Chapter 28
When he said he had feelings for me, I was so flustered I couldn’t say a word.
I knew it was said half in jest, yet there wasn’t a trace of amusement on Sir Aiden’s face.
On the contrary, he looked more solemn and serious than ever.
I didn’t know what kind of expression I was making, but I was sure I looked equally grave.
Then, Aiden’s gaze softened for a moment. He spoke again, this time in a more playful tone.
“If class ends and I’m reading a book alone and I come across a word I don’t understand, I’ll be missing you until the next lesson. That must mean I’m in love with you, right?”
“Love is just a deeper form of affection,” I muttered.
My face flushed red with embarrassment.
I felt ashamed for having misunderstood, but what lingered in my mind was the look in his eyes just now.
“I’ll just count the bare minimum of fondness I have for you as love.”
Sir Aiden shrugged. He was truly unpredictable.
I didn’t know how to respond, and while I was scrambling to find words, a knock came at the door.
“Oh, come on. I’m in the middle of confessing my love to the teacher and someone interrupts. Who is it? Come in.”
Sophie opened the door and stepped inside.
She looked a bit flustered, holding something carefully in her hands.
“Sophie, is something wrong?”
“Well… um, a letter arrived from the Imperial Palace. It’s an important document.”
“What about the attendant who delivered it?”
“He said he was busy and just handed over the letter before leaving.”
Sophie handed the letter to Sir Aiden as if it were a dangerous object.
Then, with a noticeably relieved expression, she quickly exited the study.
“It’s an official notice. Go ahead and open it.”
“Aren’t you even a little annoyed?”
“About what?”
Sir Aiden gritted his teeth and walked to the window to look out.
His gaze landed on the figure of the attendant hurriedly leaving in the distance.
“That damn bastard. The Palace knows I can’t read, so they must’ve sent someone who could read it aloud. And yet he just left the letter and ran.”
“Oh…”
“I’ll make sure that insolent punk learns some manners next time.”
He cursed fiercely and tore open the letter.
I didn’t try to peek at its contents.
The rightful owner of House Calypso is Sir Aiden. I’m just a dependent.
So how much of the Imperial matters he shares is up to him.
He began reading with surprising ease and quickly skimmed the letter.
Then, with a fierce glare, he crumpled it up.
Something’s wrong.
His furrowed brows and tense lips said it all.
Clearly displeased, he looked out the window with a grim expression, then glanced at me.
Our eyes met in midair.
Maybe because his eyes were especially dark, it was hard to read any emotion beyond discomfort.
“I heard you used to be the Crown Prince’s fiancée.”
“I did. …If it’s about His Highness, I’ll be fine.”
“I’m not fine. I’ll be the one stuck in the middle, walking on eggshells.”
With that, he held the letter out to me.
It felt like the turning point of a novel—the catalyst for the next arc.
But this isn’t fiction. This is reality.
Still, could something this dramatic really happen?
I quickly read the letter, wanting to borrow Sir Aiden’s words—‘damn it’ or maybe ‘bloody hell.’
“…Following the inspection of nearby regions, His Highness will stay at House Calypso for one day…”
My eyelids trembled.
A storm of emotions crashed into me all at once.
The humiliation I had suffered from him, and the stubborn pride that didn’t want to face him like this.
I bit my lower lip. Hard enough to draw blood, or so I thought, though I didn’t feel any pain.
I only want to see him after I’ve regained my strength.
“The Crown Prince’s coming to our house? That won’t happen. This place is a mess—who in their right mind would come here? I’ll greet him outside instead.”
“……”
“Teacher. Hey, teacher!”
Sir Aiden snapped his fingers in front of me.
That’s when I realized—I was clenching my fists so tightly, my nails had dug into my palms.
“If we’re unlucky and the Crown Prince does come here, you can just go somewhere else for the day.”
“……”
“Teacher!”
It didn’t make sense. It was all too strange. Why was he being…?
“This feels excessive.”
“What?”
“I mean, for a mere tutor, this is too much consideration.”
“What are you saying? Should I have just brought His Highness here and let you two reunite? Or are you saying you don’t trust me? Be clear.”
