Morning came when the sun rose. Yuria said while fiddling with the flowers in the vase.
“Lala, these days, the master… No, can’t you see Isley? He leaves only the flowers in front of the door, and I can’t see him at all. What has he been up to?”
“Probably looking for a job.”
“Yes? Job?”
“… He must have thought that he needed a stable job to continue living here.”
I didn’t know it would show up like this.
I skimmed through the business material I received from the employee. In the document, the results of sales volume, profit, etc. were displayed in graph form. After I told Isley to find a job, I found an employee and signed a contract with a store in another area.
The business was running smoothly. Hopefully, I may be able to open my own ballpoint pen shop in the near future. Everything was perfect. But sometimes I felt a sense of emptiness. as if something was missing.
“Yeah. That’s right. If you want to stay here long, you need to make money.”
Yuria hummed a hum.
I lifted my head and looked at the vase she was grinding. The red flowers placed there reminded me of someone.
Exactly Isley.
As I recalled his red eyes, I realized a shocking fact.
“…Haha.”
It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. I covered my face with papers and smiled quietly.
Yeah, it’s ridiculous. It’s really absurd. I was feeling a sense of emptiness because I hadn’t seen Isley in the meantime.
… No, it might not be that strange. Hasn’t he been stuck like that for a while? Then, of course, you will have no choice but to feel these feelings. It was as if the wedding ring I had always worn on my ring finger disappeared. Even if I didn’t attach much importance to that ring, I felt inadequate because he was always by my side.
Great. Now let’s not think about Isley any more.
I buried my papers on the desk next to me and buried myself on the sofa. The thought I needed right now was whether or not to proceed with a contract with a small and medium-sized company that recently requested a deal. I hung on the sofa with my arms hanging from the armrests of the sofa. It was so soft that even using it as a bed replacement didn’t matter. I closed my eyes thinking that it was a good idea to spend a lot of money on furniture.
Knock, Knock, Knock.
Then a knock was heard. Who is it? Is it the local children who came to tell the fun stories they learned, or the people next door who came to share that the cookies were made well? Or maybe Michaela or Emmal. When I was about to get up, Yuria came first.
“Yes, I’m coming!”
She shouted and headed towards the front door.
“Ah, hello…?”
Yuria exclaimed her exclamation like a startled person and then pointed her head towards me.
“Lala, would you like to come out soon?”
“Yes? okay.”
There was Isley. He looked as usual, and he was smiling broadly. He handed me a flower and said,
“Hello, good mor… Should I say afternoon?”
“Yeah, afternoon. It’s already six o’clock. It’s been a long time, really.”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll see you in a few weeks. I’ve been wanting to see you for a long time.”
Isley looked into my eyes and carefully spit out each letter. He must have thought that his words might offend me. Actually, I felt the same way. I didn’t have to bring that thought out of my mouth. It was strangely embarrassing to say that I cared about him, because I felt like I was tortured with hope for Isley. I just nod my head and say, “Okay.”
He said while fiddling with the flowers.
“I was surprised that you left only flowers in front of the door. You always told me directly. The reason you didn’t show up all this time was because you were looking for a job, right?”
“That’s right!”
As if waiting for the question, Isley grinned and showed the boy at his feet.
“Th-this is my job.”
It was then that I realized that there was a little boy next to him. Where did I put my mind so I didn’t notice this kid? The child had a striking figure enough to make me think of it. He had blonde hair set down calmly and green eyes, and a round face that did not lose any cheeks was very lovely. The robe he wore was delicately embroidered, and a well-maintained appearance was evident from his face and short nails. It’s like saying with your whole body, ‘I’m from a precious house’. He must be the son of an aristocrat or perhaps a wealthy man. Where did Isley get such a child? The boy who was glancing at Yuria behind me nodded his head when his eyes met me.
“Hello.”
He is a polite child. I lowered my posture so the child could make eye contact.
“Yes hello. What’s the little gentleman’s name?”
“It’s Vincent Wheeler.”
“My name is Layla Hanson. Nice to meet you.”
As I reached out, a small child’s hand rested on it. I paused to shake his hand.
… Wait, your name is Wheeler? Wheeler was the mansion of the lord who ruled Arya. Then this child would become the son of the lord, Vincent Wheeler. No, how could such a person be here? I couldn’t believe it, so I asked the name, but the same answer came back. When asked if it was the lord’s son, Isley and Vincent both nodded calmly, as if asking a natural question. It seemed that I was the only one who was bewildered and became a strange person. I bowed politely to Vincent once more and stood up.
