When he pushed open the door to the reception room, something that wasn’t there before greeted him—a cloud of smoke filled the room.
‘He must have built a raccoon den by now.’
The young man scanned through the hazy air and found the man who looked uncomfortable amidst the thick smoke. He spat out his cigar, his face stained with dark fatigue, and asked.
“Where have you been?”
“Long time, no see, Milord.”
He greeted him naturally and took a seat across from Demian Heaven. Sir Gopher, at the sound of his impatience, spoke up.
“I’ve been waiting for you and took a brief tour of the mansion. I used to come here when I was young, so I missed it.”
Damien rubbed his brow wordlessly, clearly thinking, ‘Yeah, right!’, but Gopher Allnight laughed unconcernedly.
“There was a lost soul in the mansion.”
“A lost soul?”
“I’m worried because His Grace, Duke Heaven, seems unwell. Even the servants seem uneasy, leaving the only lady in the mansion unattended in the middle of nowhere.”
It was subtly common for servants to grumble about a new, inexperienced master, but it wasn’t something that would happen in a family like Heaven.
Unless someone instigated it or unless someone higher up showed resentment towards the newcomer, it would not have happened. To test Demian, Gopher brought up a rumor that was circulating in society.
“I doubt my prospective fiancé is really an imposter.”
“If you’re suspicious, you can refuse.”
The answer came back promptly. It wasn’t a serious topic to begin with. Had Heaven been in such dire straits as to fall prey to a mere fraudster, he would have resigned long ago.
“People with the power to refuse are so stubborn. If the milord can convince His Grace, I have no intention of insisting, but it would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
Gopher narrowed his eyes. He asked the man, who showed signs of fatigue but remained impassive:
“Isn’t it inappropriate for you to have this kind of discussion?”
“As you say, I have no right to judge, so I will remain silent.”
He extended some documents without showing any emotion.
“Until the paperwork is sorted out, please refrain from coming to the mansion. Bleria is not yet ready.”
“So you concealed the engagement discussion from the parties involved.”
“Have you met her?”
“Don’t keep us waiting too long. We should get along nicely since we’ll be involved in the engagement talks, shouldn’t we?”
Demian Heaven threw the cigarette stub and stood up from his seat.
“If you truly consider the harmony of the family, then from now on, you can expect proper etiquette. You may not be aware, but snooping around the mansion or digging for information is not something a friend of Heaven should do.”
“If I’ve inadvertently offended you, I apologize.”
Gopher, holding the documents, rose to his feet and followed Demian.
“By the way, I have a favor to ask regarding the cigarettes next time—”
“It’s not possible.”
With that curt response, Demian left the reception room.
As the door closed, Gopher tilted his head. Hmm.
‘He’s unusually prickly.’
Perhaps it was because he had been suddenly burdened with the affairs of the Heaven Duchy due to the worsening condition of Duke Heaven. His face showed signs of not having slept for even half an hour. Still, it seemed like tiredness wasn’t the only issue.
Gopher bent and lifted the teacup. The lukewarm tea flowed down his throat. It was good tea, but because of the bad temperament of the owner, it smelled bitter. What a shame.
“Duke!”
As the door to the reception room opened with a creak, a familiar face appeared.
Gopher took another sip of tea and said,
“Welcome back, Sir Marion.”
“Where on earth did you go, cough, cough! No, what’s with all this, cough!”
Well, it was just trash spilled by the clumsy servant.
The escort knight approached, tears streaming down his face.
“Duke, please. This isn’t even the Allnight mansion. How can you wander around alone?”
“Who would harm me at Heaven? Telling me to wait without reason made me angry, so I scratched the itch in my gut.”
“Don’t lie to me. You went to see the lady of Heaven!”
“You catch on, huh?”
With the crying knight’s lament, Gopher put down his cup.
“This is Heaven! Don’t you know the temperament of His Grace, Heaven?”
“Then why did they keep her for a month? She’s not even a kid and we’re about to be engaged soon.”
Gopher handed the envelope of papers to his bear-like knight and straightened his clothes.
Marion was just staring at the door, perhaps hoping for Gopher to leave this place. Nonetheless, he was curious. He subtly asked:
“…How was the lady?”
Gopher rolled his eyes and looked at Marion.
‘How was she?’
In anyone’s eyes, Bleria Heaven seemed like someone who had lived as a commoner. She was perceptive but lacked confidence, outspoken yet vulnerable. It remains to be seen how her personality will change now that her circumstances have changed, but for now, she’s not bad.
