the house after all.
I quickly wrapped up my dinner and decided to leave ahead of my maid.
"Let's meet again, Maid-chan. I forgot that I promised Akira I'd be home early."
"Oh, but it's already 9 PM."
"Yeah, so I'm gonna hurry up and head home."
I hope there won't be any traffic this time...
---
Akira's POV
My eyes were fuzzy, and my neck hurt a bit.
It seemed like I had fallen asleep on the couch while waiting for Hayase.
As my senses slowly came back, I noticed something — a blanket was covering me.
And... a hand was gently rubbing my head, accompanied by a humming sound of a familiar tune.
It made me feel nostalgic.
It had been a while since I heard this song.
My mom used to sing it to me when I couldn't sleep.
I opened my eyes and looked up —
There was Hayase, holding her phone with her other hand, still wearing her formal outfit.
"Hayase? Welcome home."
"Ara, you waited for me, dear? I'm happy~"
"You said you'd come home early... Sorry, I ended up eating dinner alone. I thought you might not come back tonight."
"That's fine, I already ate anyways... Shall we sleep now?"
"Yeah."
This might sound selfish,
but deep inside me,
I hoped this kind of thing would go on forever.