Chapter 1639: I love you, Lackey
Sitting inside the private restaurant once again, Penelope couldn’t stop herself from remembering that day.
Warm golden lights reflected against the polished walls while the faint scent of expensive tea drifted through the quiet room, yet none of it could calm the restless pounding inside her chest.
Her face slowly turned red as fragments of that memory surfaced again and again in her mind... the way she had nearly exposed everything.
Her trembling eyes carefully lifted toward the rabbit-masked man sitting across from her.
Just seeing him again after an entire week made her pulse spiral out of control. The elegant rabbit mask hid most of his expression, but somehow that only made him more dangerous to her heart.
Each small movement of his fingers, each calm breath, each lazy tilt of his head felt strangely attractive.
Penelope could even hear her own heartbeat ringing loudly in her ears, so violent and frantic that she genuinely feared Mr. Lackey might hear it from across the table.
Noticing her obvious nervousness and the deep blush spreading across her cheeks, Lackey leaned slightly forward in his seat.
"It’s been a while, Ms. Penelope," he said smoothly, "How have you been? You’re eating properly, right? You haven’t been skipping meals again?"
[+4000 AP]
Penelope instantly straightened like a startled animal. Her throat tightened while her fingers nervously gripped the edge of her dress beneath the table.
"Y-YEZZ!!" she blurted out far louder than intended, nodding her head so quickly she nearly looked dizzy.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Then Lackey blinked beneath the mask before a soft laugh slipped from him. Not mocking... just genuinely amused by her adorable panic.
"You have a cute voice, too," he murmured teasingly.
[+4000 AP]
Penelope’s face instantly became even redder. She hurriedly covered her mouth with both hands after accidentally biting her own tongue from nervousness. Her shoulders trembled violently as embarrassment swallowed her whole.
’I’m acting like an idiot...’
She couldn’t even look directly at him anymore.
After all, after that fateful day... after his words... and after the heartfelt cake he personally made for her, how could she possibly return to acting normal?
Every memory involving him lingered vividly inside her chest like a sweet curse she secretly didn’t want removed.
It had already been an entire week since she last saw Mr. Lackey. During that time, he never once returned to the house, seemingly buried beneath endless work and responsibilities.
Yet despite his absence, Penelope still remained there.
Mr. Lackey had personally asked her to stay, and later his servant even handed her the key to the house without question. How could she possibly refuse after that?
Well... it wasn’t like she was trying to take advantage of his kindness.
No, absolutely not.
Rather, she simply wanted to repay him someday.
That was all.
Amara had even offered her temporary stays in several luxurious hotels, but Penelope rejected every single offer without hesitation. The thought of leaving that house strangely bothered her more than she wanted to admit.
Sometimes she would quietly ask the servant about Mr. Lackey’s whereabouts, but that woman dressed in a black tight suit never answered a single question. Her cold expression never changed, treating Penelope almost like invisible air.
Honestly, Penelope found it irritating.
It genuinely felt as though the woman was purposely avoiding her, almost like Penelope herself was some dangerous existence that needed careful observation. Even so, she chose to remain silent and respect the servant’s boundaries.
Maybe it was Mr. Lackey’s order.
Maybe he carried secrets she wasn’t supposed to know.
Who knew?
Not that Penelope truly wanted to pry into his life anyway. He had already done so much for her without asking anything in return.
So naturally... she wanted to help him back.
Cooking... Cleaning... Washing clothes.
Taking care of the house while he stayed away, working endlessly outside. Those were completely normal things for someone grateful to do, right?
At least... that’s what she kept telling herself every night.
There was absolutely nothing strange about carefully preparing meals he might eat later. Nothing strange about cleaning rooms he rarely used. Nothing strange about quietly wondering what kind of expression he would make if he saw her efforts.
That’s all it was.
Just cooking. Cleaning. Washing.
Nothing more.
Absolutely nothing more.
Believe her... she definitely didn’t have any ulterior motives.
Really!!
"Ms. Penelope, take a deep breath," Lackey said softly, "There’s no need to be so tense around me."
Hearing his gentle reassurance, Penelope quickly inhaled a shaky breath. Her fingers curled tightly over her lap beneath the table while she tried to calm the violent storm raging inside her chest.
"I-I am fine... th-thank you, M-Mr. Lackey," she answered nervously, her voice nearly stumbling over itself.
Lackey smiled faintly beneath the rabbit mask before giving a small nod.
"Good," he replied. "Then tell me... do you like the house? Have you felt uncomfortable staying there?"
