Chapter 24
“Ah. So it’s you.”
But the moment she saw it was Claude who had spoken, the annoyance on her face eased.
Estelle muttered in a tone that implied it was nothing special.
Still nestled in my arms, she gave Claude only a curt nod.
“Hello. It’s been a while.”
I froze, not knowing what to do.
Even if they knew each other, such a bold and indifferent greeting?
She even seemed colder than usual, as if Claude wasn’t welcome at all.
“I think I understand why you need this book.”
Claude lifted one eyebrow, glancing back and forth between the book in his hand and Estelle.
That faintly displeased look—it was clear he was irritated by Estelle’s impolite greeting.
Startled, I waved my hands frantically.
“N-no, it’s not what you think! Estelle, greet him properly.”
“Tch.”
I set Estelle down, forcing her out of my arms.
She reluctantly let go, her lips jutting out in protest.
But her displeasure lasted only a moment.
“Good day, Claude.”
Estelle clasped her hands politely and bowed her head properly this time.
I was just about to feel relieved that she had finally greeted him correctly—
When she crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one hip, as if to declare with her whole body, ‘I’m still not happy about this.’
Claude gave her a brief once-over, then turned to me with eyes that silently asked, “And you still expect me to believe this isn’t what I think it is?”
“T-the truth is, I only bought that book for class.”
Though, of course, my main reason had been correcting Estelle’s behavior.
But I really did plan to use it for lessons at the village school, so it wasn’t a lie.
I averted my eyes, then shut them tightly and blurted out,
“That so? Then let me help you.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Isn’t it etiquette training that’s needed? I’ll help with that.”
What did he mean? Help me use it for class?
I blinked in confusion, tilting my head.
Then I noticed his gaze resting squarely on Estelle.
‘Ah… he was talking about Estelle?’
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest.
So he meant he’d help correct Estelle’s manners—not my lessons.
I almost made a fool of myself, completely misunderstanding.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and asked,
“Then… when will you be meeting with Estelle?”
But Claude’s reaction was odd.
He frowned slightly and asked back,
“What do you mean by that?”
“Huh? Weren’t you offering to help with Estelle’s etiquette training?”
…Or did I misunderstand again?
Confusion tangled in my head as I blinked up at him.
His gaze fixed steadily on me.
“Why speak only of Estelle? Don’t you need it as well? The teacher must have proper manners too.”
Perhaps it was just my imagination—but I thought I saw the faintest smile on his lips.
I stood frozen, unable to reply, until he handed me the book.
Then he spoke:
“Come with me.”
‘To think I’d ever come to a place like this…’
A ceiling so high I could run full speed and never reach it.
Glittering chandeliers, big and small, dangling everywhere.
Window frames spotless of even a speck of dust, with crystal-clear glass revealing the vast gardens outside.
Endless hallways covered with plush navy carpet that muffled every step.
Yes—
I was standing in a place someone of my status had no right to set foot in.
The ducal residence of House Xenopesia, right here in the capital.
‘What in the world is happening to me…’
The only reason I had entered this mansion and followed the aide who introduced me as “his guest”—
Was because Claude had promised, last time we met, to help with etiquette training.
‘But did he really have to invite me here of all places?’
For an ordinary commoner like me, just being here was overwhelming.
Look at my legs—they were trembling uncontrollably, like a newborn fawn’s.
It was all I could do to take a single step forward.
Estelle, however, was the complete opposite.
While I was pale with nerves, her face was perfectly calm.
In fact, she walked through the hallway with such ease it almost looked familiar.
‘Well… that makes sense.’
Estelle used to live here before she came to stay with me.
This had once been her home. Everything here would be familiar and comfortable.
‘…Wait. Could that be why she was so prickly at first?’
Watching her composed demeanor, a silly thought crept in.
Maybe she had been resentful, moving from such a splendid place to my shabby little home. Maybe that’s why she’d been so sharp with me at the beginning.
‘Though in truth, it was just because her trust in me was low…’
I shrugged internally.
I knew very well it was a pointless thought.
But I needed some distraction—
Anything to keep my nerves from crushing me.
‘Just look at this place. It’s a whole different world from the one I live in.’
In this life or the last, I had never set foot in a mansion of this scale.
So vast and grand that just looking at it made my shoulders shrink.
‘It’s not even envy at this point.’
Usually, when you see a fine house, you think, “I wish I could live in a place like that someday.”
But this house? It was so beyond me that such thoughts didn’t even come.
All I felt was the gaping chasm between nobles and commoners.
I couldn’t say how long we walked down that endless corridor when finally—
“This is the place.”
The aide who had been leading us stopped before a door.
“It looks familiar,” Estelle remarked.
“Yes. This is the room you once stayed in, my lady.”
The aide stepped aside and bowed lightly to Estelle.
His movements were graceful yet precise.
But for some reason—
It felt like he was deliberately drawing a line.
Specifically, a line with me.
‘From the first time he saw me, his expression was a bit stiff. Even as we walked the corridor, he never once looked my way.’
It was the same now.
The smile at his lips was directed only at Estelle, never at me.
In fact, he seemed almost to turn his back to me, shutting me out.
‘…It must just be my imagination.’
I was nervous in this unfamiliar place; surely that was why I felt so sensitive.
Why would the duke’s aide bother to draw lines with me?
And yet, that uneasy feeling in my chest wouldn’t quite fade.
Knock, knock—he rapped lightly on the door.
“Young Master, it’s Cain. As you ordered, I have brought the guests.”
From inside came a small voice:
“Enter.”
The aide stepped back, motioning for us to go in.
“Please. The young master is waiting inside.”
I gave him a polite bow.
“Thank you for guiding us here.”
“I only carried out the master’s command. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
His reply was curt, his tone cool.
Then he turned and walked away without so much as a glance back at me.
Not once had he looked me in the eye.
Feeling unsettled, I pushed open the door and stepped inside.
By the half-open terrace sat a familiar figure.
Claude, leaning back in his chair.
“You’re finally here.”
His low voice filled the room.
His eyes were still fixed on the book in his hand—he had clearly been reading while waiting.
Thud.
He shut the book and lifted his head.
At the same time, a gentle breeze slipped through the terrace door.
Late spring, on the cusp of summer.
The fresh, soft wind stirred his dark hair lightly—
Then drifted across, brushing the tip of my nose before fading away.
‘Ah.’
A faint, bitter yet sharp scent tickled my senses.
For some reason, the moment I breathed it in, all the unease I’d felt before entering the room melted away.
And so—
I found myself wishing I could keep breathing in that scent forever.
