Episode 36

I was sitting on a bench near the training grounds, watching the knights engrossed in their training.

Normally, I would be daydreaming while watching the knights with Renée and Selena, just like when I was at the Incladove Count’s residence. But today, I couldn’t afford to be so relaxed.

My attention was entirely focused on Apollion, who stood at the forefront of the knights.

Apollion was standing with his body leaning on his sword, which was planted in the ground. He was observing the knights swinging their practice swords under Creed’s command with a sharp gaze.

His loose black shirt and brown leather pants that revealed the lines of his legs suited him perfectly. When he lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his chin, his well-defined abs were revealed.

“…”

Wow, I almost had a nosebleed.

I smacked my lips in disappointment as his abs disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared.

Then, I quickly collected my expression when Apollion turned his head and made eye contact with me. I waved at him. He looked at me blankly for a moment before nodding reluctantly.

If others had seen, they might have thought he was being insincere. But I was deeply moved.

…Is my crush subtly taking care of me? Is this a green light?

I compared our situation to various scenarios I’d seen in different media.

In the past, it was hard to even have a proper conversation with him. He often turned his head away as if he hadn’t seen me when our eyes met.

He usually responded with nods instead of words for most positive affirmations, and he would freeze whenever I approached him.

But now, he nodded at me to greet me. The wave of emotion hit me like a storm.

Actually, there was something else that truly moved me.

A few days ago, when I was a drunken mess, he personally called the doctor to my room, which was nothing short of touching.

Although I don’t remember, knowing that he personally carried me to take me home made my heart flutter.

And on top of that, he called Yvon for my scraped knee and even gave me a hangover remedy…!

Is this a sign of affection? Or interest? Or perhaps love?

“…He’s pretending not to care, but he has a cute side.”

I murmured as I watched Apollion talking to Creed.

Seeing him brush back his sweat-soaked bangs, all sorts of naughty thoughts started racing through my mind.

‘Where should we hold the wedding? Oh, we’re already married. Then what should we name our grandchildren? Should we choose names with a Korean sentiment?’

A hopeless romantic’s fantasies could never be stopped. Once they started, they grew wings and soared high into the sky.

While I was lost in thoughts of our future together, I made eye contact with Apollion again.

I noticed that we were making eye contact quite frequently today, so I mustered up the courage to wink at him.

His pupils and mouth started to widen.

“Huh? What’s wrong with him?”

I looked puzzled as I watched Apollion freeze like a block of ice. His eyes behind the mask were shaking nervously.

After looking at me with flickering eyes for a long while, Apollion sharply turned his head away.

“Heh, how cute.”

It seemed he was flustered because of me.

 

＊＊＊

 

I woke up early in the morning, got ready, and boarded the carriage. Today was the day of the vassals’ meeting, but I hadn’t encountered anyone yet. It was no wonder since it was still too early.

Today was the first day I was to receive a handover from Madam Claire. It meant the days of lazing around in bed eating desserts were over.

Madam Claire’s day started very early. She had a bio-rhythm where she woke with the sun and slept when it set.

Thanks to that, I had to wake up much earlier than usual to match her schedule.

Despite the heavy sleepiness weighing down my eyelids, it was better than being hounded by the vassals.

Ever since that day I got heavily drunk during lunch, the vassals had been chasing after me to drink with them whenever they saw me. For a while, I had to go to great lengths to avoid them.

I forced my eyes open and leaned my head against the window. Even though it wasn’t even 8 AM, the staff were already bustling about.

“Your Grace, would you like to rest your eyes for a bit?”

Selena asked as she placed a cushion under my head. I shook my head.

“If I fall asleep now, I won’t wake up.”

Selena’s worried expression didn’t go away, but it couldn’t be helped. My body was telling me that if I fell asleep, I wouldn’t wake up easily.

“Sunlight might help wake you up.”

Selena opened the curtain wide, letting the sunlight in. I turned my gaze to the scenery outside to chase away the drowsiness.

Because the mansion was so large, it took quite a while just to get from the main building I used to the main gate.

I stared blankly at the slowly changing scenery. Among the distant scenery, I saw Apollion.

He was swinging his sword in the training ground, seemingly in the middle of morning training. There was no one around him, suggesting he was training alone.

“So diligent….”

“Excuse me?”

Selena looked puzzled. I pointed out the window, and she nodded in understanding.

“Doesn’t he get tired? When does he sleep and wake up?”

