IBML 07

Chapter 07

I was startled and widened my eyes as I stared at the one who had grabbed me.

It was Pana. Looking around, Paul was beside her as well.

“Rasha unnie.”
“Unnie!”

They were too short for me to have noticed them at first. From the looks of it, they seemed to be waiting for Kalian.

Pana and Paul waved at me cheerfully.

I smiled and asked,
“Are you waiting for your brother and older brother?”
“Yes. But we’re bored.”

Paul rambled on about this and that, and as I listened attentively, Pana suddenly spoke up.

“Unnie, can we play airplane?”
“Airplane?”
“Brother does it for us. He lifts us up—wooosh—and spins us around.”

I set my luggage aside and rolled up my shirt sleeves. I couldn’t lift them that high, but I could still spin them around.

“Hehe, this is fun.”

I held Pana by her feet, lifting her slightly off the ground, and spun her around. My arms ached, but seeing her enjoy it made it worth it.

“Assistant!”

From afar, I heard Kalian’s voice.

He hurried over when he saw me with the twins.

Perhaps from working as a gardener, he carried the fresh, green scent of foliage with him.

It seemed his promise to bring flowers wasn’t empty, as he handed me a small bouquet of flowers.

Looking at the discolored tips, it seemed he was giving me flowers trimmed from his work. Aside from that, they were in good condition, as if he had chosen the healthiest ones.

I thanked him and then turned to him, looking after the twins as they played airplane.
“How was your first day at work?” I asked.
“It was fine. I met another gardener, and I was able to fill in some gaps in my knowledge thanks to that.”

The garden was so vast that one person alone couldn’t possibly finish the tasks before dying.

Kalian told me a few more small stories about his daily life. His voice was calm and gentle, making it pleasant to listen to.

“Talking with you like this makes me feel closer to you,” he said.

That made a lightbulb go off in my head.

‘Right, a way to fill the impact between Rekalin and Kalian!’

If they became closer, they could experience more varied impressions than they originally had.

So I just needed to create a shared interest for Kalian. Smiling at the idea, I spoke to him.

“Thank you, Kalian.”
“Huh?”
“You gave me a good idea. Sorry, but I’ll head in first!”
“Um, Assistant, surely—”
“Sorry. We’ll talk tomorrow!”

I dashed up the stairs two at a time.

Thanks to that, I didn’t hear Kalian muttering to himself, covering half his face with his hand:

“She called me by my name… not Rife, but Kalian…”

The next day

“Do it again.”
“Yes…”

There was no time to ask about his interests. With three days left until the meeting, I hurriedly began preparing the materials, but each time, they were rejected.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. I would need to search through more reference materials.

Knock-knock—

“Lunch is here~”
“Wow!”

It was lunchtime.

Rekalin watched me as I shoved papers to the side of my desk. More specifically, near my left wrist.

Was he subtly telling me to change something? No, it wasn’t good to jump to conclusions before even asking.

But before I could ask, Rekalin lowered his gaze. A tray of lunch came into view.

I decided to finish the corn salad with mayonnaise and gratin quickly, taking a small break before resuming work.

Feeling a little nervous, I asked,
“Duke, may I ask a personal question unrelated to work?”
“No.”
“……”

I realized once again that Rekalin was inflexible. This person probably had no friends.

They were all business relationships; no one truly close. He’d probably end up blind to love and meet ruin… ah, just like the original story.

“If it’s just one question, it’s fine.”
“!”
“As long as it’s not a request for favors or anything like that.”

I was so happy that questions were allowed that I stood straight up, placing both hands on the desk.

Leaning forward slightly, I asked with shining eyes,
“Please tell me your preferences, Duke.”
“My… preferences?”
“Then wouldn’t it make assisting you easier?”

Rekalin’s golden eyes, slightly surprised, grew calm.

Honestly, I wanted to sit him down and pry into every little thing he liked. There were so many settings not revealed in the original story.