“I… What do you mean this is a job?”
“I became this kid’s tutor. So this is my job.”
Puck, Vincent hit Isley’s leg with his fist. He has a pouty face about what he doesn’t like. Isley ruffled the boy’s head with both hands. As Vincent hits his hand with his fist, Isley now begins to pinch him. Soft cheeks stretched like cheese. The person who actually did the act had a casual attitude, but I was surprised.
“Wait, wait. Is it okay to treat the lord’s son like that?”
“Yes? Oh, it’s okay. We are friends.”
I don’t think it’s okay. Vincent’s face was full of anger. If you can kill people with your eyes, Isley might already be dead. He encouraged him to enter the house, even leaving the child alone, but Vincent politely declined.
“It’s okay. You just have to sit in the carriage over there, I will be waiting over there.”
As he said, a carriage was parked in the distance. Like a noble’s carriage, it was large and splendid. There was also a family emblem painted on it. The child ran into his gun carriage and entered.
By that time, I had been distracted by the name the child used to call Isley.
You are a teacher! Isn’t that a title that doesn’t suit him at all? Every time I remembered the scene where Vincent called Isley “Teacher,” I laughed. I wasn’t ridiculing Isley’s new job. Just because it felt so awkward.
Isley looked at me with a puzzled face. He had a face that wondered why he was smiling. I cleared my throat and said.
“Shall we go for a walk together and talk? I want to hear how you became a tutor.”
“Sure!”
“It looks like the master is waiting, are you okay?”
“Uh, huh? He’s waiting?”
Isley smiled embarrassedly when I said that.
“Oh, you’re talking about Vincent. He’s okay. I’m here to introduce you to him.”
Did you come to introduce him to me? Anyway, I guess it’s okay to say it like that. I nodded my head to understand. After that, she left Yuria with the bouquet and moved my feet. As usual, Isley was seated next to me. It felt like the emptiness was being filled.
“It took you longer to find a job than I thought. Was it very difficult?”
“No, it wasn’t hard. actually… Shortly after I thought of finding a job, I got a job at the mansion. But rather than talking right away after getting a job, I think it would be better to talk after settling down for a while.”
“Then it means you’ve adjusted well now.”
“Yeah.”
“… Is it okay to work for someone else?”
“It was a little awkward at first, but I got used to it.”
“Good for you.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God. I was the one who tried to force him to find a job. I was worried that he might not be able to adjust well to the job. Judging by the close relationship between him and the master, it was only known that Isley was doing well in the mansion. Still, I was relieved to hear it directly from his mouth. Other than that, I asked if there were any employees he was friendly with, and if there were any difficulties as a tutor. Then I realized that I had messed up too much and apologized. Isley, who said in a hurry, that it was okay, rather than he liked me to ask, answered the question with an excited face.
“Actually… I thought Isley would choose a sword-related career. You train every day in the gymnasium, and you have great skills. So I thought that Isley would get a job as a guard or escort knight. I thought you liked swords.”
“Well… I don’t know. I just started because my mother praised me for doing well. Everyone says I have talent, so I just… I just kept going.”
Isley grimaces sadly. Perhaps it reminds him of a Duke. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t have read the side story of “The Secret of the Rose House”. If I had not read the story of the young master’s past, I could not have felt sympathy for Isley. As soon as I felt the atmosphere start to subside, I turned the subject.
“Then why did you choose a tutor? Do you like children?”
“They said they will gave me a lot of money.”
“Aha…”
I marveled a little. It’s a capitalist mindset. I was a little surprised because there was no image of being too attached to money.
“Somehow, I can’t imagine Isley teaching someone else.”
“Actually, so am I. When I first started teaching Vincent, it was awkward and I thought I was going to die.”
Isley chuckled and laughed.
“… Is this a job that doesn’t suit me?”
“Nope.”
I shook my head.
“It’s a job I didn’t expect, but it suits you pretty well.”
Since he’s teaching without any difficulties, this may be his aptitude.
Isley heard me and smiled brightly. Seeing that smile, I suddenly thought that his face was very handsome.
I didn’t usually feel it much, but there were times when I felt that fact. He handed me something before he left. It was a small piece of chocolate with peanuts in it.
I was contemplating whether to give this to Yuria, but I just opened the wrapper and put it in my mouth.
Aweee god! I like this type of stories where you could really see the progress of their relationship hnggg! And I like how even Esley was really fleshed out and you’ll really feel his character. Not like other novels that would only arbitrarily give short POVs for MLs and thats it.
Ooó Isley 💕💕💕💕💕💕