Chapter 18
“What are you doing?”
“Duke?”
I twisted my hand slightly, and Raynan thankfully let go of me immediately. Instead, his hand went to my head.
As I took a step back without realizing it, Raynan’s face visibly stiffened. This was my first time seeing him expressing his emotions so clearly, so I just stopped and rolled my eyes.
He didn’t pull his hand out of midair, but instead stretched it out.
His hand returned to its original position only after brushing away my tangled hair.
Had I overreacted to someone who was just trying to fix my hair? I felt a little sorry.
“I ask again. What on earth did you just do? I don’t think it would hurt if you hit with that hand, but do you need someone to do it for you?”
This time it was really dangerous. I took two steps backwards as his hand came up, much more slowly than before. Extremely agile.
Raynan laughed strangely at my reaction. He looked both mortified and intrigued.
It was only for a moment that I felt confused because I felt two incompatible emotions at the same time.
“Okay. That’s enough of an answer. Then is it my turn to hear the answer?”
“Answer?”
Did I ever owe him an answer?
It had been a while since I’d last seen Raynan in the first place, so there couldn’t be any.
“Didn’t I tell you to report back to me periodically about Edwin?”
“Ah…”
I knew it was coming. I’d expected this day to come when I stopped visiting Raynan.
Considering the past days when he visited the garden, it wasn’t a strange thing.
It was something I expected, so I was prepared for it. I raised the corners of my mouth, hoping to look as natural as possible.
Raynan flinched for a moment when he saw my smile, but soon regained his composure.
“Could you please wait a moment?”
In response to my question, Raynan nodded his head in confusion.
With his eyes on me, I confidently walked to my room.
I felt fortunate that I met him in a place close to my room.
I couldn’t sleep well at night for a few days and rummaged through what I had prepared. I checked it several times, but the thought of showing it to him made me nervous.
“There is nothing lacking, right?”
After quickly taking another look and leaving the room, Raynan started to walk away.
As I followed him, I swallowed dry saliva several times. I flinched every time he turned his head, as if to make sure I was following.
As soon as we arrived in the office, he pointed to the package I carried in my arms from the room and asked.
“What is that?”
“This is a report.”
Although the tension still hadn’t gone away, I straightened my back and answered calmly.
As I sorted through it, I realized it was more than I had initially expected. My right hand throbbed at the thought of the previous nights.
I had to write everything by hand, which was exhausting and time-consuming.
However, the reason I wrote this while reducing my sleep was because I needed an excuse for not looking for Raynan.
Besides, if it pleased him, it would mean fewer encounters in the future, so I had to do my best.
“Report?”
The question of why I wrote it showed on his face, but he tried not to show it.
“Yes. I included anything unusual about Young master Edwin’s daily routine and his academic progress.”
When I placed the report on the desk, Raynan read it slowly, no, very quickly.
Are you reading it correctly? Why do you read so fast?
“Really?”
“Yes. I think I can report this in a more coherent way…”
My speech slowed down for a moment as I looked at the paper moving by in an instant.
It was written with a lot of effort, so please take a little more time to read it.
He flipped to the last page, and in the briefest of moments, he muttered to himself.
“You worked hard.”
“Thank you..”
My pride was fleeting. The reason I couldn’t finish my thanks properly was because Raynan got up from his seat.
To be precise, it was because I instantly became anxious when I saw the direction in which he was moving.
I followed him with no doubt. And at one of Raynan’s simple actions, I unconsciously let out something like a short sigh.
“No….”
Without the slightest hesitation or regret, he stretched out his hand, and with a single gesture, my report became firewood for the fireplace.
“No, why…?”
I wanted to run right away and take it out, but I couldn’t because Raynan was standing guard in front of the fireplace.
As he watched the paper burn, looking quite amused…
The result of my overtime work for which I didn’t get paid!
Watching the paper burn to ashes was like having a vase where there was no flower.
Raynan, who had been watching me for a while unable to take my eyes off the fireplace, began to move slowly.
Before I knew it, Raynan had completely blocked my view. I slowly raised my head and his face came into view for the first time in a while.
As the situation progressed, I started to feel annoyed by his height and the pain in my neck.
“Nothing good will come of leaving a record like this. There are many people who want to know about Edwin. And usually their intentions are insidious.”
“Ah….”
It was something I had never thought about. Because I was so focused on avoiding Raynan and Roman, I didn’t think about the really important thing.
No matter how important I am, I shouldn’t have forgotten Edwin.
As I suddenly became depressed and was blaming myself, Raynan patted my shoulder a couple of times and said,
“It’s possible because it’s something you’ve never experienced.”
It was a kind word I didn’t expect to hear from him. As I looked at him in surprise, Raynan’s eyes softened.