“Hm… nothing much. Letter spacing should be tiny, handwriting neat and upright, paragraphs clearly separated, spelling and spacing all correct. It’s better to ask questions rather than shoulder everything alone; reports should be concise; even if the person isn’t very capable, they should be diligent, sincere, and compatible with the work style. Favorite colors are black, gold, and blue. I prefer seals in those colors, and writing with clear cause-and-effect and structure.”
“……”
“I want to assist you efficiently, didn’t I?”

Of course, I hadn’t expected him to respond like this. Rekalin picked up a fountain pen.

“I’ll look forward to the revised meeting materials.”

All I could say was, “Yes.” I had asked about his personal preferences and ended up under pressure to improve the work quality.

At least Kalian would answer honestly.

With that small hope, I memorized part of the list of capital city nobles, completed a third of the meeting materials, and left for the day.

I didn’t see Kalian in the garden, so I went to his room.

“Rife, are you here? Rife!”

At my calling, the door swung open, and Pana peeked her head out.

“Unnie, Brother says he’s busy and tired today, so he can’t meet you.”
“I see.”

Peeking through the door, I saw Kalian under a blanket on the bed.

He was reading a thick storybook to Paul.

I waved to Pana and went back to my room.

I sighed the whole way up the stairs.

Why is everyone so uncooperative?

Rekalin rubbed his temple as he signed the last document.

The piles of folders on his desk had been dismantled, leaving the empty skeletons of paperwork.

He twirled a fountain pen in his hand, thinking of the new assistant.

Though slightly inexperienced, she understood tasks well and worked quickly. She seemed promising as an assistant.

Her personality didn’t show any sharp edges either. Whether she was truly blunt or just pretending in front of a superior, he couldn’t tell yet. From her lunchtime question about personal preferences, she also seemed bold and quirky.

She was the first assistant to outright ask about his likes.

Since it seemed personal, he had deliberately answered in a professional way.

Hiding his small disappointment brought a slight smile to his weary mind.

But thinking of her also reminded him of something. He carefully held his nose.

“….”

This was the first time he’d had a nosebleed for a reason other than overwork. Not even when he had fought with his only close friend.

He’d gone to help and did help, but the reward was a nosebleed…

Well, he had healed it with magic, so it was fine. Except that he kept thinking of the assistant for some reason.

To be honest, ever since she had made that remark during the interview, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

Not constantly like lovesickness, but she would appear in his mind when he least expected it.

Of course, it was because Rekalin had never met someone who made that remark before. All firsts leave a deep impression.

He absentmindedly brushed his face.

Knock-knock.

“Duke.”

The voice at the door broke his thoughts. Rekalin told them to enter and stood.

The steward entered the office, bowing politely.

“The clock has been completed.”
“I’ll fetch it myself.”
“Ah, yes?”
“I’ll go ahead.”

Rekalin left the office, leaving the steward behind. The recipient of the clock was the assistant.

He had thought of it as a gift for her since seeing her worn-out wristwatch on the interview day.

He had considered giving something else if she had replaced it, but seeing her continue to wear it, he didn’t need to change the gift.

Just before stepping onto the main street, Rekalin invoked the blue-dawn magic to cloak himself. It was a spell to reduce his presence.

His face was much more exposed than a typical noble’s, so without the spell, it would be tiring.

Adjusting his glasses, he headed toward the custom watch shop.

“Here it is.”

Though he tried to hide his identity, the employee’s trembling hands betrayed them. Rekalin remained calm and carefully accepted the box offered.

He intended to enter a quiet alley to teleport.

If he hadn’t noticed a familiar figure’s back. That figure turned and looked at Rekalin, pupils dilating, about to speak.

“Du—”
“Assistant.”

Rekalin quickly placed his finger over Rasha’s lips. She closed her mouth just before his finger touched.

Satisfied, he withdrew his hand. She then asked,
“What brings you here?”
“I had some business nearby. And you, assistant?”
“I came to buy a vase.”

Blinking, Rekalin thought she could have easily taken one from the many vases in the mansion.

“I’ll handle the transaction for you.”
“Eh?”

Raising his glasses, Rekalin said,
“May I accompany you?”

A smile threatened to escape at the assistant’s even more bewildered expression.