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Chapter 22
He had given the order to match the quality of the guest’s items to his own. But he hadn’t expected that to return to him in the form of the soft scent of mint soap wafting from Marienne.
“Sir Beers, do you really, really love working? Is that why you’re so, so happy to go to work, and feel sad the moment you think about going home?”
“It’s not like that, but…”
“That was a bit extreme, huh? Honestly, though, most people feel good just at the thought of going home. Even if it’s just lying in bed after work doing nothing at all.”
“For a second I thought you meant you hated spending time with me.”
Admittedly, even Beileon thought that was sly of him.
Why had he said that? He already knew what her answer would be, yet he wanted to hear it out loud.
But when he recalled how it felt to hear the words he’d wanted, his regret softened.
Marienne had jumped up, protesting, “How could I possibly hate Sir Beers? Can’t you see my smile stretching all the way to my ears? Even if I were born again, I’d still work for you!”
It was too sincere to be dismissed as mere flattery. Really, at this point, doubting Marienne’s genuineness would just be foolish.
Anyway, as he listened to her characteristic exaggerations, he couldn’t stop smiling. The same was true now. Beileon realized his expression had softened.
Suddenly, he wondered if this wasn’t a kind of spoiled indulgence.
Asking someone who clearly adored him a question with an obvious answer, just to hear passionate words of affection.
I like you. I like you. I still like you very much. You’re amazing and wonderful.
It was a sweet addiction.
“Beileon Beers acting spoiled? Maybe tomorrow the sun will rise in the north.”
He remembered his mother saying, “You grew up too fast, far earlier than you should have, and it worried me.”
“Ah, Sir Beers. You’re already here?”
The cheerful voice’s owner returned to the office. Marienne glanced at the clock.
“Oh, I guess I was gone a bit longer than I thought…”
“Where did you go?”
“Ah.”
Marienne rolled her eyes playfully.
“Secret.”
“Hm.”
Beileon called in the guard from outside the door. Marienne’s eyes went wide, and she hurried to shove the guard back into the hall before locking the office door. The click of the bolt reached Beileon’s ears.
“It’s nothing bad or dangerous. Just, just… something I want to keep secret from you.”
But Marienne—did you just lock the door?
Beileon tried not to interpret the situation strangely.
“All right, then unlock it.”
“No. Not until you promise. You have to swear you won’t ask me or the guard about it.”
“I won’t ask.”
Click.
I’ll have to warn her never to lock the door when it’s just the two of us again. And not to blindly believe everything I say.
But what if she asks, “Why not?”
What would he say then?
Because people might misunderstand?
Ridiculous. He had already moved Marienne’s residence to the Beers estate. He didn’t even allow her to walk around without guards.
If anyone was going to misunderstand their relationship, they would have long ago.
“By the way, what did Her Highness the Princess say?”
◇ ◆ ◇
Not long after Beileon had been summoned by Odette, the First Aide, Phil, knocked on the office door.
“Marie.”
Using his greasy little nickname, he entered—only to notice the guard and quickly adjust his expression.
“Ah, ahem. Deputy Aide Didi, do you have a moment?”
“I do, but I can’t meet alone. For my safety, I always need the guard present.”
“Of course, safety is important. But Hugo here is discreet, so it’s fine.”
Marienne turned to look at the guard.
“Your name is Hugo?”
Phil looked baffled.
“You didn’t even know that yet?”
“No.”
“Hasn’t he been guarding you for days?”
“Well, he never told me, so I thought maybe it was classified.”
“Hm… Marie—no, Deputy Didi, you really…”
Phil struggled for the right words.
“…you really only pay attention to the Duke of Blackwood and Sir Beers, don’t you?”
“Why are you bringing his name up here? And even saying it side by side with Sir Beers?!”
Marienne’s glare made him flustered and apologize. He hadn’t meant to upset “our Marie.”
Anyway, what he wanted to discuss was Beileon’s surprise birthday party.
Some felt it would be too plain to celebrate with just the usual cupcake and candle.
So the question was: how to delight him without offending him? And the only person who knew the answer was Third Aide Marienne Didi.
“Me?”
She blinked at her name, but Phil looked like it was obvious.
“Who else? Out of everyone here, you spend the most time with Sir Beers.”
He went on:
“Besides, Sir Beers is especially lenient when it comes to things you do.”
“Things I do?”
That phrasing didn’t sound nice.
“I mean, things you lead.”
He smiled nervously, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his sweat.
“So I wanted to ask your opinion. Then I’ll put your name down as the party organizer. That way, even if it’s a bit extravagant, Sir Beers will accept it.”
“That’s just dumping the responsibility on me.”
