EDTATO 07

Chapter 7

“Please call for me whenever you need anything.”

Having finished his duties, Hubert turned and walked away.

Ian naturally took my hand and guided me into my seat.

“The weather is so nice that I thought it would be pleasant to have breakfast here. Is that all right with you?”

His eyes sparkled as though he had been eagerly looking forward to this moment.

I awkwardly brushed back my hair, pretending to be innocent.

“Ah, yes. But… I really don’t remember anything. Not even simple etiquette, like table manners. There are so many things I don’t know, so I might make mistakes.”

If I were a pitiful young lady who had lost her memory, I imagined she might say something like that.

Despite the fact that I had long since mastered the manners ingrained in my body, Ian accepted my lie without a hint of suspicion.

“That’s all right. If there’s something you don’t know, then I can teach you.”

He looked at me with an affectionate gaze as I confessed my little concern.

“For now, it’s just the two of us. There’s nothing you need to worry about.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

Relieved by the way he naturally cared for me, I picked up my teacup.

“To think I could receive so much help from someone I happened to meet by chance. I must be lucky. And even though this is somewhere I’ll have to leave someday, it still feels like a dream that I can stay at the Grand Duke’s residence, even if only for a little while.”

“Somewhere you’ll have to leave someday…”

Instead of answering, Ian softly repeated part of what I had said.

His expression gradually fell.

He looked rather dejected, quite different from the gentle expression he had worn just moments ago.

“I suppose I’ll have to teach you a lot from now on.”

After a brief pause, Ian smiled brightly and continued in a tender voice.

“While we spend cozy time together, just the two of us like this.”

I tilted my head as though asking why he had suddenly stopped speaking.

Ian urged me on cheerfully, as if nothing had happened.

“We have so much to talk about. For starters, the maids—especially Dant—will ask you a lot of questions.”

“Oh, right. Dant.”

“Haha. Has something already happened?”

“She asked what our first meeting was like. I managed to brush it off somehow, but…”

I looked troubled as I remembered that talkative girl, and Ian found my honest reaction adorable.

Seeing that, I relaxed a little more.

Against the backdrop of the peaceful garden, we talked about many things.

Things about the mansion, as well as small personal details that two people who were becoming particularly close would naturally come to know about each other.

There was far more to talk about than I had expected, and before I realized it, a considerable amount of time had passed.

The morning was nowhere near long enough for the two of us.

So, throughout the afternoon, and on other days and at other times as well, Ian continued to explain countless things to me in detail, showing no intention of giving up the false position of “benefactor” he had assigned himself to me anytime soon.

After that day, our meetings had somehow become a natural part of our lives.

Because of that—or perhaps, thanks to that—my heart became endlessly buoyant, like spring itself.

If I have to love someone other than him, wouldn’t Ian be a good choice?

If I could come to love Ian, if I could just do that…

Wouldn’t I be able to win the wager against him easily?

Unlike the leisurely time he had spent with Heine, which now seemed almost like a lie, Ian’s days had been passing in a whirlwind lately.

His days were strangely busy, far more so than could be explained by the duties attached to his position as the heir to the Grand Duchy.

As a result, his plan to stop by the mansion, even briefly, and have lunch with Heine had been thoroughly ruined.

There were an unusually large number of nobles asking to meet him today, each of them coming up with some trivial excuse to spend time with him.

And, just as expected, a faint glimmer of anticipation could be seen in their eyes when they met him.

“By the way, I heard that a very distinguished guest is staying at the Grand Duke’s residence these days.”

“Would you happen to need a dressmaker? I was thinking of giving the Maison Mine atelier a little advance notice.”

“I noticed you left your afternoon schedule open. Are you planning to return to the mansion early?”

The subject that had brought life to their faces was none other than the mysterious benefactor, Heine.

They had caught wind of the rumors spreading from the Grand Duke’s residence with astonishing speed. Everyone who had come to see Ian today was desperately trying to steer the conversation in a more personal direction.

Come to think of it, even those attending the regular council meeting had seemed to keep their eyes sharp, as though waiting for some interesting story to slip from his lips.

Rumors really do travel fast.

Ian lowered his sweet-looking eyes halfway and let out a faint smile.

Although the exhausting day was wearing him down, he couldn’t bring himself to blame them for their curiosity.

Just as he reached for the never-ending pile of documents, someone knocked on the door.

“Young master.”

