Chapter 14

Ronald’s snowy white mustache twitched in confusion.

‘A teddy bear… that was the cause of the commotion recently. But they’re saying it belonged to the Young Master?’

At the time, the maids had caused such chaos while even Crown Prince Edwin was visiting that it had been incredibly difficult to manage.

He had soothed the frightened maids and sent them away, insisting they were hallucinating from lack of sleep.

But now the teddy bear had actually existed?

And rumors were spreading that it belonged to Young Master Blake?

Why?

Come to think of it, there had been one suspicious thing after another these past few days.

Blake returning with a bird’s nest on his head, then abruptly running out of the reception room while leaving the Crown Prince behind—

even that had been a completely unprecedented sight.

Ronald stood still, his eyes slowly shifting.

‘…A teddy bear.’

The instincts of the old butler who had served House Leblanc for over forty years sharpened instantly.

That sensitive intuition telling him something was going on.

“Good afternoon, Sir Ronald.”

“Wait a moment.”

He hurriedly grabbed a passing servant who had just greeted him.

“The maids who claimed they saw the teddy bear—where are they?”

Completely unaware of the uproar spreading through the ducal estate, today was an incredibly meaningful day for me.

“Woooow. These flowers are so pretty!”

“……”

“Are you really allowed to stay here today? You always work in your office.”

“Stop asking already. I said it’s fine.”

“Can I climb up here?”

“If I tell you not to, are you actually going to listen?”

Quietly staring at his icy expression, I casually shrugged.

“Nope.”

While I hopped up onto the flower bed, Blake answered every single question anyway.

I couldn’t hide my excitement.

This morning, for whatever reason, Blake had suddenly returned carrying his work materials, picked me up without warning, and brought me to the greenhouse.

‘So he really was paying attention when I said I felt trapped, even though he pretended not to care?’

As I looked around the glass greenhouse bathed in warm sunlight, I was suddenly overcome with the urge to pat Blake on the head for being unexpectedly thoughtful.

Blake sat at the table with a yellow lamp glowing beside him, busily moving his fountain pen across the papers.

The silver glasses resting on his nose suited his soft violet eyes ridiculously well.

Thinking that, I climbed onto a chair and flopped onto my back.

It was warm enough to make me drowsy.

“But Blake. You don’t even eat breakfast?”

“I never do.”

“I see. Then is the person you’re closest to in this mansion that white-mustached butler I saw before?”

“White mustache….”

Blake shot me an incredulous glance before answering shortly.

“I don’t have anyone I’m close to.”

“Huh? That can’t be true. There’s no way someone has zero close friends!”

Living in a mansion this huge, surely he had at least one person he was especially close to.

I waited for an answer, but he was already busy turning pages again.

“I have a dragon butler named Max. I brought him home when I was little, so we’ve already spent over 250 years together. Come to think of it, Max and I probably do have a pretty unusual relationship. He liiikes me a lot.”

Of course, that last part wasn’t something Max himself had ever said out loud.

But I knew.

He constantly nagged me, but he absolutely couldn’t live without me.

Thinking about my grumpy personal dragon, I kicked my short legs happily.

“I miss Max now that he’s not here. He always complained about being busy, but he still took really good care of me. Right now it feels strange doing everything alone.”

The fountain pen that had been moving nonstop suddenly froze.

Thinking he was finally willing to have a conversation, I looked at him expectantly—

but only for a moment.

Soon he simply returned to his work.

Ugh, how boring.

When things got dull, appreciating Blake’s face was always entertaining enough.

‘Hmm. Seriously, he’s handsome.’

That sculpted appearance fit perfectly for the role of a second male lead in a romance novel.

Maybe this was what people meant when they said merely looking at someone could make you feel full.

And because he’d finally been sleeping properly, the dark circles beneath his eyes had faded considerably, making his looks shine even more.

Hehe.

‘Aaron, I’m doing an amazing job as a guardian angel!’

Imagining how happy Aaron would be when he returned from his pilgrimage made me feel even more accomplished.

And maybe because his condition had improved, the speed at which Blake handled paperwork was absurd.

He worked well, looked handsome, was tall, competent, and even a war hero?

