Chapter: 22
Ricardo’s gaze lingered on the embroidery on the handkerchief. Pale brown vines and fresh green leaves. Brown and green.
‘The color of my hair and eyes…’
Heat flushed his face again.
‘…Well, the taste isn’t bad at all.’
It was good enough to use anywhere.
He could casually tell his mother at a meal, “Ah, this handkerchief? I received it from Mary.”
Or subtly show it in front of the head maid: “It’s hot today. I’ll use the handkerchief I got from Mary to wipe my sweat.”
It wasn’t intended as showing off.
It was simply a handkerchief good enough to be proud to show.
“Master, how is it? Do you like it?”
Ricardo, who had been staring blankly at the handkerchief, spoke nonchalantly.
“It’s not bad. But did you buy this at a department store?”
“Oh! You knew?”
“There’s a logo here.”
Ricardo pointed to the logo on the box, indicating that it was a brand sold only at department stores. Mary widened her eyes in surprise, nodding as if she had no idea.
“It must have been expensive for you to buy. It’d be a waste to spend your hard-earned salary all at once.”
“No, it’s a gift for you, Master. I don’t mind spending it at all!”
Mary smiled brightly.
Her radiant smile pounded at Ricardo’s heart, which he had barely managed to calm.
He forced himself to regain composure.
As the future head of the Hamilton family, he must not be swayed by such trivial matters. A proper head of the family should be able to control their emotions.
‘Maintain composure. You’re doing well, Ricardo. Just keep it up.’
Today, Master’s expressions are all over the place.
When he opened the box, he looked like a child receiving a Christmas present, full of anticipation.
But after seeing the handkerchief, he frowned slightly and shook his head repeatedly.
His face was flushed, so I scanned him carefully to see if he might be coming down with a cold.
His mouth curved upwards, and his eyes, beautifully folded like a crescent moon, showed satisfaction.
Seeing his face change every moment with various emotions naturally made me happy.
‘Luckily, he seems to like the gift!’
I stood properly, smiling with relief that Master would use the gift well.
“Master, I’ll tidy up my room now.”
While I cleaned the messy room, Master kept fiddling with the handkerchief.
He must like the texture. I’m glad I chose something soft and smooth.
Feeling good while cleaning, a thought suddenly came to me, and I said,
“Master, I met a friend today.”
A faint crack appeared on Master’s face.
“A friend?”
“Yes. Um… my childhood friend I mentioned before.”
“So… you left me to meet this friend?”
Startled by his sudden tone, I quickly corrected myself.
“Left you? Absolutely not. I went out today to buy some necessities and a gift for you.”
“……”
“I just happened to meet Ian by chance.”
His expression, which had softened for a moment, soon twisted again sharply.
“Ian?”
“Yes. That’s my friend’s name.”
“Why do you call him so casually?”
“Well… because he’s a friend.”
“……”
Seeing his dissatisfied frown, I tilted my head.
What’s bothering him? I couldn’t figure it out, so I just blinked.
After a long silence, Master spoke briefly.
“Don’t talk about him in front of me again.”
“You mean… Ian?”
“Yes.”
There wasn’t much else to say, so after seeing his sulking face, I had no choice but to nod.
A little while after sending Mary off post-cleaning, Ricardo picked up a sheet of paper in his room.
The handwriting on the white sheet was crooked, with the same sentence repeated over and over, as if a child were practicing writing.
‘Mary wrote this.’
Ricardo slowly read through the letters.
“By your side
Just being by your side
Being there
Just by being there”
Even writing a short sentence seemed difficult for Mary. Traces of erased mistakes and rewritten characters remained.
His gaze lingered over the sentence completed after trial and error.
“A precious person who comforts just by being there”
This single sentence held Mary’s sincerity and effort to convey her feelings.
‘This is…’
Ricardo, feeling overwhelmed, read the writing below.
“Thank
Thank you.
Thanks.
Thank you.”
“Writing a letter
Is harder than I thought.
It’s difficult.”
The warmth behind the clumsy sentences made his heart flutter.
“She practiced writing a letter… for me.”
Ricardo carefully set the paper down and exhaled.
“Ha…”
His chest felt as if it were on fire—warm, no, hot. The heat escaped in a sigh.
He read the letters on the paper again. His upturned mouth didn’t fall.
After the gift, now a letter.
Uncontrollable joy spilled out as laughter. Ricardo tried to compose himself, murmuring,
“You fool. Carrying things like this around.”
He carefully folded the paper.
‘If she knew I saw it, she’d be embarrassed. I have to pretend I didn’t.’
He imagined receiving the letter from Mary, acting as if he knew nothing, and taking it nonchalantly.
Would Mary blush while giving it?
“Master, this is…”
Ricardo shook his head at the thought, ‘It’s not like she’s confessing.’
Of course not.
Still, he thought—seeing that small scene unfold in reality wouldn’t be so bad.
He already looked forward to the day Mary would give him a letter.Ian rested under the shade of a tree, avoiding the scorching sun. Sweat dotted his forehead from carrying luggage all day.
“Haa…”
As Ian exhaled and drank water, a maid ran over from afar and stopped in front of him.
Her hands gripped something tightly, and a white envelope peeked between her fingers.
Ian immediately recognized the item but pretended not to notice.
“Um… excu—”
“Yes. Rina.”
“Y-You… know my name?”
“Aren’t you the Rina who works in the kitchen?”
“Y-Yes…!”
Rina’s face flushed bright red.
She seemed genuinely happy that Ian remembered her name.
‘Is remembering a name really that joyful?’
The reason Ian remembered wasn’t because she was special. He simply had a good memory since birth; once he learned something, he remembered it easily. Names and faces were no different.
“This….”
Rina squeezed her eyes shut and handed over the envelope.
As soon as Ian received it, she ran off without even a proper goodbye.
Ian opened the envelope and skimmed the contents.
Just as he expected…
“Another love letter.”
He’d been in the mansion only a month. Already, he had over ten confession letters.
The stacking letters were merely a nuisance to Ian.
“Haa…”
It was a chore to politely refuse each one.
“Hey, Ian.”
A boy approaching called out to him warmly.
It was Tom, another servant of the count’s household, similar in age. They had become roommates due to age, and Tom was chatty, which often tired Ian.
“You got another confession?”
Ian nodded, and Tom asked curiously,
“Who is it this time? Sophia? Hella?”
“Rina gave it to me.”
Tom’s eyes widened.
“Rina? You mean the one in the kitchen?”
“Yeah.”
“Lucky you. But why the long face? You got a confession from our kitchen fairy—act a little happy!”
“Kitchen fairy?”
“Don’t you know? Rina’s nickname is Kitchen Fairy. Small and cute, like a fairy. Isn’t she pretty?”
Ian barely nodded, showing no real understanding.
Tom frowned. He always behaved this way.
He treated everyone politely and kindly, but never showed his true feelings. He kept a proper distance from everyone.
‘Anyway, he’s cold and distant.’
Tom pouted, then pulled something from his pocket—a letter.
Ian took it as usual.
“Don’t misunderstand, I didn’t write this. The butler asked me to deliver it to you on his way.”
The butler? Ian was curious. But when he saw the sender on the envelope, a crack appeared in his usually calm expression, and anticipation rippled through him.
‘Mary.’
As Ian opened the envelope, his eyes softened. Tom gasped in surprise.
“Wow, I’ve never seen you smile like that. Whose letter is it?”
“A friend.”
“You have a friend?”
Ian closed the envelope again and tucked it deep into his chest.
Joy was unmistakable on his face—a genuine smile after a long time.
