Chapter 09
“Mila!”
Standing there was Isaac’s private tutor.
Mila, with her slim face and cold beauty, walked closer.
She was also extremely curious about the woman who would become Blaine’s bride.
“Young Master, how was she? The person who’ll be your future sister-in-law?”
“Future sister-in-law, my foot.”
Isaac frowned deeply.
“She was totally a stupid woman. You should’ve seen how dumb she looked too, Mila.”
“Oh my.”
At Isaac’s harsh evaluation, Mila looked surprised.
But a satisfied smile spread across her lips.
Mila gently held Isaac’s hand and walked with him.
“I told you already. It’s obvious what a woman like that is after.”
“Yeah, you were right, Mila. There’s no way she came here with good intentions.”
“Oh dear, Young Master.”
Still holding Isaac’s hand tightly, Mila looked down at him like she felt sorry for him.
“If that woman comes into this house, she’ll definitely try to kick you out.”
“……”
Isaac’s face turned gloomy.
Mila smiled slyly inside, but on the outside she put on a worried expression.
“On top of that, your eye color is different from the rest of your family, isn’t it? What if she picks on that and says you’re fake?”
“I-I…”
“If the Duke and Duchess start to hate you too… I think I’d be heartbroken.”
Isaac’s lips trembled with fear.
No matter what, he was still just a child.
The fear of being thrown out of his home made him easy to shake.
And that was exactly what Mila intended.
‘After all the years I’ve spent crawling around in this house… I can’t hand Lord Blaine over to some random girl.’
For that, dealing with one annoying brat was no big deal.
Mila bent down and hugged Isaac.
“Don’t worry too much. I’m always on your side, Young Master. As long as I’m here, no one will be able to bully you.”
“Thank you, Mila. Honestly… I wish you were part of our family…”
Isaac hugged Mila tightly too and whispered.
Mila’s eyes flashed with victory.
She stroked Isaac’s hair and smiled softly.
“I wish that were true too. Oh, and by the way—”
“Isaac.”
At the sudden voice, Isaac looked toward the far end of the hallway.
Blaine, now changed into different clothes, was walking toward them.
Mila quickly let go of Isaac and stood straight.
“Y-Young Grand Duke.”
“Ah, Teacher.”
Blaine only nodded slightly with an expressionless face.
But even that small gesture felt enchanting to Mila.
“I have a promise with Isaac. I’ll be taking him with me.”
“Then I’ll come too—”
“It’s fine. We decided to spend time as brothers.”
When Mila tried to insert herself, Blaine cut her off firmly.
Then he grabbed Isaac’s hand and walked away.
Mila clasped her hands together and stared at his back with a dazed face.
‘Ah… Young Grand Duke… he’s so amazing…’
When her family fell apart and she first had to look for work as a tutor, everything had felt humiliating.
But the moment she entered the ducal house and first met Blaine, Mila forgot all that shame.
From then on, she lived only to catch that man’s attention.
She believed that because she lived in the ducal house with him, she was closer to Blaine than any noble lady.
‘Young Grand Duke only shares his quills and parchment with me. Only me.’
Of course, it was for Isaac’s studies.
But Mila misunderstood even that, thinking Blaine had feelings for her.
‘And now some girl with no background comes rolling in…’
Mila clenched her teeth.
She still didn’t know who the woman was.
But judging by how she stayed in the ducal house before even marrying, she was unbelievably shameless.
‘The Duke and Duchess must dislike her too. They’re only accepting her because the Young Grand Duke is being stubborn.’
***
But Mila’s expectations were completely wrong.
“Here, my daughter-in-law. Try this too.”
“I should’ve asked what you liked earlier. I was so thoughtless.”
The next evening, at a dinner with the whole ducal family,
the Duke and Duchess sat on both sides of Elisha, who sat in the center.
As if competing over who could serve her more food, they took care of her nonstop.
The Duchess even cut meat herself and placed it on Elisha’s plate.
“Come on, my dear. Hurry and eat. The ducal chef is the best in the empire.”
“Ah, yes…! Th-thank you!”
When Elisha nodded, a pleased smile appeared on the Duchess’s face.
Seeing that, Mila’s face twisted from where she sat across the table.
‘What is that woman?’
She looked completely ordinary and just seemed stupid.
Mila couldn’t understand why everyone was treating her so warmly.
But today would be the last day.
Mila poked Isaac beside her with her finger.
‘Young Master, now.’
‘Yeah, I know…!’
At Mila’s signal, Isaac nodded.