Penelope immediately shook her head so quickly that several strands of hair slipped across her cheeks.
"Of course not," she answered without hesitation. "There’s no way I wouldn’t like it."
However, her expression slowly dimmed afterwards. The lively glow inside her eyes weakened slightly as she lowered her gaze toward the table.
"It’s... just empty sometimes."
For a brief moment, Lackey quietly stared at her.
"I’m sorry," he said calmly. "Work has been keeping me occupied lately."
"N-No, you don’t need to apologise! P-Please!" Penelope hurriedly waved both hands in panic, nearly knocking over the glass beside her.
"You already did so much for me!"
How could he apologise to her?
If anything, she should be the one apologising.
She was living inside his house while receiving his kindness without giving anything meaningful back in return.
Just thinking about it made her chest tighten uncomfortably.
"F-For nobody like me... your kindness is already more than enough, Mr. Lackey," she whispered softly, her trembling fingers slowly tightening against her dress.
"So please... don’t think I was complaining."
Lackey silently observed her flustered expression. The way she avoided eye contact, the way she constantly lowered herself with every sentence, the way she genuinely believed she was undeserving of warmth... it all felt painfully obvious to him.
No matter what comforting words he gave her, Penelope still viewed herself as a nobody.
Ten years of trauma and loneliness could not disappear from a few meetings and gentle conversations alone.
Those scars were buried too deeply inside her heart.
Because of that, Lackey chose silence instead of forcing empty reassurance onto her.
Soon, servants arrived carrying warm dishes filled with rich aromas.
The atmosphere gradually relaxed as both of them began eating.
Lackey casually started talking about several recent adventures involving artifacts and dangerous experiments. His tone remained light and humorous despite casually mentioning situations where he had nearly died multiple times.
Penelope listened quietly at first, occasionally nodding her head while pretending to focus on her meal.
Inside, however, her thoughts were in complete chaos.
’W-What is he even doing...? Is he crazy? At this rate, he’ll actually die someday!’
The more she heard, the paler her face became. Just imagining him injured... or worse... made an uncomfortable pain spread across her chest.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the fork in her hand.
Of course, Lackey noticed immediately.
Penelope was terrible at hiding her emotions. To him, her face felt like an open book whose pages turned on their own whenever her feelings changed.
After hesitating for several seconds, Penelope finally gathered enough courage to speak.
"M-Mr. Lackey..." she muttered quietly. "I know this might be overstepping my place, but... I think you should cherish your life a little more."
A faint smile curved beneath the rabbit mask.
"Oh?" Lackey leaned slightly closer, resting his chin against one hand.
"If you’re saying it like that... then I’ll definitely try being more careful."
His playful tone carried a warmth that instantly caught her off guard.
"..."
Penelope stared at him blankly, completely dumbfounded by how easily he accepted her words.
Something felt strange.
Why would someone like him listen so seriously to her concerns?
Before she could properly process it, Lackey spoke again.
"Then in exchange..." he said slowly, "will you take care of your own life as well?"
Penelope froze.
"Cherish your life too... maybe even more than just a little."
Her eyes slowly turned glassy as her vision blurred faintly. Sitting across from him beneath the warm restaurant lights, Penelope suddenly felt as though something broken deep inside her was being carefully pieced back together... little by little... piece by piece.
The feeling frightened her.
She lowered her head and continued eating quietly, avoiding his gaze while her mind spiralled into complete chaos once again. The silver fork trembled lightly between her fingers.
Why...?
Why was this happening to her?
Love itself wasn’t unfamiliar to Penelope. Yet this feeling growing inside her chest felt entirely different from anything she had ever experienced.
It was warm.
Painful.
Sweet enough to make her afraid.
When she first saw him standing in that corridor, her legs had moved toward him before her thoughts could even catch up. She had never behaved like that before in her entire life.
When he spoke to her, her voice shook helplessly as if one wrong word might ruin whatever fragile connection existed between them. Even now, she carefully chose every sentence around him, terrified of accidentally creating distance between them.
And whenever he teased her with that calm, playful tone... her heart fluttered uncontrollably with embarrassment and happiness mixed together.
It was terrifying how natural that desire felt.
However... all those feelings transformed into fear the moment reality entered her mind.
The moment she remembered who he was becoming.
Mr. Lackey was no longer an unknown nobody hidden in the shadows.
After Amara Rosavere publicly acknowledged him, his name had already begun echoing across multiple Empires like the start of a rising storm. Nobles, merchants, scholars, rulers... everyone had started paying attention to the mysterious man behind impossible technology and revolutionary artifacts.
