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Chapter 3
“Here.”
Ian abruptly thrust a thick stack of papers toward Yvenne.
A stack densely packed with writing.
The Tower Master’s face radiating annoyance.
That hand practically screaming I’m dumping this on you.
Yvenne immediately realized:
‘This is definitely an annoying errand!’
For a moment, she seriously contemplated whether she should openly refuse the Tower Master’s request—or dramatically throw herself onto the floor while refusing.
‘Decision made. I’m throwing myself down.’
“Go to the First Knight Order and get Commander Roelrn’s signature.”
“How did you know I was so free?!”
Instead of collapsing dramatically as planned, Yvenne immediately straightened her half-bent knees, leapt forward, and landed right in front of Ian.
Then she snatched the papers cleanly from his hand in one swift motion.
“I’ll be back!”
Her cheerful voice rang out brightly.
Yvenne paid absolutely no attention to the increasingly rotten look on the Tower Master’s face as she happily skipped out of the office with unmistakable excitement in every step.
‘It’s been forever since I got to go there!’
A full six months.
It had been six whole months since she’d last been sent on an errand to the First Knight Order.
After riding in a carriage, Yvenne got off at the entrance to the Imperial Palace.
Once she proved both her identity and purpose of visit at the palace checkpoint, she headed toward the First Knight Order’s headquarters.
Upon arriving at the entrance, she pressed the visitor button and once again identified herself and her reason for visiting.
The fortress-like doors opened.
“Greetings.”
A knight wearing the blue uniform signifying membership in the First Knight Order appeared before her.
Brown hair. Gentle-looking features.
Yvenne recognized him immediately—she’d seen him several times during previous visits.
“Hello, Sir Vans. The commander is inside, right?”
“Yes. I’ll escort you in.”
Since Yvenne frequently delivered documents from the Magic Tower regarding magical beast extermination cooperation or contracts involving magical weapons, Sir Vans guided her toward the commander’s office with practiced familiarity.
Knock knock knock—
“Commander, it’s Levin. Someone from the Magic Tower is here.”
“Send them in.”
A somewhat low, blunt voice answered from inside.
Yvenne opened the door and stepped into the office.
Seated behind the desk while endlessly signing documents was an incredibly handsome man with golden hair and deep blue eyes.
A face sculpted like a masterpiece.
There were many titles attached to this beautiful man.
The Empire’s youngest Swordmaster.
The idol of knights.
Commander of the First Knight Order.
The emperor’s beloved and trusted nephew.
A central figure of power.
The only unmarried duke among the Empire’s four great ducal houses.
The number-one bachelor.
The man who constantly ranked first or second in the Imperial magazine’s “Most Popular Nobleman Among Aristocratic Ladies.”
Hayden de Roelrn.
A man so famous there wasn’t a single imperial citizen who didn’t know his name.
“Hello.”
Yvenne greeted him as she pulled down the hood covering her head.
At the sound of her voice, Hayden raised his eyes from the documents and nodded once toward her.
Then he lowered his head and resumed working.
Acting completely at ease, Yvenne sat down on the sofa.
Like someone entirely familiar with the room, she casually lifted the transparent cover from the plate sitting on the side table beside the sofa.
Her eyes sparkled blissfully at the sight of the luxurious handmade cookies arranged on the plate.
Then she immediately began eating them.
‘This is exactly why I love errands here!’
Today’s snacks did not disappoint.
No—in fact, they exceeded expectations.
Maybe because it had been six months since she’d last tasted them, but they somehow seemed even more delicious than before.
Yvenne finished one cookie and reached for a second when Hayden finally spoke.
“Wait a moment. I just need to finish this.”
“Of course. Take your time.”
‘If only I could come here every day. These literally melt in your mouth.’
The reason Yvenne could shamelessly eat snacks every time she visited the knight order dated back to her very first visit.
At the time, she’d only been ten years old.
The commander of the First Knight Order back then had been a childless man in his fifties who doted on Yvenne like his own daughter whenever she came running errands.
Every visit, he made sure to feed her snacks.
And every time, Yvenne repaid him with the sweetest smile imaginable.
When Yvenne turned fifteen, the old commander retired.
While handing over duties to his successor—Duke Roelrn—he specifically requested that the “adorable girl from the Magic Tower” always be given snacks whenever she visited.
Duke Roelrn had faithfully honored that request.
And Yvenne still vividly remembered the thrill of tasting those snacks for the very first time.
They had been so unbelievably delicious that she once asked Hayden where he got them.
Unfortunately, his answer had been terribly disappointing.
“From the ducal estate.”
Meaning they couldn’t be bought anywhere unless one somehow stole the Roelrn family’s personal pastry chef.
Ever since then, Yvenne had envied Duke Roelrn immensely for possessing such an extraordinary pâtissier.
That envy hadn’t diminished even slightly over the past five years.
The desserts were still heavenly.
“May I have the contract you brought?”
Having finally finished enough of his work, Hayden sat down across from Yvenne on the sofa and spoke.
“Here you go.”
Using the Magic Tower ring on her finger, Yvenne dispelled the security magic attached to the document pouch before handing it to him.
Hayden flipped through the papers and began reviewing them.
Meanwhile, Yvenne sat across from him completely unconcerned, focusing solely on the rapidly dwindling cookies.
‘They’re already gone.’
What a shame.
She should’ve savored them more slowly.
Who knew when she’d get to eat them again?
Reluctantly, Yvenne stared at the now-empty plate before placing the cover back where it belonged.
