TSIMG 10

Chapter 10

A while ago, on the day of Rodia’s graduation ceremony. Hystein, who had arrived at the school long before the ceremony began, ended up witnessing an unpleasant sight.

A man clinging to Rodia’s side, taking pictures with her. Hystein found that man oddly irritating. He was also the man he had met during the funeral arrangements some time ago.

*’Isaac Wallace, was it?’*

His face and neck were flushed red, clearly showing he was flustered and shy just from standing next to Rodia.

“……Hey, Richard.”

Instead of answering, Richard looked at Hystein’s face.

“How far do you think Damian meant when he said ‘guardian’?”

“I’m not sure. That’s too abstract a question.”

“Is that so? Then…….”

Hystein’s golden-brown eyebrows twisted slightly. A deep furrow formed between his brows.

Richard thought that reflected his uncomfortable feelings.

“How would you feel if you saw Herriot alone with a male friend?”

“…….”

Richard reflexively furrowed his brow at the mention of his younger sister’s name.

The only thing the boisterous Herriot Duquesne and the always-quiet Richard had in common was their drooping eyes. Richard and Herriot were the kind of real-life siblings who would pretend not to know each other if they met on the street.

And if that Herriot were with a male friend, and he happened to see them?

After imagining it for a moment, Richard vigorously shook his head. It was an intense motion, as if trying to shake off even that thought.

“There’s no way she’d have a male friend, but imagining that sight doesn’t sit well with me at all.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. What kind of genuine friendship exists between a man and a woman? It’s all nonsense.”

Hystein nodded at his words.

“Then, if Damian, who dotes on his younger sister, would have tried to get rid of that fly buzzing around her?”

“……Probably?”

Richard answered with a reluctant expression. It was entirely possible for Damian, who was leaving the country and entrusting his sister to his closest friend, to do that. Of course, if it were ‘Damian.’ But the person walking away with that solemn, resolute gaze was Hystein Roart, not Damian Proxhate.

*Why on earth is that man acting like that?*

Drawing countless question marks above his head, Richard could only watch Hystein’s actions.

While Richard was thinking that, Hystein diligently moved his legs and approached Rodia.

The bouquet in his hand rustled.

“Congratulations on your graduation, Miss Proxhate.”

Hystein handed the bouquet to Rodia while, as if by chance, inserting himself between her and Isaac.

A small crack appeared on Isaac’s face. There was no way Hystein could miss it. Seeing it up close made it even clearer.

His emerald-green eyes briefly touched Isaac before looking away.

Hystein recalled the handshake he had exchanged with Isaac when they first met at the funeral hall. That handshake where they simply stared at each other. The grip had been unusually strong, enough to make his fingers tingle.

This fly, Isaac Wallace, wasn’t guarding Rodia’s side out of pure friendship. He was a man in unrequited love, craving love rather than friendship. That’s why he was on high alert against Hystein, who had suddenly appeared next to the woman he loved.

*Who does he think he is?*

Hystein smiled, thinking as if he were truly Rodia’s older brother, the way Damian might have thought.

“The fragrance is lovely. These are fresh flowers—how did you manage to get them?”

However, his smile was shattered by the smile Rodia wore.

Her eyes curved, her blue eyes disappearing. Between her red lips, two neat front teeth briefly appeared and then vanished.

It was a familiar smile he had seen somewhere before. It wasn’t that he had only seen Rodia’s smiling face once or twice, but that smile was different from her usual one.

It was a smile that reminded him of someone in his memory. Hystein’s hand trembled involuntarily.

“Could you, could you smile just once more?”

He even stammered. Rodia looked flustered by his sudden behavior. Hystein quickly corrected himself and guided Rodia and her party to the reserved restaurant.

Then, he hurriedly left the place, saying he had another schedule.

It was true that he had a schedule, but there was no need to leave in such a rush, as if fleeing.

Richard, watching Hystein’s face crumpled in a way that was hard to describe, cautiously spoke to him.

“Are you alright?”

“Don’t talk to me.”

He growled.

Hystein sensed Richard’s sullen mood. But he didn’t say anything else. Now was the time to focus on himself.

Why did Rodia’s smiling face remind him of the little girl he had met when he was young?

Why did he think that smile resembled the first love he couldn’t properly remember?

Hystein groaned.

The carriage, unaware of his feelings, drove on diligently and arrived at the destination of Hystein’s next schedule. Richard, who had alighted first, called out to Hystein.

“This is the house.”

Hystein got out of the carriage and looked around.

“……Is this 26-7 Grandel Street? The size is appropriate too. When was it built?”

“Thirteen years ago.”

Richard answered, flipping through papers. The papers he held contained information on the real estate properties Hystein had been looking into. This house was the last among those properties.

Hystein looked around the old mansion.

It was a bit old, but not bad. Also, since it was built thirteen years ago, before the building codes changed, the terrace on the second floor was larger than current ones.

