“Starting work from next week? That’s great. It seems you’ve caught the prince’s fancy.”
“Yea…”
In the end, everything turned out well.
Everything was good, but there was still one unclear part remaining.
I placed the teacup in front of the duke and lifted my lips.
“Master. I have one question.”
“What is it?”
“Yesterday. Was there really no business at the palace?”
“Hmm…”
The duke suddenly coughed, causing black tea to scatter across the desk.
I immediately took out the cloth I had prepared and gently wiped the desk, the duke’s hand, and the corner of his mouth.
The duke looked up at me with an awkward smile.
“Did you notice?”
“Of course I did…”
Anyone not a fool would notice.
The duke, knowing he would be rejected, applied for an audience with the emperor and promptly left the palace as soon as he was turned down.
There was no way he went through all the trouble of dressing up loudly and calling for a carriage to sit in the waiting room for just 10 minutes.
The duke was undoubtedly a strange person, but he was not someone who acted inefficiently.
There had to be another reason.
Leaving the palace alone, he probably didn’t head straight to the villa but stopped somewhere else.
It must have been a place he couldn’t visit without me knowing.
For example, perhaps at the house of another woman.
Considering the duke’s tastes, it might even be a widow with a child.
“What was the real purpose?”
“I can’t help it. I’ll confess.”
The duke sighed deeply.
He wasn’t particularly secretive and was an open-minded man.
Knowing he was nearly found out, it seemed he didn’t want to make a fuss denying or making excuses.
Who on earth was that widow he met in secret…
“Actually, I visited for Lady Julia.”
“What?”
What did you say?
“While I haven’t had experience with many people, Lady Julia came to mind as soon as I saw her. She’s not someone to waste away as just a maid. I wanted to introduce a good match for her, but I’m in a position isolated from aristocratic society, so it’s difficult. Therefore, I took Lady Julia with me to the palace, hoping, with luck, to make a connection with someone. But I never expected it would be linked to the prince.”
“No. Ah, re-really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“……”
My face turned hot.
It was only I who had such insidious thoughts.
I felt so embarrassed that I couldn’t face the duke, turning my head away.
I never dreamed it was for me…
“Why didn’t you consult with me in advance…?”
“I told you I wanted to surprise you.”
“……”
I paused for a moment, trying to recall when he said that.
It was none other than something he said yesterday.
When he spoke as if he had just said it, I became confused.
Does this man have a different sense of time than ordinary people…?
“And if I had mentioned it beforehand, would Lady Julia have accepted?”
“No…”
Surely, if I asked her to visit the palace with no business to pursue, she would have outright refused.
Given that I’m living quite comfortably without significant hardships now, I thought there was no need to stir up troubles.
My current mindset is closer to being complacent…
It seems I’ve changed since Tia came into my life, unlike before.
“You see? In the end, everything turned out well, so good is good, right?”
“……”
Indeed, I had become the prince’s math tutor, so it turned out well.
Still, still…
For some reason, I couldn’t completely suppress my feelings of dissatisfaction.
Of course, I know it was done with good intentions and that the result is good, but the fact that he stirred things up without even a word to me weighed heavily on my mind…
“Are you okay?”
“I’m f-fine. May I step out for a moment?”
“Of course.”
Feigning a trip to the restroom, I quickly exited the office.
Why am I like this?
I couldn’t understand it myself.
‘He’s always been like that. Why am I suddenly reacting this way?’
The duke is a man who needs to do everything his way.
He’s the kind of man who assaults women without hesitation and does as he pleases, disregarding the emperor’s displeasure.
I already knew this fact.
I had never expected him to change.
So then, what is this feeling…?
“Damn.”
I was frustrated.
My fists clenched tightly.
*
“I’m going to school! Starting today! Muhuhuhu!”
“You’re not starting today; you’re just going to process your admission. So calm down a bit.”
A notification came from St. Sophia.
Before admission, they wanted Tia to come with her guardian.
“What should I wear? I need to wear something that doesn’t let Leopard look down on me from the first day!”
“I think you can ignore what he said…”
Maybe that’s why Tia was so excited early in the morning.
She spent quite a long time choosing clothes, another long while picking out a hairpin, and then lingered again over shoes.