“Whatever it means to you.”
Sir Aiden’s brow furrowed, his eyes narrowing.
“It was just kindness.”
“Kindness?”
“Yes. Kindness. You were engaged and it ended. Of course you wouldn’t want to see him. You shouldn’t have to be uncomfortable.”
“…Why do you…”
Why are you being so kind to me?
More than necessary, more than expected, more than I deserve.
It was suspicious.
The old me would’ve thought him just a naturally warm person, but now—it felt like something else.
And I knew swallowing that question was an insult.
It was rude. Ungrateful. But I couldn’t stop the thought from surfacing.
Still…
“I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
I’m no longer the young lady of House Estarion.
I’m just Selena—a girl Sir Aiden happens to need.
“You should just take the kindness for what it is. Feels like crap to have my sincerity doubted.”
Sir Aiden snatched the letter from my hands and strode out of the study.
Bang!
The door slammed shut, and the air trembled from the shock.
That sound… it felt like a condemnation—for being someone who couldn’t fully trust.
It made me want to cry.
“Young lady, this way.”
Sophie stood at the front door of a shabby house, beckoning to me.
“You could’ve just hired a butler from a decent middle-class family.”
“No. A place like House Calypso, with no proper structure, needs someone truly competent. Random nobodies won’t do.”
The person I was looking for was Fred Sheeban, who used to serve as butler for the House of Baron Gellimear.
Five years ago, when the Baron passed away without an heir, everything changed.
If only the barony had passed to a collateral branch.
But the Baron’s distant relatives had emigrated long ago and become foreign citizens.
In the end, the Baron’s estate was confiscated by the state, and Fred Sheeban lost his job.
I remembered hearing that many among the upper middle class tried to recruit him back then.
Knock knock.
I knocked without hesitation, but there was no answer.
Knock knock.
Still no response. Sophie stepped forward.
“He’s not home?”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sophie pounded the door with her fist. Not once or twice—repeatedly.
“So–Sophie, there’s no need for that.”
“This is the only way to get him out.”
Sophie shook her head firmly and continued knocking with resolve.
“Who is it?”
Creaaak.
The door opened, and a man with a thick beard appeared.
He had the tired look of a middle-aged man, dark shadows beneath his eyes.
“Are you Fred Sheeban?”
“Yes, I am. And?”
“We’ve come from House Calypso—”
“I’m not interested in working.”
“…I don’t work anymore.”
The man cut me off before I could even finish my sentence. His voice was firm, sharp like a blade against stone. He began to close the door.
“I came because I’ve heard about your experience serving in the Gellimear Viscounty.”
“Did you not hear me just now?”
“There’s no one else with your expertise.”
I stepped forward instinctively, blocking the door with my hand.
“That’s not my problem,” he muttered and tried to push the door closed again. “Go hire someone else.”
“I know things haven’t been easy since the Gellimear line was dissolved. But the Calypso Ducal House isn’t looking for just anyone. We need someone capable of bringing structure—someone like you, Mr. Shivan.”
He froze for a brief second at the mention of the house’s name.
“…Calypso, you say?”
“Yes.”
The name clearly stirred something in him. His hand still rested on the edge of the door, not pushing any further, but not retreating either.
“I have no loyalty to the nobility anymore,” he said after a pause. “They used us like chess pieces. And when the game was over, they tossed us aside.”
“I understand,” I replied quietly. “But not all houses treat their people like that. Not anymore. At least, not if I can help it.”
Mr. Shivan’s eyes narrowed. He studied me, trying to read whether I was speaking from sincerity or merely repeating rehearsed words.
“Are you the mistress of that house?”
“No. Just someone trying to keep it from falling apart.”
A short silence passed between us, filled only by the sound of wind rustling through the narrow alleyway.
“Fine,” he said at last, with a sigh heavy enough to carry years of disappointment. “I’ll come see the house. No promises.”
“That’s all I ask.”
He shut the door again, this time slowly—not with rejection, but resolution.
I turned to Sophie, who looked both shocked and amazed.
“You really do have a way with words, Lady Selena.”
“I’m not so sure,” I said softly. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t turn back tomorrow morning.”
