〈035〉
Laughter echoed against the backdrop of a clear blue sky. Lorinus, who had been crossing the garden toward the mansion, came to a sudden halt at the sound.
At first, he thought he might have misheard. After all, hearing such laughter in the garden of this house was unfamiliar—too unfamiliar.
But on second thought, perhaps it wasn’t the first time. Somewhere deep in his distant memories, he faintly recalled hearing laughter like this.
Clear, bright, and lovely laughter—from a little girl.
“Lord Winchester?”
Ethan’s voice called after him as if asking where he was going, but Lorinus ignored it and, as though enchanted by something, began walking toward the sound. His feet stopped beneath a large plane tree.
Two pairs of clear eyes, which had stopped laughing at some point, were now gazing at him.
It was Naeri and Daniel. A large cloth was spread out, with half-finished tea and bread resting on it. The two seemed to be drawing—like a picnic outing.
But the sudden appearance of Lorinus seemed to have disrupted that pleasant mood.
“……”
A brief silence passed. Naeri smoothly stepped in to prompt Daniel to greet him and then praised his drawing excessively. After that, the silence grew even longer.
“Have you had lunch?”
Lorinus asked Naeri. But even before she could answer, he realized how foolish his question was.
Hadn’t he just seen the tea and half-eaten bread with his own eyes?
Nevertheless, Naeri kindly smiled and replied that they had enjoyed lunch. She even added that Daniel bravely ate carrots despite disliking them, squeezing his eyes shut as he did.
Lorinus nodded solemnly as if receiving a critical battlefield report. Then he turned to look at Daniel.
When their eyes met, the child visibly flinched.
“……”
Then, as if he had done something wrong, Daniel lowered his head. Seeing that, Lorinus couldn’t speak for a moment.
Just as Daniel had been intimidated, so too was Lorinus. Strangely, whenever he stood before the child, he felt small.
Known as the undefeated war demon, the emotionless commander of the knights, and a swordmaster whose name inspired awe—Lorinus de Winchester was intimidated by a child. People would think it absurd.
But it was true.
Unlike the burly, muscular men he was used to facing, Daniel was so small, so delicate, and so utterly unfamiliar—a mysterious little being. Whenever Lorinus stood before him, he truly had no idea what to do.
“…Are you sleeping well?”
Finally, at last, the words that came out of Lorinus’s mouth were just that.
Daniel blinked, confused. Even to a child, the question seemed random and completely out of place.
In the bright afternoon—why suddenly ask if he’d been sleeping well?
“Yes, I’m sleeping well.”
Still a bit bewildered, Daniel answered. Lorinus nodded as if satisfied.
“Good. Then.”
He turned around and headed back toward the mansion, his original destination. Ethan, puzzled, hurried after him.
“Why did you ask that?”
“Ask what?”
“You asked if they had lunch at three in the afternoon, and then asked a child in broad daylight if he slept well last night. Does the boy have insomnia or something?”
Lorinus paused at Ethan’s question.
“Is that strange?”
“It’s not strange, per se… just a little random, don’t you think?”
At that, Lorinus finally stopped walking.
“I heard that’s how you show care.”
“…Pardon?”
“I mean… you ask things like if someone slept well, or if they ate properly… that’s how you express concern, right?”
Now it was Ethan’s turn to be flustered.
Of course, what Lorinus said wasn’t wrong. Wondering whether someone is doing well—those were the first steps of showing care. But asking about lunch at 3 PM or asking a carefree child in the middle of the day if they slept well—those were a little off.
“It’s not wrong, but…”
Ethan didn’t know how to explain it, so he just looked at Lorinus.
His superior knew how to deploy tactics with precision and execute operations without emotion. He had pushed himself to the limits to become a swordmaster—the pinnacle of swordsmanship. Lorinus was, without a doubt, someone worthy of admiration.
But Ethan, who served closely under him, knew that Lorinus wasn’t perfect. People called him cold and rational, but Ethan didn’t think so. That description was too generous.
Lorinus was someone who seemed to lack emotion altogether. Because he lacked emotions himself, he struggled to understand others’ thoughts and hardships. His joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—all seemed to exist only in the realm of the sword. Not in people.
“As long as it’s not wrong, that’s enough.”
Even now—completely ignoring Ethan’s confusion and his own inability to explain—Lorinus took Ethan’s response at face value and kept walking.
“Well, it’s not like this is the first time…”
Ethan sighed and followed him.
“Do you know how to appreciate art?”
“…What?”
Another sudden, unrelated question. Ethan couldn’t hide his surprise.
“My wife said Daniel has a talent for drawing.”
“Y-Your wife?”
Ethan choked on his words. Until recently, Lorinus had referred to his wife as “Miss Naeri,” as was fitting. Since when had he started calling her “my wife” so naturally?
“Did you also think Daniel’s drawing was brilliant?”
“Ehh?!”
That scribbled mess from earlier? Brilliant?
Ethan couldn’t keep up with the conversation. Today’s Lorinus didn’t feel like himself.
“I’m done drawing!”
“Let’s see it, then.”
A voice came from beyond the hallway window.
“Wow! Incredible! Our Daniel is a genius—a total genius!”
Naeri’s voice, loud and overly enthusiastic, came through. Lorinus stepped toward the window.
Under the plane tree, Naeri held the sketchbook high and beamed with joy. Beside her, Daniel laughed brightly.
Watching the scene, Lorinus also smiled faintly.
Lord Winchester has finally gone mad…
Ethan, witnessing his superior smile for the first time in his life, was in shock.
He was definitely mad.
* * *
“This is strange…”
I’d been loitering outside Daniel’s room for an hour. According to the plan, it was supposed to be Daniel’s study time by now. Not that I was planning to sneak him away from his studies or anything…
My plan had simply been to bring in a plate of nicely cut fruit, knock on the door, peek in to see diligent little Daniel studying, nudge Miss Reynold, and hear her say how well Daniel was doing—all while feeling pleased with myself.
But the reason I couldn’t carry out this precious plan was because Miss Reynold wasn’t here.
“She’s never this late…”
When the carriage we’d sent to her home due to the rain returned empty, I had assumed they’d missed each other. When she didn’t arrive a bit later, I figured the rain had slowed her down.
But now, this delay was too long to be just that. I hadn’t known her for long, but Miss Reynold was, as her reputation claimed, a diligent and punctual person. She wasn’t the type to miss an appointment.
“Is the teacher not here yet?”
The door cracked open, and Daniel peeked out.
“Right? Maybe the teacher overslept yesterday?”
“…Is it because Daniel didn’t do well in math yesterday?”
“I-I don’t think that’s it…”
“Is it because Daniel was so dumb that I couldn’t figure out what 5 + 7 is? But Daniel only has ten fingers, so I couldn’t add beyond that…”
Daniel’s shoulders slumped.
“It’s okay, Daniel! If you run out of fingers, you’ve got toes too!”
“…Huh?”
Daniel’s eyes sparkled. Wait… is it really okay to bring toes into basic addition? It’s been so long, I can’t remember.
“A-Anyway, Daniel, why don’t you go back to your room and do some reviewing before the teacher arrives? I’ll send someone to check in on her.”
Daniel, the good boy he was, nodded and went back inside. And just like I said, I was going to find out what had happened to Miss Reynold.
Not by sending someone.
But by going myself.
Ah the other countess must’ve taken her