[V15C3] The Library Lord's Philosophy of Cute

“Claudia, I have something to ask you. Please answer me honestly.”

Cyril Ashley was currently visiting his step-sister Claudia, who had married into the Maywood family.

The drawing room of the Maywood mansion was a simple room, mainly decorated with landscape paintings and wildflowers. Currently, the only people present were Claudia, Cyril, and a servant preparing tea. Baron Maywood and Neil were probably still out for work.

Claudia sat in the seat opposite Cyril without saying a word. But since she had not said anything like “please see yourself out”, it was probably safe to continue the conversation.

Cyril clasped his fingers on top of the table with the expression of a philosopher facing an unsolvable problem. His question to Claudia was…

“What would you say if I were to call you ‘cute’?”

Claudia pasted a smile on her beautiful face. A smile that conveyed how little she cared about this topic.

“Perhaps ‘how kind of you‘… if I cared in the slightest.”

“I see. Urgh, I should have expected as much…”

Cyril slumped his shoulders and hung his head. Meanwhile, Claudia rubbed her now quite prominent belly and continued in the same bored tone.

“What on earth could have led you to ask such a foolish question? And with a straight face even?”

Cyril pressed his interlaced fingers to his forehead with a pained expression, remembering back to the event from a little while ago.

＊　＊　＊

Two weeks earlier, when Cyril met Monica in Sazandol, he sensed a faint sense of incongruity about her outfit.

When at home or going around Sazandol, Monica typically wore a blouse and skirt, or similarly casual outfits. Then, she would throw a personal robe over her clothes when she needed to visit the Mage Association. She avoided wearing her Sage robes.

That day, Cyril bumped into Monica in a corridor of the Mage Association, while she was wearing a robe over her blouse and skirt. Nothing unusual there.

And yet, her appearance left Cyril with a strange sense of unease.

It was no new outfit; in fact, he had seen the blouse before. But something felt different. The feeling ate at him like an itch he couldn’t reach.

What could it be? Cyril kept staring at Monica after saying hello, until eventually, he noticed Monica fidgeting with her fingers in visible discomfort.

Staring at a woman was extremely rude. Cyril quickly apologized for his mistake and shared what was bothering him.

“Forgive me for staring. It’s just… your outfit, it somehow seems different from before…”

Upon hearing that, Monica’s face lit up, and she ran her fingers along the neckline of her blouse.

Her slightly puffy blouse was adorned with a layer of white lace, and there was a ribbon with a pearl button on her collar.

“Oh! It must be this. The detachable collar…”

Cyril was a bit surprised. The collar had blended so naturally with her blouse that it looked like part of the original design.

Apparently, the detachable collar was the piece of lace worn beneath the blouse’s neckline. The ribbon and pearl button were part of it too.

“It’s a collar designed to peek out like this from under the blouse… Lana picked it out for me.”

Monica explained with a smile like a blooming flower.

The next moment, Cyril felt as though there was a box of emotions in his chest, and the lid to that box suddenly burst off, sending everything flying out. Finally, a single word tumbled out from the bottom of the box. His honest opinion.

——Cute.

Cyril quickly swallowed the word down before it could exit his throat.

He had never been the type of man to voice such compliments, so suddenly calling her “cute” was sure to leave Monica confused. She would wonder what had gotten into him.

Besides, it was insincere to start complimenting now, just because he realized his feelings for her.

…After wrestling with his thoughts, Cyril shoved the word back into his chest, slammed the lid shut, and put on his usual composure.

“I see,” he said with a stern nod, as though he was acknowledging a business report.

“Yes,” Monica replied, following suit with a nod of her own.

And with that, their conversation came to an end.

＊　＊　＊

(It’s fine to call a small animal ‘cute’, as there is no ulterior motive. But I would be impure if I say Monica is cute. When exactly does the impurity get embedded into the word ‘cute’? Is it the moment I think she’s cute? Or the moment I realize my feelings for her? Do people fall in love because they think someone is cute, or do they think someone is cute because they’ve fallen in love…?)

Which comes first, the cute or the love? Cyril’s thoughts started veering into a strange realm of philosophy, but he suddenly snapped back to his senses.

He noticed Claudia staring out the window with an expression that screamed her disinterest.

Cyril quickly cleared his throat and put on the face of a dignified older brother.

“Claudia, for example… if someone called your detachable collar cute, how would you feel?”

