At Noah’s words, Carol slightly opened her mouth. She might have thought too much, or too complicatedly.
In fact, the answer could have been simpler.
“Is that so?”
“Don’t you have friends, Carol?”
Carol thought of Louis.
‘Louis.’
“I do have some.”
Lately, it was unusually awkward.
They hadn’t had a proper conversation since the last time they met at the Duke’s Mansion, when she said she didn’t want to be alone with him.
Noah, who sensed another problem, glanced at Carol.
“Did you fight?”
“It’s not that we fought…”
Carol awkwardly smiled and trailed off. Her ears, which were frozen from the cold, suddenly heated up.
“Anyway, even from my perspective as a nine-year-old, if you think you did something wrong, it seems better to apologize. It’s not like you’re consulting a child.”
“Thank you.”
Her nose was bright red from being outside for so long. Contrary to his mature words, at the end of his sentence, there was a sniffle sound, and Carol let out a slight laugh.
Carol took off the scarf she was wearing and wrapped it around Noah’s neck.
Noah fiddled with the scarf with his cold, stiff fingertips and muttered.
“But doesn’t the Duke talk about me?”
Noah, who had heard that Carol was a servant serving the Duke, asked this question every time.
“…uh…”
The Duke didn’t know that Noah was at the Duke’s Mansion.
It was a fact that he accidentally found out while talking the second time they met.
Noah was greatly shocked by the fact that the Duke didn’t even know of his existence.
[The Duke doesn’t know about me…?]
Noah, who thought it was the other case, inadvertently realized for the first time that he was hiding his existence from the Duke.
“I’m sorry. I haven’t told him yet.”
“Lately, the servants have been checking my room more often.”
“I’ll definitely tell him.”
At the council of elders, it was explained that the Duke had personally ordered to bring him.
The reason he hadn’t seen him often until now was that he was hurt and sick, as an excuse made for external reasons.
Noah believed that word like a rock. As a successor, he waited patiently without complaining.
Until Carol came in and rumors started among the servants.
Noah impulsively stepped out due to the anxiety that he might be forgotten.
But he lost his way without finding anyone, and fortunately, he encountered Carol then.
Carol, remembering the bold Noah when they first met, rubbed her hands and apologized.
“Don’t worry.”
“Is it a lie that you’re close with the Duke?”
Mrs. Wells strictly stopped him from talking about the Duke, so Noah had no one to believe but Carol.
“…It’s been a bit distant lately, but no.”
Carol dusted off her seat and got up, as if there would be another round of questioning if she stayed like this.
“Tell me what happened next time.”
Noah jumped off the bench and asked.
He entered the servant’s reception room and dusted off the snow that had accumulated on his head.
‘I should say something.’
It was hard to find the timing to bring up such a conversation because it was awkward, and she also wondered if he could easily say such a serious story.
How did Mrs. Wells and Norman hear the explanation about Noah at the council of elders? And why didn’t they tell the Duke?
It was a worry that she couldn’t easily consult with anyone.
“Phew…”
“Did you go outside?”
“Ah! You surprised me!”
There was no one who came here among the people walking around at this time.
“…You’re the servant of the guest.”
Carol, stroking her throbbing chest, looked at the person who spoke to her.
Surely that person was the maid Margaret brought.
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you sleeping?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“Your name was Kate, right? This is the first proper greeting.”
“Yes, Carol.”
Usually, she would return the greeting, but Kate answered with a snort.
When a guest comes to the mansion, they are advised not to leave the room late at night due to the cold.
The very few visitors were polite nobles who kept their manners, so there were few who broke this rule.
Mrs. Wells seemed to firmly believe that Lady Margaret would also be fine.
“It must be very cold, did you run out of firewood?”
Carol asked like a plausible servant. Kate looked her up and down and answered.
“No. But what were you doing outside at this late hour, Carol?”
“…Just because I was frustrated.”
“You went out so secretly. If someone who doesn’t know sees, they would think you went out to meet someone secretly.”
Her mouth dried up at the sharp criticism that came back.
Did they see the two of them together?
Carol looked at Kate’s face.
Kate’s face looked dry without a single drop of moisture. Her cheeks were not frozen, and she was wearing slippers.
‘No… She must have just guessed.’
After checking Kate’s condition, Carol, relieved, brushed her hair and spoke in a polite voice.
