CHAPTER 51……
Anna looked at Kaas with a suspicious gaze.
Linaria seemed too lost in thought to notice the change in Kaas’s expression.
The lady’s acting normal, but he’s the only one like that.
The people involved seemed unaware, but to an observer there was a subtle, strange tension in the air.
Anna was just about to avert her gaze, having no way to figure it out, when—
“Milady, Lord Brimstone has come to see you.”
Another maid announced August’s visit.
“Really? I’m in the middle of a meal, so send him to the parlor for now—”
Linaria couldn’t finish her sentence.
“Linaria.”
August had barged straight into the dining room without warning.
Considering his usual gentlemanly conduct, it was extremely rude. For him to ignore etiquette and enter like this meant something serious must have happened.
“Did something happen?”
“That’s what I want to ask you. What on earth did you do?”
The smile that always sparkled on his face was now dulled and weighed down with fatigue.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Yesterday, I was the only one who entered the Ignas estate and came back out. And yet?”
Since it wasn’t something others should hear, Linaria signaled to Anna with her eyes.
Anna, catching on, left with the other maid.
Only Linaria, August, and Kaas—who was still eating—remained in the dining room.
“When I said I’d go back into the estate, they treated me like I had some ulterior motive. Even when I said I’d left my maid there, they wouldn’t believe me.”
August let out a deep sigh.
“I waited at the door for ages. Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come out? I thought Ovel’s one and only young lady was being turned into some scullery maid.”
“…I didn’t think you’d wait. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you.”
She had slipped out quietly through the back door, which was why she hadn’t run into August.
If she’d known he’d be this worried, she would have sent a letter even late at night.
But she had completely forgotten about August’s existence.
“How long did you wait?”
“I stood there until the sun went down.”
This confirmed one thing for certain—
The divine beast only stayed near the person holding the cactus.
If the cactus holder went too far away, it would disappear from sight.
That day, the divine beast Brimstone, who had vanished without a word—
“Don’t ignore me! Mean!”
—was smacking poor August’s head repeatedly with its front paws.
“And as soon as morning came, I found out the Ignas side was acting strangely. Hearing that, I thought you’d definitely contact me right away.”
“Strangely? How so?”
“You don’t know yet? They’re looking for a maid named ‘Anna.’”
Thump.
“That’s the name of my personal maid. How curious.”
“Linaria.”
There was no point denying it.
Linaria changed the subject.
“Then, did you already know?”
August didn’t answer—he just stared at her.
His desire was clear.
Since she’d done something wrong, she gave him what he wanted without resistance.
“All right, brother. August, did you already know what state the Duke of Ignas was in when you tried to introduce him to me?”
“You saw him?”
“Yes, I saw the childlike Duke Ignas.”
“…So you saw in detail.”
August also knew about Noah’s condition.
“The duke is the same age as you, isn’t he? But he looked as if… he never grew up.”
“He’s still Noah, regardless.”
August’s voice was firm.
“You asked if I introduced you knowing his condition? I don’t think it’s strange to introduce a new friend to someone whose social circle is so narrow because they never go outside.”
“…”
“You never know. Getting to know someone might give him the courage to go out to see them.”
“He doesn’t even see the friends he already has.”
“He doesn’t shut everyone out all the time. On good days, he sees me sometimes—though we can only talk briefly with the door closed.”
“Then do you know why he’s like that?”
“No, I don’t.”
August shook his head.
“I didn’t want rumors to leak outside, so I’ve been careful about looking into the cause. All I can do is remain his friend.”
Linaria realized that August knew about as much as she did.
Which meant he didn’t know much at all.
And that raised a question.
“Why?”
“…”
“He rejects you, doesn’t he? So why be so friendly with him?”
“I have many friends, but for Noah, I’m the only one.”
August gave a gentle smile.
“If even I pull away, he’ll have no ties left to the outside world. Then he really might never come out again.”
August was genuinely worried about Noah.
She had thought he’d invited her along on a whim, but now she could somewhat understand why he’d tried to introduce her to Noah.
But good intentions don’t always bring good results.
In her past life, August had died on the battlefield, and Noah had fallen for Lusalka yet rarely went out in public.
From what August was saying now, he clearly didn’t want that kind of future for Noah.
But I still don’t know what kind of person the Duke of Ignas is.
The fact that he had loved Lusalka weighed on her mind.
She felt bad for August, who valued Noah as a dear friend, but to Linaria, Noah was just one card in her hand that she had to choose carefully.
In truth, August doesn’t know him that well either.
For now, since they were working together with Duke Brimstone, she could let it slide—but if asked whether August was someone who would never betray her, she couldn’t be sure.
A good personality didn’t guarantee loyalty.
“I’ll guess what you’re thinking. Hmm… you’re thinking about me, right?”
August bent down so his eyes met Linaria’s, who was glancing up at him.
His smiling face, bright again as if he’d never been tired, was so very much like him.
It seemed that once he saw Linaria was safe, his tension had eased and he’d returned to his usual self.
“…I was thinking you’re more reckless than you look, so you’re not wrong.”
“That must be something we cousins have in common, right, Miss Anna?”
Linaria had the ominous feeling that August might tease her about this for the rest of her life.
“So what now? Planning to get a job not only at my house but also at the Ignas estate?”
“Of course not. I was wandering around because there was something I wanted to find out, and then… I got caught up in an incident.”
“You could have asked me if you were curious. I told you I was really friends with Noah—did you not believe me?”
August gave her the wounded look of a puppy with drooping ears.
“No, it’s not that I didn’t believe you…”
No matter how she said it, he’d be hurt anyway.
When Linaria faltered, August suddenly smiled.
“I’m joking. You must have been mistaken for a maid there and swept up in it before you could ask me anything.”
“…”
“This morning, someone from there came asking if I had a maid named ‘Anna.’ So I could roughly guess what had happened.”
“Lord Brimstone.”
“Ha! You want to know about Noah, right? You went but he wouldn’t see you, is that it?”
It would be strange to deny it now, so Linaria spoke honestly.
“Everyone’s only guessing why he’s secluded himself—no one knows the real reason.”
“That’s true.”
“If it were just because of his unusual appearance, he would have cut off contact with the outside world entirely.”
“That part, I know.”
As he was about to elaborate, August glanced at Kaas.
Until now Kaas had been sitting quietly, but he was giving August a sharp, piercing stare.
The closer August got to Linaria, the more blatant the gaze became—enough to make his cheek sting.
August ignored it steadfastly, but when their eyes finally met, he just whistled nonchalantly and looked away.
He’s going to burn a hole in my face.
Linaria had already mentioned that Noah appeared as a child.
Kaas had been left in the Ignas estate, so he must have seen it too.
But what August was about to say now was something you couldn’t know from appearance alone.
“Don’t mind him—go ahead and talk.”
“But…”
“He won’t speak carelessly.”
“If you say so.”
Although August had barged into the dining room uninvited, etiquette still dictated that Kaas should stand when a guest arrived.
Linaria was the lady of the house, so it didn’t matter for her, but Kaas wasn’t.
Yet he just sat there the whole time as if he knew nothing of manners.
From what she’d seen before, he didn’t seem to know much about etiquette anyway.
Still, he did seem tight-lipped enough to trust, as Linaria said—plus, he was wearing a slave’s collar.
“I think Noah is suffering from an incurable illness. It came to him when he was at his saddest.”
August began gravely.
