Oh, this makes me look like such a terrible person.
“By the way, did the young lord agree to my staying here?”
At my question, the duchess looked at me with wide eyes.
“Oh my, of course! Hyperion was genuinely happy to hear you were coming! It’s the first time I’ve seen him show such excitement. And what do you mean by ‘young lord’? Just call him Hyperion—no, Hyun, comfortably.”
Hmm, I wonder if her assumption that he was happy is just her wishful thinking? Even though I saw him as a child, he didn’t seem like the type to express his feelings directly.
Just then, the duchess suddenly asked me with a serious expression.
“Ar, do you remember what I said before?”
“Excuse me?”
“I told you what kind of man you should meet?”
“…A handsome man.”
“I can’t believe you still remember what I said when you were little! You really are clever, just as the rumors say!”
The duchess laughed like a girl and grabbed my shoulder.
“So, Ar, if any ugly men approach you at the ball, don’t show them any mercy—just kick them away.”
“But my mother always said that what matters is a person’s heart…”
“No, that’s absolutely not true. Libby is wrong. Listen carefully. There are only three types of men in this world.”
The duchess began to extend her fingers one by one.
“A handsome and capable man. A handsome but useless man. An ugly man who thinks he’s capable. Remember this. Humanity has no place in romance. Get rid of everything useless, and you only need to deal with handsome and capable men.”
“…Okay.”
I could no longer raise any objections and just nodded.
“Now, this is your room.”
Just then, we arrived in front of the room, and the duchess opened the door herself.
The room was adorned with antique furniture against a backdrop of muted blue walls. A large window faced the opposite side. The sunlight filtering through the translucent curtains created a cozy atmosphere.
It was an extremely elegant and refined room, clearly reflecting the duchess’s high taste.
“This is the reception room, and over there is the bedroom,” she said, pulling my hand gently again. The room was divided into separate spaces, including the reception area, bedroom, and study.
“And this is a special place prepared just for you.”
When the duchess opened the last door, I stood still in surprise.
In the center of the room was an easel holding a canvas. Next to it, on the desk, were all the tools needed for painting, including paints and charcoal.
“I heard that painting is your hobby. The social season will be quite busy, but feel free to use this space anytime you want to paint.”
“Duchess…”
I was genuinely touched by the duchess. I had only expected her to provide me with a room, but she had prepared far more thoughtfully than I had imagined.
“Do you like the room?”
“Of course. Thank you so much. I didn’t expect such preparation.”
“I told Libby to send you to my house, so it’s only natural to do this much. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to both of you.”
The duchess’s bright smile momentarily faded.
“However, before that, I need to ask for your understanding. This room was actually used by my daughter, Yvette.”
I looked around the room in surprise. The size and location did seem too large for a guest room.
“Since Yvette passed away, I’ve kept this room empty. I never let anyone else in. Then, leading up to your visit, I thought about what it would be like if you used this room…”
The duchess smiled sadly.
“Yvette lived her life in pain without a single friend and left this world. She fell asleep holding the painting you gave her close to her heart. So, I thought it would be okay to give you this room. However, I didn’t ask for your opinion in advance, so I’m being cautious. If it’s uncomfortable or too burdensome, I can prepare another room right away…”
I hugged the duchess. She was petite enough to fit snugly in my embrace. I gently stroked her back and whispered.
“I’m really happy that you’ve allowed me to use this room. Even for a short time, I’ll stay here with a happy heart.”
The duchess pulled back and smiled brightly.
“If you think that way, I couldn’t ask for more. Oh dear, I’ve held onto a tired person for too long. Please rest until dinner time. The servants will bring your luggage here soon.”
“Yes.”
After the duchess left the room, I slowly looked around. I thought about Yvette, who had spent time in this room.
It would have been nice if she were alive. Perhaps we could have become quite good friends.
Woof! Woof!
Suddenly, I heard a dog barking outside. I opened the window and saw a fluffy white dog playfully running around the garden. From its appearance, it didn’t seem to be a guard dog.
