Chapter 31………………………………………………………………….
“Oh, you must be that maid who came before, right?”
A middle-aged woman greeted Laura in front of a clean, modest two-story house, recognizing her.
“Hello, ma’am!”
Laura introduced the woman to us.
“This is Mrs. Herman. She manages everything in the house of the steward.”
“There’s no place that pays as well as this house does.”
Even without an introduction, Mrs. Herman chattered cheerfully as she led us into the steward’s home.
“It seems the Duke really does pay generously. Everyone’s dressed so nicely, and quite handsome too.”
Since we had come with Laura, it seemed she assumed Terence and I were associated with Cassius.
It worked in our favor, so we didn’t bother correcting her.
“So, what errand are we running today?”
“Oh, some leftover food from the banquet. They told us to deliver it. There’s quite a bit, so we came as a group.”
Following our pre-planned excuse, we placed the baskets of food we had bought at the market on the table.
Mrs. Herman, without suspicion, inspected the baskets and let out a gasp.
“Wow. So that’s why they call him Cassius. With this much, not only I but even Joshua could eat to our fill…”
“Joshua?”
“Oh, it’s nothing! Never mind that, I’ll bring the tea—enjoy it with the dessert you brought.”
Mrs. Herman’s sudden diversion was obviously awkward enough that anyone could notice.
“Who is this Joshua? Suspicious,” Terence whispered once she left to prepare the tea.
I was curious too—not about Joshua’s identity, but about Mrs. Herman’s unusual behavior.
Laura seemed unaware of who Joshua was, but I knew. Joshua was the steward’s only son.
Not because I’d heard it directly, but because I had read it in Walking Only the Flower Road After Reincarnation. Joshua was a minor character, appearing in only one episode, so I didn’t know him in detail.
Still, his role, though small, was significant enough that the story of Joshua was clear even without relying strictly on the original source.
Joshua, as a child, once visited his father’s workplace and met eight-year-old Riena. He was struck by her exceptional cuteness and, smitten at first sight, carved a wooden figure as a gift…
Until Cassius, the Duke, caught him in the act. Realizing the possibility that his precious daughter could one day be taken by some boy, the Duke understandably lost his temper.
‘In short, a character who opens a new horizon of the Duke’s overprotectiveness toward his daughter.’
From then on, the Duke would have a fit at the mere approach of a boy around Riena’s age. He even planned to preemptively eliminate anyone showing such potential, only to be stopped by Riena herself.
Riena didn’t date the Crown Prince for no reason—only someone like the Crown Prince could pursue a relationship with her.
Even the mighty Duke Cassius couldn’t threaten or eliminate the next emperor.
But…
‘Why hide things about Joshua?’
Come to think of it, no one came to the door to meet us. I had heard the steward’s wife had passed long ago, but didn’t Joshua live here?
Perhaps he had simply grown up and become independent…
“Here’s the tea. The scones in the basket have been warmed, so please, enjoy.”
The aroma of cheesy scones filled the modest interior.
I paused my thoughts and, taking a bite of the scone with slightly bitter tea, nodded along with Mrs. Herman.
She was quite… talkative. Since her words flowed nonstop, I decided to change the subject to achieve our real goal.
“Oh, that decoration is cute. May I take a look?”
I pointed to the wooden carvings filling a display cabinet. Pretending to admire them, I casually surveyed the rest of the house.
Why had we even come inside with excuses instead of just waiting to meet the steward outside?
We needed information about our target, the Duke’s most trusted subordinate. The best place to gather that was in the house itself.
“They’re really detailed, aren’t they? The owner of this house made them.”
Mrs. Herman approached the display cabinet, so I had no choice but to look at the carvings.
No matter. While I kept her attention, Terence and Laura explored the rest of the house.
“The steward is quite skilled.”
“Apparently he’s had a hobby of carving since he was young.”
Joshua must have learned carving from his father. Upon closer inspection, some of the figures were less refined than others.
There were sun and moon motifs, animals, famous buildings—varied in style. Simple, yet charming.
