ITHTJ 27

Chapter : 27

A Relationship That Worries Me (2)

She kept thinking.

Of course, Elsy would end up with Eclipse. To her, there was no better choice than Eclipse.

But that was her arrogance.

“I was far too complacent. There’s always an exception.”

The reason no one had pursued Elsy until now was that she had been a hidden master living in seclusion.

Elsy, once she broke out of her shell and entered the world, was incredibly captivating.

And she had realized that far too late.

“After all, Elsy is the one who appeared as that exception…”

There was another reason for her unease.

Unfortunately, Eclipse and Elsy didn’t seem particularly interested in each other.

For Lynette, this was literally the worst-case scenario.

“This can’t happen.”

A while ago, Lynette had gathered information about Elsy through the Information Guild.

What she learned was that Elsy was, in every sense, a humble and upright ordinary citizen.

“Even the Information Guild barely knows anything about her, and they struggled to find details… It’s so hard to predict her, and that just makes me more anxious.”

Her restless anxiety came from how little was known about Elsy.

“Haah.”

Lynette let out a deep sigh.

She had even suspected that Elsy might be an assassin sent by Hygent.

“I wish she were an assassin. At least then I could have bought her off somehow.”

But fortunately—or unfortunately—Elsy was an ordinary person, so that line of thinking didn’t apply.

“This is driving me crazy.”

Lynette tugged at her hair and bit her lip.

It was too early to give up. She couldn’t prepare herself for failure when she hadn’t even spread her wings yet.

Just as she was struggling to keep herself from despair, a thought struck her.

“A lifetime contract…”

The word came to mind suddenly.

Something completely unexpected from every angle, yet something Elsy had so desperately desired.

“With that, I can surely win Elsy’s favor.”

Lynette slowly got up, her eyes shining with hope.

Her gaze passed through the window and landed on Eclipse’s study.

Before returning the ring to Ash, I stopped by my room to ask Penny for a favor.

“I need a small pouch. About the size of my palm. Can you get one right now?”
“Of course. I’ll get it immediately.”

Finding a pouch wasn’t difficult.

I placed Ash’s ring inside the pouch Penny had brought.

The reason I didn’t just hand over the ring was simple: it felt better to give it neatly packaged rather than just handing over a loose item.

“Penny, do you know where Mr. Hart’s room is?”
“Of course. It’s this way.”

Following Penny’s guidance, I headed to the third floor of the annex.

My room was on the first floor, near the garden with plenty of sunlight, but Ash’s room was a bit secluded even on the third floor.

“Here it is.”

Standing in front of Ash’s room, I lightly knocked on the door.

Knock knock.

Soon after, a young man with light blue hair appeared.

“Ah, Miss Blumheier. You’ve come.”

Ash greeted me warmly. I handed him the pouch containing the ring.

“Thank you. What a cute pouch.”

He thanked me with a gentle smile. I briefly exchanged glances with him and glanced around the room.

“Huh? Why is it so ordinary?”

Ordinary wallpaper, an ordinary carpet, ordinary furniture.

Unlike my room, it was extremely ordinary and conventional.

Sensing my slight surprise, Ash spoke.

“Would you like some tea?”

A simple tea set sat on the coffee table. I had no reason to refuse, so I gladly accepted.

“Yes, that sounds nice.”

After a polite greeting, I entered his room.

“Excuse me.”

I sat on the guest sofa, quietly watching Ash as he prepared the tea.

Though born a noble and likely able to employ servants, he poured the tea himself without anyone’s help.

“Mr. Hart, let me do it.”
“It’s fine. I’m used to it this way.”

Penny, who had been silently observing, stepped forward, but Ash gently declined, insisting he would do it himself.

I sipped the milk tea he poured.

“By the way, Miss Blumheier, would you like to try this? It’s a dessert I really like. I can’t really say it’s a reward for bringing the ring…”

Ash offered me a small plate of pastries.

I believed anyone who gives food is a good person. At least, that was how I thought.

And when it came to food, I never said no.

“Wow, thank you! I’ll enjoy it.”

I popped a pastry into my mouth and chewed.

The buttery aroma and the soft, delicate texture filled my mouth.

“…!”

What is this? Why is it so delicious?

In a state of ecstasy, I asked, eyes wide.

“This is so good, it melts on the tongue. Could I ask where you bought it?”

I needed to know quickly—I’d raid the shop on my day off.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll sulk.”

And not just that—I’d hold a grudge for a long time.

“So please, just tell me…”

At my earnest urging, Ash’s lips curved into a soft smile.

“I bought it at a small pastry shop called Butter Snow in the city. It’s quite famous, and people sometimes line up from dawn to buy it.”

Butter Snow had been mentioned a few times in the original story.

When Lynette secretly escaped from the temple to buy pastries, she had been caught by priests while standing in line there.

“This is worth escaping for. I admit it.”

I decided to call these pastries “Moonlit Trespass Pastries.”

Why? Simple reason—they inspire the urge to trespass.

“Not too heavy in flavor, so they go perfectly with milk tea.”

A bite of pastry, a sip of milk tea.

My hands, moving frantically, froze like a broken machine.

“Gasp, there’s only one left.”

I stared at the lonely remaining pastry on the large plate.

Who ate all the others?

“Who else? Me.”

The obvious question had an even more obvious answer.

And what I was about to do next was even more obvious.

“Here, Penny. This is really delicious.”

I handed the last cookie to Penny.

“Good things are better shared.”

I wanted to share this happiness with her.

Penny swallowed nervously, hesitating as she glanced at Ash and me.

“You’re Penny, right? You should eat it quickly before Miss Blumheier leaves.”
“Ah. Then…”

Startled by Ash’s subtle urging, Penny quickly took the Moonlit Trespass pastry.

She cautiously nibbled at it, and her face lit up in surprise.

I couldn’t help but feel pleased and asked:

“…!”
“Delicious, right? Amazing, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s delicious…”

Maybe it was my imagination, but Penny’s voice seemed slightly moist.

“I didn’t expect you’d enjoy it this much. Next time, I’ll have to buy more.”

Ash, speaking excitedly, suddenly looked a bit disappointed.

“Ah, come to think of it, these pastries are popular, and they only sell one bag per person…”

What? One bag?

“So the one I just ate was an entire bag?”

There’s no way I can finish it all at once!

A wave of frustration swept over me.

“I see.”
“That’s why other nobles send servants to stand in line for them. I was lucky to buy them on a passing visit.”

Wait, is this pastry shop like a luxury boutique?

Do pastry shops even have line-standing services?

“Well, it’s delicious, so I’ll allow it.”

I swallowed my disappointment.

At that moment, while drinking milk tea, I noticed Ash fiddling with the pouch I had given him.

I seized the opportunity to ask:

“By the way, Mr. Hart, the ring you left in the training room—the ruby decoration resembles the color of your eyes. It’s so beautiful.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve always dreamed of having a gemstone the same color as my eyes, but I gave up because gray gems are so rare.”

Eating something delicious made unexpected lies spill from my mouth.

“Well, I couldn’t afford a gemstone anyway, so it’s not like I could dream about it.”

But this part was true. If only it were a lie…

I slumped my shoulders, and Ash comforted me:

“I told you, Miss Blumheier. You’re going to become someone very important soon.”