It was truly fascinating how she could deliberate for so long over such a limited number of items.
“Today, since I’m also the guardian, I should wear civilian clothes…”
It’s been a while since I’ve worn anything other than a maid outfit.
I opened my wardrobe, standing there momentarily.
The wardrobe was filled with clothes Leopard had bought for me as gifts whenever he was bored.
I narrowed down the choices to simple and neat outfits and avoided colors that were too glaring or skirts that were too short to avoid looking too young…
“Sigh… Mom, are we there yet?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I’ve already been choosing clothes for an hour.”
“No way.”
This child is making some weird joke.
I laughed in disbelief but then froze when I looked at the clock.
The time spent taking clothes out and laying them on the bed while walking around and deliberating must have amounted to an hour and ten minutes.
Recently, I had only been wearing maid outfits out of necessity, so it was only a moment of hesitation to choose an outfit after a long while.
Yes, that must be the case.
Embarrassed, I quickly finished my decision and closed the wardrobe door.
“Okay, okay! Shall we get going now?”
“Wait a second.”
“Huh?”
Just as I finished getting ready and burst through the door, a large hand suddenly reached out in front of my eyes, startling me.
As I squeezed my eyes shut, I felt something wrapping around my neck.
As I opened my eyes slowly, I discovered a pearl necklace hanging around my neck.
The duke was standing before me with a smug, or rather, a disgusting smile.
“What is this?”
“It’s a pearl necklace.”
“I know that…”
“I’m lending it to you. Although I don’t particularly like extravagance, I understand that showing some wealth can help in social gatherings.”
“……”
Someone who doesn’t particularly like extravagance is building vacation homes all over the country?
That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but considering the duke’s wealth, it didn’t seem like that was extravagance after all.
By the way, I thought the duke didn’t care much about others’ opinions, but it seemed that wasn’t the case either.
“Thank you…”
“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”
“I said thank you!!!”
“You’re welcome!”
Something rushed past me, creating a wind.
When I regained my senses, I saw Tia hugging the duke around the waist.
For a moment, I felt like the string of reason snapped.
It was just for a brief moment, but Tia quickly let go.
I almost exploded.
I grasped Tia’s shoulders and stepped back a couple of paces.
“Don’t hug just anyone…”
“Why?”
“I told you. All men are wolves.”
“Even Duke?”
“Of course…”
Is there a more vicious wolf than that bastard?
When I glared at him, the duke smiled awkwardly.
“Then is it okay to hold hands with Duke?”
“Well, that’s acceptable.”
“Then I can hold mom’s hand and also hold Duke’s hand while going to school? Hehe!”
“No, Duke isn’t coming.”
“He’s coming with us.”
“……?”
I belatedly examined the duke’s attire.
Come to think of it, he wasn’t dressed in casual clothes that you would wear indoors.
He was dressed in tidy formal attire.
“Why is the master coming along…?”
“Can I not accompany you as Tia’s guardian?”
“Guardian, you say?”
“Of course. A distinguished student like Tia should have a reliable guardian. Sometimes, just the presence of a guardian can provide significant support, even without material backing.”
“……”
His words sounded plausible, leaving me momentarily speechless.
Surely, having a guardian of Duke Dragania’s stature would prevent anyone from bothering Tia.
Unless they were exceptionally bold.
“Have you come to understand? Can I come along too?”
“Just saying you can’t won’t stop me from going.”
“Hahaha. That’s true. Shall we get going then? Oh, I almost forgot. Adding this will make you look elegant.”
The duke took something out of his pocket and held my left hand.
Then suddenly he kneeled and slowly slipped a ring onto my finger.
Borrowing a necklace and then a ring…
For a moment, I felt a bit thankful.
But upon closer inspection, the ring was quite thick and bore the Dragania crest.
I grabbed the duke’s left hand and lifted his ring finger, hoping for a moment.
“Oh! You’ve been caught.”
“Master…”
Crazy bastard.
He was trying to put on a matching couple ring that looked identical to the one he was wearing.
I, who felt a moment of gratitude, realized I was a fool.
It seemed today was going to be tough as well.
I almost forgot this guy was the dragon that spew fire to a village