WCMP 48

At the moment the word “dragon” left my mouth, Sebani’s gaze dropped downward.

Without thinking, I followed the direction of her eyes.

At the end of her gaze was Yulen—perhaps because his existence had been discovered—looking utterly dejected. He lay in a loaf-like position like a cat, staring straight at us.

As soon as he noticed our eyes on him, he slowly got up and spoke.

“…It’s my fault. I knew someone was coming, but they unlocked the door and came in, so I thought it was you, Ellie, and didn’t bother hiding.”

“No. It’s my fault for hiding you so carelessly in the first place, so neither you nor Sebani should worry. Okay?”

Even after I said that, both of them still looked gloomy.

Seeing them like that, I let out a deep sigh inwardly. What a situation.

To lighten the mood, I decided to introduce them properly.

“Since you’ve met like this, let me formally introduce you. This is Yulen. As you can see, he’s a dragon, and due to certain circumstances, I’m taking care of him.”

When I introduced Yulen to Sebani, she gave a polite bow and said,

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. As I mentioned earlier, I am Sebani Tuna, the young lady’s personal maid.”

“…Right. I’m Yulen.”

“Yes, Lord Yulen.”

Come to think of it, it seemed they had already exchanged names earlier while sitting together.

Seeing Sebani give a faint smile toward Yulen, I felt relieved and added,

“I can’t explain everything in detail, but this must remain a secret from everyone except you and Eva. Of course, even from my father.”

“Yes! I won’t tell anyone, no matter what.”

Then, while I was at it, I called Eva over and introduced Yulen to her as well.

Eva was very expressive—so the moment I mentioned that I was keeping a dragon, she immediately covered her own mouth in shock.

Even though half her face was hidden behind her hand, her flushed, excited expression was obvious. So I gently showed her Yulen, who was wrapped in a blanket in my arms.

“Oh my!! He’s so, so cute!”

Watching Eva bounce around saying how cute Yulen was, I looked down at the little creature in my arms.

Yulen, who had been angrily protesting to Eva—“I’m not cute! This is just because I’m in a juvenile form! Normally I’m majestic and beautiful!”—looked up at me.

His round, sparkling eyes as he stared up at me from my arms… were definitely cute.

“Um, my lady… may I hold Lord Dragon just once?”

Eva asked, her eyes shining.

With her hands clasped near her chest and such a desperate expression, I found myself wavering.

But before I could answer, Yulen shouted sharply,

“You should ask me that! Do you think I’m Ellie’s pet or something?!”

“Ah! I’m sorry, Lord Dragon! May I please hold you just once?”

Eva asked again, eyes wide, but Yulen refused coldly.

“No! I’m not some trivial, easy creature that lets just anyone hold me.”

“N-not even once? Not even just once?”

Despite his refusal, Eva didn’t seem ready to give up.

“…If I said no, then it’s no!”

With that, Yulen turned his head sharply away and buried himself in my arms. I couldn’t help but laugh.

His aloofness was absurd, and the situation itself was amusing, so I looked at Eva and then back at him.

“She’s asking so earnestly. Not even once?”

I gestured toward Eva, who looked as though her world had collapsed, shoulders slumped.

Yulen glanced at her with a slightly haughty look.

“No means no. Honestly…”

Yet, perhaps bothered by her, his neatly curled tail began lightly tapping against my arm.

“Eva, Lord Yulen said no. Stop it.”

“But…”

Even when Sebani stepped in to stop her, Eva couldn’t take her eyes off Yulen, still clearly reluctant.

Whether he gave in to her persistence or simply felt sorry for her disappointment, Yulen’s restless tail eventually stopped moving.

“Well… if you do something worthy of praise, I might consider letting you hold me once as a reward.”

At his casual remark, Eva’s head shot up instantly.

“…Really? Really?! If you need anything, you must tell me, okay?! You promise?!”

Like a fish snapping at bait, Eva immediately perked up, brimming with enthusiasm.

It took a while for her to calm down, but in any case, Yulen was now free to roam my room.

Knock, knock—

At the sound of knocking, Yulen, who had been sprawled on the sofa eating a cream puff, quickly stuffed the rest into his mouth and darted under the bed to hide.