It wouldn’t be long before he stood at the very top beside the rulers of entire nations.
Perhaps... even higher than them.
With his terrifying intellect and creations, who knew how far he would rise in the future? Wealth, influence, power, fame... everything seemed destined to gather around him naturally.
He was someone born for greatness.
Someone capable of changing the world itself.
And her...?
Penelope’s fingers slowly tightened beneath the table.
Unlike him, she had been born with nothing. She became nobody... lived as nobody... and someday she would probably disappear as nobody too.
That was simply reality.
Meanwhile, his name would spread across the world like history itself.
Songs, rumours, admiration, fear... people would remember him long after death.
And eventually, someone worthy of standing beside him would appear too.
A beautiful woman.
A talented woman.
Someone noble, intelligent, elegant, accomplished... someone capable of proudly walking beside a man destined for greatness.
That was how the world worked.
And honestly... wasn’t that how it should work?
People needed to understand their own worth before choosing their partners. Penelope had learned that lesson in the cruellest way possible long ago.
Compared to him, her worth probably wouldn’t even reach the dust beneath his feet.
She was already relying on his kindness too much.
She had already lost nearly everything before meeting him. Her dignity. Her self-respect. Her confidence.
Even the ability to see value within herself.
So what exactly did she possess that could ever allow her to stand beside someone like him?
The very thought felt laughably ridiculous.
How foolish... for a nobody like her to even dream about standing beside someone destined to become extraordinary.
This was utterly impossible.
What if he liked her?
Yeah right... Like hell he would.
Penelope never wanted to admit it aloud before, but she had noticed his servant countless times already. Even though the woman’s body remained completely wrapped beneath that black suit, it still failed to hide those unfair curves underneath.
That slim waist that naturally drew attention.
Those wide hips that looked beautifully mature and feminine.
That well-developed chest capable of making even other women feel jealous.
The servant carried herself with calm confidence and terrifying elegance, yet despite all of that... she was still merely working under him.
Compared to someone like that, what exactly did Penelope even have?
Her gaze slowly lowered toward her own chest before her lips curled into a bitter smile. Even there, she barely managed to look modest enough to pass unnoticed. The rest of her figure wasn’t anything remarkable either.
No... saying "not remarkable" felt too generous.
She was below average.
Barely enough.
Whether people wanted to admit it or not, appearance always came first.
People loved pretending personality and soul mattered more than looks, but Penelope no longer believed such comforting lies.
Those were just words created by people wanting to feel better.
Reality was crueller.
The world judged appearances first before anything else.
Always!
’And here I am actually thinking he might like me...’
A hollow laugh echoed inside her mind. Bitter and Broken.
Her expression slowly darkened as painful memories surfaced unwillingly from the depths of her heart. Even the person who ruined her before had possessed a beautiful face and an attractive body.
Someone far better than her in every visible way.
Unlike her.
’Just stop thinking about it...’ she told herself quietly. ’He’s only being kind.’
That was all this was.
Kindness.
Nothing more.
Even while forcing those thoughts away, a dull pain continued spreading through her chest. Still, she convinced herself this was for the best.
She had nothing meaningful to offer him.
If anything, she would probably only become a burden someday... someone constantly relying on his kindness while giving nothing back.
Because in the end... she was nobody anyway.
So why desperately reach for a fruit that was never meant for you in the first place?
Her fingers tightened slightly beneath the table.
Ever since that day, Penelope had secretly started wearing makeup each morning before leaving the house. Not too much. Just enough to maybe appear prettier.
A foolish little hope lingered inside her heart every time.
Maybe he would notice.
Maybe he would say she looked nice today.
Maybe even a small compliment... anything at all.
Yet when he met her, Lackey never mentioned her appearance even once.
It wasn’t like she wanted endless praise.
Maybe... she simply wanted him to notice her.
That alone would have been enough.
Noticing the complicated emotions flickering across her face, Lackey slowly reached his hand across the table. His fingers gently wrapped around hers with surprising warmth.
"Do you have something you want to say?" he asked softly.
!!
Penelope instantly snapped out of her spiralling thoughts. Her widened eyes stared at him in shock while his warm hand continued holding hers gently.
That sincerity inside his voice... that quiet concern in his expression... it squeezed her heart so painfully tight that her emotions completely collapsed.
Before she could stop herself...
"I love you, Lackey"
The words escaped her lips.
"...??"
Even Lackey froze beneath the rabbit mask.