Gopher preferred the easily readable side rather than a hidden serpent. It’s easy to gain her favor, easy to deal with and easy to take advantage of, which is probably why they never let him meet her.
After tidying up the last detail, the young man, with his cravat in place, chose an answer that would pique the knight’s interest.
“She was beautiful.”
“Beautiful?”
It wasn’t a lie. Bleria Heaven was beautiful. Apart from her tangled hair, her ruby eyes sparkled like the sun.
It was quite impressive that only her eyes appeared alive on her pale body, as if all the color had drained out.
“Yeah, she was beautiful.”
Gopher repeated with a smile.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
Early in the morning, Demian summoned Mel to his office. He was sitting at his desk, smoking a cigarette, with ten servants bowing their heads on the opposite side.
The room was thick with smoke, like a foggy lake, making Mel’s mouth dry. Demian threw his cigar into a coffee cup and stood up as Mel made her presence known.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Did you know who they are, Bleria?”
“Aren’t they the servants of the mansion……?”
Though she didn’t know their names, most of them looked familiar. Mel scanned to see if there was anyone she knew, but there was no sign of Lucy or Per.
However, she did notice the maid, who had been taking Lucy away, and the servant, who had accused her of being a fraud.
Perhaps… was it because of that?
“Are they the tests to determine the master’s authenticity?”
Her guess turned out to be correct.
All of them were servants who doubted and ignored her.
“The supposedly dead Bleria Heaven returning after living as a commoner? It’s an unbelievable story. Suspicious? It’s possible. This girl is a scammer, and the Heaven family is an innocent group of idiots. They can be deceived easily. But…”
Demian’s voice dropped.
“You shouldn’t let rumors spread outside. It’s embarrassing for me.”
Mel flinched at the string of slang she had been taught never to use. But those words weren’t particularly impressive.
Though Demian didn’t grimace or raise his voice, the atmosphere became tense.
“I’m already exhausted to death. Be thankful for that. Perhaps I was also undergoing a succession test to see if I could handle Heaven’s affairs instead of my father.”
“T-That’s not─!”
“Shut up.”
Bang. The sound of the desk hitting the floor drowned out any noise. Demian approached Mel, who had inadvertently stopped breathing. His touch on her shoulder was tender, but the pressure in his words was chilling.
Out of habit, he patted Mel on the back.
“Usually, when you enter a place like Heaven, you know how to keep your boundaries. Why was it different this time, Bleria?”
“Oh, that…….”
“I seemed cold to you, didn’t I? ‘Even the young lord suspects Bleria.’ You thought it was my tacit instruction and acted accordingly.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry. I made a fuss, but in the end, I, the one who should have taken care of you, neglected my duty as a brother.”
A heavy atmosphere pressed down on Mel. Her dry lips felt heavy, but Demian demanded an answer.
“My beloved sister, what should I do with them? Tell me, and I will do as you wish.”
His voice was sharp. Mel had heard Demian speak in this tone before. The moment he informed her of Norma’s death.
‘If I say the wrong thing, these people…’
Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest. The unfamiliar knife in her hand felt heavy. She wanted to run away, but she knew she couldn’t.
Mel lowered her eyes like a guilty person and cautiously moved her trembling tongue.
“I want you to fire them….”
“Is that all?”
“And please don’t write them a letter of recommendation.”
The silence was long. Every second seemed to add stones to her petticoat, burdening her shoulders. The desire to change the subject grew heavier with each passing moment.
Fortunately, there was an end. Demian gently stroked Mel’s head.
“My sister, she’s quite affectionate.”
Only then did his cold hand fall away, and Mel could finally exhale the breath she had been holding.
“Butler, dismiss all those who were involved. Those who stood by idly will face a three-month deduction in salary. Let’s consider this settled for now. I hope you’ll be moved by this lenient decision. If the same thing happens again, you’ll lose more than just your salary.”
With that final statement, the servants began to leave the office, guided by the butler.
‘They’ll resent me, won’t they?’
Knowing this, Mel had no choice but to raise her head. It might seem strange for a noble who had just handed down a punishment to shrink back.
The expression she saw, however, was unexpected. It was a relieved face, expressing gratitude.
They felt a sense of relief, as the potential losses could have been significantly greater. They thought Mel could do that.
‘I’m not even noble.’
A sense of guilt weighed heavily on her chest. Then the door closed, and Demian turned back to Mel.
“Why were you keeping quiet all this time?”
