The One and Only Sami Chapter 45

When he handed over the cleaning tools, Razard looked down at the broom—which had tassels woven so regularly it created a translucent, swirling floral pattern—and shrugged.

“I’m not making fun of you; I gave them to you to enjoy. Playthings are supposed to be pretty, aren’t they? Don’t you think these are the perfect tools for playing house?”

“It’s not ‘play.’ I sincerely want to work.”

“Then all the more reason to use these. You’re only cleaning this room, so what does it matter? I refuse to have anything ugly in my bedroom.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t I be the first thing to leave this room?”

Razard, who had been twirling the broom handle, let his lips curl into a long, slow smirk.

“You, ugly? Are you insulting my taste right now?”

His ring-clad hand tucked the broom back into the cleaning kit. He said those words while maintaining that same mischievous, beaming face.

“Sami. You are the most precious thing here. Even now, I’m doing my best to hide you away so no one steals you.”

“…Liar.”

The word came out reflexively.

Razard didn’t exactly treat Sami with the “precious” care he claimed.

If he were truly a precious existence, Razard wouldn’t have brought him here in a way that felt like a kidnapping from his hard-working life at the Salif estate. And even after bringing him here, he didn’t think a master would choose to torment him in such a way.

Even if that was a method to keep others from noticing him.

Whether that disbelief showed in his eyes or not, Razard met Sami’s pouting face, raised both hands lightly to shoulder height, and burst into laughter.

“Fine. Well, it’s alright if you don’t believe me. If you don’t know it yourself, then in a way, I’m glad.”

The gem-encrusted rings on his ten fingers sparkled brilliantly. That hand reached out and rubbed Sami’s nose with a light tap.

“A person who doesn’t know their own value can easily disguise that value when shown to others.”

Suddenly, Sami felt the urge to snap back with a question.

Precious? How much? More than the Marut on your finger?

But he didn’t ask. He had spent twenty years as a quick-witted and clever servant before being sold as Harut’s pet human. Sami knew better than to say anything that might upset his master.

So that day, he merely wore a dubious expression and accepted Razard’s stroking touch. It was only now, as he rummaged through the cleaning tools, that he grumbled to himself.

I should have asked.

“Especially this duster—it’s ridiculous. What’s with these green feathers? Aren’t they huge?”

As Sami spent a good while complaining while picking up and putting down the tools, Ratun and Akum slinked over and rubbed their cheeks against his shoulders.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sami buried his hands in their thick fur and patted them. “You guys are the only ones who comfort me, really.”

“Ratun, Akum. Do you want a brushing?”

He wanted to shower them with affection, but unfortunately, there was nothing like a brush for animals inside the porcelain box decorated with beautiful flowers. Feeling bad, he scratched them under the chin and started to say “Sorry,” but as if they understood his intent, they rubbed against him a few more times before lumbering out of the bedroom. They were intelligent animals.

It was a bit lonely to see the only two friends he could “talk” to in this palace disappear, but he had to send them away to get his work done.

“Alright.”

Sami began tidying the room without letting his trailing, elaborate clothes or the ridiculous cleaning tools discourage him.

He used the duster made of loud feathers to sweep the bed and collect Ratun and Akum’s fur, and he dusted the ornaments on the display case one by one. He even took the incense burner from under the bed and wiped it down with a beautiful scrap of cloth soaked in water.

Every time the cleaning supplies—which looked more like fine art—got dirty, his heart grew anxious. The more he cleaned, the more it felt like a losing game…

Still, he didn’t stop. Aside from the animal fur that had just been scattered, the bedroom was spotless. It wasn’t exactly necessary labor, but Sami was simply grateful for a series of tasks that helped him forget his current situation.

Because he took his time to rub every surface meticulously, his pace was a bit slower than his usual brisk movements.

It felt like quite a bit of time had passed, but Razard still hadn’t arrived. Usually, he would have shown up by now.