Only after finishing the snacks did she finally notice Hayden properly.
‘He really is ridiculously handsome.’
Even Yvenne—whose standards for beauty had risen absurdly high after growing up surrounded by handsome fathers, handsome Tower Masters, and handsome mage uncles—couldn’t help admiring Hayden’s sculpted appearance.
‘Talented, rich, and he even has an incredible pâtissier.’
Whoever marries him is seriously lucky.
Very lucky.
‘Especially because of the pâtissier.’
While thinking such thoughts and staring openly at him, Yvenne suddenly met Hayden’s eyes when he looked up from the documents.
Apparently she hadn’t expected eye contact with the duke, because she froze for a split second.
Then she immediately smiled brightly.
‘Smile. Smile. If he likes me more, maybe next time he’ll prepare even better snacks.’
Whether Hayden understood her devious inner motives or not, he simply lowered his eyes again and continued reading the documents with his usual unreadable expression.
Whether he looked up or down, he remained annoyingly handsome.
And while admiring this capable, beautiful man, Yvenne resumed the train of thought she’d been having earlier.
‘It’s probably Lady Nine, right?’
No matter how much she thought about it, the only woman fit to become Duchess Roelrn was Julia Nine, a girl the same age as herself.
And Yvenne was certain most noble ladies thought the same.
After all, Julia Nine was the heroine of the only romantic scandal Duke Roelrn had ever been involved in.
Several times, in fact.
The Marquis Nine and the former Duke Roelrn had been close friends.
Naturally, their children—who were the same age—also grew up close.
Perhaps because of that, pink-tinted rumors connecting Duke Roelrn and Julia Nine, the youngest daughter of House Nine, frequently circulated among noble ladies.
Before her infamous public chaos three years ago, Yvenne occasionally attended tea parties and had met Julia several times.
Lady Nine had long brown hair, gentle green eyes, and the delicate appearance of an innocent aristocratic beauty.
[Lady Nine, I’m so jealous! You’re close enough to freely visit Duke Roelrn’s estate!]
[Our families are simply close, so we see each other often.]
[Will Duke Roelrn escort you at your debutante this year by any chance?]
“Ah… yes. I didn’t expect the duke himself would escort me…”
“Oh my goodness! Duke Roelrn escorting you?! I’m so jealous!”
“He’s never escorted anyone before! He must truly like Lady Nine!”
“Aaaah! At this rate, won’t you become the duchess?!”
Surrounded by excited noble ladies, Julia had blushed deeply while covering her cheeks in embarrassment and delight.
Meanwhile, Yvenne had silently thought to herself:
‘Jackpot! If she visits the ducal estate regularly, that means she gets to eat desserts made by the Roelrn family pâtissier all the time! And if they marry, she gets them every single day! Damn it, I’m jealous!’
Her envy had been focused in a rather different direction from everyone else’s.
Thunk.
The sound of Hayden placing the contract down snapped Yvenne out of her thoughts.
“We’ll remove the clause regarding the installation of magical control devices. The current ones are still quite usable.”
“Understood. I’ll revise it without the installation costs and bring it back. Any other changes?”
“That will suffice.”
“Would it be alright if I returned tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow… I’ll only have time around five in the afternoon. Would that work?”
Yvenne hesitated.
She normally visited sometime between one and three in the afternoon.
She had never worked past five in her entire life, so this unfamiliar schedule genuinely made her think for a moment.
But her deliberation was short-lived.
If she came to the commander’s office, she’d get ducal snacks.
That alone made it worthwhile.
The flavor was worth the sacrifice.
“Yes. I’ll come around five tomorrow.”
“A knight likely won’t be available to escort you tomorrow, so just come directly to the commander’s office.”
“Understood.”
Yvenne pulled her hood back over her head and left the office.
Ever since Duke Roelrn became commander of the First Knight Order, she always kept herself hidden beneath a hood whenever she visited the palace.
Even if she entered officially on business, it would be disastrous if rumors spread among noble ladies that Yvenne regularly visited Duke Roelrn’s office.
‘The rumors about me being a debt-ridden spendthrift are fine since I spread those myself for convenience…’
But a scandal involving Duke Roelrn?
Absolutely not.
Her reputation was already scraping the bottom because of the “extravagant debtor” rumors, while Duke Roelrn remained wrapped in sweet romantic gossip involving Julia Nine.
‘Wait a second. The “spendthrift debtor” rumors only circulated heavily for about three months, and after that people mostly just whispered behind my back whenever they saw me. But if I get involved with the male lead of a beautiful romance rumor in this situation… holy shit, that’s catastrophic.’
This would go far beyond simple whispering.
It was extremely dangerous.
‘For me, specifically!’
A bad reputation only attracted worse rumors.
With her already terrible image, she’d undoubtedly bear the full blame alone.
Rather than becoming temporary gossip material, she could end up completely socially ruined.
And if the pure, delicate Julia Nine heard scandalous rumors involving her and Duke Roelrn, she might become heartbroken—
Which could lead to the enraged Duke Roelrn suing Yvenne.
Or worse.
‘…Assassination. Or, you know, assassination.’
Suddenly chilled, Yvenne pulled her hood down even farther over her face.
Then she carefully scanned her surroundings with hawk-like vigilance.
From now on, she vowed to be even more cautious.
‘Anyway… I get snacks again tomorrow. I wonder what they’ll serve?’
And so her entire trip home was filled with thoughts of ducal desserts.