“How is it dumping? If you’re in charge, then it’s simply the truth.”
That was exactly what dumping responsibility meant. And she hadn’t even agreed yet.
What happened during Beileon’s birthday in the original story again?
She racked her memory. Yes, in the novel, the chancellor’s staff had put more effort into it than usual.
She remembered they had hired a famous patissier outside the palace to make two kinds of cake.
Cute cupcakes for non-staff guests, and a refined rectangular Earl Grey cake for Beileon himself.
The weather had been clear in the morning, so the cakes were delivered safely. But then, late in the afternoon, it rained…
Marienne bit her lip.
And while carrying an umbrella to look for Odette, he stumbled upon the locket necklace abandoned near the pond.
That locket was Odette’s mother’s keepsake—the only thing she had brought into the palace.
It was also filled with memories of Beileon, who had drawn her portraits each year for her birthday back when she was confined in her mansion.
He’ll think Odette threw it away. But in truth, it was Cain who snatched it during an argument with her.
Cain had provoked her by mentioning her “closeness” with Beileon, only to hear her insist that she couldn’t leave him out of her plans.
Blinded by inexplicable rage, Cain noticed the locket around her neck—one that reminded him of Beileon.
He tore it off and threw it, then carried the resisting Odette into a nearby room.
Then came the punishing kiss.
The kind of domineering thing only an arrogant, black-haired northern male lead would pull.
Damn bastard. So what if you’re good at kissing? Don’t feel proud—it’s just because the author set it up that way.
Marienne trembled with fury.
“Fine. I’ll handle the party preparations…!”
Phil smiled, pleased. He didn’t say, “I told you, there’s no one else for the job,” but his face did.
Even if he shamelessly called her “our Marie” and wanted to be seen as an uncle despite no blood relation, at least when it came to work, he wasn’t clueless.
There were plenty of things to decide: the cake order, the expenses, and so on. Marienne left the office to talk with the accountant. Of course, the guard followed.
◇ ◆ ◇
When she returned, Beileon greeted her.
Until now, whenever she’d answered his questions with “no comment,” he had let it go. So she figured “it’s a secret” would work again this time.
After all, this was the same man who had even told her how to turn the northern duke’s head into a bald egg. Surely he wouldn’t press her on a small absence.
She hadn’t expected him to call in the guard.
Anyway, she managed to bluff her way through again. Wanting to change the subject, she stepped up to him.
“By the way, what did Her Highness the Princess say?”
The look in his eyes was oddly unreadable.
“Sir Beers?”
“The Princess said she can’t help you with getting rid of the Duke of Blackwood’s hair.”
“…What?”
That was not the kind of romantic answer Marienne had been expecting. She even forgot to breathe for a moment.
“Y-you told Her Highness… that? I mean, I know you two are close, but still…”
She stammered without meaning to.
“Even that?”
“I had to. I needed to prove your innocence. That your target was the Duke’s hair, not the Duchess’s seat.”
Marienne’s mind went blank.
“D-d-duchess?!”
She had never in her life heard such a ghastly word. But there was more.
“The bucket incident. You saw me reading the final report earlier, right?”
“Y-yes.”
“The true culprit was someone else. And even before that, the culprit had already tried to approach you. That yellow paper bird left in the changing room? That was also their doing.”
Still stunned by the “duchess” comment, she asked blankly:
“Who was it?”
“Odette Rose.”
Beileon’s calm reply made her freeze.
“Her Highness the 4th Princess. When you tried to get closer to the Duke, she saw it as a challenge to herself.”
“Ch-ch-challenge?!”
“More accurately, an interference.”
A chill ran down her spine. She instinctively wrapped her hands around her throat.
While she had been preoccupied with fantasies of turning the northern bastard into a bald egg, she had nearly lost her head for real.
To have provoked Odette’s wrath! Marienne scolded herself harshly.
The one she had to be most careful around wasn’t the northern duke—but the original story’s heroine, Odette.
At least if she egg-shaved the northern jerk, she’d never have to see him again. But Odette? That was impossible.
“Any move you make toward the Duke will eventually reach the ears of the 4th Princess.”
Her heart sank so heavily that Beileon’s worried tone sounded like a death sentence.
The chill wouldn’t leave her. Hunching her shoulders, she murmured:
“I never thought… my weird behavior would be taken as, as courtship.”
She had thought only that infuriating northern black-haired duke would make such a mistake.
“So I did upset Her Highness.”
“It’s all right. I’ve cleared up the misunderstanding for now.”
“I nearly never saw you again, Sir Beers…”
What would Odette have done to remove the nuisance in her way?
Most likely, she would have pulled Beileon away from her side—by summoning him to the 4th Princess’s palace.
