Unexpectedly, I Became the Emperor’s Fiancé

When I turned my gaze in the direction of the voice, I saw Tommy, sitting slanted on a tree stump.

I wondered if he had grown taller since I had last seen him, as he seemed to be at eye level with me despite sitting down.

Thanks to that, I, who had directly met his light silver eyes, walked towards Tommy with a brisk pace, smiling brightly.

“Tommy.”

Perhaps it was because I had been so focused on Ian and Ruth that I hadn’t seen Tommy. The sight of his dark red hair, filling my vision, was a welcome one.

As I approached, Tommy also stood up, his lips curving into a comfortable smile.

“I was worried because you hadn’t come by for a while.”

“Sorry. I’ve been a bit busy. My father also brought in an adopted son,” I said. I gestured towards Ian, who was standing beside me, with my eyes.

Only then did Tommy’s gaze shift to Ian, as if he hadn’t noticed Ian’s presence until I mentioned it.

“Hello.”

“…Hello.”

Ian, who was watching Tommy with a curious look, responded with a slightly stiff tone to Tommy’s greeting.

“There’s no need for you to use formal language with me, since I’m just a servant, young master.”

“…Hi.”

“Sigh.”

I found myself sighing as I alternated my gaze between the two individuals who were creating an atmosphere even I found uncomfortable.

One was constantly grinning, the other perpetually on guard.

Given that Ian already had a penchant for wariness, that was understandable.

But Tommy’s behavior puzzled me. He seemed capable of rich emotional expressions when with me, so why now was he resorting to awkward smiles only?

Seeing Ian’s shoulders tense up, I couldn’t hold back and intervened in the conversation.

“Tommy. Where did you hear that Ian’s a highborn?”

“The laundry staff were talking about it during their break.”

As if he’d been waiting for it, Tommy shifted his gaze to me and confessed without hesitation.

Huh? The laundry staff discussed Ian during their break?

I was about to dismiss Tommy’s confession as trivial but then paused.

Ian was originally a commoner. Which meant that slandering him could be done without restraint.

Yet, what really bothered me was something else.

As far as I knew, Tommy, being a low-ranking servant, was supposed to be hanging laundry during the staff’s break times.

How could he have heard the conversations of the staff?

I shook off the uneasy feeling and continued to ask, “What did the servants say about Ian?”

“They said that the master had adopted him as his son, and that he would become the young master.”

“Anything else?”

“Nothing. After talking about the young master, I think Jenny shifted the conversation to the white bread she had eaten in town during her last vacation.”

As Tommy finished speaking, recalling his memories, he glanced at me and hesitantly started, “Besides, miss. There’s something I want to say…”

“Hm? What is it?”

“It’s, well…”

Tommy’s hesitance, failing to outright say what he wanted to, seemed just like the Tommy I knew well. Perhaps because of that, the unsettling feeling I had when looking at Tommy somewhat faded.

As that uneasy feeling slightly eased, I found myself more relaxed and could wait patiently for him to get to the point.

After a few seconds, Tommy seemed to make up his mind, smiled faintly, clenched his empty hands tightly, then took a step back and said, “Never mind. I’ll tell you next time.”

“Hm?”

I ended up giving up on Tommy, who finally shut his mouth tightly, with suspicion. The expression on Tommy’s face, as if he was holding something back, bothered me, but if he didn’t want to talk about it, there was no need to pry.

“Do whatever makes you comfortable.”

“Thank you for understanding, young lady.”

As I nodded briefly in response, his face brightened.

Though the shadows cast over his red eyes deepened further.

Then, as if he suddenly remembered something he had forgotten, Tommy hurriedly took out a pocket watch, worn by time, from his pocket to check it. Then, with a stiff gesture, he pointed towards where the clothesline was and let out an exaggerated, strained smile.

“Ah, is it okay if I go now to take in the laundry? It’s about that time.”

“Ah, really? Then go ahead. I can’t interfere with your work.”

“Yes. It was nice seeing you after a long time today. I’ll come to visit once I’ve sorted my thoughts, young lady!”

As soon as I gave my permission, he hurried off, seeming to be in quite a rush.

Thinking about it, this might be the first time Tommy has shown his back to me. Or is it not?
I tried to recall, watching Tommy’s back feeling strangely unfamiliar, wondering if there had never been such a moment before.

Wrapped in a sense of alienation, I was sifting through my memories for a while when Ian, with his voice settled down, called me from the side.

“Sister.”

“I’m listening.”

“That Tommy guy, there’s something strange about him.”

Guy?

I pondered whether to point out Ian’s habit of calling Tommy a “guy” but decided to just silently listen to his story. I could always point it out if Ian called someone that way again later.

“Tommy?”

“Didn’t you feel anything odd?”

As I expressed my doubt, Ian furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand my reaction.

Feeling belittled by his look of disdain made me irritably pout my lips.

