ITMLWKM 28

Chapter 28

I left Gilbert behind and started heading back toward the herb garden.

People always said there was no point in taking a drunk person’s words seriously.

And apparently, they were right.

“Wait! No! You can’t go in there!”

But Gilbert desperately blocked my path.

And now he’s speaking informally again.

Then again, would there be any point in correcting a drunk?

I decided to let it go.

Gilbert spoke quickly.

“We just turned over the soil recently, and the research isn’t finished yet! If anyone wanders in there, it’ll interfere with my work—”

“I know.”

“What?”

“I said I know you turned over the soil.”

“How would you know that…?”

“How? Because I’m the one who told them to do it.”

“What?!”

Gilbert’s voice rose in disbelief.

“You already knew, didn’t you? You knew why the medicinal herbs grown here weren’t very effective.”

There was no way someone who called himself a botanist wouldn’t know.

Gilbert nodded suspiciously.

“Well… yeah. If you’re harvesting plants before they’ve properly matured, of course they won’t be as effective.”

“Exactly. They only looked fully grown on the outside. That’s why I told Father that making them grow faster wasn’t the answer.”

“Huh…”

The expression on Gilbert’s face changed again.

He still looked skeptical, but there was something else in his eyes now.

It was as though he was beginning to realize something.

He muttered,

“So when everyone said the marquis suddenly became smarter, it was actually because of your advice?”

Now that I thought about it, Gilbert addressed Father casually, too.

How had he managed to avoid getting fired all this time?

Then again, he probably knew how to behave in front of the right people.

Well, whether Gilbert got fired or not wasn’t any of my concern.

“Don’t worry so much. I’m not planning to do anything to the herb field itself.”

I pointed toward the herb I’d noticed earlier.

“I’m only planning to dig up that one plant.”

“That one…”

Gilbert glanced at Susan, who was standing behind me.

Since Susan had worked at the estate for a long time, they already knew each other.

Apparently, she wasn’t pleased with the way Gilbert had treated me.

She answered coldly,

“It’s one of the herbs I planted under the young lady’s instructions.”

“Ahaha…”

Only then did Gilbert seem to realize he’d completely misunderstood the situation.

He clicked his tongue awkwardly.

“No, I…”

He started to make an excuse but stopped himself.

“I misunderstood. Sorry.”

Then he simply apologized.

I’d thought he was some kind of weirdo after hearing him talk nonsense while drinking in broad daylight.

But maybe that wasn’t entirely true.

Although the fact that he still spoke to me informally was admittedly a little funny.

He continued,

“It’s a good thing that replacing the soil will finally give the herbs time to grow properly, but they changed everything all at once. I was worried the sudden environmental change might kill them.”

“I understand. I didn’t expect Father to replace all the soil at once, either.”

As expected, Father clearly knew absolutely nothing about plants.

“And they planted a lot of young seedlings this time because they said the plants needed time to adjust. I was worried they’d get trampled…”

I waved my hand.

“I know that, too.”

“Well then, now that we’ve cleared up the misunderstanding…”

I looked back at the herb field.

“So, I can dig it up now, right?”

“Of course. Actually, no. I’ll do it.”

“Ah, it’s fine…”

You’re drunk. What if you damage the roots while using the hoe?

As I stared at him, Gilbert seemed to read my thoughts immediately.

What do you think a botanist is?

His expression practically screamed the words.

“Just wait here.”

Adjusting his straw hat, Gilbert hurried into the herb field before I could stop him.

His brown hair, brown eyes, and sun-bronzed skin suited the herb garden perfectly.

Before I could even blink, he’d already returned with the exact herb I’d pointed out.

Even its smallest roots were completely intact.

“Wow.”

“Will this pot work?”

He skillfully transplanted the herb into a flowerpot and handed it to me.

Thanks to him, the job became much easier.

As Susan straightened my dress, I said,

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Gilbert smiled warmly, as though he’d never been hostile toward me in the first place.

The sudden change felt a little strange, but it wasn’t difficult to understand.

He was probably already frustrated watching medicinal herbs get sold before they were fully mature. This must be good news for him.

Apparently, Gilbert genuinely loved plants.

I’d developed an unfair prejudice against him because of all that nonsense about alcohol.

I was about to leave when something suddenly crossed my mind.

“Oh, are you close with Karsian?”

“Hmm. I wouldn’t say we’re close. More like coworkers.”

“Coworkers?”

“Yeah. I’m the one who orders hay and feed for the horses. I also prepare nutritional supplements for them.”

He puffed out his chest proudly.

Apparently, since he managed the medicinal herbs as a botanist, he also handled veterinary duties.

He’s a lot more talented than I expected.

I found myself looking at Gilbert a little differently.

I almost asked him more questions about Karsian, but I stopped myself.

It’s better to hear those things directly from Karsian.

Walking back toward Susan, who was holding the flowerpot, I said,

“If you see Karsian, tell him I left breakfast in my room for him. He should eat before he leaves. I’ll be busy this morning.”

