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Chapter 29
And so, back to the present.
The frozen Aile only managed to grasp the situation after hearing Lis greet him so calmly, and quickly darted his eyes around.
‘Why did he suddenly throw Del?’
Grrrrrr…
Still stuck upside down against the wall, Del blinked his red eyes and let out a series of cries.
Although Aile couldn’t understand the language of foxes, judging by those round, bewildered eyes, Del was clearly feeling wronged.
“Young Master, what was that loud noise just now…?”
“It’s nothing. Demon, take Del outside.”
Wearing his usual natural smile, Lis stood up from the sofa and walked over to his desk as though nothing had happened.
“…So that actually works.”
Meanwhile, Demon muttered something incomprehensible under his breath with a complicated expression before quickly carrying away the sadly crying Del and leaving the office.
Grrrr… rr… rr…
Del’s pitiful cries gradually faded like an echo.
As the two presences disappeared in an instant, only Lis and Aile remained, and the somewhat chaotic atmosphere quickly settled down.
‘Something definitely felt strange just now…’
How odd. Del was just a fluffy ball of fur. Could crashing into a wall really make such a heavy sound?
Maybe if it had been a person.
Aile looked suspiciously toward the door Del had disappeared through, but that was all. His doubts remained nothing more than suspicions.
‘Ah, the tea must have gone cold.’
Thanks to the unexpected commotion, enough time had passed for the tea’s temperature to drop considerably.
“Young Master, the tea has gotten cold. I’ll warm it up again!”
“Aile, just give it to me.”
Normally, Lis never cared about the temperature of his tea, so what had gotten into him today?
Of course, every time before, he had simply drunk it without complaint, so he wasn’t really in a position to say anything.
Still, walking all the way back to the kitchen just to reheat it was quite troublesome.
Seeing Aile about to leave, Lis called him back.
“Um… are you sure? It’s cooled down quite a bit.”
So that was it.
Apparently, he had heard something about tea temperature from somewhere.
Watching those pale blue eyes nervously roll as they gauged his reaction, Lis unconsciously curled the corners of his lips upward.
“It’s fine. I’ve long since gotten used to Aile.”
“…I should’ve looked into it beforehand. I’m sorry.”
When Lis answered with a friendly smile, Aile awkwardly scratched his cheek.
Lis had only meant that his preferences had changed, but Aile seemed to have interpreted it differently, and somehow the guilty expression on his face was rather pleasing to see.
‘At Black Rose, they would drink the tea no matter the temperature as long as it was brewed…’
Meanwhile, Aile was genuinely troubled.
It seemed Lis had really been forcing himself to drink tea that didn’t suit his tastes all this time.
“Don’t worry about it. The tea Aile brews is warm enough to drink comfortably.”
“Haha…”
Then Lis casually drank the tea Aile had brought.
He had merely used a nicer way of saying it was lukewarm, and Aile seemed to realize that as well, offering a weak smile.
“When did you get back to the estate? I never heard anything.”
“Ah, not long ago. I wanted to greet you after returning and had something to give you as well… so Aran took over serving the tea for me.”
Aran?
Who was that again? The name sounded familiar.
Lis, whose lips had parted slightly, pressed them together.
‘…The maid who was standing beside the one who spilled the tea earlier today.’
The memory from noon surfaced unexpectedly, causing the warmth in Lis’s violet eyes to cool.
“Aile, right? How did a commoner even get into this place?”
“Who knows…? I heard from the head maid that they have quite a bit of experience.”
“Experience? They’re only fourteen years old. No matter what, they must’ve gotten in through connections. I wonder who they charmed with that pretty face.”
It was purely by chance that Lis overheard the voices of the maids carrying trays filled with tea and cookies while walking through the hallway.
“Honestly, if anyone here were to become the Young Master’s personal maid, it should obviously be me. Who else can cater to his tastes as well as I can?”
“That’s true… Becoming his personal attendant means going out with him too. That’s an unbelievable privilege for a commoner.”
Compared to the empty western wing, the eastern wing where Lis lived employed many more servants.
Even so, the overall number was still far smaller than in other noble households.
