ITHTJ 24

Chapter : 24

Somehow Suspicious People (9)

‘Oh, our poor Grand Duke, how pitiful.’

That massive frame of his looked especially forlorn today.

I had always been someone who said whatever I wanted, whether I should or not.

They say the person with nothing to lose is the scariest. That was me.

Whenever someone tried to cause trouble and get in the way of my business with some ridiculous excuse, I immediately showed them what fear tasted like.

‘This won’t do. I think I really need to stay by his side and keep an eye on him.’

Maybe it wasn’t Lynette who needed a tutor—but Eclipse.

Because the way he looked to me now, he seemed horribly anxious and dangerously fragile.

“Conversation, huh…”

His pale, water-colored eyes wandered around the desk before disappearing behind his eyelids.

And the next morning.

I stared at the breakfast delivered to my room and cried out in shock.

“This is all breakfast?”

“It seems so.”

Penny looked just as stunned.

The two of us stared blankly at each other, too bewildered to speak.

“There must be at least ten dishes here.”

“One, two, three… a total of twelve.”

“What?”

A twelve-dish palace breakfast?!

I stared at the mountain of plates filling the three-tier cart.

‘If only all of this were actually mine.’

There were a lot of dishes, but every single one looked delicious.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from food that clearly wasn’t meant for me.

“Maybe this was supposed to go to the Grand Duke or the Saintess? There’s no way this is mine.”

“The main residence and the annex use different servants. They wouldn’t get mixed up easily.”

“So you’re telling me… this is all really mine? No, that can’t be right.”

The menu felt like a compressed version of yesterday’s breakfast.

Among it all was even a pile of glossy roast turkey legs.

“I’ll go check. Please wait a moment.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Some time later, Penny returned, head tilted.

“They said this was delivered correctly.”

“Seriously? This is all for me?”

“Yes…”

She looked bewildered. My face probably matched hers exactly.

“And they said if there’s anything you don’t like, you should tell them immediately.”

“Excuse me?”

That was something I never expected to hear.

Up until now my meals had been something like: one main dish, one soup, one salad.

‘And now suddenly nine extra dishes? And they want to tailor the food to my tastes? What on earth is happening?’

The sudden change in treatment was confusing—yet undeniably exciting.

And so my decision was clear:

“Bon appétit to me!”

I was hungry already, so great timing.

I sat down and started eating.

“It really is delicious!”

As I’d always thought, the Grand Duke’s food was the best. Too good to eat alone.

I grinned and gestured toward the empty chair.

“Penny, sit down. Eat with me.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yeah. This is way too much for just me. Sit before it gets cold.”

Happiness is meant to be shared.

Penny resisted at first, but finally sat with an embarrassed look.

“Is it really okay for me to eat this…?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”

I called another maid over and asked for extra cutlery and a cup.

‘Now that I’ve set all this up, she can’t refuse.’

And sure enough, I was right.

Hesitant, Penny lifted her fork.

“Then… I’ll eat well.”

I held my breath until she took a bite.

Her eyes immediately widened.

“It’s delicious, Miss Bloomhyer!”

“Right? Amazing, isn’t it? Too good to eat alone.”

“I’ve never eaten anything like this. It melts in my mouth.”

Tears glistened in Penny’s eyes.

Knowing exactly how she felt, I eagerly urged her on.

“The turkey legs are incredible. Hurry and try one while it’s hot.”

“Thank you.”

I spent the meal teaching Penny how to cut meat properly and basking in how fun eating together was.

After breakfast, Penny spent a full three hours grooming me.

“You really don’t need to do all this, Penny. I’m not some noble lady.”

“You’ve shown me kindness far above my station. This is all I can offer in return—please allow me to show my sincerity.”

“Well, if you insist, I won’t stop you!”

Her face was brighter than usual as she braided my hair, which put me in a good mood.

With each step I took, the twin braids bounced lightly.

We were almost at the classroom when—

“Oh. We meet again.”

A tall man with pale sky-blue hair approached from the opposite side.

It was Ash, Lynette’s etiquette tutor.

He smiled warmly as he came closer.

“We met here last time too, didn’t we? Seems like we run into each other a lot.”

“Right, we did. I was so flustered back then I didn’t manage to speak properly.”

Ash chuckled.

“You have class soon, Miss Bloomhyer?”

“Yes, that’s ri— um… Mr.…”

Wait. What was I supposed to call him?

While I faltered, he spoke gently.

“Please, just call me Mr. Hart.”

Was that really okay? He was a noble, after all, even if we were both tutors.

‘Well, he said so himself.’

I gathered my courage.

“Ah—okay then. Mr. Hart, what brings you here?”

“I left something behind. Came to pick it up.”

He glanced toward the classroom.

Holding my materials close, I drifted into thought.

‘What kind of past must someone have to earn the nickname “delinquent”?’

His clothes were neat, his demeanor refined, his looks that of a noble heir… yet he’d once been called a troublemaker?

In the original story he barely appeared, so I didn’t know much.

All I knew was that he was the second son of an unremarkable baron family.

“Miss Bloomhyer, I heard you had breakfast alone with the Grand Duke yesterday?”

So the rumors really had spread.

Even someone who hadn’t been there knew.

“A tutor eating with the Grand Duke—that’s a first. Even the notoriously picky Saintess likes you, apparently. How did you manage to win them both over?”

His crimson eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Just like Penny, just like everyone else—they all said the same thing.

‘Did I really win Eclipse over?’

People who knew him far longer than me seemed convinced. Hard not to believe them.

But there was something bothering me…

‘Why is he speaking politely to me?’

Yes. That.

Even as an etiquette instructor, he had no reason to use honorifics with someone beneath his rank.

Penny and I were both commoners, but that was different. Silbern told me not to mind his own speech patterns either.

But Ash?

‘I mean, he told me to call him Mr. Hart, fine—but why use polite speech? Does he not know I’m a commoner?’

That was my best guess.

‘Mm… might as well ask.’

So I did.

“Excuse me, Mr. Hart?”

He smiled lightly.

“Yes, Miss Bloomhyer?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but—I’m a commoner. You don’t have to speak politely to me.”

“I know.”

…Huh? He knew?

His clear-cut answer left me momentarily speechless.

‘Wait. Then why the polite speech?!’

Was he like Silbern—just preferred it?

As I puzzled over it, Ash crossed his arms and tilted his head with unexpected seriousness.

“Well… it’s just that I have a feeling you might become someone important someday. Thought I should get used to it early.”

“…Sorry? Someone important? Me?!”

His answer went so far beyond my expectations that my mind blanked for a second.

‘Is he serious? Me, important someday? That has to be a joke… right?’