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Chapter 10:
The little “enforcement officer” who came running through the front door, Lu, completely broke through my defenses with his bright smile, affectionate behavior, and especially one word:
“Mom!”
I had to silently cry inside and warn him again.
“Don’t call me Mom. I told you that last time.”
“But you are my mom!”
His shocked and hurt expression stabbed straight into my heart.
But I couldn’t give in on this.
There is nothing between Leon and me…
Biologically, I couldn’t possibly be that child’s mother!
Of course, the fact that a man had supposedly given birth to a child already made the whole situation impossible to explain biologically.
Behind me, Rita silently mouthed, Mom?
Her jaw almost dropped as she stared at me.
I quickly shook my head at her.
But it looked like Rita’s soul would need quite some time to return to her body.
Leon slowly entered the house after Lu.
He looked around and spoke in an annoyingly casual voice.
“I told you she’s not your mom.”
“Dad!”
“Not yet.”
Leon looked around the house and complained.
“What happened to this place?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s covered in dust, and there’s almost nothing here.”
“That’s what houses look like after everything has been moved out.”
I rolled up my sleeves and put my hands on my waist.
“When you take everything out, all that’s left is dust and empty space.”
A young, bright voice answered me.
“I like it here!”
Lu ran around the staircase, the reception room, and the different parts of the house.
Even though this was a strange place to him, he wasn’t hesitant at all.
“It smells like Mom!”
I secretly sniffed my sleeve.
Do I smell bad…?
Leon watched me and laughed quietly.
“He means the traces of your magic. Have you used magic recently?”
“A little…”
I suddenly realized something.
“Wait. He can sense that?”
“Of course. He’s the child I gave birth to. He’s a genius.”
After saying that casually, Leon clapped his hands.
“Lu, come here. You need to move so everyone can clean the house.”
Everyone?
I looked at Leon in confusion.
With his usual calm expression, he snapped his fingers.
At the same time, the door opened.
About twenty people entered the house together.
They were all dressed neatly like professional household servants.
Leon looked at them and spoke.
“Starting today, you’ll work in this house. Your master is Lady Irina Otreha.”
“Do not report anything about this household to me separately.”
“In an emergency, protect Lady Otreha.”
“That is all.”
The twenty people bowed neatly without a single person moving out of line.
I stared at Leon stupidly.
Only a moment later did I understand.
“So you’re telling me to employ all of them in my house?”
“Yes. I brought them from my territory.”
“But how could I possibly…”
At a ducal residence, many servants were from noble families.
Working for a poor baron’s family would probably be unpleasant for them.
“I specifically chose people from commoner families. Don’t you think I know what you can handle?”
“…That somehow hurts my pride too.”
“I’m trying to help you, and you still complain.”
“Ahem. No, thank you. This is an enormous help. Honestly, once everything happened, I didn’t have any family I could ask for help.”
Rita had looked as pale as if someone had covered her face in white powder.
She had thought she would have to manage everything alone.
Now she could finally relax.
One person stepped forward from the group.
She was a beautiful woman with short black hair.
“Give us your orders, and we will carry them out immediately.”
“Good. First… what’s your name?”
The woman hesitated for a moment before answering politely.
“Cyril. I have no family name.”
“Alright, Cyril. Basically, I’d like you to work closely with Rita.”
The moment I said Rita’s name, her back straightened like a spring.
The nervous girl who had been anxiously looking around a moment ago was gone.
Instead, she suddenly looked like a strict senior maid.
“Leave it to me, Miss! I mean, Master!”
Rita confidently answered even in front of the perfectly trained servants from the Duke’s household.
Having twenty reliable allies seemed to give her more confidence than any magic could.
Rita immediately began giving instructions.
“The first thing we need is cleaning. Start with Master’s bedroom. Then prepare the two guest rooms, reception room, dining room, kitchen, office…”
I watched Rita busily assigning tasks.
Then I added,
“If anyone knows how to cook, I’d like them to take charge of the kitchen.”
“Don’t be stingy with the ingredients. Buy whatever is needed so that every servant, regardless of rank, can have the best meals.”
“Today is a happy day, after all.”
There must be a saying somewhere that says the more people you have, the faster housework gets done.
Cleaning a mansion that had been neglected for so long would normally be impossible.
But the bedrooms, reception room, and kitchen that we needed immediately were cleaned in no time.
After eating a full meal, Lucian rubbed his eyes and struggled to stay awake.
“I don’t want to sleep…”
The child was nodding off and looked as if he might fall from his chair.
I picked him up.
Rita, who clearly suspected that something strange was going on between me and the child, came closer and narrowed her eyes slightly.
There was no way I could explain the whole situation anyway.
So I simply gave up and handed the child to Rita.
“Put him to sleep in my bedroom. Stay beside him tonight. If he wakes up and asks for me, bring him to me.”
“Yes, Master.”
Rita still looked suspicious, but she obediently carried the child out of the dining room.
Leon, who had been sitting beside me and slowly turning his wine glass, laughed quietly.
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“There are guest rooms.”
“I’ll be staying the night too.”
“…Good thing I prepared two guest rooms!”
My heart started beating strangely at his suggestive tone.
I personally showed Leon to the guest room.
He had done so much for me that I felt guilty leaving him to be escorted by a servant.
But Leon was unusually quiet.
And the warmth in the arm he had offered me seemed to be slowly disappearing.
“Leon.”
I called his name softly.
A small sigh escaped his lips.
“Keep it a secret.”
But his steps were becoming slower and heavier.
By the time we reached the room, I was almost supporting him.
The man had clearly been forcing himself to keep going.
As soon as he reached the bed, he collapsed onto it.
“Leon! A doctor. We need a doctor…”
He suddenly grabbed my wrist.
Then he shook his head and whispered,
“No.”
I looked at him carefully.
Then I understood.
He was suffering from mana exhaustion.
It was the moment when a mage was at their weakest.
Suddenly, I understood Leon’s pale face over the past few days.
The dark circles under his eyes.
Everything made sense.
“You really shouldn’t have come today.”
Leon only lifted one corner of his mouth at my words.
“I’ll protect you.”
I made my decision.
Then I looked outside the door and called one of the passing servants.
“Close the curtains in every room.”
“Leave the candles on in about half the rooms and turn them off in the others.”
“Tonight, have two people stand guard on each floor.”
Then I added something so that the orders wouldn’t seem strange.
“We have a child in the house, so we need to be careful.”
The servant nodded as if he understood.
Soon, I heard the servants moving busily through the hallway.
I quietly closed the door.
Leon Voltane was already asleep.
It was sleep caused by mana exhaustion.
It was fair to say that he had practically passed out.
He really looks like an angel when he’s sleeping.
I walked toward the window.
Unfortunately, the full moon was shining brightly across the sky, covering everything in silver light.
I closed the curtains and didn’t light the candles.
Sitting in the darkness, I drew a magic formula in the air.
It was a basic concealment spell.
The magic formula gave off a faint light as it settled into the old wooden walls of the guest room.
When the spell was complete and the room became completely silent, Leon made a small sound.
“Leon…?”
I approached him and was about to place my hand on his forehead.
But his hand, cold like metal, suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me down toward the bed.
“Don’t go.”
I thought he had completely lost consciousness.
But tears were clinging to his long eyelashes, reflecting the faint light of the magic formula.
His blue eyes, filled with desperate longing, looked down at me as if he wanted to devour me.
I don’t know why.
Without thinking, I reached toward his face.
Our complicated gazes became tangled together.
Then, as if it were something that had always been meant to happen,
we hurriedly kissed.
