Edited

47.

I quickly composed myself.

“You brat. You have no manners.”

After successfully delivering a rather stern tone, I abruptly rose from my seat. I concentrated on my footsteps, trying to walk with a straight posture, pretending as if nothing had happened, as if I had not been affected in any way.

With confident strides, as usual, I headed straight to the study. I sat down at my desk and began to attend to the affairs of my territory and the upper echelons. Mechanically, I moved my hands and eyes.

However, before long, Archie’s voice, mixed with crying, played in my mind, causing me to put down my pen several times.

“My aunt is not needed!”

I didn’t say it exactly like that, but wasn’t that what it meant? As I exerted pressure on the finger that held the pen again, I unknowingly slammed my head on the desk.

“To my aunt, who barely survived, for what?”

Would McFoy, who would easily return even if I died in Tartarus, know about that? I felt endlessly frustrated with the state of the world.

“Lord, would you like to take a short break until dinner?”

Erika’s voice interrupted my extreme thoughts. It was the usual dry tone, but I knew there was concern behind it. It seemed like my mental strength had weakened after returning from death.

“Hold on. Hold on. Just act as usual.”

After muttering briefly to myself, I abruptly straightened up.

“No, it’s fine.”

As if nothing had happened, I mechanically began to move my hands and eyes again. And I tried hard to focus only on the words in front of me.

‘I am Aisa McFoy. Lord of McFoy. I am the Lord. I am doing my duty.’

Erika couldn’t say anything more to her master, who pretended to be fine. She couldn’t even suggest resting for dinner tonight.

Tonight was the last night Diazi would stay at McFoy. The heir was too young to take over instead of the Lady, and it wouldn’t look good for the Lady to leave while the Lord was still in the castle.

For a while, the only sounds in the study were the scratching of pens and the rustling of paper.

Before long, maids came into the study, bringing several evening dresses and jewelry boxes to prepare for dinner.

“…I think purple dresses would be better today.”

I absentmindedly glanced through them and unexpectedly found the color purple. I needed something like the aura of the family for today.

Following the Lady’s preference for purple clothes and jewelry, the maids, who had discarded all the purple dresses, glanced at each other. No matter how much money there was, they couldn’t make the necessary evening wear right away.

Even the smallest things didn’t seem to go as I wished, so I entrusted myself to the maids’ care and closed my eyes for a moment.

As my hair was brushed and intricately braided, the touch was more delicate than usual. The weight of the jewels could be felt on the braided hair, and they were placed one by one on my ears, shoulders, and chest.

“Everything is done, my Lord.”

I slowly lifted my eyelids. There stood a woman in a dark blue dress adorned with white and transparent jewels. My attire was carefully chosen to match the elaborate dinner preparations.

However, I didn’t spend much time in front of the mirror, as I didn’t like the paler and sharper features than usual. If there was one thing I liked, it was that thanks to the skilled maids, there was still plenty of time until dinner.

“Erika.”

“She said she has work to do and will see you at the dining hall, my Lord.”

Erika’s secretary replied.

“Then I will take a walk.”

Unable to bear the frustration since earlier, I couldn’t sit still.

Drowned in melancholic emotions and pessimistic thoughts for a short while, I unconventionally roamed around the castle, occasionally breaking away from the dining hall and the hallway leading to it to find the garden I hadn’t visited for a long time.

“…”

I impulsively turned towards the garden.

The size and grandeur of a noble’s garden often reflected the wealth and power of the estate. I stood at the entrance of McFoy’s vast garden, gazing briefly into the seemingly distant maze within. Indeed, McFoy’s garden, rich with money, was magnificent.

“I’ll wait here for a moment. I want to walk alone.”

I said to Glen as I turned back.

Glen, with a worried expression, reluctantly nodded. It seemed inappropriate to object, as my master didn’t seem to have much to do today.

McFoy Castle strictly controlled the entry of outsiders and had strict security. Especially with the knights rotating on guard duty, it was deemed acceptable for me to take a solitary stroll in the garden for a short while.

With that decision, I stepped into the garden.

‘It’s been a while.’

Walking through the garden obstructed by tall flowerbeds, it was a rather dry experience for an impulsive visit to the garden. Despite being called a maze garden, it wasn’t really a maze with thick flowerbeds acting as walls.

As the sun was about to set, the garden was eerily quiet. It was a good place to calm one’s mind. However, for the sake of mental health, I should have turned back towards the entrance by now.

‘That fool Archie. If he wants to play hide and seek, he should do it here. Why come all the way to the reception hall to hide?’

Unfortunately, lost in my thoughts, I continued straight ahead, and when I realized I had ventured quite deep from the entrance.

“Sigh… Hm.”

I heard a hot breath beyond the flowerbeds. I abruptly stopped walking and tensed up.

“Phew…!”

