Episode 101

Where did the casual attitude from earlier, calling me “that girl,” suddenly disappear to?

In the meantime, he had adopted a rather polite demeanor toward me, treating me with proper courtesy.

“Th-That, why…?”

I managed to ask, brushing away my startled heart.

“You might not know, but I’m in charge of managing the duchy’s total budget. I thought it might be good for you to keep that in mind.”

He responded with a friendly smile.

Given his position, it was a statement he could reasonably make.

But why?

Why does my heart feel so uneasy?

“Hmm…”

Pretending to think, I scrutinized Logan from head to toe.

I was looking for any traces of purple energy.

However, whether it was just my imagination or not, there wasn’t a hint of any unusual aura on Logan’s body.

After finishing my examination, I answered him cheerfully, as he looked at me with expectant eyes.

“Hm… It’s a secret!”

“Oh.”

Logan’s face immediately twisted in disappointment.

“A secret. I see… That’s possible. Yes, I understand.”

Quickly recovering his expression, he forced a smile and continued.

“My lady. Just in case, let me say something.”

“Hmm?”

“I have no connection to those individuals.”

“Who…?”

“Emma Caston and Joliark Sven.”

As I blinked at him in silence, he hurriedly added.

“Of course, I admit I have a poor eye for people… but I’m telling you this because it’s unjust.”

“Oh? The duke didn’t say anything about it, haha.”

“I-Is that so?”

When I responded casually, a flicker of unease passed through his eyes.

He must have assumed the duke had told me about their recommendations.

But there was no reason to speak plainly to someone behaving so secretively.

“I just wanted to clarify that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have urgent matters to attend to.”

Perhaps realizing he wouldn’t get any information from me, he bowed slightly and turned to leave.

“Logan.”

I called softly to his back.

“The goddess sees everything.”

Logan froze for a moment, his shoulders stiffening as he turned to look at me.

With a rigid expression, he belatedly responded to my words.

“What… do you mean by that?”

What do I mean? I was just testing him.

“Just that! Haha!”

“…”

When I laughed like it was nothing, he glanced at me with a strange look before turning away again.

As soon as he did, I erased the silly smile I had been wearing and stared coldly at the back of his head.

Unlike that fool Dunkeskey, I noticed a faint trace of purple shimmering from the crown of his head before it vanished completely.

I whispered softly.

“…Found you.”

The temple’s spy.

I had only put it off temporarily because of my volunteer work, but I had never forgotten.

There was a spy in the duke’s household, colluding with the temple.

“What’s this about collapsing while bleeding from the nose?”

“I heard you couldn’t even heal the scars on your knees… Tsk.”

The first time I came to the duke’s residence and healed Joshua.

Dunkeskey had detailed knowledge of everything that happened in the duchy.

It was information he couldn’t have known unless someone had informed him.

That’s why I suspected one of the people present at the time to be the temple’s spy.

However, narrowing it down wasn’t easy.

Aside from the duke’s family, there were the butler, Emma, Logan, Grandpa Gordon’s assistants, and a few maids.

Quite a number of people were in attendance.

The only way to uncover the culprit was through a process of elimination, no matter how long it took.

But as soon as I arrived at the duke’s estate, there was the incident with Emma and that Swell scoundrel, among others. My days became chaotic.

On top of that, with Dunkeskey, the main source of the temple’s evil, falling from power, I had let my guard down slightly.

But now…

‘…To think he’d be this close to the duke.’

While I stared at the direction Logan had disappeared into with narrowed eyes,

Thud, thud, thud.

Suddenly, the sound of something being dragged came from behind me, accompanied by a sweet aroma wafting through the air.

When I turned, I saw the butler approaching, pushing a tray.

“Lady Belze.”

Upon spotting me, he stopped, looking startled.

“Are you done talking already?”

“Mhm!”

“Oh no. I told them to hurry, but…”

The butler glanced down at the tray with a somewhat regretful expression.

I caught a glimpse of an elegant tea set and a large cover.

When I hopped up and down to get a better look, the butler removed the cover and held it at my eye level.

“Wow… What’s all this?”

There were cookies in various animal shapes, colorful macarons, and charming finger foods.

Seeing the beautifully arranged spread, my eyes widened.

The butler, noticing my reaction, straightened his posture with a confident smile.

“It seems the chef decided to put some effort into it for a change.”

“You could’ve just brought anything…”

“There’s no way I could do that for something you’ll be eating, my lady.”

His reply sent a wave of emotion rushing over me.

‘So that’s why it took so long. I thought he stayed away on purpose to let us talk in peace because it was taking forever.’

It seemed the delay was because of the care put into preparing this.

‘The butler is definitely not the spy.’

I completely removed the butler from my list of suspects.

