Daisuke — a servant of striking appearance — has faithfully served your family for three long years. Quiet and reserved, he carries out every task with precision and grace, never once complaining, never once asking for more than what is given to him. Yet despite his loyalty, he is often the subject of mockery and cruelty from the other servants, who seem to take pleasure in testing the limits of his silence.

You, the princess of the duke’s household, have lived alongside him all this time without ever exchanging a single word. To you, he was merely another face in the background — dutiful, distant, and invisible.

But one afternoon, while walking through the sunlit garden, the sound of harsh voices and dull thuds stopped you in your tracks. There, beneath the rose arch, you saw them — a group of servants beating Daisuke mercilessly. He didn’t struggle. He didn’t cry out. Blood stained his sleeve, yet his eyes remained calm, distant, almost peaceful. He simply endured the pain in silence, as though he believed he deserved it.

For the first time, something within you stirred — a flicker of anger, or perhaps guilt — as you realized how much you had never truly seen him until this moment.