He seemed to have gotten quite used to it over the past few days, though it looked a little pitiful.

“Come in.”

I stared at the spot under the bed where Yulen had gone, then turned my gaze to the door.

The head maid greeted me briefly and got straight to the point.

“My lady, I’ve organized the list of riding instructors for the young master, as you requested.”

The day I decided to learn horseback riding from Seirin, I had also thought it would be good for Amon to learn as well, so I had given the order immediately.

Though the report came a bit later than expected, it wasn’t late enough to reprimand, so I simply nodded.

“Alright. Good work.”

I took the list she handed me and opened it right away.

As expected, many nobles had applied again, making the documents quite thick.

“Hm?”

The name on the very first page felt familiar, so I looked closer—then my eyes widened.

“My lady, there is actually something I need to tell you regarding that person.”

The head maid spoke as if she had been waiting for this moment.

I looked up at her, unable to hide my surprise.

“Since this is about selecting a tutor for the young master, we posted the notice favoring male applicants… but that young lady insisted that she must take on the position.”

She continued with a troubled expression.

“Even after we told her it would be difficult, she earnestly requested at least to be granted an interview…”

At that, I checked the resume again.

[Rosny Melanis]

No matter how many times I looked, the name at the top didn’t change.

She was the owner of the salon I had once visited after ordering a large number of clothes for Amon—a place I liked so much that I personally went to buy my own riding outfit. She was also someone with a remarkable passion for riding attire.

“Is this really Lady Rosny?”

Looking through it, she even had awards from riding competitions. Impressive, truly.

I already knew she loved riding clothes.

“But to think she’s this obsessed with riding…”

It even made me wonder if she ran the salon just to make riding outfits.

“…Wait a second.”

Thinking about it, something felt off.

Enjoying riding oneself and teaching others are clearly different matters.

Why would she apply specifically for Amon’s riding instructor position?

Moreover, Rosny was a talented designer capable of running her own salon.

She must be quite busy every day—so why was she so fixated on this position, especially one that favored male applicants?

Curious, I flipped through the other resumes before returning to hers again, staring at it for a long time.

In the end, I surrendered to my curiosity.

“Head maid, send a letter to Lady Rosny.”

Well, if I had to justify it, I could say she had the most outstanding qualifications among them.

Even if I hadn’t known her beforehand, I probably would have chosen her anyway.

“…Understood, my lady.”

The head maid answered after a slight pause and left.

Click—

As soon as the door closed, Yulen shot out from under the bed, wiped his paws on a handkerchief on the table, and resumed eating his cream puff.

Watching the tiny creature stuff his mouth full of the pastry was both funny and adorable, and I let out a soft laugh.

“Is it that good?”

“Of course. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t eat it. You should come have some too.”

Yulen offered me a cream puff with his small paw. It looked small to me, but quite large for him.

I bent down and took a bite directly with my mouth. I didn’t want to get sugar powder on my hands.

Yulen blinked a couple of times while watching me, then offered me another one.

“Here.”

“…Ah, thanks. But this is enough. I just ate, so I’m full.”

Still, I accepted the second one out of courtesy.

Nodding, Yulen continued munching before suddenly speaking.

“Artifacts seem more common these days than before.”

“Hm?”

“That door. In the past, only the imperial palace used things like that. Now even great nobles have them.”

“…That had magic on it?”

“Yeah, didn’t you know? It has a soundproofing spell, and when someone knocks from outside, it temporarily dispels the magic.”

“Oh…”

I had no idea.

I looked at the door with newfound awareness.

Magic woven into daily life often surprised me in unexpected ways.

“My lady, Lady Melanis has arrived.”

“I’ll be right down. Serve tea and refreshments first.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As I responded, I turned to Eva beside me and reminded her once more,

“Eva, you know to lock the door, right?”

“Of course, my lady! Don’t worry and go.”

Smiling at her playful gesture of raising a fist confidently, I headed toward the guest reception room on the second floor.

As I stood before the room, Sebani stepped forward, knocked, and announced my arrival.

After hearing the response from inside, she opened the door.

The woman sitting on the sofa—Lady Rosny—immediately stood up and greeted me warmly.