010. A Bit More Often (3)
Meanwhile, as soon as Owen returned to the Verdun mansion, he asked the butler, Logan.
“Did the cabinet I mentioned last time arrive?”
Despite his abrupt question, Logan skillfully held the answer.
“Yes. It has been prepared in the room next to Your Excellency’s bedroom.”
Upon hearing Logan’s response, Owen immediately walked to that room.
As soon as he opened the door, what greeted him was a splendid cabinet.
Even at a glance, the ornate cabinet, made of expensive wood, was quite dazzling.
However, what surprised Owen more than that was the enormous size of the cabinet.
‘I didn’t know it would be this big….’
Although he had ordered it, Owen was slightly taken aback by the unexpected size.
After examining the cabinet for a while, he took off his jacket and removed cufflinks from his shirt.
However, even after taking out the red cufflink, he couldn’t easily let go and continued to fiddle with it.
As if someone unwilling to let go of something precious.
Gazing at the rose pattern in the red ruby for a while, he put it back into the gift box.
Then, he placed it on the empty side of the cabinet.
Carefully placing the gift box, Owen took a step back and looked at the still-empty cabinet.
Of course, the cabinet looked sufficient even without anything filling it due to its ornateness, but Owen’s purpose for buying the cabinet was clear from the beginning.
To store the items received from Lucia.
As Owen ran his hand over the surface of the cabinet, he happily imagined the empty cabinet gradually filling up.
‘If only I could fill the cabinet with numerous gifts that came out in the original work.’
Various accessories, including rings, necklaces, tie pins, as well as ties, shirts, and suits.
There were also things like daggers and arrowheads, as well as pens and ink.
When he actually counted them, there were more items than he initially thought, and Owen even considered getting another cabinet.
After all, the room was spacious, and the purpose was merely to display Lucia’s gifts in the cabinet.
“Oh.”
Then, he suddenly remembered the rustling sound and thought of the letter envelope in his inner pocket.
It was an invitation to a garden party sent by Lucia, which he had been carrying around due to the lack of a place to store it.
After contemplating whether to continue carrying it or to put it in the cabinet, Owen concluded.
He cautiously took out the red envelope from his pocket and placed it in the drawer of the cabinet.
‘Letters and invitations should be stored here from now on.’
While Owen was seriously contemplating how to decorate the cabinet, someone knocked on the door.
“Your Excellency, Lady Edelt has sent a gift.”
“Come in.”
Owen, who had been holding his breath at the word ‘gift,’ slowly uttered the words of permission.
Upon that, a servant entered, presenting him with a rectangular-shaped gift box and a beautifully wrapped red rose.
Owen carefully accepted the gift box and the rose and nodded at the servant.
Holding the rose in his arms, he opened the gift box.
Inside, a wine-colored tie was neatly folded.
Owen touched the tie delicately, then reluctantly placed it back in the box.
Though he felt a desire to try it on once, he couldn’t handle Lucia’s gift carelessly.
The reason he wore cufflinks earlier was probably because she was anticipating it.
Originally, he wasn’t someone who treated goods so casually.
Even the things I made were treated with care, as if they were sacred.
Let alone, he couldn’t handle what Lucia gave him so casually.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm the rapidly beating heart.
Then, he carefully covered the gift box containing the tie and placed it inside the cabinet.
With the tie in the cabinet, he shifted his gaze to the rose in his arms.
– Red roses, you said you liked them, right?
He remembered Lucia’s words from earlier in the day.
Thinking about it, his ears felt unexpectedly warm.
Lowering his head, Owen smelled the fragrance of the rose and thought about how to preserve it for a long time.
Two methods came to mind.
One was to call a magician for preservation, and the other was to make it into a dried flower.
Although he wanted to choose the former, which preserved the original state, much more—.
‘Embarrassing….’
Embarrassment suddenly lifted his head.
The hired magician would be shocked to see me, and then the rumor would spread.
Then, Lucia might hear the rumor and might think poorly of me.
Owen shook his head and, after escaping from the terrible imagination, called the gardener.
“I want to make this into a dried flower.”
“Dried flower. Understood.”
“How long will it take to make?”
“About two weeks.”
“Two weeks… I see.”
In two weeks, the hunting competition would begin.
Without even seeing the completed dried flower, he would have to leave the mansion.
Owen felt a bit disappointed.
* * *
When Owen mentioned that he had made plans with Lucia again the next day, the butler, Logan, was startled.
Of course, he didn’t express his inner thoughts verbally, but his expression revealed it.
Owen ignored Logan’s discomfort and continued.
Logan, heaving a sigh, asked, “Until what time do you plan to return?”
“Late afternoon.”
