Chapter 14
Ronald’s pure white moustache twitched with confusion.
‘A teddy bear… wasn’t that the cause of the recent commotion? And now they’re saying it belongs to the young master.’
During that time, when Lady servants caused chaos while His Highness Crown Prince Edwin was visiting, he remembered how troublesome it had been.
He had calmed the maids down, telling them they were merely sleep-deprived and seeing things.
But now there were rumors that a real teddy bear existed—and that it belonged to Young Master Blake?
Why? Why on earth?
Now that he thought about it, there had been nothing but suspicious incidents recently.
Blake arriving with a bird’s nest on his head, and even running out of the reception room while the Crown Prince was present—those were all firsts.
He stood still, rolling his eyes.
‘…A teddy bear.’
The instincts of the old butler who had served the LeBlanc Ducal House for over 40 years sharpened instantly.
That sensitive intuition told him—something was there.
“Lord Ronald, hello.”
“Wait a moment.”
He quickly grabbed a passing servant who had greeted him.
“The maids who said they saw the teddy bear—where are they?”
Completely unaware of the chaos spreading through the ducal estate, today was a very meaningful day for me.
“Woooow! These flowers are so pretty!”
“……”
“Is it really okay for me to be here today? You always work in your office.”
“Stop asking. I said it’s fine.”
“Can I go up there?”
“If I say no, will you actually listen?”
I casually shrugged while looking at his cold, wind-like expression.
“That’s not how it works.”
I hopped onto the flower bed, and Blake answered in his usual curt tone.
I couldn’t hide my happiness.
This morning, for some reason, Blake had brought his work and suddenly lifted me up—bringing me all the way to the greenhouse.
‘So he was paying attention when I said I felt cramped… pretending not to, though.’
Looking around the glass greenhouse filled with warm sunlight, I felt an urge to pat Blake’s head for being unexpectedly considerate.
Blake was sitting by the table, rapidly writing with a fountain pen under a lit yellow lamp.
His silver glasses resting on the bridge of his nose and his faint violet eyes suited him perfectly.
I climbed onto a chair and flopped down comfortably.
It was warm… and drowsy.
“Hey, Blake. You don’t eat breakfast?”
“I don’t eat normally.”
“I see. Then the person you’re closest to in this mansion is that white-moustached butler we saw before?”
“White moustache…”
Blake glanced at me with an exasperated expression and answered briefly.
“I don’t have anyone I’m close to.”
“Ehh? That can’t be true! There’s no way you don’t have a single close person!”
It felt strange that someone living in such a huge mansion had no one close to him, so I waited for an answer—but he was too busy flipping documents.
“I have a dragon butler named Max. I brought him in when I was young, so we’ve been together for over 250 years now. Thinking about it, I guess I have a pretty special relationship with Max. He really likes me.”
Of course, that last part wasn’t something the person himself had said.
But I knew.
He nags a lot, but he can’t live without me.
Thinking of my irritable personal dragon, I swung my short legs back and forth.
“Without Max, it feels empty. He always complained about work being too much, but he supported me well. Now everything feels awkward doing it alone.”
Blake’s constantly moving pen suddenly stopped.
For a moment, I thought he was about to talk, and I looked at him expectantly—but he soon returned to his work.
Tch, boring.
When I’m bored, I’ll just admire Blake’s face.
‘Hmm, he really is handsome.’
He looked exactly like a perfectly sculpted romantic novel supporting male lead.
Is this what it means to be full just by looking?
On top of that, thanks to his improved sleep, the dark circles under his eyes had faded significantly, making his beauty shine even more.
Hehe.
‘Aaron, I’m doing my guardian angel role properly!’
I could already imagine Aaron returning from prayer and being pleased, which made it even more rewarding.
And maybe because he was in good condition, Blake’s document speed was insane.
Good at work, handsome, tall, capable, and even a war hero?
“His character specs are overloaded. The heroine Leia Everett must be amazing to have a man like that.”
“Do you know Leia Everett?”
Blake, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly asked.
It seemed mentioning Leia caught his attention.
I nodded with my arms crossed.
“Of course! I landed at Lady Everett’s birthday banquet when I first arrived here. I overheard you and that blond guy talking.”
“I see.”
“This is just my personal hobby, but if you ever need relationship advice, just ask.”
“There’s no need.”
He cut me off sharply, and I couldn’t hide my disappointment.
Blake, you really are hopeless at romance, aren’t you?
Unable to hold it back, I gave him sincere advice.
“I’m actually a pretty skilled romance expert, so you can trust me. I won’t lose in romance topics.”
“…You? How?”
“There are ways.”
That wasn’t a lie.
Before Max threw them all away, my room was packed full of romance novels.
I learned so much from them.
Thinking about it again makes me angry.
That Max—when I go back, I’m making him refill the entire bookshelf.
“Forget it. I don’t have time to care about that.”
“But didn’t the blond guy say Leia is someone important to you?”
Since she’s the original heroine, it wouldn’t be strange if she was important.
But contrary to expectations, Blake replied indifferently.
“Leia Everett and I are just friends. Why is everyone so desperate to connect us?”
His attitude showed not even a trace of interest.
For a moment, I wondered if he truly felt nothing for Leia.
‘Did I remember the novel wrong?’
Just as I was about to ask if that was really true—
Knock knock.
A light knock sounded from outside the greenhouse.
“A guest!”
I jumped up, and Blake warned me immediately.
“Act like a doll.”
“Okay, okay.”
Even as I replied, he still eyed me suspiciously and gestured.
“Come here. Sit on my lap.”
Are you serious?
Wouldn’t that ruin your dignity again?
I looked at him like he was strange and firmly refused.
“Sorry, but no. Your lap is harder than a chair.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“Yeah, I’ll just stay here.”
With a slightly displeased expression, he placed his fountain pen down sharply.
As we stood in silent confrontation, I held my hands firmly at my waist.
Knock knock knock!
The knocking grew louder, now accompanied by voices.
But Blake didn’t care at all, staring at me with a tilted, annoyed gaze.
“…They could just come in, why don’t they.”
And then—
The door suddenly burst open, revealing an unexpected visitor.
Blake’s lazy eyes narrowed.
In the private garden behind the mansion—the exclusive garden of House LeBlanc.
Ronald stood before the transparent greenhouse, deeply troubled.
The sun was already high in the sky, yet Blake could not be found anywhere in the mansion.
At first, he thought the young master had gone out for military training—but it was confirmed there was no training today.
Not in the office, dining hall, library, or even the bedroom.
Now only one place remained.
Finally, he arrived at the greenhouse in the garden.
Standing before the glass door reflecting sunlight, he hesitated briefly before taking a deep breath.
He didn’t think the young master would be in a greenhouse flooded with such strong sunlight—but even if he wasn’t here, he needed to see him today.
‘Just confirm it.’
It was due to a special assignment.
The incident had started from rumors among the servants a few days ago.
‘Are you the maid who spread the rumor that the young master carries a doll?’
‘L-Lord Ronald!’
‘Speak honestly. I’m not here to punish you—I just want to confirm what you saw.’
The maid, recounting everything clearly, didn’t seem to be lying.
‘He picked up a brown teddy bear… and said, “I’ve found you, my lovely teddy bear.”’
He had never used the word “lovely,” but since Ronald had not asked Blake directly, there was no way to confirm it.
However, even that alone was enough to shock Ronald deeply.