I really couldn’t understand. Apollion went to bed earlier than I did, but only by about an hour. On busy days, he went to bed much later than I did.

And yet, he always woke up early. When I went downstairs in a daze, I often ran into him returning from his training, drenched in sweat.

“Does he not sleep at all?”

“No way, that’s not possible.”

“Then how is he so diligent?”

“He has a lot of stamina. Plus, he must have been trained to move diligently since childhood as a successor.”

“Is that so…?”

That wasn’t the case for me.

Since coming here, I’ve been living quite a lazy life, but there was a time when I used to wake up early and be very diligent.

During my three years in high school and the few months I attended an academy to become a civil servant, I used to wake up at dawn to start my day. However, that habit never really stuck with me.

It should be hard for him to be so active in the morning, but Apollion was jumping around energetically. His movements were closer to flying than running.

Could it be… that all the energy he gained from various restorative foods and supplements is being poured into his training?

Seeing him so full of energy from the morning, it seemed likely.

I thought his sweaty appearance was a bit sexy, but that was minus ten points for me.

I glanced at him with slight annoyance, watching him channel his abundant vitality in a healthy way. Such a clean and pure, flawless man.

Apollion’s figure gradually disappeared from view, and soon he was out of sight. The carriage had already passed through the mansion gates and was traveling on a well-paved road.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes and blinked slowly. My body felt stiff and heavy, probably because I had gone to bed late due to the nervousness of meeting Madam Claire alone.

“Your Grace, I think we’re here.”

I was deep in thought when Selena’s cheerful voice snapped me out of it. I turned my head towards the direction she was pointing.

Beyond the bustling city with its clustered buildings, a grand mansion stood tall. It was the Nosier Mansion, where Madam Claire and her son Mateo resided.

Unlike the secluded Pontus Mansion, the Nosier Mansion was located near the bustling area of the affluent district.

‘I wonder if I’ll see Mateo.’

Mateo was the son of Madam Claire from her previous marriage. Madam Claire never showcased her biological son in public. To be precise, it was closer to being unable to showcase him.

In fact, Madam Claire had two children with her ex-husband, the Marquis of Iagos. They were Mateo Iagos and his sister Melissa Iagos.

Madam Claire’s once harmonious and happy family crumbled due to the business failure of the Marquis of Iagos.

Initially, the Iagos family didn’t have much wealth despite their marquisate status. The family was known for producing distinguished scholars rather than being wealthy.

It was never easy for the Marquis, who had spent his life with books and pens, to run a large business. Theory and practice are inherently different.

After failing in business and incurring massive debts, the Marquis couldn’t even properly pay his servants’ wages, and eventually, he had to sell everything, including the mansion.

To make matters worse, the Marquis’s chronic illness worsened, causing him to collapse.

Madam Claire ran around desperately trying to borrow money to care for her sick husband, but no one was willing to lend money to someone with no financial capability.

In the end, the Marquis of Iagos left the world, leaving behind enormous debt and medical expenses.

The marquisate title was left to their eldest son, Mateo, but inheriting the title meant inheriting the Marquis’s debt as well.

She had no intention of repaying her incapable husband’s debt. She had to worry about feeding her two children and herself.

Ultimately, she handed over the marquisate to a distant relative and severed all ties with the Iagos family. Then, she did whatever it took to feed her children, taking on any job that paid.

Her tragic story quickly spread throughout the Empire.

There were many pitiful widows, but beautiful and pitiable widows were rare.

Madam Claire was a stunning beauty that everyone in the Empire would nod in agreement about, and her story as a determined and sorrowful mother moved people to tears.

And the nobles, who loved to show off their family’s virtue, didn’t miss this golden opportunity.

They extended charity to Madam Claire, who accepted it while raising her children.

During this time, the former Grand Duke Theabrite, Apollion’s father, became interested in Madam Claire.

Seeing the noblewoman, who had grown up delicately, taking on menial jobs to raise her children, he felt a certain kinship as he too had lost his wife to illness.

To him, Madam Claire seemed impressive, raising her children with such resilience despite her aristocratic upbringing.

Convinced that a woman like Madam Claire could fill the void left by Apollion’s mother, the former Grand Duke decided to take her as his new wife.

Thus, at the age of 11, Apollion gained an 8-year-old brother and a 6-year-old sister.

However, the Grand Duke’s belief that he could create a harmonious family was completely off the mark.