Hmm, since I have plenty of time, should I go play with it for a bit?
I left the room, passing through the corridor in the opposite direction from where I had come, and went down the first staircase. As I walked towards the garden without thinking, I suddenly realized something.
I knew the way to the garden so naturally.
Could it be because the Duke’s estate appears often in novels? Strangely, this place felt familiar. I felt I could guess all the spots where the Duke and Duchess had shared their romantic moments.
Perhaps that alcove was where they passionately kissed, hidden from the eyes of their servants…
I shook my head to dispel those thoughts.
As I entered the garden, the dog, which had been excitedly running around with a branch in its mouth, suddenly froze. It stared at me blankly.
It seemed to be asking, “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before,” with its clueless expression, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Hello, I’m Arcadia. Would you like to say hi?”
I extended my fist and stood still. The dog slowly approached me, sniffing with its damp nose. Before long, it started wagging its tail happily.
“Thank you for saying hello.”
I gently petted the soft fur of the puppy. It seemed to enjoy my touch for a moment before suddenly turning around and bringing back the branch.
“hing!”
And then it dropped it right in front of me.
“Did you want me to throw it?”
At my words, the puppy’s tail wagged so fast it made a buzzing sound.
With my usual trained strength, I threw the branch very far away. The dog ran madly, panting, and brought the branch back to me.
As I endlessly threw the branch for my eager little slave, a strong wind blew. Countless white petals fell from the trees in the garden.
I looked up at the sky. The white petals danced in the air like snow.
“Oh, it’s snowing.”
As I watched for a while, I heard another bark. Instead of bringing me the branch, the dog excitedly ran toward something.
In the distance, I saw a tall man walking into the garden. He was dressed in white knight’s attire and had a long sword at his waist.
When the dog jumped into the man’s arms, he lifted it up with both hands.
“Rose.”
Was it a female?
Despite the dog’s paw prints all over his pristine outfit, the man didn’t seem to mind much.
“Grrr! Grrr!”
Then the dog started licking the man’s face, making happy little sounds. The man’s laughter echoed softly.
“Okay, I got it, calm down, Rose.”
His adult voice was completely different from when he was a child. If his father had a deep, cavernous voice, his was a bit husky but powerful.
Once the intense greeting settled down, the dog got off the man, looking satisfied.
The man brushed off the dog hair and dirt from his clothes with his hands. It was quite impressive to see a man whose appearance seemed like not a single hair would be out of place shaking off dog fur.
Finally, the man lifted his head and approached me.
White petals settled on his golden hair, which was close to silver. His cold, lake-like eyes stared at me.
His appearance hadn’t changed much since childhood, except for the fact that he had grown much taller and his frame had become more masculine.
After a moment, the man stopped in front of me and drew an astonishingly charming smile.
“It’s been a long time, Arcadia.”
Honestly, I thought we would address each other formally when we met again. It had been too long, and the weight of being heirs to our respective families added to that.
I was a bit taken aback by the casual speech, but I quickly regained my composure.
Right, he’s an old friend. Lucas and Derek now speak formally to me, so it wouldn’t hurt to have at least one friend who speaks casually.
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
He gently petted the head of the dog sitting quietly beside him.
“Did Rose misbehave on your first meeting? He’s quite the energetic one.”
“Ah, she is energetic. No matter how many branches I threw, she never got tired! But calling her ‘he’ when she’s a female, isn’t that a bit rude?”
In response to my joking remark, he answered seriously.
“Rose is a male.”
“A male? A male named Rose?”
“Yeah.”
What? That’s possible. Sure, it’s a bit old-fashioned to care about names based on gender.
“Rose LeBlanc.”
“Huh?”
“His full name is Rose LeBlanc. I named him.”
“……”
Does a dog even have a surname? It’s not like he took on a family name like Kim Coco; it’s an oddly foreign surname!
His serious expression made it hard to dismiss this as a joke. So I couldn’t laugh outright.
Is he the most normal-looking person but actually the biggest weirdo?