Claudia blinked in slight surprise, then gently brushed a finger over her neckline.

“Hmm? You actually noticed that this was a detachable collar?”

“Oh? It was?”

“…”

Claudia’s eyes turned icy cold. He had screwed up big time.

Cyril tried to smooth over the awkward air by taking a sip of the tea.

“…Monica would be happy with any compliment,” Claudia muttered. “As long as it’s something Lana Colette picked for her.”

Cyril nearly choked on his tea.

He hadn’t even mentioned Monica’s name. How did she know?

(No, wait. More importantly… if what Claudia says is true…)

Lana had picked out the detachable collar Monica was wearing. And, according to Claudia, Monica would be happy to hear praise for anything chosen by Lana.

(Doesn’t that mean she’s just happy to see Miss Colette being complimented…?)

It wasn’t hard to imagine Monica connecting the praise for her hairstyle or accessories directly to “Lana got praised! I’m so happy!”

(…No. That’s not it. That’s not what I was trying to say.)

As Cyril buried his head in his hands again, there came a knock at the door, and Mrs. Maywood stepped into the room. She was Neil’s mother and Claudia’s mother-in-law.

Mrs. Maywood was a petite woman with soft brown hair tied loosely behind her head. She looked far younger than her age, just like her husband, Baron Maywood.

When standing next to Neil, they looked more like siblings than parent and child. It was hard to believe they would soon become grandparents.

“Hello there, Cyril-sama. Thank you for preparing so many gifts for the baby.”

“You are very welcome. If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask. I heard that the due date is next month, so I’ll make sure everything arrives in time.”

Cyril quickly tucked away his frustration and returned to a proper face. Meanwhile, Mrs. Maywood continued the conversation with a bright smile.

Though a naturally talkative woman, she also knew how to be considerate. With people who preferred to be alone, like Claudia, Mrs. Maywood was always mindful of them. This allowed her to maintain a good relationship with her daughter-in-law.

“Cyril-sama,” Mrs. Maywood continued. “Will you be returning to the Highown domain after this?”

“Actually, I plan to stay in the capital for a while. I have some work at the Library Society.”

After a slight pause, Cyril decided to ask about her opinion as well.

“Mrs. Maywood, if you will forgive me for asking about a personal matter…”

“Yes? What is it?”

“In a private context… if a woman is called ‘cute’ by a man she doesn’t have special feelings for, do you think she would find it unpleasant?”

Mrs. Maywood seemed considerate enough to accept strange questions like this one. In that sense, she was the exact opposite of Claudia.

Moreover, she was the type of woman to give her honest opinion rather than what the other person wanted to hear.

“Well, some women would be happy,” Mrs. Maywood replied. “The word ‘cute’ can be interpreted as an expression of affection. However, others may feel uneasy or even frightened, suspecting an ulterior motive behind it… In the end, I suppose it depends on how much she trusts the man.”

Her words hit Cyril like a bolt of lightning.

——…Frightened… Suspecting an ulterior motive…

She was exactly right. From the woman’s perspective, it was natural to be suspicious of hidden intentions from a man she didn’t trust.

(For example… if it were him…)

If Isaac were to tell Monica she was cute, then she wouldn’t be scared of him. The two had a solid foundation of trust between them.

(I’ll need to keep a close eye on what I say from now on. I can build my trust with her until we reach that point, step by step.)

Cyril was now fully aware of the ulterior motives growing within him. He sometimes had difficulty restraining them.

What if those feelings ended up frightening or hurting Monica? The mere thought of the possibility felt like a thorn in his chest.

(I must never let my jealousy or impurity cause Monica any pain.)

——He loved her, so he wanted to be kind to her. To cherish her.

Do not forget this feeling, Cyril told himself internally.

＊　＊　＊

Claudia simply watched as her brother went through a whirlwind of faces—shocked, groaning, realization, etc. Then, she let out a soft murmur.

“…When someone is filled with doubt, ‘keeping things the way they are’ is a very tempting choice, isn’t it?”

Cyril’s shoulders gave a visible twitch, and Mrs. Maywood responded with a nod.

“True, though there are times when you want them to take a step forward. I think Neil was like that before, right, Claudia-san?”

“No, dear mother-in-law. Neil has always been wonderful to me… He’s decisive and knows when to take action.”

“My my. Ufufu.”

Unaware that the two had teamed up to tease him, Cyril went through another cycle of funny faces.

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