A temple spy would never go to such lengths to thoughtfully and warmly care for me.

Unlike Logan, who barely greeted me before disappearing moments ago.

“This one was a special request from me. I noticed you’ve been fond of teddy bears recently.”

The butler pointed to one of the animal-shaped cookies.

It was a bear holding an almond in its arms.

“Wow! It’s so cute! Thank you, butler!”

The little bear cookie was too adorable and cute to be called Gomgomdori, but I squealed in delight and quickly grabbed it.

Crunch.

When I bit into the head, a nutty and sweet flavor immediately spread through my mouth.

“Mmm~ It’s delicious! Did you go somewhere fancy to get these?”

Seeing how happy I was, the butler smiled warmly and said, “Unfortunately, it seems the conversation between you two ended earlier than expected. I’ll just discard the rest.”

“Huh? W-Why throw them away? Leave them! I’ll eat them all!”

“But you’ll be having lunch soon, and these are too sweet and too many. I can’t allow it.”

The butler shook his head firmly.

‘Why make them in the first place, then? Were they just for display or something?’

I stared at the plate piled high with desserts, an incredulous expression on my face. Then, a great idea suddenly popped into my head.

“I have an idea! Don’t throw them away—make a few more and wrap them up nicely for me!”

“What? What are you…?”

Before the confused butler could finish, I shouted, “I’m going to meet some friends!”

There’s no time like the present.

I’ll head to the temple today.

* * *

“Miss, as you requested, all the desserts have been wrapped up.”

After finishing my lunch, the butler came to my room to inform me that preparations for my visit to the temple were complete.

“Mhm! Thank you, butler!”

“And this,” he added, handing me something.

At a glance, it was a luxurious box.

“What’s this?”

“It’s the cravat you asked for some time ago.”

The butler opened the lid, revealing a soft white fabric intricately embroidered with golden threads, neatly folded inside.

“I had it custom-made at the most renowned salon in the capital,” the butler added with a proud expression.

“Ah… thank you, butler.”

I gave him an awkward smile.

I thought he’d forgotten or decided to buy something pre-made, but… he actually went through with it.

It was a bit overwhelming, as I would’ve been fine with an off-the-shelf item.

“But who will you be giving this to?”

The butler’s eyes sparkled as he suddenly asked.

“The duke? Or the young master?”

“Nope. The crown prince!”

“To His Highness, the Crown Prince?”

The butler’s pleased smile faltered, cracking visibly at my response.

“Wh-Why, may I ask?”

“Um, just as a token of our friendship…”

Since I couldn’t tell him I was simply returning something that belonged to the prince, I made up an excuse. The truth was, the cravat I had picked up that day belonged to the nosebleed-prone prince.

“The duke will be quite disappointed, I’m sure…”

The butler murmured with a slightly gloomy expression, catching me off guard.

“…Wait, does the duke know?!”

“Of course. He even instructed us to clear away all his old cravats.”

“What?!”

I was dumbfounded.

It was just a single cravat! Why did he have to clear away all the others too?

This won’t do. I need to find time to buy a gift for the duke as well.

Panicking, I hastily blurted, “Th-That… I’ll get the duke something much better and more expensive!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Mhm! There’s no way I’d give the duke just a scrap of fabric like this! This one’s just… meh. I’m giving it to the prince because I happened to think of it!”

“Well… cravats are a fairly modest gift,” the butler admitted, his face brightening again at my explanation.

“In that case, when you’re ready to prepare a gift for the duke, leave it to me. I, Anderson, will do my utmost to procure the finest present possible!”

“Mhm… but keep it a secret until then, okay?”

“Understood!”

Relieved, I handed him the letter I had prepared in advance.

“Then, please deliver this to the crown prince along with the gift!”

“Of course. I’ll make sure it reaches His Highness at the Crown Prince’s Palace swiftly and discreetly.”

“Mhm! I’m counting on you!”

The butler bowed and was about to leave the room when something occurred to me.

“Oh, wait! Butler, I have a question.”

“What is it, Miss?”

“Well, when did Logan start working with the duke?”

“Logan? Hmm…”

The butler pondered for a moment before answering calmly.

“It’s been a little over five years.”

“Five years?”

“Yes. I remember it clearly because his mentor, Jester, passed away suddenly, and Logan had to step in and handle the duties on short notice. It was quite a challenge for him.”

The butler’s expression darkened briefly, likely because the story involved a death.

“Now that I think of it… Logan is also an orphan, like you, Miss.”

He added this as if it had just crossed his mind.

His words made my eyes widen.

“Logan… is an orphan?”

 

 

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

☕ Hi, friends! Your support means the world to me. If you’d like, you can buy me a coffee here: Click the link on the image! 💖

Thank you for keeping me inspired! 🌸

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