Chapter 30
I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but as we talked, I could feel that, despite his cold and indifferent appearance, he was a considerate and kind man.
With that thought, I glanced at my watch. Time had passed much more quickly than I realized.
“I should probably be going now. The children are waiting for me.”
I stood up quickly, and he rose as well.
“I’ll escort you to where the carriage is.”
I didn’t refuse and replied,
“I’d be glad to accept. Thank you.”
“I’ll have the horses ready.”
Rick, who had been observing our conversation, stepped out of the parlor ahead of us. The Duke looked back at me and asked,
“Shall we go?”
I nodded at his words.
“Yes.”
“Thank you so much for today.”
“On the contrary, I should be the one thanking you for the gift.”
Standing by the carriage, the Duke and I exchanged farewells.
“Our next meeting will be when you enter the palace, I suppose.”
I nodded at his words, and then I also greeted Rick, who stood motionless behind the Duke.
“Y-you should go in as well, Mr. Henamoon.”
“You can just call me Rick.”
“Is that alright?”
“Of course.”
“Then Rick, you should go in too.”
“Yes, please take care.”
Rick gave a slight nod in farewell.
Once all the farewells were done, I turned my head.
The coachman was watching me with moist eyes, his gaze seemingly saying it was a relief that I was returning safely.
“To the orphanage, please.”
As I climbed into the carriage, the coachman quickly nodded and took his seat.
After a moment, the sound of the horses moving indicated the carriage had started. I leaned slightly out the window, looking toward where the Duke had stood. He remained there, watching me.
I nodded to him one last time, and the carriage quickly left the forest, heading toward the orphanage.
After Ciela left, he returned to his study and, as usual, resumed work.
Shortly after, Rick placed a teacup in front of him.
The Duke shifted his gaze from the documents to the cup and, for a moment, a faint smile crossed his face as if lost in thought.
Rick, observing him, suddenly spoke.
“Why are you so concerned about her, sir?”
Startled by the sudden question, Dietrich looked at him as if to ask what he meant.
Rick elaborated,
“I mean Miss Ciela Feirunt. It’s true that thanks to her, we secured trade with the Western Kingdom, but it seems you’re taking care of her far beyond that.”
“Do you think that’s excessive?”
“Not exactly. I’m just curious about the reason…”
Trailing off, Rick thought for a moment about her.
Ciela Feirunt. A fallen noblewoman with nothing but a small orphanage.
How she knew about the sea routes connected to the Western Kingdom was unclear, but it was evident that the Duke’s house had greatly prospered because of her.
And it was entirely reasonable that the Duke decided to support her orphanage as compensation.
Yet it was also true that the Duke’s support had gone overboard.
“The teabag business is the same.”
He recalled the teabags she had gifted.
Though clearly an innovative invention, there were countless families eager to gain a connection to the Duke’s house.
Yet the Duke, ignoring all that, decided without hesitation to invest in her invention.
Not only that.
When he first set the sponsorship amount, it was so high that he had to be restrained.
The Duke surely knew that all of this wasn’t just ordinary support.
Unable to fathom his reasoning, Rick asked the question he could no longer suppress.
The Duke didn’t answer immediately.
He twirled the edge of his teacup as if recalling something and slowly spoke, his voice blending with the aroma of tea.
“…Sometimes I think, Rick, if you and I had proper parents, you wouldn’t have turned your back on your family, and I wouldn’t have become a ‘monster.’”
“…”
Rick pressed his lips tightly together at the words. Behind his monocle, his blue eyes swirled with a cold intensity, and Dietrich gave a bitter smile.
“What does that have to do with her?”
Unintentionally, but without trying to restrain himself, Rick’s voice was cold.
Despite the rude tone, Dietrich did not reprimand him.
He knew the words he had spoken struck the one sore spot Rick most wished to hide.
Dietrich lowered his eyes, recalling the scene at the orphanage.
The children had been frightened of him, and Ciela had watched them with lonely eyes. Most of all, she had always prioritized the children over herself.
In the frightened children, Dietrich saw reflections of their own childhoods—himself and Rick. Their own scars had piled atop the children’s.
Perhaps that was why he said,
“We didn’t have guardians to protect us, so we were cast out, but I hope the children in the orphanage won’t grow up like us. She can be an excellent guardian for them.”
“…”
“I simply want to see those children happy.”
“…Are you seeking vicarious satisfaction?”
“Perhaps.”
Dietrich let out a weary laugh and took a sip of tea.
The warmth had long dissipated, leaving the tea lukewarm in his mouth.
Rick pressed his lips tightly together. The words had stirred memories of childhood trauma, of the times he had been mistreated.
But he did not show it. He was not the only one whose trauma had been triggered.
It was an unspoken agreement: never to speak of their childhoods. There was nothing good to recall, so it was better left buried.
Yet he had spoken…
‘That must mean he is truly sincere.’
Rick exhaled deeply to regain his composure.
After all, he was the Duke’s secretary and a comrade who had shared the battlefield. He couldn’t let this interfere with their professional relationship.
Still, there was one thing he couldn’t understand.
“Then it would have been enough to support her orphanage, but why did you decide to fund the teabag business? That has nothing to do with the orphanage.”
Of course, if Ciela Feirunt succeeded, the orphanage would prosper as well.
But even so, it was excessive to fund that too. Five hundred gold per month would have sufficed.
That business seemed aimed more at reviving the fallen Feirunt family than at supporting the orphanage.
The Duke did not answer immediately. Time passed, and then Dietrich spoke calmly.
“I simply liked the taste of the teabag.”
That was all.
The unspoken implication was clear: no further questions should be asked.
Rick could not press the matter further. He could only think that the Duke genuinely liked the teabag.
“If you have no more questions, go out and attend to your duties.”
“…Understood. Call me if you need anything.”
“Very well.”
Rick glanced at him one last time and left the study.
Once the door closed, no sound could be heard inside—not even the rustling of papers.
After a while, Dietrich sighed and removed his glasses.
His golden eyes swirled with complexity.
‘Why?’
He had told Rick that he invested simply because he liked the teabag. But even he didn’t know if that was the full truth.
For some reason, he wasn’t entirely sure himself.
He simply…
Closed his eyes and recalled that moment.
The breeze gently flowing through the window carried the aroma of green tea throughout the director’s office.
When he lifted his gaze while savoring the scent, the scene before him was vivid.
Her sunset-colored hair swayed in the wind, her golden-brown eyes held a distant quality. Shadows fell beneath her lowered lashes, and her lips were set straight.
Even he, usually insensitive to pale beauty, found her beautiful—though he couldn’t say exactly why.
What had captured his gaze so completely?
‘I don’t even know what remains in my mind.’
The scent of green tea reminded him of her, and thinking of her brought the scent back.
He couldn’t tell which came first.
All he knew was that these fragmentary moments and sensations were deeply engraved in his mind, surfacing unbidden.