Hystein looked at the blueprint of the mansion handed to him by the real estate agent. It wasn’t large enough to be called a grand mansion, but it had a modest garden, though no rear garden.

It was a three-story mansion with everything it needed. Passing through the gate, there was a garden, providing a good distance to the entrance, and what he liked most was that it wasn’t far from his own mansion.

“Sir.”

Before he knew it, Richard had come to find Hystein. Hystein handed him the blueprint.

“What’s nearby?”

“If you walk a little way past the gate, there’s a park. It’s also close to the Pagny Central Library.”

At that, Hystein wiggled his index finger. Understanding the signal, Richard quickly took the contract from the real estate agent and handed it to him.

“Take this down.”

Even while filling out the contract, Hystein began rattling off instructions for Richard to write down.

Since he said to write, Richard wrote, but as his hand moved nonstop, he tilted his head with a confused expression.

“What?”

“Nothing. No, I mean, how did you know about Artigest?”

“Why? I heard it’s popular among women in their twenties these days.”

“……I asked because it doesn’t seem like something you’d know, sir.”

“Do you not want your pay?”

“I love you, sir.”

Richard smiled obsequiously and drew a heart above his head. The pitiful survival tactics of an employee.

“If you commission Artigest, they’ll definitely say the schedule is too tight. Offer them a little extra. Then they’ll shut up and get it done by the deadline.”

Hystein returned the completed real estate contract and continued.

“Tear it all out and redo it. Redo the garden too. Among the things I’ve written down, organize only the ones I need to check myself and put them aside.”

“Yes. What about the wall?”

“…….”

Hystein walked over and stood by the wall. The wall was lower than his height, so he could clearly see over it.

“Demolish it and rebuild it. Make it…… a head taller than you. Security measures against trespassers are a must.”

Richard wrote down everything he said without pause. Hystein’s demands were numerous, but Richard flawlessly wrote them all down.

“Hire an appropriate number of staff as well. Ah, contact the security company from my mansion and have them take care of this one too. Tell them I’ll cover the cost.”

“Yes.”

“Once the contract is finalized, deliver it to Miss Proxhate and tell her to transfer the funds to my account. And don’t forget to go ask about her preferred designs and colors.”

Having said what he needed to, he pulled down the cravat that had been constricting his neck with his finger. As he let out a sigh, Richard closed his notebook and stepped closer.

“How should we handle the expenses? Should we pay with the funds received from Miss Proxhate?”

“……No. Take it from my account. Keep what she gave me safe and slip it back into her account later. I thought that idiot had set aside some money from the sale of the Proxhate castle, but he’s such a fool.”

Hystein clicked his tongue with a displeased expression.

“There’s a meeting with the Pyhelt side at three o’clock.”

“I know. Any news on Damian?”

“There’s nothing definitive yet. The latest information is that he hired a mountain guide in Bolagrad—Lenninaka—and left from there.”

At Richard’s words, Hystein furrowed his brow.

“Does that bastard really believe ‘it’ exists in that frozen land? Well, I suppose that’s why he’s making such a fuss to find it. Is he even alive?”

“Since the Bolagrad matter was three months ago, he seems to be alive. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

Richard answered while watching Hystein’s complexion.

“What?”

“Well…… Do you plan to tell Miss Proxhate about this?”

“Tell her what? That I paid the cost instead?”

“No. I mean, about Mr. Proxhate.”

At that, Hystein’s face crumpled.

“Do you think I’m crazy enough to tell her that?”

Hystein raised his voice.

“Don’t you dare tell her anything until Damian’s survival is confirmed. Understood?”

Hystein said firmly. He preferred certainty in everything.

What would happen if he told Rodia that Damian might be alive, and then it turned out not to be true? How could he handle the aftermath?

Richard nodded at Hystein’s words.

“Tell them to bring back the body if he’s dead. He should be buried in his homeland, after all.”

Hystein said gruffly. Despite his harsh words, he was praying just as much as Rodia for Damian’s safe return.

“Ah.”

He let out a sound as if he had almost forgotten.

“I almost forgot. Looking at the blueprint, there are rooms on both sides of the second-floor corridor.”

At that, Richard hurriedly spread out the blueprint. Hystein pointed to one side with his finger and said.

“This side with the good view of the garden will be Miss Proxhate’s room, and the opposite room will be Damian’s. That bastard likes green, so I don’t care about anything else, but tell them to put up green curtains.”

Richard nodded at his request but couldn’t help smiling. Hystein, speaking so naturally about his friend’s room, was convinced that Damian was alive.

Seeing Hystein prepare a place for Damian to stay upon his return showed just how much he cared for his friend.

It was precisely this side of him that made Richard stay by his side for so long.

“Wait a moment, sir!”

Richard, still smiling, chased after Hystein, who was sauntering ahead of him.