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chapter 22
“Ah, I came by earlier. I wanted to find something you might need, Young Master.”
“Something I need?”
“…Well, I wanted you to study, Young Master.”
“Study?”
Ribanu paused, staring at Grace as if he’d heard something strange.
Grace subtly held up the books she had brought.
They were about etiquette, imperial law, accounting—knowledge that nobles might find useful—as well as historical texts.
“…What’s this all of a sudden?”
Ribanu hesitated for a moment as he looked at the books.
“You want me to study?”
Honestly, whether he did or didn’t wasn’t really a concern.
But Grace was worried that Ribanu might just settle for being complacent here.
“I want you to.”
“…Why? Why do you want me to study?”
It was impossible to know what he was thinking with that small head of his, but judging from the suddenly gloomy expression on his face, he was probably imagining all sorts of worst-case scenarios.
“Are you going to spend your whole life hiding?”
“…What?”
So Grace asked directly: Do you plan to live like this forever?
Ribanu’s eyes widened in surprise.
Seeing his pupils tremble, she could tell he was flustered.
“I don’t want that. I want you to break through this barrier yourself. But to do that, I think you need to have some kind of outstanding ability.”
“…You mean I’m lacking? Well, I can’t do anything anyway…”
This young master really couldn’t grasp context.
Grace couldn’t suppress a chuckle and spoke again.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“…Then you mean that if I go out and interact with others, I might even manage some social life?”
“That’s exactly it!”
Grace’s eyes lit up.
“How is that even possible?”
Ribanu widened his eyes, as if incredulous.
“Why not?”
“I’m disgusting, I smell bad, and people avoid me.”
The way he hesitated and mumbled showed just how deeply he had lived with self-loathing.
“You’re the only one who sees me as me.”
“Young Master.”
“So I only need you, Grace.”
He probably believed everything was his own fault.
If it weren’t for the skin disease, he would have been living happily as the first son of the duke, enjoying his status.
Being so young, it was inevitable he would think this way.
He believed that if only he changed, everything would be fine—but when he couldn’t, he gave up entirely.
Even now, with Grace present, nothing had changed.
Grace thought that if she wanted Ribanu to summon the courage to do anything, raising his self-esteem was the best approach.
“Young Master, that’s just your appearance.”
“…What?”
Ribanu asked as if he didn’t understand what she meant.
“If you study hard and become truly intelligent and capable, people will change too. Because you will have some usefulness.”
“…So I have to study for their benefit?”
“No. They become useful to you, not the other way around.”
“That’s not even a pun. What do you mean?”
“I heard this at the duke’s house—you were good at studying when you were little, right?”
At that, Ribanu immediately frowned.
Back then, he had a mind that outclassed others, and the duke had tried his best to cure the disease.
Ribanu’s skin condition appeared around age five, and at that time it wasn’t severe, so he still underwent heir training.
By age seven, he had been undergoing training, and even then, calling him a genius didn’t suffice.
Even after the skin disease worsened, they couldn’t abandon him. It got so bad that it was unbearable to human senses, and that’s when they realized something had to change.
Even then, the duke tried to continue the lessons in the annex, but the teachers couldn’t endure it.
People came, tempted by astronomical rewards if they endured, but even those who came for the money eventually gave up and left.
In the end, the duke had to let go of Ribanu entirely.
The question is: did the duke continue to push Ribanu because he was his precious son?
Of course not.
The intelligent Ribanu surely understood the duke’s true intentions.
“I just happened to hear about it.”
Grace’s words brought a bitter expression to his face.
Tsk, Grace clicked her tongue in her mind.
“…That was when I was little. I don’t see why that’s a reason for me to study now.”
“No, it’s not about that. I just want your world to expand. If you learn and experience things, your perspective will change.”
“My world?”
“Yes. I think you’re young and still capable of more.”
“…My world only needs you.”
“Me?”
“I don’t want anyone else.”
In Ribanu’s eyes, there was a strange possessiveness.
“That’s such a sad thing to say.”
Though his gaze might have seemed frighteningly obsessive, Grace quietly shook her head.
“Sad?”
Ribanu tilted his head, asking again.
“Yes. My world isn’t just you, Young Master.”
“…What?”
As soon as Grace spoke, Ribanu opened his mouth in shock.
Ribanu said nothing, just silently seeming hurt. Grace spoke.
“My world will keep expanding. But do you plan to remain stagnant forever?”
“…No, I don’t want that.”
Ribanu shook his head wildly, looking like he might cry at any moment.
“But you like me… don’t you? Right…?”
His eyes rolled nervously as he questioned her, clearly anxious about being rejected.
“…You don’t dislike me, right? It’s just uncomfortable coming out here because of me and being so far from the capital.”
Ribanu muttered anything he could, trying to understand Grace.
“If that’s the case, I’ll try. I’ll give you anything you want.”
Grace shook her head at his rambling words.
“I think you’ll grow into someone great, Young Master.”
“What?”
“That’s why I trusted you and invested in my future. But if you do nothing, I’ll inevitably be disappointed.”
The word “disappointed” blanked his mind for a moment, but he seemed reluctant to fully believe that Grace trusted and invested in him.
“…A lie.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“Then you should’ve stayed in the capital and tried to get the duke’s favor. Not left and come to the provinces.”
From Ribanu’s point of view, that made more sense, so Grace couldn’t argue.
“And such a calculating person, risked taking the poison to save a maid they barely knew?”
“Excuse me?”
Grace was surprised at the connection, and Ribanu’s eyes welled with tears.
“Young Master.”
“You worry because of me, right?”
“Yes?”
“…Huh.”
After staring blankly at Grace for a while, Ribanu quietly shed a tear.
Of course, Grace had no such intention—she simply wanted him to grow well, enjoy life, and not become complacent here.
“Hmm…”
But letting him misunderstand like that wasn’t so bad.
So she didn’t clarify, and just quietly reached out to wipe the tear-streaked face.
“Don’t cry.”
“You really are kind…”
Ribanu muttered with a self-deprecating laugh as he took the handkerchief.
“…I’ll do as you said.”
“Really?”
“…I must make sure your bold investment doesn’t fail.”
Grace’s face brightened.
“You’re that happy?”
Ribanu let out a soft laugh, as if the tears had never happened.
“Yes. Very happy.”
Knowing Ribanu’s future, Grace interpreted it differently.
If he properly awakens the Infinito Danioni, failure is impossible.
Hearing him say he’d ensure her investment wouldn’t fail made her heart flutter.
Blushing, she smiled happily to herself.
“….”
Ribanu’s heart skipped a beat at Grace’s smile.
Though she usually had a subtle smile, he had never seen her smile like this before.
I thought her soft smile was the default… but she can smile like this too.
I want to see her smile more.
I want to see more of Grace’s emotions.
Ribanu realized this without even noticing.
