IFBD 13

Chapter : 13

“Ugh, t-that scared me…….”

In the Fria Tine mansion, Valle had become sensitive to sudden noises because her family often shouted even over the smallest mistakes.

So when Wayne’s low voice suddenly rang out, her heart nearly dropped.

Her chest still felt faintly numb as she clenched both hands tightly and tried to steady her breathing with a deep inhale.

Only then did she feel a gaze above her head and slowly lifted her eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

She met Wayne’s red eyes directly—eyes narrowed slightly, brows faintly furrowed as he looked down at her.

That was when Valle realized she had been leaning comfortably against his firm thigh, resting her head and back without noticing.

Startled, she quickly pushed herself away and stood up.

“I-I’m sorry. I just got really surprised for a moment and lost my strength……”

While Valle hurriedly apologized, Wayne only stared at her silently.

Those burning eyes stayed fixed on her without a single tremor, and Valle’s face grew warm with embarrassment.

She lowered her head slightly and fanned her cheeks with her hand, when Wayne suddenly asked.

“Was it hot?”

“Pardon?”

“When you were leaning on me.”

Only after a moment did Valle understand what he meant. She quickly lowered her hand and shook her head.

“No, not at all.”

Everyone in the Empire treated Wayne like a ticking time bomb.

Because fire attribute mages, when they went berserk, died in magical overloads that made their bodies explode—leaving nothing behind, not even ashes.

And the explosions were so massive that they could erase five three-story mansions without a trace.

There had even been cases where a fire mage, while being dressed by a servant, went berserk and caused innocent lives to be lost.

Because of incidents like that, fire mages had become objects of fear and avoidance.

Even on the day Wayne died in Valle’s previous life, more people felt relief that “the final bomb” had disappeared than sorrow over losing the captain of the Imperial Special Unit Zero.

Remembering how no one approached Wayne at imperial palace parties, Valle quickly shook her head more firmly.

“Not even a little. You were so solid it felt like I was leaning against a big tree—it was really comfortable.”

She didn’t want to show fear to Wayne, especially since she knew exactly when he would die.

But instead, he looked annoyed.

“I didn’t ask for your impression of my body.”

“…I-it wasn’t an evaluation.”

Embarrassed that her concern had gone too far, Valle looked away, her face burning for a different reason.

Wayne quietly smiled while she wasn’t looking and checked the magic measurement device in his pocket.

The needle hadn’t moved.

Was it just a coincidence? Wayne raised one eyebrow, clenched the device briefly, then put it away again. Then he glanced at the landscape sketch Valle had drawn.

He had told her to complete just one flowerbed, but she was already planning the entire mansion’s gardens.

“So you think you’ve already passed the second test.”

“That’s not it…… I just thought even if I fail, I wanted someone else to complete the garden properly, so I was drawing the whole layout.”

Wayne’s eyes widened slightly at her answer.

He had been informed that Valle hadn’t left her room since arriving at the mansion yesterday.

Was becoming a gardener just an excuse to escape the Fria Tine family?

He had no intention of indulging a runaway game, and if she showed laziness, he planned to send her away immediately.

But Valle was thinking about the mansion more than he was.

“…For someone who arrived yesterday, you learned the exterior garden quickly.”

Startled, she quickly averted her gaze.

In truth, she had visited so often in her previous life that she naturally remembered the layout of the entire estate.

“The m-maids explained it very thoroughly, so I was able to memorize it quickly.”

“Good. You’re planning to plant about 300 seedlings in one flowerbed?”

“Yes, I think that much is needed for it to look vibrant.”

“And each of those flowers will require magic infusion… it would take over a month.”

“…I’ll practice magic a lot too.”

Her bright expression from talking about flowers darkened the moment magic was mentioned.

She tried to hide it, but her large blue eyes wavered and the ends of her thin eyebrows drooped.

Wayne briefly looked away, wondering what expression she would show next.

Just then—

“Your Grace!”

Piru came running from the mansion gate.

“Why do you keep climbing out through the windows when there’s a door?! I’ve told you many times not to do that—you could get hurt!”

Even from a distance, the nagging began, and Wayne naturally turned his back slightly.

“What if your temperature rises again from using magic?”

“It hurts if I don’t use it either.”

“Are you alright right now?”

Breathing heavily, Piru circled Wayne and checked on him, then met Valle’s eyes beside him.

Valle smiled and greeted him, and Piru awkwardly looked away.

“Hello, Sir Piru.”

“…Yes. Well, I can’t say I’m doing extremely well.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re wearing the clothes His Grace gave you even though you said you didn’t like them.”

At that, Valle only then remembered and bowed slightly toward Wayne.

“Now that you mention it, thank you so much for the clothes. I didn’t expect such a gift. I’ll treasure them.”

At her polite, sincere voice, the two men exchanged glances.

Kanna had clearly said she threw the clothes away because she didn’t like them. But Valle was acting completely differently.

Was this the truth—or was it an act?

Wayne composed his expression again and looked at Valle.

“Do you like the clothes?”

“They’re very comfortable to move in.”

“Then why did you cut the sleeves?”

“Pardon? They came already cut—I just repaired them……”

“What? That can’t—”

Before Piru could continue, Wayne raised his hand slightly, signaling him to stop.

“Did you use the ointment that came with them? It would help the swelling on your cheek.”

“Ointment…?”

Valle blinked as if hearing it for the first time.

Wayne examined the slight swelling on her cheek, then turned to Piru.

“You didn’t deliver it?”

“I-I definitely did. You should have received it with the dress.”

Piru quickly stepped closer as if asking for confirmation.

Worried he would be blamed, Valle bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.

“I-I received it. Sorry, I must have forgotten for a moment.”

It felt easier to take responsibility herself.

“The blue container, right?”

“Yes, yes, I think so.”

“It was green.”

“…Pardon?”

Wayne tilted his head slightly, arms crossed.

Only then did Valle realize it had been a probing question, but before she could explain—

“Piru Petro.”

Wayne called out in a low voice.

At that cold tone, Piru immediately straightened his posture.

“Yes, Your Grace……”

“Was it Kanna you ordered to deliver it?”

“…Yes.”

“Call her to my office.”

“Understood.”

Piru quickly headed back into the mansion, leaving them alone.

Valle, unable to even lie properly, became anxious that Piru or Kanna might be punished and nervously picked at her nails.

“I-I must have been too focused on the dress and didn’t check properly. I’ll go check again, so please don’t—”

“Valle.”

His quiet tone stopped her mid-sentence.

“Kanna has worked in my mansion for five years. You are still on probation.”

“…I know.”

“My staff risk their lives working with me. That’s why I have no intention of casting them aside.”

“…….”

“If misunderstandings arise between you, who suddenly came here, and my staff, I will naturally side with them.”

In the same situation, Valle would have done the same, so she nodded.

“However, I was the one who brought you here, so I take responsibility.”

“…What kind of responsibility?”

What was he going to say? Was he going to tell her to leave if she couldn’t get along with the staff?

Valle’s mind filled with anxiety.

“I will ask you only once, so answer honestly.”

Wayne stepped closer.

The distance between them shrank, and their eyes became clearly visible to each other.

He looked down into Valle’s calm, sea-blue eyes and asked:

“Is Kanna bullying you?”