Chapter 05
“Haa… I’m exhausted.”
The morning training finally ended only when the knights were on the verge of collapse.
“Just who the hell pissed off His Grace?”
Everyone shot resentful looks at Billein.
If he was going to get scolded, he should’ve gotten scolded alone. Why drag Kylas into it too?
Because of that, even their short break was cut short. After running a hundred laps around the training grounds, the duke had immediately taken command of the knights’ drills.
“That was brutal. I thought I was going to die.”
“Why is His Grace in such a bad mood?”
“No idea. Apparently Billein messed up. Ten days, they say.”
Being taught by the duke was an honor. But no one had asked for this level of intensity.
The knights avoided Kylas with weary eyes as they shuffled away.
Only the guilty Billein followed closely behind him.
Just then, the butler approached with a kindly smile, holding a piece of parchment.
“Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
“A letter has arrived from Count Bellona.”
“At this hour?”
The moment he heard the name Bellona, Kylas’s expression darkened again.
“He says he’s holding a banquet in fifteen days to celebrate the opening of a new trade route. Even members of the imperial family are invited.”
“So?”
“He says he very much hopes you will attend.”
Kylas’s eyebrows shot up, his nose twitching with irritation.
The only reason he didn’t immediately storm off to see Count Bellona was because he was exercising an extreme level of patience.
“Anything else?”
“He specifically asked that you come together with Aide Ruelia. He said he wishes to see her again after so long.”
“That woman dares—.”
He’d suspected her movements had been strange lately. It was obvious what that sly count was plotting.
He was trying to steal Ruelia back.
Three years ago, Ruelia had once offered advice on a new business venture Count Bellona had been 고민 over. That project had recently borne fruit—spectacularly so.
It had become the most profitable enterprise in all of the Bellona Trading Company’s businesses.
Hadn’t the aides hired to replace Ruelia been nothing but useless, bleeding money instead?
Back then, the count had been willing to let her go—so why this lingering attachment now?
Kylas didn’t like the count’s scheme to reclaim Ruelia.
“What shall we do?”
“Well…”
He was confident he wouldn’t lose.
Unlike Count Bellona, who had overworked Ruelia for cheap, Kylas treated her properly.
And Ruelia always worked diligently with a satisfied expression.
“I’ll ask Ruelia. Whether she wants to go together. Has she come in today?”
“She left early, saying she wished to see you, and headed to the training grounds. Didn’t you see her?”
Kylas raised an eyebrow.
He hadn’t seen even a glimpse of Ruelia’s sky-blue hair at the training grounds.
“Looks like we missed each other.”
“That’s a relief. If that little lady had seen everyone half-naked, training like beasts, she might’ve been so shocked she quit on the spot, don’t you think?”
Kylas felt uneasy.
He had been riding the knights particularly hard during training.
If Ruelia had seen that, she might have been frightened.
Unaware of his lord’s concern, Senior continued speaking calmly.
“But where could she have gone? I hope nothing happened…”
“Billein.”
“……”
“Go find out where Ruelia is.”
“……”
For some reason, his knight didn’t answer.
Had he not been punished enough yet? Or was he too exhausted from today’s ordeal to speak?
Kylas turned toward his silent subordinate.
“Billein. Can you not hear me?”
“T-This is bad.”
Billein was holding something.
A small piece of parchment, slightly stained as if it had been stepped on by muddy boots.
Aside from that, it looked clean—suggesting it hadn’t been discarded long ago.
“What’s all the fuss?”
“L-Look at this, sir. Isn’t this the aide’s handwriting?”
Billein handed the parchment to Kylas.
His tense gaze faltered the moment he saw the writing.
The round, neat script—anyone could tell it was Ruelia’s.
And at the very top, three words stood out.
“This is serious. It looks like the aide is finally quitting her job.”
A resignation letter.
The paper he had once collected without a shred of emotion now filled him with fear—for the first time in two years.
* * *
Back in the office, alone, Ruelia took a deep breath.
“What am I, a child?”
She fanned herself repeatedly, but the heat in her cheeks refused to fade.
The afterimage of what she’d seen earlier simply wouldn’t leave her mind.
Especially—
Kylas Aber.
His broad shoulders and sharply defined abs were burned vividly into her thoughts. The elegant curves formed by his muscles traced themselves clearly in her memory.
Something raw, hidden beneath his always neat and proper clothing.
Now she understood why the knights of House Aber praised him so fervently.
“He really is incredible. In so many ways.”
Ruelia placed a hand over her racing heart.
The pounding beat echoed clearly beneath her fingertips.
But something felt off.
The familiar thickness she felt through the fabric was gone. In its place—thin, stiff paper and an envelope.
“Oh—right! The resignation letter!”
Ruelia jumped to her feet.
She must have dropped it at the training grounds.
If someone found it and handed it to the duke without her consent, that would be a disaster.
She hurried toward the office door—
“Y-Your Grace! You’re here?”
Of all times, Kylas walked in.
Startled, Ruelia froze—and so did he.
Without a word, he stared at the small woman who barely reached his chin.
Ruelia stepped aside to let him pass.
He moved in the same direction.
She shifted to the other side—and again, he blocked her path.
“Y-Your Grace?”
Wondering why he kept blocking her, she lifted her head slightly.
His gaze was icy.
She swallowed.
“Ruelia. Where are you going?”
“Huh? Um, I was heading to the training grounds—”
“Why the training grounds?”
“My chest feels tight, so I thought I’d take a walk in the garden behind it.”
Had her lie been too obvious?
Kylas’s expression grew increasingly severe.
Feeling guilty for no reason, Ruelia took a step back. His brow furrowed further.
“Your Grace? Is there something you wish to order?”
“There’s something I want to ask. Do you have any plans fifteen days from now?”
“Me? No, nothing at all.”
“Good. Then you’ll go with me to Count Bellona’s estate that day.”
“Pardon?”
Caught off guard, Ruelia tilted her head slightly.
Then a smile bloomed on her lips.
“Count Bellona’s estate?”
The man who had first acknowledged her when she was still a commoner—almost a benefactor.
Someone she respected as much as Kylas.
“Yes. That woman invited you and me. She’s holding a banquet to celebrate the opening of a new trade route.”
Ah—that.
That, too, had been something Ruelia left behind at the Bellona Trading Company two years ago.
A location she’d recommended to the count, guided by what she believed was intuition—really, dormant memories from her past life. Success had been inevitable.
“I’d love to go. Just thinking about seeing her again after so long makes me excited.”
Ruelia answered sincerely, genuinely pleased. After all, something she’d contributed to had produced good results again.
Watching her, Kylas’s lips stiffened.
“You still seem fond of Count Bellona. Even after she worked you so harshly.”
That was true. She’d worked obsessively, day and night, barely finding time to care for Melissa.
And the rewards for her achievements hadn’t even been that great.
“The hardship I endured back then is what made me who I am today.”
Ruelia smiled brightly again.
There was no lie in her words or her expression.
She truly cherished the time she’d spent working at Count Bellona’s estate.
That said—if someone asked her to go back and work there again, she would absolutely refuse.
Her current life, working with the duke, was far more satisfying in every way.
Which was why she wanted to protect it all the more desperately.
“I see. So you want to work with that woman again?”
Perhaps her feelings hadn’t reached him.
The corners of Kylas’s mouth grew stiffer than before.