“You did a good job. The content is quite concise and captures the key points well.”
“I’m sorry.”
Anyway, it was true that I made a big mistake. As he said, if someone who wanted to use Edwin had seen it first, it could have been a big problem.
I tried to bow my head and apologize, but was stopped by the hand holding my shoulder.
“That’s enough. But, you just have to do better in the future, okay?”
Raynan was a warmer boss than I thought.
I was touched by his thoughtful words and just stared at Raynan for a long time.
He didn’t seem to feel burdened by my staring gaze, and with a somewhat satisfied smile on his face, he opened his mouth again.
His words shattered my impression.
“So come forward and tell me in person.”
“… Yes.”
In the end, it happens again. If I tried to do anything, I ended up returning to the same place.
“Everyday.”
“Yes. Yes?”
I, who had been mechanically answering his words again, asked back in surprise. It was clear that I heard wrong.
Raynan smiled, as if he could see clearly what I was thinking, and again confirmed his exact intention.
“Everyday.”
Is it because the warmth of the fireplace is nearby? Raynan’s smile certainly looked warm. Whatever its content, at least it looked that way.
I could only stare, unable to say “yes” or “no” to his words.
“I thought you would talk about Edwin for a long time even about small details. Has your mind changed recently?”
“No!”
I was able to answer vigorously this time. I couldn’t tell if he liked the sound of my voice or the content, but he smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
“Then you know that. And from tomorrow onward, come in time for tea after lunch.”
“… Yes.”
“And will you also tell Roman that he’ll be waiting for him outside and to come in now?”
“Yes.”
Nothing really happened. As she left the office with a depressed heart, Roman was waiting for me with a determined look on his face, as if he was determined not to miss this time.
“I need to talk to you for a minute.”
“Roman.”
“… Why, what’s wrong?”
When I called him in a gloomy voice, Roman looked quite flustered. So much so that he even stuttered.
“The Duke wants to see you.”
“It’s just a little while…”
“He said, ‘Right now.’”
Yeah. No matter how bad a person’s day is, at least one thing will give them breathing room.
How ironic that was coming from Raynan. Anyway, I was exhausted, and the thought of talking with Roman was hard enough.
So for now, I just wanted to think about nothing and get as far away from here as possible.
Only when Roman, who kept glancing back as if he was regretting missing out on a rare opportunity, was out of sight did I slowly move my heavy body.
*****
“What’s wrong?”
I finally got a chance to talk to Renee. In the end, I had no choice but to let her go when she said that it was right now.
Raynan, who had no way of knowing Roman’s regret, was smiling with a strange face. I wasn’t sure if he was happy or angry.
Raynan naturally raised the corners of his mouth and then pressed his lips again.
Roman frowned at Raynan’s unfamiliar appearance. Raynan usually didn’t reveal his true feelings, but he had never been as unpredictable as he was these days.
Even as Roman tried to read his thoughts, Raynan did not take his eyes off the fireplace.
Roman wondered if there was any reason to look at the fireplace with such concentration, so he snooped around, but didn’t see anything special.
But Raynan was still busy looking at the fireplace for a long time.
I wonder if he’s going to go in there, he thought, with a terrifying thought.
“Renee hasn’t been around much lately.”
“Who was that woman who just left?”
“The one I brought in earlier.”
‘What did I just hear?’
While Roman couldn’t believe his ears, Raynan barely left the fireplace.
“I asked her why she didn’t come to talk about Edwin, and she immediately gave me a report.”
“A report?”
Renee was also a very strange woman. I was probably not the only one who thought that way.
“What you think.”
Raynan said with a cold smile that would have sent chills down anyone else’s spine and made him wrap his arms around.
Of course, Roman knew exactly what kind of emotion that smile contained.
Raynan found this situation quite interesting. He was filled with satisfaction, as if for the first time in a long time he had found something fun to do.
As the satisfaction felt from Raynan grew, Roman’s nervousness also increased.
I didn’t mean to let Renee go just because she said ‘right now’.
For the first time, Roman was regretting giving priority to Raynan’s orders and following them.
“So… what did you do?”
“I told her to come visit me every day.”
I asked, just in case things went the other way, but it wasn’t a pleasant answer for Roman.
Anxiety rose in him at the thought that things might be different now than they had been when he was younger.
If I clung to Edwin, would I ever get a chance to talk to Renee?
I had to make things right somehow. Roman used all his strength to pinch his thigh to suppress the urge to run out to catch Renee right now.
“What’s wrong?”
“What are you going to do if Renee feels burdened and runs away?”
“Run away?”
A smile completely different from before appeared on Raynan’s face. This time, Roman shuddered slightly and wrapped his arms around.
