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Chapter: 16
Chirp, chirp!
I woke up to the sound of birdsong, louder than usual in the morning.
I feel unusually light today.
I could roughly guess why.
Is it because of everything I managed to do yesterday?
Yesterday was my first outing to Potrum Street, and I got quite a lot done.
Shopping for clothes with Bell, dealing with thugs, picking up Tev, and even getting processed Sugram grass ingredients from the herb shop!
After spending the same monotonous days in the west wing, maybe doing so much all at once made the day feel especially fulfilling.
“Hoo.”
As usual, I finished my mana breathing and stretched, thinking to myself.
I should check on Tev in the guest room to see if he’s doing okay. Then I’ll come back and try processing the Sugram grass.
When I tugged on the bell cord, Bell brought me lukewarm water as always.
“Bell, what’s Tev doing right now?”
“That boy?”
I expected her to say he was sleeping, or resting.
But Bell’s irritated reply was completely unexpected.
“He woke up earlier and just stood still in the hallway! People were whispering, asking who he was and complaining that he was in the way, but he didn’t move at all.”
“……He’s just standing in the hallway?”
“Yes! He’s right outside.”
When I opened the door, Tev really was standing there blankly, just as Bell said.
“Tev?”
At my call, his unfocused gaze shifted toward me.
“……”
The haze in his eyes cleared.
“What are you doing here?”
“……So it wasn’t.”
“Huh?”
“No. Never mind.”
Muttering to himself, Tev strode straight toward me.
“So what do I do now?”
His eyes said he didn’t care what it was.
As if I’d planned to order you around.
I’d brought him here saying I’d hire him, but I hadn’t explained anything—and yet Tev was far too compliant.
“Well… what do you think I’m going to make you do?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Tev frowned. The faint wound near his eye twitched along with the movement.
That injury bothered me, so I stared at it. After staying silent for a while, Tev muttered,
“I can do any kind of physical labor. And… my face, too.”
“……? Your face?”
When I asked, his ears turned red.
“I heard some noblewomen keep good-looking boys around.”
Ah.
Only then did I understand what he meant.
It wasn’t unheard of for women to carry handsome men around like accessories. But those were usually middle-aged noble ladies, or people with very… particular tastes.
Wait. How does he even know that?
“That’s not it. And even if it were, I couldn’t take you anywhere looking like that.”
“What? What’s wrong with my face?!”
Tev snapped back. His confident tone made it clear he knew he was handsome.
“……Don’t tell me you’re into—”
“If I walked around with a boy whose face is covered in bruises and wounds, all sorts of weird rumors would start. Besides, carrying around a young boy is strange enough to begin with.”
“Oh.”
Tev rubbed the area near the injury on his face. I asked him,
“What about the medicine we got from the herb shop yesterday? Where is it?”
“In my room.”
“Did you apply it? They said it heals faster if you use it morning and night.”
“……No.”
Hmm.
He couldn’t apply it by himself? Just like yesterday?
“Let’s go to your room.”
“What? Why?”
Why is he panicking?
“Why do you think? You need to put the medicine on.”
***
Tev felt the warmth of fingers touching the area near his eye as his thoughts drifted.
I thought it was a dream.
When he woke up this morning, a high, ornate ceiling greeted him.
At first, he thought he’d been kidnapped. But once he gathered his senses, he remembered Sylvia bringing him to the Atlante Ducal Estate yesterday.
After arriving, he washed cleanly at Sylvia’s instruction, put on new clothes, and ate a generous, delicious meal. She told him he’d be staying here for a while and led him to a large room where he could lie down on a soft bed.
Through it all, Tev kept pinching his cheek, wondering if he was dreaming.
Even though his swollen cheek stung before he fell asleep, nothing felt real.
That must be why he felt so anxious when he woke up.
What if it was all a dream?
What if everything from yesterday was imaginary? What if meeting Sylvia had only been a fantasy?
That was why he’d gone outside without thinking.
Overhearing the servants, he learned that Sylvia’s room was on the second floor, but he didn’t dare enter it. Instead, he waited nearby.
His stubborn waiting was rewarded when he finally saw her face.
Seeing her still dazzling as ever, a mix of relief and satisfaction washed over his chest.
It wasn’t a dream.
After calming his flustered thoughts and exchanging a short conversation with her, he somehow found himself back in the same room where he’d woken up.
The same high, ornate ceiling.
Dark wallpaper.
Large, luxurious furniture.
A room that felt unfamiliar and intimidating, as though touching anything might break it.
This place doesn’t suit me.
But the Sylvia standing before him fit into it like a painting.
“It doesn’t hurt, right?”
“……Yeah.”
