“Do you have any plans moving forward?”
“First, I need to fulfill my duties as a guardian. And after that… I plan to uncover the spy within the duchy.”
“Is this what you mentioned before?”
During the two days it took to get here, Hestia shared with Jerome the unease she had felt before leaving the duke’s estate.
“We need to determine whether the spy has been around since the duke was alive, or if they were newly recruited after his passing.”
“Regardless, they’re only going to be a hindrance to you, miss.”
“Honestly, I don’t care if they get in my way.”
“Pardon?”
“The most important thing is whether they betray the young master.”
It wasn’t just the spy who might be hostile or wary of her.
Maybe Winston or Leonhard’s men were watching her closely, concerned that she might be after the duke’s estate.
In fact, if the spy truly exists, they might even try to approach her in a friendly manner to recruit her.
That’s why she must remain open to all possibilities and test everyone.
“I’ll always be here, so if you need anything, feel free to use Hilde or come see me directly.”
“Understood. Helping me is great, but you know you can’t neglect the development of new products, right?”
“Of course. Actually, I brought all of my experimental tools with me.”
No wonder there was so much luggage on the carriage—it all had a purpose.
After Jerome saw her off, Hestia glanced back at Hilde, who had followed her out onto the street.
“Before we head to the duchy… Hilde.”
“Yes, miss?”
Hilde was quietly excited, wondering what the first command from her new master would be.
“Is there a famous toy shop around here?”
The question left Hilde momentarily speechless.
“…A toy store?”
“Yes. I don’t want to show up empty-handed.”
It wasn’t the order she had expected, but knowing she had to fulfill her duty, Hilde recalled the geography of the area.
“I’ll guide you. Let’s take the carriage.”
The two of them climbed into the carriage and headed toward a street lined with toy stores.
***
“She’s late…”
“Didn’t they say she passed through the gate two hours ago?”
“Yes, that’s the report I received.”
Leonhard, tired of waiting, sat down sullenly on the stairs at the front gate, while Albert scowled and checked his pocket watch.
‘What is she doing?’
Even at the slowest pace, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to get from the gate to the estate.
Given how long it took the gatekeeper to pass on the message, she should have gotten here in under fifteen minutes.
“Tch, she’s already dragging her feet.”
At Albert’s click of the tongue, Leonhard lifted his head.
“I told you, didn’t I, my lord? Lady Frost is not suited to be your guardian.”
“…We agreed not to talk about that.”
“I’m only saying it because I’m frustrated.”
During the week that Hestia had been away in Byron, Albert had subtly undermined her, arguing that it wasn’t too late to replace her as the guardian.
As a result, the request to appoint her as the guardian had yet to be submitted to the imperial family.
“I think I know why she’s late.”
“What is it?”
“She’s trying to establish dominance right from the start.”
“Dominance over who?”
“Over you, my lord! She must know that news of her arrival in Duchy has reached the estate. Yet, instead of coming straight here, she’s deliberately stalling. She’s trying to mess with you.”
“No way.”
“She knows you’ve been eagerly awaiting her arrival, and yet she’s deliberately being late to assert her dominance. It’s an obvious trick. Have I ever given you wrong advice, my lord?”
At first, Leonhardt laughed it off, but seeing how fired up Albert was, he started to have second thoughts.
“No matter how much Byron has grown, it’s no match for Duchy. Duchy is so big, with so much to see and do, it would be overwhelming for a country noblewoman.”
“…”
Albert, who had been grumbling for some time, suddenly realized that Leonhard had fallen silent. He looked down to see the boy looking even more dejected than before.
At that moment, Albert felt a pang of guilt.
“Don’t worry, my lord. You’ve got me by your side. When she arrives, I’ll make sure to scold her properly.”
Leonhard, instead of responding, simply pulled his knees closer to his chest.
‘Could Hestia really be like that?’
The Hestia he knew wasn’t that type of person. She had promised to return as soon as possible…
‘But she really isn’t here, like Albert said.’
A feeling of betrayal surged within him.
His nose began to tingle as Leonhard clenched his fists and stood up.
“…I’m going inside.”
“Allow me to escort you.”
Albert gently placed his hand on Leonhard’s shoulder and was about to guide him inside when—
*Neigh!*
The sound of horses’ hooves rang out.
Turning around, Leonhard saw a carriage bearing the Frost family crest approaching, his eyes widening in surprise.
The carriage came to a stop, and Hestia stepped out.
“It’s been a while, young lord! Have you been well?”
She greeted him with a bright smile, but Leonhard’s lips quivered, and his eyes brimmed with tears.
Hestia, caught off guard by his reaction, was at a loss for words.
“…Young lord, is something wrong?”
She knelt down to meet Leonhard’s gaze.
“…You’re here?”
“Yes?”
At his mumbled words, Hestia leaned in closer to listen.
“Why are you only arriving now?”
As his voice grew louder, tears began to well up in his eyes.
