TSIMG 09

Chapter 09

“I think I’m going to burst.”

Rodia stroked her full, round belly with a satisfied expression. The cook hired for the new mansion was exceptionally skilled. It had been a truly satisfying dinner.

The perfectly cooked salmon steak with its crispy skin was particularly artistic. Lying on the chaise longue, smiling contentedly, she suddenly sat bolt upright.

“Come to think of it, the taste is great too.”

She rolled her foot on the marble-patterned deep green tiles on the floor.

White, light green, pale green, deep green—all swirling together in a marble pattern. These tiles were unmistakably Golia marble.

The bedroom had pale gray and toned-down pink wallpaper, with Golia marble tiles on the floor. In addition, mint-colored accents were placed throughout the room.

They were all to Rodia’s taste.

“……I could even believe I decorated it myself.”

Rodia pouted her lips. It was convincing enough that she could invite her friends over and claim she had decorated it herself.

Of course, Richard had once casually asked Rodia about her preferences. She had briefly mentioned her favorite colors and designs, but she never dreamed it would be prepared this thoroughly.

She slowly walked over to the window overlooking the garden.

To maintain this small yet spacious garden, to pay the people employed at the mansion, she needed to work now.

“Phew…….”

Then, she remembered something she had forgotten.

“Where did I put it…… Ah, here it is!”

It was a square gift box wrapped in mint-colored paper with a white ribbon. After the move, Hystein had tossed it to her with his usual gruff expression.

Judging by its appearance, it was a gift.

Rodia hadn’t thought he was the type of person to give gifts at all, so she had forgotten about it all day.

Rodia slowly tore open the wrapping paper.

“This is…… coffee?”

The coffee aroma wafting from the revealed wooden box tickled her nose.

And the logo engraved on the top of the box! Startled, she hurriedly unfastened the box’s clasp.

“Oh my god! This is really Artigest!”

Inside the box were a pack of coffee beans, a hand drip set, and three tea sets.

Rodia, unable to suppress her rising smile, turned the teacup over.

As she had expected, the Artigest logo and name were engraved on the bottom.

Rodia seemed even more excited than when she had first seen the house.

Not just the teacups, but the hand drip set, teaspoons, and dessert forks all bore the Artigest logo.

Artigest Pottery Workshop.

This was a place that had supplied ceramics for Haint’s royal family since ancient times. Since the items used by the royal family were commissioned as needed, most of them were limited editions. This meant that obtaining the same items used by the royal family was impossible. In the past, even nobles couldn’t easily acquire goods from this workshop.

However, the Civil Revolution changed Artigest’s policy.

Five years ago, after the Fleur Civil Revolution and the royal family had become nominal, Artigest pondered what they could appeal to new customers and came up with one solution.

*Limited editions that only Haint’s royalty could possess. Now you can have them too!*

Using this as their main slogan, they opened up opportunities for anyone to custom-order their own limited editions. That was Artigest’s new strategy.

Naturally, Rodia would welcome any Artigest item a hundred, a thousand times over.

Moreover, the coffee beans packaged together were also Rodia’s favorite kind. Of course, Rodia knew well that the busy Hystein hadn’t prepared them personally.

But she also knew they weren’t a gift that Richard had decided on and prepared on his own. It was clear that Hystein had instructed him to prepare this. From the day she first saw the mansion a few days ago, he had been steadily knocking on Rodia’s heart with fresh surprises.

It might not have been intentional on his part, but the human heart doesn’t always follow reason.

Rodia picked up a small note inside the box.

**”For the brilliant future of Rodia Proxhate. – Hystein Roart”**

“That’s really cheap. It’s foul play.”

No matter how many times she read it, the congratulatory message on the note was in Hystein’s handwriting. Rodia set the box down on the floor and gazed at the note quietly.

She could easily imagine Hystein writing this note. It felt as if her heart was beating pleasantly in her ears.

And so, Rodia spent the night awake, calming her heart that was busy pounding in place. Then, as soon as the sun rose, she took a carriage to Magnificent’s headquarters.

But.

“He’s not in?”

He hadn’t come to work.

“No. He said he wouldn’t be coming in today. This is the first time something like this has happened……. Shall I tell him Miss Proxhate stopped by when he comes in tomorrow?”

He hadn’t come to work. After a moment’s hesitation at the first-floor lobby attendant’s words, she shook her head.

*If he’s not here, he’ll be at the Consul’s residence.*

She thought vaguely.

“He’s not here either.”

But even at the Consul’s residence, the Weisvian Palace, Rodia was only told that Hystein had said he would be resting today.

At this point, it was only natural to wonder if something had happened to him.

Rodia remembered that Damian had also suddenly left like that one day. Wondering if he too might have left, Rodia shook her head.

He can’t leave Haint.