“You’ll heal faster if you apply it regularly. Once it’s all better, I’ll tell you what you’ll be doing here.”
What exactly does this woman want from me?
Tev quietly stared into Sylvia’s blue eyes. Eyes as clear as the open sky met his gaze.
“What? Do you have something to say?”
“……”
“Is there something on my face?”
“No.”
“Then what is it? Why do you keep staring?”
“……When do we eat breakfast?”
“Breakfast?”
Tilting her head, Sylvia smiled brightly.
“You’re good at taking care of your share, huh? Pretty sharp. Don’t worry—yesterday I told the chef—”
Knock, knock.
At the heavy knocking sound, Sylvia turned toward the door, and Tev reflexively frowned.
“Come in.”
“My lady.”
The man who entered was a middle-aged stranger to Tev.
His hair was streaked with gray, and gentle wrinkles lined his face, but overall he looked neat and strong.
He bowed gracefully yet cleanly toward Sylvia.
“……The butler?”
At Sylvia’s murmur, Tev realized who he was.
So he’s not the Duke of Atlante.
Looking closely, he didn’t resemble Sylvia at all.
Losing interest once he knew the man wasn’t family, Tev looked away.
Meanwhile, Butler Bent carefully observed the unfamiliar boy Sylvia was personally treating.
So this is the child the young lady brought back yesterday…
The estate had been thrown into an uproar by the news that Sylvia had returned from a secret outing with a filthy commoner child.
The shock was even greater because the child was a boy—and an especially handsome one.
The servants whispered endlessly about what could have driven her to bring a commoner boy home.
From his informants, the butler guessed that Sylvia had taken pity on a boy being beaten by thugs.
The old Sylvia would have scowled at the idea of a street child being dirty, but she had changed recently.
The Sylvia who now treated servants with kindness and generosity could certainly feel compassion for a boy being beaten right in front of her.
Seeing the two together confirmed his suspicions.
Judging by her eyes and demeanor, she clearly didn’t bring him here with impure intentions.
Feeling somewhat relieved, the butler spoke.
“The master has summoned you.”
“Now?”
“He asked that you come as soon as you were awake.”
“……I understand.”
Answering reluctantly, Sylvia sniffed and let out a small sigh.
Seeing her expression darken, Tev’s face stiffened as well.
“Alright. You’ll have to apply the rest yourself. There’s a mirror in your room, so don’t forget to use the medicine every day. Okay?”
Treated like a child, Tev accepted the medicine without replying.
“Let’s go, Butler.”
Sylvia turned away without hesitation and left the room.
Tev stood still, medicine in hand, staring at the door she had disappeared through.
The butler watched him with a curious look, then quietly closed the door and followed after Sylvia.
***
This was my second time in the Duke’s office.
In Sylvia’s memories, she’d come here several times before, but she’d been too tense back then to remember anything.
The first time I came here myself, I hadn’t had the presence of mind to look around either—so this was really the first time I was properly seeing the room.
As I examined it quietly…
Something felt off.
Bare walls without a single painting. Bookshelves arranged perfectly by size and color. A floor so polished you couldn’t find a speck of dust.
Even the desk—everything on it aligned at precise angles.
Everything was excessively clean and perfect.
Too perfect.
……Does the Duke have some kind of obsession?
The thought crossed my mind briefly, then I dismissed it.
Whether he has obsessive tendencies or not has nothing to do with me.
If there’s one thing that does concern me, it’s his habit of calling someone in and then leaving them standing there like they’re being punished.
“If you were planning to make me stand as punishment, you didn’t need to summon me all the way here.”
Only then did the Duke, who had been reading documents the entire time, respond.
“I told you to stay put, yet you disobeyed.”
“If you mean confinement… as I recall, you specified until Eirin’s arm healed.”
The Duke’s hand paused mid-page.
“Eirin’s arm has healed.”
He lifted his gaze from the papers and stared at me with his signature cold, emotionless eyes.
Not the contempt from our first meeting—but not warmth either.
If the old Sylvia were facing that gaze, she’d probably be trembling in fear.
Instead of flinching, I met his eyes head-on.
The Duke frowned slightly and spoke.
“Why did you shield Eirin on Potrum Street?”
“……How did you know?”
“Answer the question.”
So he has no intention of telling me how he found out.
I had a rough idea anyway.
He must have a personal intelligence network. Other nobles secretly have them—there’s no way the Duke of Atlante wouldn’t.
And if the information came from such a network, he’d never reveal the source.
An intelligence organization only has value if no one knows about it.
Pressing him further would be pointless.
So I changed tactics.
“It seems you’ve finally grown curious about me.”
