'Oh fuck!'
Waking up and finding myself on top of a petite woman with a cowardly nature known as the vice principal, was not something I wanted.
After all, I wasn't a pervert and didn't want to be seen as a sexual assaulter. However, there was nothing I could think to calm this trembling woman, whose throat was currently gripped by me.
Sadly, sometimes you do the things you don't want to.
'But, tears suit her…'
This dark fascination with vulnerable moments was something I enjoyed most of the time. So, having this fascination while gazing into the vice principal's eyes that was silently letting out drops of tears, was somewhat normal.
That feeling was not something I could control. At least I wasn't actively trying to make people cry or look vulnerable.
But this wasn't even convincing to me while I was the one who made her cry in the first place.
'This is an exception, alright? I didn't deliberately make her cry, she is the one at fault for touching me while I was asleep.'
Convincing and lying to oneself was an important skill to have if you wanted to live long without suffering because of your conscience.
'Heh…'
Slowly and carefully pulling my hands around the vice principal's throat, I got off on her. Then I removed my jacket that was hanging on the chair and covered her body below the neck.
Sudden motions had a high chance of scaring her more instead of calming her down. I was treating her like a scared animal, but that couldn't be helped as I didn't know how to calm down terrified people. I only knew how to scare people.
So, calming this woman was especially hard as her life was 'threatened' by me just a moment ago.
'Scaring her and then consoling her. Heh! What am I? A super duper genius manipulator villain?'
"I deeply apologize for the scare I have given to you, Vice Principal." I apologized with as much sincerity as I could summon and handed her my handkerchief.
I was really sorry for this woman but these feelings were wiped away after seeing her tears, but as a gentleman, I knew when to apologize.
But just apologizing wasn't not enough. 'I should at least give her something.'
"Please come to the living room when you catch your breath and recover your calmness. I want to properly apologize with a meal cooked by me."
At that time, the vice principal's eyes shook greatly but I pretended to not see it and made my way to the kitchen.
After all, a gentleman knows when to ignore things that shouldn't be seen. Like when a woman cries and doesn't want to be seen by others.
I was just doing my duty as a gentleman and a human to make the vice principal comfortable.
'Though I should first wash my face and my gloves.'
Dried blood was so unpleasant.
*******
"..."
Currently, Cassi Colvin was peeking through the gap of the door, watching Caelum using a pan like a professional chef.
An apron over his white shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbow, and black pants.
'I was scared because I thought this was going to be my last supper— meal but…'
To her amateur eyes, Caelum's cooking techniques were a bit strange and new. Not like she knew how to cook, but she at least saw how her mother and chiefs of the academy cook. She knew the basics.
'Oh, he finally removed his gloves. I didn't see him without gloves more than a few times. I wonder if they are an artifact or a keepsake from someone important to him.'
Wearing gloves wasn't rare, actually, it was pretty common. Nonetheless, most people took them off occasionally. However, Cassi Colvin didn't see Caelum's hands without gloves more than once.
'Rather than gloves, what was the blood and his first response when he woke up?'
Even remembering the moment she suddenly found herself on the table and Caelum's grip on her neck, she couldn't help but shiver.
'At least he didn't kill me. It felt like it was just a reflexive action.'
Cassi Colvin concluded. After all, in her eyes, Caelum Achard was a cold, powerful, and strict man that separated business and private life. There was no real reason to kill her.
'...oh shit! I saw his torture chamber!'
Cassi Colvin panicked and quickly pinched her thigh to recover her calmness.
'Let's not think about it. Happy thoughts... Happy thoughts... If I don't stick my nose into his business, he won't have a reason to touch me either. Even though torture is officially prohibited, the empire needs to get information one way or another…'
'Though I am a bit curious about what he lived through to have such an instinctive reaction.'
She shook her head. Curiosity killed the cat and Cassi didn't want to be that cat.
Tiptoeing back to the living room, Cassi Colvin sat on the couch and pulled her knees to her chest.
She was a petite woman while Caelum was a tall man with being in the middle of lean and bulky, hence the jacket he gave to Cassi was enough to cover her whole body below the neck with the position she was sitting.
Sniff!
The delicious smell of food reached her nose as if someone was intentionally fanning towards her.
Her throat bobled with gulping down her saliva and her stomach growled.
Growl
The first thing she did in the morning wasn't having breakfast or eating snacks on the way, but go to the principal who summoned her and then directly sending her here. Hence, her stomach was empty and the scent of food was especially effective to her now.
Creak!
The door of the kitchen opened and Caelum stepped inside. He was carrying two trays, one of them was full of pastries while the other one was pancakes. All of them had appetizing looks and smells.
Clank
Placing down the trays on the small table, Caelum stepped back and sat on a chair that was far away from Cassi.
"Go ahead, don't hesitate as this is my apology for the scare I gave you earlier."
However, Cassi hesitated. Even though the food Caelum made was looking amazing, she was suspicious.
'What if he put poison in them?'
It was a completely useless and funny worry. She more or less understood that Caelum could easily twist her slender neck with his powerful hands, yet there she was, being suspicious of poison.
Fear makes the person think and believe ridiculous things easily.
Seeing this, Caelum had a question in his mind.
'Is she shy or is she still scared?'
Aha!
Caelum got up from his seat and turned towards the kitchen.
"I am going to take a cup of milk. You don't mind milk I hope."
Cassi shook her head, and Caelum entered the kitchen. He took out milk from the magical freezer to pour into a glass–
Ding dong!
–but before he did so, the bell rang.
On the other side of the kitchen, Cassi dropped the pancake she was munching.
"Ah…"