This crazy… I didn’t mishear. That sound was unmistakably chaotic. What on earth was happening in this open garden? I couldn’t help but think someone got caught in the act.

I wanted to regain my usual energy, and from experience, raising my blood pressure in situations like this was quite effective.

To expose the scene, I swiftly moved my legs. Just as I was about to break through the flowerbeds taller than most knights, I was about to shout loudly.

“What…!”

But I was rendered speechless. I locked eyes with an unexpected person.

Harry Forn’s iris, with a sharp, and vivid gaze, was pitifully shaking. His sky-blue eyes were filled with embarrassment, shock, and confusion.

“…”

Harry Forn was being assaulted by someone. More precisely, someone had him by the collar, stealing a kiss from his lips. The moment our eyes met, a tear rolled down from the corner of his eye, which was truly unprecedented considering Harry’s reputation as McFoy’s finest beau and a “walking statue” for his Stoic demeanor.

I doubted my own eyes.

The reason Harry earned the nickname of McFoy’s most handsome man, along with being called a “walking statue,” was because he never showed any emotions.

I’ve known him for twenty years. There were times when I thought I could die just by seeing him smile. So, I never imagined seeing such an expression on his face. To exaggerate, I’ve never even seen Harry Forn blink an eye!

Harry Forn, with flushed cheeks and tears streaming down his face.

Harry Forn, feeling embarrassed.

‘Is this a dream?’

Moreover, considering the scene where his lips were being taken away, Harry didn’t seem to have any intention of pushing the other person away.

Even though he was skilled with the sword and clearly aware of my approach, he didn’t attempt to push the other person away. Instead, he only trembled at the fingertips as if he couldn’t dare to touch the other person.

Then who was the woman assaulting Harry?

Her familiar light brown hair was neatly braided like mine, and her elegant figure in the yellow dress was undoubtedly the same as before…

“Erika.”

The woman who was passionately kissing Harry suddenly froze in her tracks. Her face slowly turned towards me, matching my growing astonishment.

Next was Edio, then Archie, and now Erika.

I muttered like someone in a dream.

“Seymour, Mr. Forn. Why are you two…”

Were they engaging in intimate physical contact beyond mere familiarity? Isn’t that something people in relationships do? But for some reason, I couldn’t utter the rest of my thoughts.

Erika, when Harry was saying, “No, Erika, Erika!” and shaking his head, thought the person who entered the garden must be a low-ranking knight on patrol at best. Assuming she could silence the intruder as usual, she didn’t even realize that the one calling my name was actually Lord of McFoy.

“Tsk…”

Erika clicked her tongue lightly, feeling awkward.

‘Is she really clicking her tongue now?’

For a moment, I remembered the day I attended my first ball at the age of fourteen, when my sister Syph volunteered to take care of the children and followed along as my guardian.

At some point, Guardian Syph disappeared. When Ophelia and I realized how dreadfully boring the ball was and left the ballroom, the shock of witnessing Syph passionately kissing someone in a secluded corner of the garden was unforgettable.

Encountering such intense displays of affection was never enjoyable.

‘Actually, it was quite unpleasant.’

Syph, vigorously moving his head left and right, had clicked his tongue when our eyes met, much like Erika did now, as if annoyed.

Strangely enough, I felt a similar sensation to back then.

But could it be Erika? And with the epitome of chastity, Harry Forn?

‘…Surely not the two of them—’

“Let’s pretend we didn’t see anything. It’s a secret affair.”

Erika skillfully supported the staggering Harry in shock and cut me off. She swept back her disheveled hair. Somehow, I felt her bangs looked a bit damp, causing my forehead to involuntarily furrow even more.

As Erika finished speaking, Harry trembled and buried his face in his hands. He was on the verge of being overwhelmed by embarrassment.

Whether Harry said anything or not, I was plunged into shock myself. To hear the word ‘love’ coming out of Erika’s mouth. It ignited a tumultuous cognitive dissonance in my mind.

“…When did this start, exactly?”

Erika paused for a moment, and unfortunately, my memory and observational skills were extraordinary. In this regard, I couldn’t even imagine.

Since when was Harry escorting Archie? Since when was Erika fluttering around Archie’s room? I simply thought they were going to see Lady Seymour.

…Their relationship had been going on for at least five years.

“No. Don’t say anything else.”

I rubbed my forehead with one hand and tapped my fingers with the other.

“What does that make of all the honest conversations Erika and I have had until now? Were they all just for show? Just to appease me?”

“I have no interest in foolish romantics.”

I murmured towards Erika, my voice tinged with resentment.

“Well, with such a lover, it’s unlikely that any foolish or ugly men would catch her eye, right?”

Harry staggered heavily for the second time.

“It seems wrong to hurry to continue the family line.”

“You can’t go faster than your master.”

Erika shrugged, leaving me speechless once again.