Then, acting naturally, he said,
“Me too! Me too, please! Sister-in-law, try this too!”
Isaac held out the dish in front of him.
It was a salad with fruit and vegetables covered in a special sauce.
In truth, that sauce contained an extremely bitter potion that would make you gag the moment it touched your mouth.
It was Isaac and Mila’s plan to embarrass Elisha in front of everyone.
‘If she acts disgraceful at the dinner table, the Duke will look at her differently too.’
Mila’s lips curled up wickedly.
But just then, Blaine reached out and stopped him.
“Stop.”
“Ah…”
Did he notice?
Isaac got scared and watched Blaine’s expression carefully.
Blaine’s face was stiff.
Actually, Blaine didn’t know there was a bitter potion mixed in.
He was simply sulking because his seat next to Elisha had been taken.
“Elisha prefers dipping. She doesn’t like things that get soggy from having too much sauce poured on them.”
“Ah…”
Thank goodness. He didn’t notice.
Isaac sighed in relief inside.
But with his brother stopping him, Isaac looked troubled.
“Still…”
Isaac hesitated, glancing at Mila.
At that moment, the Duke quickly jumped in.
“So that’s how it is? My dear, you should’ve said so earlier! Chef! Bring fresh fruit salad without sauce on it immediately!”
“…I was about to say that just now.”
“Son, be quick and sharp every day.”
“Haa…”
Blaine sighed while looking at his father, who was smiling proudly.
The Duchess burst into laughter, and Elisha puffed out her cheeks and ate diligently.
The atmosphere was warm and cheerful, but Isaac and Mila couldn’t smile.
‘Tch… what a lucky girl.’
Mila bit her lip while glaring at Elisha across the table.
***
“Haahhh… I’m so full…”
After the dinner, Elisha returned to the guest room and dropped onto the sofa.
She couldn’t bring herself to refuse the food the Duke and Duchess kept offering, so she ate everything, and now she felt like her stomach would burst.
Elisha loosened the ribbon around her waist a little and blankly stared up at the ceiling.
Naturally, she remembered what had happened earlier.
‘How did the Young Grand Duke know my preference?’
‘She doesn’t like things that get soggy from having too much sauce poured on them.’
When Blaine said it in such a confident voice, she had honestly been pretty shocked.
While she lived in Baron Burns’s household, not a single person had ever been curious about her preferences or cared about them.
But Blaine knew so precisely.
‘Does the potion have that kind of effect too?’
Maybe it had some magical power that lets you know everything about the other person.
Elisha nodded as she reached her own conclusion.
‘Still… I should’ve eaten what Young Master Isaac offered.’
Elisha felt a little bad when she remembered Isaac’s disappointed expression.
It might have been his way of apologizing after acting unpleasant before.
She felt sorry that she seemed to reject him.
‘Tomorrow, I’ll greet him first. He’s still young… maybe he’s just not good at approaching people first.’
Even if she didn’t know how long she would stay in this house, she wanted to get along with Isaac.
Thinking that, Elisha leaned back into the sofa.
That was when—
“…Huh?”
The strange soft fluffy creatures she had seen yesterday were floating lazily in the air again.
Just roughly counting, there seemed to be well over ten of them.
Elisha blinked several times, but it wasn’t her imagination.
‘So it wasn’t a hallucination.’
Sitting with her knees hugged to her chest, Elisha quietly watched the flying cotton-balls.
As if playing a game, they spun around each other, giggling as they flew.
They really looked alive.
And somehow, she felt like she would keep seeing them from now on, so she thought they should have a name.
“Hmm… should I call you PomPoms? I don’t know how long I’ll be able to see you, though.”
Maybe they liked the name she gave them, because the PomPoms flew around happily as if celebrating.
Elisha smiled without realizing it.
“This is weird. Really… but I don’t think anything can be more weird than this anymore.”
The PomPoms giggled and lightly bumped into Elisha’s cheeks, then bounced away with a little pop, over and over.
One especially energetic PomPom suddenly flew quickly across the room.
Then it bounced up and down in front of the fireplace.
“…Are you telling me to go there?”
When Elisha asked, the PomPom flew up and down excitedly, like a person nodding.
Soon the other PomPoms joined in too.
Elisha slowly stood up and walked toward the fireplace.
“What could be over here…?”
She pressed the brick the PomPoms had been bumping into repeatedly.
The brick made a click sound and sank inward without resistance.
“Ah—what is this?!”
At the sudden change in front of her eyes, Elisha almost screamed.