“…Understood.”
Logan reluctantly accepted while exhaling slowly.
After all, Logan was not in a position to prevent Owen’s plans. Logan served Owen as his master and was just a servant in the Verdun mansion.
Moreover, Owen’s workload had been increasing again lately.
It was as if his sudden slowdown in work two weeks ago, which had made Logan worry if he was unwell, was now just a bizarre memory.
Furthermore, Owen had trouble sleeping. He was the type to refuse politely when asked to rest, even if told it wouldn’t matter if he took a break.
Well, in front of him stood a sword master who had appeared for the first time in centuries.
It was not possible for such a monstrous human, who barely slept a few hours, to collapse just because he played and wasted time.
And it’s not like he was completely neglecting his work while enjoying himself. Logan, just a butler, couldn’t interfere when Owen decided to meet Lucia at night instead of during the day.
If Owen collapsed from overwork due to his body not enduring the schedule, it might be a different story.
Until then, it was beyond Logan’s authority.
“Tomorrow, there is a business meeting. It seems difficult to cancel because the person is from another country.”
He could, however, offer advice.
That was something Logan could do as a butler.
Owen nodded hesitantly at Logan’s words as if he had been pricked.
Then Logan continued, “And I heard that you’ve been practicing early in the morning these days.”
“…That’s correct.”
At Logan’s words, Owen tensed.
He wondered if Logan suspected something about his true identity.
The original ‘Owen’ did practice frequently, but it wasn’t a daily morning routine.
So, it was not strange for Logan to find this aspect puzzling.
Anxiously waiting if Logan would bring up the subject, Logan unexpectedly mentioned something different.
“The Commander apparently saw that. He suggested that Your Excellency should have a match with the knights for inspection soon.”
“…”
Fortunately, it seemed that suspicions were not confirmed, but it was still a significant matter.
A match with the knights, especially in front of those who were skilled in combat, meant drawing a sword.
And not just for the sake of a friendly match.
“…Tell him I’ll visit soon.”
He couldn’t avoid it recklessly if it seemed like he would be exposed.
If he continued like this, his skills would be revealed at the hunting competition.
It was better to be exposed in front of his allies than in front of all the nobles.
And it would be better to perfect it before the hunting competition.
‘Still, I can wield a sword…’
Fortunately, Owen’s body itself was that of a sword master.
Thanks to that, as he adapted, he became capable of basic sword handling and even raising the sword.
Also, due to daily training, he seemed capable of handling a sword at the level of an ordinary knight.
If there’s a problem, is it because I can’t use extraordinary swordsmanship like ‘Owen’?
It seemed like it would be easy to deceive those who were ignorant about swords or combat, but facing a skilled opponent, Owen’s skills might be revealed after a short while.
Especially if the opponent was a knight of the caliber who used aura, even more so.
‘How should I handle this until the hunting competition?’
And that was quite a serious problem.
Because there would be knights using aura, or even more exceptional ones, participating in the hunting competition.
‘Still, other things should be fine. I can somehow get through training or inspections with the knights.’
Nevertheless, Owen’s body itself was familiar and proficient in various martial techniques.
From horseback riding to basic archery, handling a lance, and using the body.
He was learning things that proficient knights would know well as if his body had been sufficiently trained.
‘I can raise the sword. I won’t raise suspicions.’
Having come to a reasonable conclusion for his concerns, Owen brushed off his distractions and rose from his seat.
“I’ll be going now.”
After a brief farewell, he put on his jacket.
Watching him prepare to go out, Logan asked with a puzzled expression, “I heard you received gifts from Lady Edelt yesterday… Why aren’t you wearing them?”
“Ah… well.”
Owen hesitated for a moment in response to Logan’s question before opening his mouth.
“I thought they might get damaged if I wore them for no reason.”
As he spoke, Owen’s voice became quieter towards the end.
Even as he spoke, embarrassment seemed to color his ears.
Seeing Owen like this, Logan realized that his master, who had been calm and composed in everything, was completely clueless about this aspect.
Although Owen blushed with shyness, Logan, looking at this unexpected side of Owen, found it quite interesting. However, it wasn’t important in the current situation.
For the first time, Logan looked at Owen with a somewhat pathetic expression and said, “If you’re worried about wearing them, I won’t stop you, but Lady Edelt might think you discarded the gifts.”
“…”
“As you’ve been doing so far.”
Observing Owen’s hesitancy, Logan spoke with a hint of pity in his eyes.
“…I see.”
“Fortunately, you seem to understand at least this much.”
Then, muttering quietly as if to himself, Logan said something, but fortunately, Owen’s mind was elsewhere, and he didn’t hear it.