Most of the maids were daughters of high-ranking nobles, so Lis generally made an effort to remember the faces of those who served beneath him.
Since there weren’t many of them, he could easily recognize who was who.
“They’ve only just joined and are already taking leave. On top of that, they’re always smiling sweetly while clinging to the Young Master. I don’t like it.”
“Honestly, I don’t like them either. They barely greet us but act so eager to impress the Young Master…”
“Exactly! Such a brat. Who do they think they’re trying to reach?”
Ayla ground her teeth in irritation.
The teapot on the tray she carried shook from the force.
“Come to think of it, Aile doesn’t even seem to know the Young Master’s preferences. I heard them talking yesterday—they don’t even know how to prepare tea at the right temperature.”
“That’s because they were never properly educated. That’s what commoners are like. Something worthless just rolled in from somewhere…”
Just then, Lis’s eyes briefly flashed crimson.
“Is that my tea?”
Startled by Lis’s sudden appearance, Ayla stopped in her tracks while holding the tray.
Aran, standing beside her, hurriedly lowered her head.
“Y-Young Master! It was noon, so we were just about to bring your tea.”
Quickly hiding her surprise, Ayla shyly smiled at Lis.
But in the next instant, her body suddenly tilted downward.
“Ah… ah…?”
Crash! Clang!
With a loud crash, cups, the teapot, and dishes shattered across the floor, scattering razor-sharp fragments everywhere.
The hot tea splashed directly onto Lis, who had been standing in front of her.
“M-My goodness, Young Master!”
Panicking, Aran hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and desperately tried to wipe the tea soaking into Lis’s clothes.
But wiping only spread it further.
“Y-Young Master…! Something tripped my foot just now! I swear I wasn’t trying to fall!”
“Ayla Setrom, return to the Count’s estate. I’ll speak to Count Setrom personally.”
Looking down indifferently at the trembling Ayla lying on the floor, Lis turned his back.
Using the divine beast’s power to manipulate the wind and tangle her feet together, he had caused her to trip.
She must have felt terribly wronged.
But could it compare to the insults Aile had received behind their back?
Though, even if Aile knew about them, they probably wouldn’t care very much.
“Aile is only trying to impress me,” huh…
Lis let out a cold laugh.
That was actually what he wanted.
You know nothing of the reason I made the assassin destined to kill me my personal maid.
As he walked away, he could hear the other servants, who had rushed over after hearing the noise, cleaning up the mess behind him.
In any case, Aran or whatever her name was had probably handed tea duty over to Aile because she feared being dismissed just like Ayla had been earlier that day.
“Aile, what was it that you wanted to give me?”
Thinking that maid should probably be dismissed soon as well, Lis changed the subject.
“Ah, it’s nothing special. I happened to think of you while coming back from my vacation, so I bought it.”
“…You thought of me?”
What Aile held out was a dark violet cloth handkerchief.
The fabric itself seemed to be stitched together from various cheap materials, but at first glance it looked surprisingly elegant.
“It wasn’t very expensive, actually. I just thought it might be nice for everyday use.”
The implication was obvious.
Rather than carelessly using the keepsake left behind by the Duchess, wouldn’t this be a better alternative?
Faced with the unexpected gift, Lis stared blankly at the handkerchief.
‘Does he not like it? Why isn’t he saying anything?’
Lis’s reaction was strangely unusual.
Watching him silently stare at the handkerchief, Aile cautiously studied his expression and tilted their head.
‘I expected this, but maybe it’s just too cheap to give to a great noble after all…’
They had only wanted to make up for their past mistake, even if Lis threw it away.
Perhaps they had been too greedy.
Just as worry began creeping in, Lis finally parted his lips.
“Aile, you once said that if there’s something precious, you should hide it away carefully.”
“Mm, I did.”
Aile gave a simple nod as Lis recalled what they had said while mending the handkerchief before.
“I think I finally understand what you meant.”
“I’ve learned something valuable.”
Clutching the handkerchief tightly without leaving the slightest gap, Lis smiled gently, wearing the expression of someone who had truly realized something important.