“What’s so strange anyway.”

I snapped back sullenly, and Ian quietly shifted his gaze. Towards Tommy, who was far away, taking down laundry from the clothesline.

“Why suddenly Tommy is…”

I was about to finish my sentence when Ian answered my question with a voice full of caution.

“It’s his eyes.”

“Eye expression?”

Looking at Ian, who pinched and mentioned the eye expression that only seemed endlessly kind to me, I couldn’t help but smirk.

Ian, who insists that Tommy’s gaze is strange, seems oblivious to his own intimidating expression.

As if he himself is about to devour someone.
While I was grumbling to myself secretly, frost suddenly formed within his walls.

I was inwardly surprised to see Ian’s atmosphere change so quickly.

Usually, he’s like a trembling rabbit, but it turns out he has this side to him, too.

Before I could get used to this new side of Ian, he growled lowly.

“That guy, he has a hypocritical look in his eyes. He’s wrapped in murderous intent, and on top of that, there’s an ominous aura about him.”

Murderous intent? An ominous aura?

I swallowed the questions that arose one after another.

I’ve met Tommy for a long time but never felt any murderous intent or ominous aura.

But Ian’s expression was so rigidly stiff that I couldn’t dare to add anything more.

“So, what I mean is.”

It seems like Ian interpreted my silence and stillness as something else, as he softly relaxed his expression and smiled.

“Please be cautious of a servant named Tommy, sister.”

“I can assure you, that guy is definitely not a mere commoner.”

Despite his gentle smile, the words that came out of his mouth were not so gentle.

Trying to ignore the discordance, I glanced at Tommy, who was busy with the laundry, and nodded my head lightly.

“Mm, got it.”

***

I had initially thought that a maid was assigned to me solely because of my robe, but soon I realized that might not be the only reason. The family knights, who used to only wear training outfits and train, were now dressed in formal uniforms, exuding a strict discipline, and the servants who used to come to clean the corridors at a set time hadn’t shown their faces in the last few days. Moreover, my father, who, no matter how busy, always attended dinner, now skipped meals and stayed in his office. He was absent from the mansion more than he was present.

I knew something was off, but I didn’t expect it to be this serious.

Today, looking at the empty corridor again, I asked Amy.

“Amy. I haven’t seen the servants who work in the corridor lately. Is something going on?”

“Nothing.”

Amy replied immediately without any change in expression.

Since she answered without hesitation, it seemed like nothing was wrong….

While I was thinking this, looking upward at Amy, who was looking straight ahead expressionlessly, a good idea to resolve my questions popped into my mind.

Ah. Should I ask Mother? She might tell me a little about it.

After pondering for a moment whether to go see my mother, I moved my feet.

If Mother did not go to the palace, she would embroider in the empty living room.

Therefore, it was very likely that Mother would be in the living room on the third floor.

Sure enough, when I went to the third floor living room, I found Mother quietly humming as she embroidered.

“Mother.”

When I softly called out to her, Mother stopped her embroidery and looked at me.

“Selena, what brings you here?”

“I have something I want to ask you. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.”

It was a refreshing permission.

As I sat opposite Mother, she placed the embroidery frame on her lap.

“Would you like some black tea?”

“I prefer warm milk over black tea.”

“I see.”

Mother smiled as if she knew I would say that.

I smiled back at her. I’ve heard from people around that usually by my age, most would prefer black tea over milk, but I still liked the simple taste of milk over the rich flavor of black tea.

Hearing my response, Mother waved to Vestina to call her over and ordered one cup of black tea and one cup of milk.

A moment later, Vestina brought steaming hot tea and milk. My mother fiddled with the teacup in front of her and watched me drink my milk.

“So, Seri. What did you want to ask me?”

“Well….”

I put down the cup I was holding and slowly broached the subject.

“Lately, the atmosphere in the mansion seems strange.”

“…!”

The hand that was fiddling with the teacup flinched momentarily at my words. But soon, my mother elegantly holding the teacup flashed a nonchalant smile.

“The atmosphere of the mansion, you say?”

“Yes. So I thought Mother might know the reason and came to ask. Perhaps…”

“Child.”

Before I could finish my question, my mother cut me off, her lips still curved in that affectionate arch.

My mother usually calls me by nicknames but refers to me as “child” when she wants to soothe me, like when I was very little.

Perhaps that’s why. At this moment, being called “child” by my mother made my mouth seal shut.

“….”

“……”

When both my mother and I kept our mouths shut, a brief silence ensued.

The silence, which seemed like it would never end, was soon broken by my mother who spoke up.

“……There are some reasons for that.”

“Some reasons?”

I sent a look asking for more explanation to my mother who gave a vague answer.

After looking at me, my mother took a sip of her tea and then said,
“It’s adult matters, my child. There’s nothing more for you to worry about.”