[I…I’ll give you better things in the future. I’ll give you a lot.]
“Huh? Ahaha! Thank you, Rabes. But I’m so happy right now.”
[but….]
“I just need you to stay by my side, Rabes. Even if I could have better things than this, I wouldn’t be happy without you.”
Rabes’s breath was caught in his throat.
Lancer also said something similar.
“I only need you, Rabes. So, I will never make a last wish until I die. I’m sorry.”
‘He apologized for something he shouldn’t have to apologize for at all, and he asked me to stay by his side…’
[Are you serious about that?]
“Of course. If it becomes difficult to continue staying here, I plan on running away with Rabes.”
[Phew! Do you dare tell a dragon to run away? I won’t find a contractor as unaware of dragons as you throughout history. Keuheup!]
Rabes laughed heartily along with Elaine, who giggled and said,
“I see.”
Rabes didn’t know why the idea of running away, just the two of them, sounded so sweet.
* * *
“I will begin the morning prayer.”
Elaine stood before the Lindell family gathered for breakfast and clasped her hands together.
“I am grateful that I can start my day with food full of the blessings of Bara. I am grateful for the soil, the rain, the wind, the sunlight, and the hard work of the farmer, and I think of those who are hungry more than I am.….”
While Elaine quietly recited the prayer, the servants sitting around the dining room also clasped their hands together and licked their lips, pretending to recite the prayer along with them.
After the short prayer, everyone smiled happily and ate the white bread, ham, cream stew, and fruit placed in front of them, and chatted with the people around them.
It was a lovely scene that happened every mealtime since Elaine came to Lindell’s house as a chaplain.
“There is plenty of food, you should eat a lot too.”
Sergey, sitting at the head of the table, put more bread on Elaine’s plate next to him.
“I’ve been eating a lot since I came here. I think I’ve gained quite a bit of weight already.”
“You are doing well.”
Elaine felt good about Sergey taking care of her, so she bit into the bread so big that her cheeks puffed out.
Then Emily, who was next to her, added some thinly sliced ham to the plate.
“Please have some more of this too.”
“If this continues, I’ll end up rolling around.”
“Don’t worry, you’ve got a long way to go before that happens.”
Emily couldn’t seem to erase from her memory the image of Elaine surviving on food that was almost rotting, so she always paid a lot of attention to Elaine’s meals.
“Thank you, Emily.”
Elaine loved everything about Count Lindell’s house, but what particularly surprised and delighted her was that everyone in the mansion would gather together for meals.
At first, it was shocking that not only Serge, the butler, and the head maid, but also the common maids, gardeners, and coachmen were all gathered together to eat at the large table in the dining room used by the nobility, and Sergey’s answer to that was incredibly simple.
“It’s better to eat together than to sit alone at this large table.”
That alone was surprising, but Elaine was even more surprised to find out that the servants and Sergey ate the same food.
When Elaine asked about it, Sergey answered as if it was absurd.
“What’s wrong with food? Don’t worry, we’re not a family that’s going to go to ruin just because we gave good food to our servants.”
So Elaine was happy.
If Sergey could sit at the same table as a maid or horse stable keeper, and had no qualms about eating the same food as everyone else, then it would mean that he was sincere when he said that classifying people was ridiculous.
‘Then he really doesn’t care that I’m an illegitimate child.’
Sergey was Sergey, but the servants’ attitude was also surprising. The servants of this mansion did not find Sergey difficult.
In particular, the butler Hubert and the head maid Louisa often nagged at Sergey as if they were his uncle or aunt, and the other maids and servants would also sit on the floor and play games, ignoring Sergey’s every move.
And Sergey passed by such things indifferently.
Elaine, who had been intimidated by Count Lindell’s majesty, grew more and more comfortable with Sergey as she watched the others treat him with ease.
Thanks to that, it seemed like the distance between her and Sergey had gotten closer.
“Elaine. Do you have anything to do after breakfast?”
“No. Why?”
“Want to go for a walk in the garden?”
“Sure!”
Now, taking a walk in the garden together was becoming a natural routine.