The company was a miss, the Consul’s residence was a miss. That left only the Roart mansion.

“Butler! Mr. Graham!”

Rodia burst into the Roart mansion, her brows flying. It was quite literally in every sense of the word.

Wearing her skirt, she flew up the stairs and managed to meet the people coming out of Hystein’s room.

“Miss Proxhate!?”

“Butler! Is Mr. Roart here? He hasn’t gone anywhere, has he?”

Rodia said with difficulty, her words breaking as she gasped for breath.

Seeing her like that, the butler realized she had already been to the company and the Consul’s residence looking for Hystein.

“The boss is in his bedroom.”

The elderly butler thought Rodia was deeply worried about Hystein. A gentle smile naturally appeared on his face.

Another man who had been watching shook his head and adjusted his monocle.

“Anyway, please tell him to take it easy with work for a while when he wakes up. It’s forbidden until I say otherwise. And the medicine is three times a day after meals.”

“Yes, understood.”

“It’s frustrating. Relying on his youth like that, he’ll go down in one shot one day.”

The man who appeared to be a doctor once again emphasized Hystein’s need for absolute rest. Overhearing the conversation unintentionally, Rodia learned that Hystein had collapsed.

Not that he had gone somewhere, but simply overwork. She unconsciously wondered whether this was fortunate or not.

“You were surprised, Miss Proxhate. Are you alright?”

“I had something to tell Mr. Roart, but he wasn’t at the company or the residence.”

Rodia gave an awkward smile.

“He collapsed late last night, you see. Even this old man’s heart skipped a beat. His face was so pale, devoid of any color…….”

The butler shuddered as if he never wanted to recall it again. Then he remembered that Rodia had said she had something to tell Hystein.

“Mr. Duquesne should be out soon. Would you like to see him?”

“Oh, no. That’s alright.”

Rodia waved her hand in refusal. However, as if to contradict her gesture, Richard came out of Hystein’s room before she finished speaking.

“Miss Proxhate? Why are you here……?”

“……Hello, Mr. Duquesne.”

Rodia’s smile was tinged with awkwardness. Richard intuitively realized that she had come to see Hystein.

“As you may have heard, the boss collapsed from overwork, so visits are prohibited.”

“I know. The doctor just left after telling him to take it easy.”

Rodia smiled sheepishly again. Come to think of it, he had once said he wanted to try collapsing.

Thinking back to Hystein, who had lectured her on that very day, she figured he deserved to be sick now. Rodia let out a small chuckle.

Just then, Richard called out to her.

“Did you open the gift?”

“Oh, Artigest? Of course!”

Rodia’s blue eyes sparkled.

“It was a truly perfect gift! But wait, is it really *Rodia Proxhate’s* limited edition? For real?”

“That’s correct. I did pay a little extra to have it produced within the deadline, though.”

“Wow…….”

Materialism is the best.

Just as Rodia was admiring Hystein’s wealth—

“Miss Proxhate.”

“Yes?”

“The boss collapsed from overwork because of the many things he does on a daily basis.”

Rodia focused on Richard’s words.

“What I’m trying to say is, even in the midst of all that busyness, he personally checked every single item that went into your house, from start to finish.”

“Oh.”

“He also ordered those gifts himself and made sure they were taken care of. Because of that damned perfectionism, he can be a real pain sometimes, but still…….”

“…….”

There was a slight hint of personal bias in his words, but Rodia pretended not to hear.

“He’s not a bad person, so I hope you’ll see him in a good light. After all, he is your legal guardian right now.”

“……So you’re saying, from beginning to end, everything was prepared by Mr. Roart himself?”

Instead of answering, Richard nodded.

“Well then, I need to go take care of the aftermath. I’ll be off.”

“Oh, yes. Take care.”

His words swirled in her mind, stirring up her heart. Rodia stood still, watching Richard’s retreating back with eyes filled with a mix of emotions.

—

* * *

After parting with Richard, Rodia returned home immediately.

The Proxhate family mansion, with its beautifully elegant ivory exterior.

Rodia came up to the second floor, dazed and absent-minded. Then she saw the study, its door wide open where she had placed the new books Hystein had sent as a gift.

“……So that’s how it was.”

She muttered softly. The mahogany desk, the plush chair, the small tea table, and the long settle occupying one wall next to the bookshelf in that study.

And the bedroom right next to it—all of these bore Hystein’s touch.

If Richard’s words were true, Hystein Roart had chosen, decorated, and confirmed every single one of these things.

His touch was everywhere in this house. Letting out a light sigh, Rodia realized yet another thing about him.

Hystein Roart is more meticulous than he appears.

“……Ah.”

Again.

Rodia lightly pressed her hand to her chest. Somewhere deeper inside felt both heavy and ticklish.

It was perhaps the day Hystein had once again crept into a corner of her heart.