Mrs. Herman and I stood side by side in silence, admiring the pieces.
‘Hm?’
Something caught my eye.
I carefully removed a human-shaped figure from a small carved boat.
At first, I thought it was part of the boat, but the quality difference was obvious. The human figure was clearly Joshua’s work.
Then, from upstairs, the sound of a door opening echoed.
Terence immediately moved beside me, hand on the hilt of his sword.
“Mrs. Herman, are they gone? Who on earth comes in a group… eek!”
A young man descending the stairs saw us, startled, and fell backward.
His face went pale as paper, trembling as he crawled backward.
“Uh…”
“No!”
I tried to reassure him, but he only reacted more violently. In the end, he crawled back through the door he had entered.
“Sigh… what now?”
The house fell silent again, leaving only Mrs. Herman’s exasperated sighs.
To avoid disturbing the man upstairs, she spoke softly:
“That is the steward’s son, Joshua. I don’t know the full story, but due to a shock he suffered as a child, he lives secluded from the world.”
A recluse.
“I’ve worked here a long time, so I can talk with him a bit, but others are strictly refused.”
“So we’ve overstayed without realizing it?”
“No. I thought hearing a new voice might stimulate Joshua positively, but I misjudged.”
“Does he always react like that to strangers?”
It was strange. The Joshua in the story was introverted but still within normal bounds.
“He avoids strangers, yes… but today is worse than usual. It’s probably because of your sword, sir.”
Terence raised his sword.
“This one?”
“Yes. Joshua can’t even touch kitchen knives or paper knives.”
If he couldn’t even handle a letter opener, it was serious. Likely, after the events in the story, Joshua had developed a psychological condition.
Wait—sword?
An idea flashed through my mind, forming a tentative hypothesis.
“Perhaps…”
“Why do you say that?”
“Nothing yet… just a theory. Maybe Joshua’s symptoms are…”
I couldn’t finish explaining it to Terence.
“Excuse me—what are you doing here?”
The steward had returned home, looking angry.
For someone usually calm, his reaction was unusually intense.
“I don’t know why you came, but it’s displeasing. Even subordinates should announce their visit beforehand, isn’t that common courtesy?”
I hadn’t expected him to be so angry. But I wasn’t unsettled; the more raw his emotions, the colder my logic became.
“You’re angry.”
“Of course. Because I am.”
“Really?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Human emotions have many causes. Sometimes anger is real, sometimes it’s masking shame or embarrassment with fury.”
He glanced upstairs, then at Mrs. Herman, who looked startled.
“Ma’am, you should go now.”
Sensing the tension, Mrs. Herman quickly left.
The steward sat in her chair at the table, facing us. His expression calmer, he said:
“That was rude. My son is not a shame to hide.”
“You weren’t referring to Joshua, then?”
“Then what?”
“The shame I referred to is your irresponsibility.”
“My irresponsibility?”
“Yes. The irresponsibility of still serving a master who left an indelible wound on his precious son’s heart.”
His gray eyes shook violently.
He rubbed his face with trembling hands.
“How did you know? No, it was an accident.”
“Only you know it wasn’t an accident. You choose to believe otherwise.”
“….”
“Duke Cassius aimed a sword at Joshua entirely by my will, with my own hand.”
After a long silence, Joshua’s father went quiet.
A long time ago, Duke Cassius discovered a boy trying to win his daughter’s favor with a trivial gift. In the Duke’s eyes, the boy was merely a young wolf coveting his daughter.
The Duke drew the sword at his waist and aimed it at the child.
“How dare you desire her!”
The terrified boy could only tremble, unable to answer. The notorious Duke was pointing a sharp sword at him.
Fortunately, the Duke never struck the child; his daughter had stopped him.
Perhaps the Duke never intended to harm a child. It was a moment of anger, fueled by love for his daughter.
For the sake of his beloved daughter, the Duke threatened another’s child with a sword.
Though a brief commotion occurred, Riena intervened, and peace returned to Cassius Castle.
That boy never appeared in the story again. Never.