“I should sweep the floor too…”

The handle of the broom, despite its fancy carvings, was wrapped tightly in high-quality silk.

He’s definitely making fun of me. Just as Sami was sweeping away with a sullen look on his face…

“…?”

A small bead was rolling around on the floor by the bedroom door. When he picked it up, it felt slippery to the touch and gave off a faint floral scent. He looked around to see if it was a decoration that had fallen off something, but he couldn’t see any spot meant for such a tiny bead.

As he rolled the bead in his palm with a puzzled look, a soft, delicate voice drifted in cautiously from outside the door.

“Is anyone there?”

“…!”

“Forgive me. I dropped something I was holding…”

A voice. A real voice was echoing in.

“By my mistake, it rolled into Harut’s bedroom.”

It was a woman’s voice, perhaps one of the maids who cleaned the palace. Since it was the first time someone had spoken to him in a long while, Sami was flustered and could only listen quietly to the words from outside.

“By any chance, did a green bead fall nearby?”

Startled, Sami examined the bead in his hand. The small sphere was glowing with a deep green light.

The voice, trembling as if frightened, was full of distress.

“Unauthorized people cannot enter the ruler’s noble space, so I dare not set foot in the bedroom myself, but…”

Sami blinked while holding the bead.

Razard had told him that before. He said this room was a space that could not be entered without Harut’s permission, so there was no need to hide Sami, and they could talk openly about deeper secrets here.

“If you would permit me for a moment, may I come in to pick it up?”

Sami was quite panicked by the fragile voice coming from beyond the door.

As a pet human, he wasn’t supposed to talk to others. But he held a lost item that clearly belonged to that woman in his hand, and he couldn’t just keep his mouth shut and act like he didn’t know. He wasn’t even sure if he was in a position to give “permission” or not.

In his anxiety, he just kept fingering the bead in his hand.

Is it okay for me to answer? He told me not to answer if someone asked for my name, but I don’t think he said I shouldn’t speak at all.

While Sami debated, the presence outside the door seemed to wait for him patiently.

Finally, Sami made up his mind and put his hand on the doorknob. He opened it just a tiny crack, barely enough for a wrist to pass through. Even though he was the one who twisted the door open, making a gap no wider than a span of a hand gave him a heart-thumping sense of transgression. A draft of wind blew through the open crack.

“…”

Without saying a word, Sami poked his hand holding the bead through the gap and held it out.

It was quiet for a moment on the other side. Then, a low chuckle drifted through the crack.

Hearing that laughter made him curious about what kind of face the person outside had, but somehow he felt like he shouldn’t speak further or make eye contact. He didn’t want to give any reason for his master—who was jealous, fickle, and expected what he raised to obey him alone—to find fault.

“Thank you.”

“…Yes.”

He answered before he could stop himself and quickly clamped his hand over his mouth.

The fingers that took the bead were slender and cold. That hand lightly covered the back of Sami’s hand as if expressing gratitude, before sliding away. He heard no footsteps, but he felt the sound of thin fabric brushing together as the presence moved further away.

“Haah…”

Sami slid down with his back against the door and sat on the floor. It had only been that small amount of contact, but his heart was pounding.

He had heard a voice addressed to him for the first time in ages. That in itself was strange and exciting. He had even helped someone and heard them say thank you.

“I’m the one who’s grateful…”

After speaking with “someone,” even for a brief moment, it hit him anew. This life of being treated only as Razard’s pet was indeed lonely.

Perhaps it was because of this that he felt an unconscious goodwill toward the person who had eased that feeling, even just a little.

Questions like why a mere maid was able to come all the way to the front of Harut’s bedroom alone, or why she naturally assumed the presence inside wasn’t Harut… several suspicious points began to sprout as questions inside Sami, only to be buried and pushed aside.

⚜️

When Razard returned, he found Sami crumpled up like a balled-up piece of bread.