The garden of the Lindell house, which had entered autumn, was beautiful with yellow and red maple leaves and autumn flowers that looked strangely beautiful.
They walked along the path where fallen leaves crunched under their feet and sat on a bench under a large tree. They felt the cool breeze as they looked at the autumn roses, anemones, dahlias, and delphiniums that decorated the path.
“How is life here? Is there anything inconvenient?”
Elaine shook her head strongly at Sergey’s question.
“Everything is so perfect. It’s like heaven. I wonder if this is the Calais Empire I know.”
“That’s as far as it should be.”
“I’m not just saying this out loud. I don’t know what you think of this, but I feel like the people in the house are like family.”
Elaine was sincere. It was awkward at first, but with Emily by her side, she was able to quickly open up and become friendly with the servants of the house.
Even though they knew Elaine as a noblewoman, they treated her as if they were with Sergey.
When they met in the morning, they would naturally ask Elaine if she slept well, chattered during meals, and greeted her by waving or winking whenever they ran into each other.
No one will ever know how much that has become a part of Elaine’s daily routine.
“Is there anyone who is being too rude?”
“No. They are all kind and affectionate. Is it the family tradition of the Counts of Lindell to be generous to their servants?”
“Well, you could say that.”
“I’ve never met Count Lindell, but I think he’s quite progressive and open-minded.”
Sergey, who had been just laughing at those words, suddenly asked cautiously.
“That…Does this seem very strange to you?
“No! I admire it.”
“Phew…”
Sergey nodded with a relieved expression.
Count Lindell had been created by Rabes five hundred years ago to make him comfortable as a human.
The emperor at the time, who knew that Rabes was a dragon who could communicate through Lancers, personally awarded him a title in order to borrow more of Rabes’ power, and thanks to that, the Lindell Count family was able to rise proudly in the noble ranks from then on.
However, although they were nobles in name, in reality, they were nothing more than a group of dragons and demons.
Although the demons served Rabes as their master, they did not bow down to him excessively like the servants of other noble houses.
In order to get Elaine out of the temple, Sergey hurriedly rebuilt the Lindel Counts’ house and made the demons act as servants, but he was worried that the hierarchy and lifestyle within the house might seem strange to Elaine.
Fortunately, Elaine didn’t know much about the life of the nobles, so she didn’t seem to find it too strange.
In fact, Elaine’s concerns were elsewhere.
Elaine, who felt the autumn breeze until her cheeks grew cold, glanced at Sergey and then cautiously opened her mouth.
“Hey, by any chance….”
“Huh? Why?”
“Has anyone come looking for me?”
“Who? Newt and the others?”
Sergey, who got the answer right away, laughed as if it was funny.
“What if they come? Those humans have no reason to take you. So don’t worry.”
“But that’s true…I was worried that I might be bothering you for nothing…”
“Do you think something like that would be a bother to me?”
Sergey was confident, but Elaine was not a little uncomfortable.
“I don’t know why he was so desperate to hold on to me when he hated me so much….”
“I know….”
Sergey actually hated even having that kind of talk brought up.
In fact, Lark was trying every possible means to take Elaine away. His persistent possessiveness was so overwhelming that it made Elaine’s stomach turn every time she encountered it.
“Elaine is mine.”
That comment was both funny and annoying.
‘Elaine was already my contractor over five hundred years ago, you stupid human.’
He was so arrogant to claim ownership just because their names were written side by side on a piece of paper called a family register.
‘He wouldn’t have said that if he could see the magic core in Elaine’s body.’
But the problem was that human laws and customs were quite different from the simple dragon way.
“Elaine. Do you ever plan on returning to Newt’s?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that?”
“Because I heard it somewhere. You’re supposed to have a parent or relative when you make your social debut or get married.”
‘I overheard this over my shoulder the other day at a party for a lady whose name I don’t remember.’
A woman was making a fuss about a chaperone and a guardian for her daughter who was to debut in society the following year.
From Sergey’s perspective, it seemed like a completely useless story, but he asked Elaine in advance because he didn’t know what it would be like from a human’s perspective.
But Elaine just chuckled and shook her head.
* * *
