Chapter 72………………..
“Where in the world does this sound like relationship advice?”
Just as I was about to ask why the duke was looking at me with such a bewildered expression, he spoke first.
“Well… so, what is it you actually want to do?”
“Send him abroad to study, of course.”
“And when the boy says he doesn’t want to go, how do you plan to manage that?”
“That’s exactly why I came here—to find a way.”
I let out a long sigh and pressed my forehead. Just thinking about what happened earlier made my head burn. Who would have thought I’d be at such a loss over just one boy?
“So you’re saying I look like some weak brat who wouldn’t even survive a battlefield, huh?”
…Was it that he hated being treated like a child?
Granted, he was far too tall and mature-looking to be called a kid. But still, he wasn’t an adult yet—that’s why I became his guardian under the guise of sponsorship.
“So this is where the sponsorship ends…”
I mulled over his words. In other words, I had basically just refused to remain his protector.
“Well, there’s no way Lennox knows I’m his sponsor, but still…”
My head felt like it was going to split apart.
“Just let him go. He doesn’t seem like the type to be scared of war anyway.”
“And if something happens to him out there?”
“But it’s not like you can suddenly buy him a countship right now, can you?”
Flinch.
“…How did you know I was planning to buy him a countship?”
“You coming here like this already shows how important that boy is to you. I just guessed… and looks like I was right.”
Duke Dinero chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.
Tch. I actually walked right into that trap. How humiliating.
“Then while we’re at it… couldn’t you lend me some money? I’ll pay you back soon.”
“Hm.”
The duke eyed me with a sharp look.
“So that was your real aim all along, wasn’t it?”
“…Yes.”
Now that everything was laid bare, I couldn’t hide it anymore.
“Well, lending you money isn’t hard. But don’t think you’ll escape paying the interest.”
…That easy? He agreed that easily?
The duke rang a bell, summoning his aide, René Emil.
“Thirty million gold. Issue it under Clemence Jacqueline’s name.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
René Emil bowed respectfully and left without a hint of surprise.
I stared wide-eyed at the unfolding situation.
Was this old man seriously ill or something? Or… was this some kind of advance inheritance? But I wasn’t even his blood relative—was there any inheritance for me at all?
“Why are you looking at me like I’ve lost my mind? If you don’t want it, forget it.”
“No, no! Thank you so much, really!”
I bowed deeply. Was this a dream or reality?
Everything happening today felt surreal. Watching me, Duke Dinero clicked his tongue.
“Though I doubt that stubborn boy will actually accept a countship so easily.”
“…Surely not.”
Once, I would have laughed at that idea. But now… I wasn’t so confident anymore.
He’d refused me so many times already.
Yes, I’d grown numb to rejection after hearing it so often—but honestly, it was making me more cynical.
What if he really refuses?
Suddenly, I remembered a conversation with Alfeo.
“Alfeo, say you’re the son of a noble below the rank of count. Would you go abroad to study or not?”
“Go, of course! Who in their right mind wouldn’t, in that position?”
“Right… then I’ll trust Alfeo’s judgment this time.”
I fully agreed. Unless you were insane, who would choose the battlefield over studying abroad?
“Lennox must’ve just been speaking out of pride, in the heat of the moment.”
After all, when someone’s pride is hurt, they sometimes lash out without thinking of the consequences.
“He’s only sixteen, after all.”
I’d been fooled by his maturity, but really, sixteen wasn’t that old.
The peak of adolescence—a time of impulsiveness.
…Or so I told myself, as less than half a day passed since I bought the countship.
And then a letter arrived.
From Aaron Helverto.
Exactly the sender I didn’t want to hear from.
I’d only ever asked him for one thing. If a letter was coming from him, it could only mean one thing.
Uneasy, I tore it open at once.
Clemence, just as you feared, Ren submitted his volunteer enlistment papers this afternoon. He departs for the front in a week.
“What did I tell you—!”
Just as I suspected. Lennox had really volunteered for the war.
My vision swam, and I pressed my forehead.
“He’s completely lost his mind!”
So… he meant it seriously?
At this rate, I was going to be the one fleeing on the next airship.
No, wait. There’s still a chance.
I’d bought the countship for him, hadn’t I?
And the deed of succession was already prepared. All I needed was his signature to stop him from going.
Resolved, I immediately ran out in search of Lennox.
But where is he?
For the first time, I couldn’t track him down.
He couldn’t have gone to the battlefield already, right?
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
Even at the marquis’s mansion, the only answer I got was that he hadn’t been seen since morning.
At last, I heard from someone that he’d been headed to the academy.
Not the training grounds, not the research lab…
As I wandered the academy, I ran into Melin. I grabbed her.
“Melin! Have you seen Ren?”
“Sis? What are you doing here this early?” she asked, eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
“Answer me first! Have you seen him?”
“N-No, I haven’t…”
“I did. Just saw him heading that way,” Alfeo, who stood nearby, spoke up.
Finally!
My eyes lit with hope.
“Wait, at least tell us what’s going o—”
“No time!”
Ignoring Alfeo’s question, I hurried on.
But the farther I went, the more familiar the path felt.
This place…
At last, I remembered.
A hill I’d once visited a year ago, around this very season, with Melin and Lennox.
The season was similar, but this year the winter had been long—no new sprouts yet.
Leaning against the great old tree was a familiar silhouette.
I quickened my pace—or rather, tried to. My body dragged sluggishly.
Ugh, my legs feel weird…
I quickly realized why.
From morning until now—barely three hours—my frantic search for him had burned through more energy than I usually spent in a whole day.
I was completely drained.
My body felt like it was scraping up the last drops of water from a dry well.
I should’ve exercised more…
Too late for regrets now.
Cursing myself, I staggered up the hill like a newborn giraffe.
There he was—Lennox, eyes closed, dozing against the biggest tree.
Apparently, he’d fallen asleep.
Unbelievable. I’ve been running around in a panic all morning, and here he is napping peacefully.
Seeing that calm face, an impish urge to startle him welled up in me. I crept up silently and leaned over.
It was the closest I’d ever been to his face.
He really is handsome…
Messy blond hair, sharp eyes hidden beneath, a straight nose, lips pressed in stubborn lines.
He had the aristocratic, arrogant beauty of a Euclide heir, unmistakable in his blood.
But then—his eyelids flickered open.
Clear green eyes locked sharply onto mine.
“…Ah!”
Startled, I tripped over a stone and tumbled backward.
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for pain—but Lennox’s hand shot out and caught my arm.
…Déjà vu.
Graduation day…
Back then too, he had caught me when I was about to be shoved down by the crowd.
But unlike then, I didn’t thank him this time. I shook his hand off.
His face hardened slightly at the gesture.
“I heard from Cal—you’re refusing to study abroad, and going to war instead.”
I had been about to hand him the deed of succession, but froze at his next words.
He looked at me quietly, then smirked.
“So this time you’ve come to persuade me as Clemence?”
“…This time?”
The words rang strangely. As if I’d tried to persuade him before.
A chilling thought raced through me.
My whole body prickled.
“No way… Ren.”
Do you… know I’m Rose?
I swallowed the rest of my words.
His green eyes glinted darkly as he said—
“Enough of this hide-and-seek. Don’t you think so… Benefactor?”
My breath stopped.