“There’s no way. If you need anything, please let me know. I’m about to get off work.”
****
Kevin and Dylan put more effort into their studies and swordsmanship after visiting the Duke’s Mansion.
The anxiety that they might be doing something bad once in a while disappeared.
“Sister…To go as far as to fall trying to grab the hem of the dress.”
But they felt anew how heavy the weight of the head of the family was.
The swordsmanship academy, which they used to say they would quit and work anytime, was entered.
When they looked far, they had to graduate from the swordsmanship academy.
The two became more dignified.
“Sister.”
Kevin called Carol with a nervous face.
Carol, who had just returned from the Duke’s Mansion, was in the evening, while it was morning for Kevin and Dylan. (TL: like in someone working on night shift; Carol treats morning as night, and night as morning)
“Sister?”
He clicked his tongue at Carol, who was eating hard bread without even dipping it in soup.
“Is there something wrong that you can’t even eat properly?”
Dylan, who noticed that Carol was lost in thought, asked in a raised voice.
Clang.
“Huh?”
“Are you okay?”
Dylan hurriedly got down from the chair and caught the spoon that Carol dropped.
“…Sorry.”
“Is there really nothing wrong?”
“Uh-huh. I’m just sleepy.”
Dylan questioned Carol in a suspicious voice. He was still worried because the scene where she threw her body to grab the hem of the noble lady’s dress was vivid in front of his eyes.
“Sister, what did that noblewoman say to you then?”
“No.”
As the Duke had asserted, Margaret did not harm Carol in any way.
“That’s a relief…..Kevin, you say something too.”
“Sister is okay.”
At Kevin’s blunt words, Dylan pounded his chest.
“Ah. It’s frustrating.”
“…”
“Are you still awkward with Louis?”
Dylan was also concerned about this part. It was a kind of responsibility.
He believed that if they hadn’t gone to the Duke’s Mansion just listening to Louis’s words, there would have been no problem between Carol and Louis.
“…You both have to go to the academy quickly. It takes time to get there.”
Instead of answering, Carol glanced at the time and muttered.
“That’s true.”
“…Let’s go.”
Kevin also sided with Carol.
“Sister, do you remember what we said about being late today?”
“…Oh. Then I can’t see you before I go back to work?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry and go.”
“Take care.”
“Sister too! You can’t oversleep because we’re not here.”
“Uh-huh.”
Both of them felt a heavy sense of responsibility, as if a screw was missing somewhere.
‘I guess I’m the only one who can lead our Langer family properly.’
Dylan made a firm resolution secretly, looking at the two blunt people alternately.
****
Undoubtedly, Louis Walden, the young Viscount, was the most successful person in the north recently.
After becoming Viscount Walden, Louis practiced noblesse oblige in his old neighborhood that he missed.
The Northern Swordsmanship Academy was small compared to other regions, but it was a solid place to study abroad from other countries.
‘There was a little bit of other personal feelings mixed in.’
Kevin and Dylan were promising sprouts.
It was a sponsorship that Carol started hoping to alleviate her worries about tuition.
At first, he sponsored anonymously, fearing that Carol would jump if she knew.
“It feels great to have contributed to nurturing excellent talents.”
“Thanks to your sponsorship, we have increased the proportion of scholarship students.”
Although the initial intention was somewhat impure, in the end, things worked out well and it became a good thing for everyone.
‘I came out to kill time today…’
The president even came out to greet Louis’s visit.
He couldn’t refuse the president’s request with a flushed face as if it was about to burst because he came in a hurry.
Thanks to that, he even went on an unexpected academy tour.
“The building management is well done. Indeed, you must be proud.”
Although it didn’t look financially affluent, it was felt everywhere that it was well managed with affection.
When Louis pretended to be polite and spoke, the president blushed.
“I’m glad you see it positively. This time, there are particularly many talents in the academy.”
Louis responded appropriately to the president’s passionate explanation.
“Although I sponsored for quality education, not just for talents, the news of talents always excites me.”
Every time he moved his steps slowly, there was a sound of cheers and swords colliding from the training ground.
“Would you like to take a look at the training ground?”
“Everyone’s spirit is amazing.”
“There isn’t much time left until the boys graduate.”
He thought Kevin and Dylan would be there too.