“Hmm?”

One of Gilbert’s eyebrows shot up.

“She left breakfast for him? Is she taking care of his meals?”

He looked genuinely surprised.

Unlike the other members of the marquis’s family, I didn’t bully Karsian.

Leaving Gilbert behind, Susan and I headed toward Father’s bedroom.

Gilbert wasn’t an alcoholic.

He simply loved drinking.

He didn’t get drunk easily despite how much he consumed, and his work never suffered because of it.

As a result, no one ever interfered with his drinking.

That was why Karsian usually found him completely intoxicated every morning.

But today was different.

“Oh, you’re here?”

Gilbert’s greeting sounded far too normal.

“What? You haven’t been drinking?”

Karsian widened his eyes in surprise while putting on his gloves and boots.

He had apparently washed up recently because his black bangs were still slightly damp.

The morning sunlight made him look unusually fresh.

Looking at him, Gilbert wore a mischievous grin.

“My not-so-cute boss showed up first thing this morning.”

“Your not-so-cute boss?”

Karsian frowned while adjusting his overalls.

“What are you talking about?”

Gilbert chuckled and lightly shoved his shoulder.

“Hey, you’ve got some impressive skills.”

Because he was in the middle of putting on his boots, Karsian lost his balance.

“Explain yourself!”

He snapped irritably.

But his irritation resembled an angry kitten hissing.

It didn’t intimidate Gilbert in the slightest.

“I’m talking about Miss Latia.”

“…What?”

Karsian froze while pulling on his work gloves.

“She came by this morning. She’s a noble lady, but she had her dress folded up and was wandering around in the herb garden. Well, not exactly wandering.”

“Latia came here?”

His crimson eyes widened.

He immediately looked around as though expecting to find her nearby.

Of course, she wasn’t there.

Realizing that, he frowned deeply.

“What did you talk about? Don’t tell me you caused her trouble.”

The growling tone in his voice was far more threatening than before.

Gilbert whistled to himself.

What’s this? He’s been visiting the estate a lot lately. Is there really something going on between them?

Until recently, Karsian had always locked himself away in that miserable little room after finishing his work at the stables.

Gilbert had been the one dragging him outside, forcing him to spend time in the sunlight and exchange at least a few words with another human being.

So there was no way he hadn’t noticed the recent change.

For the past few days, Karsian had been rushing toward the marquis’s estate immediately after finishing work, without even changing his clothes.

Gilbert waved his hand.

“What trouble? Don’t go accusing innocent people.”

“You speak informally to everyone.”

“So what? I’m almost thirty. Should I spend my entire life bowing my head to everyone?”

“If you’re a servant, then yes.”

“You’re only ten years old, and you keep calling me ‘you’ every other sentence…”

As Gilbert muttered to himself, Karsian’s red eyes sharpened again.

“So? What did you talk about? Why did Latia come all the way here?”

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“Why?!”

“Because your attitude annoys me, brat.”

Gilbert flicked Karsian on the forehead.

Karsian immediately slapped his hand away and glared at him.

If I tease him any more, he might actually bite me.

Gilbert had always thought of him as nothing more than an injured kitten.

But maybe he’d mistaken a baby predator for a house cat.

Gilbert finally said,

“She left breakfast for you in her room.”

“…”

“What exactly did you do? How did you convince that young lady—who everyone says only causes trouble because she’s an illegitimate child—to prepare breakfast for you?”

But Karsian couldn’t answer.

Breakfast… for me?

The meals given to Karsian were barely enough to survive on.

Because of that, he usually shared food with Gilbert or picked fruit growing in the garden.

Does Latia know that?

Is that why she left food for me this time… just like she did at dinner before?

Did she really leave it there for me?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, something deep inside his chest began to tickle.

It felt as though a butterfly that had spent its entire life trapped inside a cocoon had finally emerged.

Its wings fluttered restlessly inside him.

The boy who had been growling only moments ago suddenly smiled.

It was a shy, gentle smile.

For me…

He pressed his lips together to hide his happiness.

But he couldn’t stop the warm, fluffy feeling that kept spilling out.

Watching him, Gilbert thought:

I didn’t know Karsian had such an ordinary, adorable side to him.

Gilbert reached over and roughly ruffled Karsian’s black hair.

Normally, Karsian hated having anyone touch his head.

After years of being physically abused, he couldn’t stand having hands raised above him.

But this time, he merely frowned in annoyance.

He didn’t push Gilbert away.

“What are you doing?”

His voice was still prickly.

As Gilbert continued absentmindedly ruffling his soft hair, he remembered the expression Karsian had worn while talking about Latia.

Come to think of it, he’s become much more expressive.

He used to have nothing but a blank face and lifeless eyes.

I guess this change really is because of Miss Latia.

Well, having one more person to rely on can only be a good thing.

Gilbert tousled his hair a few more times before finally pulling his hand away.