Chapter 17
Carlos didn’t say anything for a long time after that.
“You came to meet me again today?”
Eventually, I had no choice but to break the silence with a cliché.
“Yes, I did.”
Carlos finally composed himself and replied calmly.
“What about breakfast?”
I found myself naturally worrying about his breakfast.
After all, an office worker runs on food.
“Breakfast…?”
Carlos repeated the word like he had misheard me.
His reaction suggested he had heard something completely unexpected.
“I meant breakfast.”
I repeated myself, thinking he might not have understood.
But Carlos’s wide eyes didn’t return to normal.
Instead, his face filled with even greater confusion.
‘Ah.’
That’s when I realized why he was so shocked.
“We’re not really the type to fuss over things like that, huh.”
Only then did Carlos’s expression return to normal.
“You’re right. The Commander and I are absolutely, absolutely not the type to look after each other’s breakfasts.”
Carlos emphasized it by repeating himself twice.
“Then what if we started looking after each other from now on?”
Half of that was impulsive, and the other half was me rebelling against Carlos’s absolute refusal.
“Pardon…?”
Carlos looked blank for a moment.
His face showed genuine shock.
‘Maybe that was too much.’
Embarrassment came rushing in, and I cleared my throat while avoiding Carlos’s eyes.
“Well, I understand if you don’t want that kind of relationship. So let’s just forget—”
I was about to say we should forget it when—
“All right.”
“…All right? You’re serious?”
Surprised, I turned back to Carlos.
There he was, his face stiff as stone.
“Sure. Let’s look after each other’s breakfasts.”
Seeing my shocked face, this time Carlos smiled.
“I suppose you said that just to tease me, but I’m not someone so easily fooled.”
‘Wait, I wasn’t trying to tease you…’
It was just that your words were so final and absolute that I got stubborn…
But it was too late to explain all that now.
Carlos had firmly convinced himself I was messing with him, and any attempt to explain would likely backfire.
“…Fine.”
“Let’s look after each other’s breakfasts from now on.”
Even though I said it as if pushed into it, thinking about it, it wasn’t a bad thing.
Seeing Carlos more often and improving his impression of me was crucial to my survival anyway.
“Then shall we start today?”
I asked, riding the momentum.
Carlos’s face hardened even more.
Apparently, he still thought I was teasing him.
“Have you had breakfast yet?”
I asked, throwing out a question that didn’t suit our relationship at all.
“Not yet.”
Carlos shook his head.
“Not yet?”
I was a bit surprised. I thought for sure he’d eaten by now.
“On weekdays, I usually eat after arriving at the Order. I don’t want to wake the servants at the Ivach estate just because I’m coming to greet you.”
“….”
How early does he come out?
Maybe my expression showed my thoughts because Carlos spoke plainly.
“Around five in the morning?”
“…You think I’m the kind of person who’d bolt out of bed at five a.m. to run away?”
“It’s more like… you’d be returning from an all-night drinking party and I’d try to catch you.”
That made me sigh. We had a long way to go.
“Well, at least you don’t skip breakfast.”
At my words, Carlos’s face hardened again.
“Why do you keep… doing this…?”
“I haven’t eaten either.”
I cut off whatever harsh comment he was about to make and returned to the breakfast topic.
“Breakfast?”
Carlos raised an eyebrow. His expression said he didn’t understand why I was bringing up my own breakfast.
We just agreed to look after each other’s breakfast, didn’t we?
No wonder I keep getting petty.
“Ask me when I’m going to eat.”
Carlos looked dumbfounded and fell silent.
His handsome brows scrunched up tightly.
“When are you going to eat breakfast, Commander?”
Carlos asked, grimacing as if swallowing bitter water.
“Hmm.”
His face gave me an idea.
“Right now?”
“Then go have—”
“But I don’t want to wake the staff either, so I think I’ll eat at the Order with you.”
“…Excuse me?”
Carlos sounded stunned.
“What did you just say…?”
“I’ll eat at the Order. With you.”
“….”
Carlos fell silent, clearly flustered.
Nice. Finally landed a blow on Carlos.
And I’ve found an opportunity to improve his view of me, too.
“Let’s go. Wait here for a moment.”
Ignoring Carlos’s stunned expression, I turned and ran back to the mansion.
There, I told the first servant I found not to prepare breakfast for me today.
“Huh? Why not…?”
“I’ll be eating at the Order.”
“What? You’re going in this early?”
The butler’s eyes widened like lanterns.
“Yeah. Thought I’d get some work done early.”
I nodded.
“Miss, that’s wonderful! You’ve truly changed!”
The butler’s voice trembled with emotion.
So this wasn’t just about Carlos. It was a chance to improve how everyone sees me.
Even if it was born from stubbornness, it was a good call.
“Then I’ll report this to the Marquis as well.”
“….”
That part didn’t feel so great.
‘Would he even care where I eat breakfast?’
I imagined the stern Marquis Elvington scolding Elia.
‘Ugh. Enough of those unpleasant thoughts.’
I shook my head and got rid of them.
“Sure, go ahead.”
That ended my conversation with the butler.
I stopped by the stables, brought out my black stallion and Carlos’s mare, and returned to the garden.
Carlos hadn’t moved an inch from where I told him to wait.
“Let’s go.”
I handed him the mare’s reins.
Carlos silently accepted them, lips pressed tightly together.
He clearly wasn’t thrilled about this sudden joint breakfast.
I wasn’t in the best mood either after thinking about the Marquis, so we both headed to the Order in silence.
“Wait, Commander.”
As I wrote my name on the attendance list and headed toward the cafeteria, Carlos stopped me.
“Hm?”
“That’s not where breakfast is.”
“Oh, it’s not?”
Right. With so few people, opening the full cafeteria might be excessive.
“Then where?”
“…This way.”
Carlos hesitated for a moment, then led me deeper into the building.
We walked, and walked some more.
Eventually, we arrived at a room with several long tables.
“I’ve never been here before.”
Even searching Elia’s memories, I couldn’t recall this place.
“It’s too early, so no one’s here yet. But some others will come soon.”
Carlos explained in his usual blunt tone.
“The attendants will also arrive soon. Just let them know you’ll be eating.”
“What is this place? A secret hideout?”
“More like… an improvised dining hall.”
Carlos stopped explaining then. His silence clearly meant he didn’t want to talk anymore.
Sensing that pushing further would be unwise, I also stayed quiet.
We sat across from each other and waited. Just as Carlos said, a few knights soon showed up for breakfast.
“H-Huh? Commander?”
All of them looked at me like they’d seen a ghost.
I forced an awkward smile, trying to make a good impression.
“W-We’re sorry!”
But they misunderstood my smile, apologized on their own, and fled the room.
“…Why are they acting like that?”
“They were shocked to see you, and they didn’t want to eat breakfast with you.”
Carlos spoke with his eyes closed and arms crossed.
“…Was I really that bad?”
“Why are you surprised?”
Carlos opened only his eyes, arms still crossed.
His dry question left me speechless.
“Huh… Commander?”
The only knight who didn’t flee upon seeing me appeared just as Carlos and I were exchanging tense looks.
Oof