The person who entered and bowed neatly before his master was Hubert, the butler of the Grand Duke’s residence.

Ian gladly offered a seat to the elderly gentleman who had personally come all the way to the council on his behalf, then listened attentively.

“Sir Payden has sent medicine for Lady Heine.”

The diligent butler skipped the usual pleasantries and went straight to the point.

At the news, Ian’s eyes, which had been clouded with fatigue after being worn down all morning, suddenly brightened.

“He also said that he won’t be able to examine her for the time being because he’s busy with matters at the temple, but that taking the medicine regularly should greatly aid her recovery.”

“Ah, that’s good news.”

Ian’s genuine delight brought a quiet smile to Hubert’s face as well. He looked pleased.

“With medicine blessed by Sir Payden himself, Lady Heine should regain her strength soon and be able to make an appearance in the capital’s social circles.”

“That’s right.”

Ian answered with a gentle smile, then lowered his gaze halfway and fell into thought.

Does she really have to?

Among the nobles, Heine had already become the center of attention.

Ian was worried about whether a woman whose memory was still incomplete could withstand the overwhelming attention and the venomous tongues of vicious people.

Above all, Heine was still a “benefactor” he wanted to keep hidden from everyone else and have all to himself.

“What about the matter I asked you to look into before?”

“I narrowed it down to a few families, but the Count’s Family of Verdandi in the west seems to be the most suitable.”

Ian picked up the documents Hubert handed him and looked them over.

The head of the family would be easy to silence.

There were no direct descendants, so there would be no trouble involving succession.

And it was a noble family in a remote region, making it difficult for anyone to investigate their background.

Hubert’s judgment was, as always, excellent. He had chosen the family least likely to cause trouble among all the conditions Ian had set.

“Yes. This place would be good for Heine as well.”

“I…”

Hubert, who had been getting up at Ian’s gesture telling him that he could leave, hesitated.

When his precious butler, who had stood by his side for so many years, faltered like that, Ian readily asked why.

“What is it?”

“May I ask you something?”

“What?”

“…Is Lady Heine truly your benefactor?”

The question contained countless others.

What exactly had Heine done for Ian that he would bring her into the mansion and take such special care of her?

Why was he secretly arranging a new identity for her?

And was the gentle look in his blue eyes toward her truly nothing more than gratitude toward a benefactor?

At Hubert’s courageous question, Ian gave a bitter smile.

He had thought everyone in the mansion was gradually falling for the seemingly innocent yet captivating Heine without a hitch.

But he hadn’t expected the leisurely old butler to harbor such a reasonable suspicion.

“I really can’t fool you, Hubert.”

A sheepish smile, pretending to be innocent, briefly touched Ian’s lips.

“Heine is actually…”

The old gentleman swallowed dryly, suddenly tense.

Ian personally stood up, placed a hand beside Hubert’s ear, and whispered.

“She’s my lover.”

“What?”

“I’m arranging for her to be adopted into the count’s family because there are complicated circumstances. You don’t need to hide the fact that she’s my lover from the people in the mansion. However, I’d like to keep it a secret from my father for the time being. Can I count on you to be careful?”

In any case, the rumors would soon become impossible to contain.

“O-of course. Naturally, you can.”

Hubert stammered, looking dazed at the thought that he alone had been entrusted with such an enormous secret.

Then he covered the grin threatening to spread across his face with a cough, unable to suppress his joy and peculiar excitement.

Lady Heine was the young master’s secret lover!

There must be some deep circumstances involved if a new identity had to be arranged for her.

Circumstances so serious that even Hubert, who had faithfully remained by Ian’s side for so many years, could not be told.

Hubert decided that it would be inappropriate for him to pry any further. With the solemn expression of a man entrusted with an important mission, he spoke.

“I will make the necessary preparations.”

The old butler hurriedly gathered the documents, determined to take care of everything as quickly as possible.

Ian watched him with gentle encouragement, but the moment the door closed, he quietly lowered his eyes.

Resting his arm against the desk, he fell into thought.

Don’t worry about anything, Heine. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you can put down roots here.

To that end, arranging a suitable identity for her, helping her frail body recover, and helping her regain her memories were all proceeding smoothly.

Just thinking about Heine made his heart race.

Ian quietly clasped his hands over his face and let out a contented sigh.

Everything he had painstakingly built up through his good intentions had begun with one pure, innocent wish—

The wish that she would never leave.