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Chapter 52
“Why that brat… no, why?”
“I—I’m not sure. This is the first time we’ve seen anything like it, so it was really surprising… and strange. You really did a proper escort job today. Even the price of all the items was paid entirely by the young lord.”
“Ha—.”
What kind of wind blew over that brat?
Honestly, I really couldn’t understand it.
He’s my grandson, sure, but if you ask what Felix lacks, the answer is obvious: social skills.
Friends? As if. He doesn’t even enjoy free time alone. He’s only ever obsessed with work and the sword—yet he went shopping and spent the day with someone?
No matter how I thought about it, it was impossible.
Unless, could it be…?
Could he really be interested in my little darling?
“……”
Wistons’ face hardened rapidly.
He’d been suspicious for a while now, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed undeniably true.
It definitely wasn’t just him looking after an employee.
If that were the case, Felix would’ve kept his distance. He always treated coworkers strictly as just that—coworkers. He never invested emotions or interest beyond that.
The only time he’d call someone separately was if they failed at their duties. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even initiate conversation—honestly, he didn’t even bother remembering their names.
“You.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
“How did my little darling look to him?”
“D-Darling? Do you mean the young lord?”
“…I meant, how did he look at Amelia?”
“Ah! Uh—well—he definitely did look at her differently from how he looks at others.”
“How differently?”
“With… much more sparkling eyes. Like… like he was thinking that if he let her go, he’d regret it for the rest of his life! Yes! His eyes were full of that kind of sincerity!”
The attendant hastily added, recalling the earlier scene.
Hearing the urgency in his voice, Wistons sensed it was sincere. His vision went dark for a moment.
“Haa…”
Felix had been the same since childhood, so moving from suspicion to certainty was not difficult.
“Good grief…”
Of course his little darling was adorable.
He’d already been worrying that many people would covet her later.
“Go tell Felix.”
“Yes! I’ll tell him to return soon—”
“Tell him not to covet my darling.”
“…?”
“And tell him to leave the minor tasks to Deon for now and get some rest! I’ll be back soon anyway.”
Wistons widened his eyes.
“You understand what I mean, don’t you!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The attendant bowed deeply, full of tension. Watching him with a complicated expression, Wistons let out a deep sigh.
But—
At that time, he didn’t know.
I must inform the young lord immediately…!
He was too focused on the immediate situation
—to see the larger one looming ahead.
Night fell, and owls began to hoot.
A man working late flipped a page of his document at a leisurely pace.
Knock, knock—
The door opened along with the knock.
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived.”
“From whom?”
“Kazliden.”
At the aide’s words, the emperor smirked.
“So he finally sent it.”
Well, he probably needed some time to decide how to respond to the summons.
“He’s been staying out of sight since that day, hasn’t he?”
“Yes. But the letter says that the Duke of Kazliden will enter the palace soon.”
“Duke, my foot.”
The emperor scoffed openly.
Right after the Black Cat incident, he had stepped back to observe Kazliden’s movements. When several days passed and the duke still hadn’t returned, he immediately ordered an investigation.
And recently, he’d learned that the Duke of Kazliden had not returned to the ducal residence even now.
So he sent a letter to confirm whether the position was truly vacant.
“If he hasn’t reclaimed the seat, he’s still the acting duke.”
The emperor flicked the document aside.
Why had the duke been absent for so long, and why hadn’t he returned yet?
Or perhaps something had happened to him.
“We must prepare to verify this as soon as possible.”
“Hm.”
Early morning.
Coming down the stairs, I crossed my arms at the sight of the cake—once again sitting there.
“This is really strange.”
It had already been several days.
“Who keeps sending these cakes?”
And not even one—two every time?
Even for me, it was too much to finish them all.
“What brings you up so early?”
“I smelled cake!”
Grandpa chuckled at my answer. I grinned wide and sat at the table.
“But seriously, was there no sender’s name?”
“No.”
“Hmmm.”
“…Why do you keep doing that?”
“It’s just weird.”
I liked getting cake every day. I loved cake, and the cake here was really delicious.
So the more they sent, the happier I should’ve been—nothing to complain about.
But this place?
It was Proud.
Who on earth is sending these?
Could it really be Gilbert? I meant to ask but hadn’t gotten the chance yet. Right now, he seemed the most likely.
Or…
Perhaps the young lord?
That seemed possible too.
Given all the unbelievable things he’d done for me lately, sending a cake or two would be nothing to him.
“What’s strange about it?”
“The cakes. It’s weird for someone to send them every day like this.”
Just in case, I had tested them with a silver fork for poison, but they were clean every time.
Pure, fluffy, innocent cakes.
I should ask later.
I’d assumed Gilbert sent them, so I didn’t question it at first. But now, I was too curious.
“Are you heading to work today as well?”
“Yes! But I think I’ll come home a bit early today.”
“Early?”
“I’ve been working late lately, so I figured today I’d come home early, rest, and have a nice dinner with you!”
“…Ahem. It’s just dinner.”
“Hey, your stew is super delicious!”
“That’s just basic campfire cooking.”
Grandpa turned his head, pretending it was nothing. But his shoulders bounced—he was clearly pleased.
I watched him with a grin, then looked at the bread on the table and took a big bite.
After finishing the refreshing orange juice, I changed into the dress Felix had bought me.
So this is what expensive clothing feels like.
Simple clothes could still look refined. At first glance it was just a white dress, but the hem was covered in detailed embroidery.
Standing in front of the mirror, it never looked plain thanks to the delicate pattern.
After tying my hair half-up tightly, I came downstairs—Grandpa’s eyes widened.
“How do I look?!”