Soon, large teardrops were rolling down his cheeks as he rubbed his eyes.
“Sniff. You arrived in Duchy two hours ago, so why are you only showing up now? Are you… are you trying to fight me?”
“Excuse me? A fight? Where on earth did you hear such a thing? I would never do that.”
“Then why did it take so long for you to come? I’ve been waiting all this time. I thought… I thought you weren’t coming back.”
During those two hours, all sorts of thoughts had plagued Leonhard’s mind.
Had something happened on the way? Was there an accident? Or—just like his parents—was she never going to return?
Just a few days ago, he had been eagerly waiting for news of his parents’ return, only to be met with the tragic news of their deaths.
Seeing him cry silently while questioning her, Hestia carefully patted him on the back.
“My apologies. I had no idea you were waiting for me.”
“…Sniff. Then why did you take so long? Were you out shopping?”
Leonhard glanced at the carriage.
Though it was filled with her luggage, he noticed several gift boxes inside.
The sheer number of boxes made him suspect, as Albert had suggested, that she had been out shopping.
“Yes. I did go shopping.”
As Hestia nodded nonchalantly, Leonhard’s disappointment deepened.
“Hilde, bring the first thing I bought.”
Hilde fetched one of the gift boxes from the carriage and handed it to Hestia. She then presented the box to Leonhard.
Blinking his teary eyes, Leonhard stared at it in confusion.
“This is a gift for you, young lord.”
“…For me?”
“I didn’t want to show up empty-handed, so I spent some time picking things out. It took a while because I wasn’t sure what you would like.”
“Then all the other boxes are…”
“Of course, they’re all gifts from you, young lord. Haha, what’s with that expression? You thought I was late because I got caught up shopping, didn’t you?”
Leonhard quickly shut his mouth and awkwardly looked away, as if caught off guard.
‘He really can’t lie.’
So innocent. If it were my siblings, they’d be able to keep a straight face without batting an eye.
“Can I… open it?”
“Of course.”
Leonhard, looking all excited like he hadn’t been crying at all, carefully untied the ribbon.
Inside the box was none other than a wooden soldier figurine.
“Wow… this!”
“It’s the toy you played with last time, with Eric. This is a new series they just released.”
A week ago, when Leonhard and Eric became friends, they had played with the soldier figurine. But there had only been one, and Eric treasured it too much to give it to Leonhard.
“Eric was really sad he couldn’t give you this figurine back then. How do you like it?”
“Yes! I really wanted this!”
Leonhard hugged the soldier tightly, beaming with joy.
Hestia wiped the tears from his red-rimmed eyes.
“Don’t forget that everything inside there is also a gift from you, young lord.”
“Oh…”
Only then did Leonhard realize that all the numerous gift boxes were for him.
“Albert, please move the luggage on the carriage to my room, and these gifts to the young master’s room.”
“Understood.”
“Now, while the servants move the luggage, shall we open the gifts together?”
“Yes!”
Leonhard quickly forgot about his earlier disappointment and took Hestia’s hand.
Her warm and soft hand reminded him of his mother, making him smile without even realizing it.
Watching the two ascend the stairs, Albert clenched his fists.
“What are you all doing? Get moving!”
But he quickly composed himself, remembering his duties as a Butler, and began directing the servants.
***
“Wow… I’ve never received this many gifts except on my birthday.”
“Do you like everything?”
“Yes! The toys! The clothes! The shoes! The hats! The sweets! I love them all!”
Seeing Leonhard bouncing around and laughing made Hestia feel relieved she had made the right decision in buying them.
‘I was originally thinking of getting just one…’
After leaving the toy shop, she spotted a clothing store right next door, then a shoe store, and another one beyond that…
‘In a daze, I just kept going in one after another.’
She lost track of time, thinking everything would look good on Leonhard, and before she knew it, an hour and a half had passed.
Feeling like she had taken too long, she rushed back, only to find Leonhard tearfully complaining about why she was late.
He was just too adorable when he threw a tantrum.
If it had been her siblings, they would have been screaming and throwing a fit, but the sweet Leonhard only clenched his fists and cried quietly.
‘But that’s that.’
“Young master.”
“Hehe… yes?”
Leonhard turned his head while playing with the toys.
“A little while ago, you asked if I was trying to pick a fight with you.”
“Yes?”
“You thought I deliberately came late to establish dominance over you?”
“N-no! It’s not like that…”
“I’m not upset. I’m just curious how you came to say that. I wondered if I had somehow hurt your feelings.”
Leonhard cautiously observed Hestia’s expression. She didn’t seem angry at all.
“I was a bit disappointed. I heard you arrived in Duchy two hours ago, and no matter how long I waited, you didn’t come. But you were shopping for my gifts, so it’s fine! I was just worried that something might have happened to you.”
“Then why did you say that earlier?”
Leonhard hesitated, glancing around.
Hilde and Leonhardt’s personal maid were present.
Hestia gestured for them to step back.