“This character setup is way too overpowered. Lady Leah Everett suddenly seems amazing for winning the heart of a man this incredible.”

“You know Leah Everett?”

It had practically been muttering to myself, but Blake—who hadn’t responded the entire time—suddenly asked.

Maybe hearing Leah’s name finally got his attention.

Crossing my arms, I nodded.

“Of course! The place where I crash-landed was Lady Everett’s birthday banquet, remember? I heard you and that blond guy talking.”

“I see.”

“This is just a personal hobby of mine, but if you ever need dating advice, let me know.”

“As if I would.”

Watching him reject the idea instantly, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

Blake, you really have no idea you’re hopeless at romance.

Unable to suppress my pity, I sincerely advised him.

“You can trust me. I’m basically a relationship expert. Nobody beats me when it comes to romance.”

“…You? How exactly?”

“There are ways.”

Calling myself an expert wasn’t even a lie.

Before Max threw them all away, my room had literally been overflowing with romance novels.

Do you know how much wisdom those contained?

Thinking about it again made me mad all over again.

That jerk Max. When I got back home, I was making him refill my entire bookshelf.

“Forget it. I don’t even have the luxury to care about that stuff.”

“But didn’t the blond guy say Leah was someone precious to you?”

Well, she was the original heroine of the novel, so it wasn’t exactly strange.

But contrary to my expectations, Blake replied indifferently.

“Leah Everett and I are just close friends. Why is everyone so desperate to pair us together?”

He sounded so utterly uninterested that for a moment I genuinely wondered if he really felt nothing for Leah at all.

‘Did I remember the novel wrong?’

Just as I was about to ask if he was serious—

Knock knock.

A cheerful knocking sound echoed from outside the glass greenhouse.

“A guest!”

I jumped to my feet immediately, and Blake warned me:

“Pretend to be a doll.”

“Mhm!”

Even after my answer, he still looked suspicious as he gestured toward me.

“Come over here. Sit on my lap.”

Are you serious?

Wouldn’t your dignity take another hit if I sat there again?

Staring at him like he was some kind of weirdo, I firmly refused.

“Sorry, but no thanks. Your lap is harder than the chair.”

“You’re refusing because of that?”

“Yep. I’d rather stay here.”

Looking oddly displeased, Blake placed the fountain pen in his hand down onto the table with a sharp tap.

We silently faced each other as I planted my hands firmly on my hips.

Knock knock knock!

The knocking came again, louder this time, accompanied by a voice.

But Blake paid absolutely no attention to whoever stood outside the door.

Instead, he continued staring at me with narrowed eyes, clearly dissatisfied about something.

“…You could’ve just come over.”

And then—

The greenhouse door swung open.

The unexpected visitor who appeared caused Blake’s lazy violet eyes to narrow sharply.

Behind the mansion lay the private garden used exclusively by House Leblanc.

Standing before the transparent greenhouse, Ronald felt deeply uneasy.

The sun was already high in the sky, yet Blake was nowhere to be found in the estate.

At first Ronald had assumed he had gone out for military training early in the morning, but after checking, he discovered there was no training scheduled today.

Not in the office.

Not in the dining hall.

Not in the library.

Not even in the bedroom.

Blake was nowhere.

And now—

the final possibility.

Ronald had finally arrived before the greenhouse in the garden.

For a moment he hesitated in front of the glass doors reflecting the sunlight, then slowly took a deep breath.

He doubted Blake would willingly stay somewhere with such intense sunlight—

but whether the Young Master was here or not, Ronald absolutely had to see him today.

‘I need to confirm it.’

He had a mission.

The beginning of it all had been the rumors spreading among the servants a few days earlier.

‘Are you the maid who spread the rumor about the Young Master carrying around a doll?’

‘L-Lord Ronald!’

‘Speak honestly. I’m not trying to punish you. I simply need to know whether you truly saw it.’

The maid describing the situation in detail hadn’t looked like she was lying.

‘He picked up the brown teddy bear and said… “Found you, my teddy bear.”’

The word “my lovely teddy bear” had apparently been added by the servants afterward—

but since Ronald hadn’t directly asked Blake himself, there was no way to confirm it.

Still, hearing the story alone had already shocked Ronald quite badly.