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"...."
"...Young Master. When did you arrive?"
I asked in a trembling voice.
Lucio Elrad, who had been staring intently at the book that fell to the floor, lifted his gaze to look at me.
"Just now."
"Ah... ha ha. I, I see." ‌‌‌‌
Please, make some noise when you move around, will you!
I had let my guard down while absorbed in the book. I bit my lip. ‌‌‌‌
"Why are you so startled?"
"Pardon?"
"...."
I repeated the ‌‌question, but instead ‌‌‌‌of answering, Lucio Elrad stared at me intently before suddenly exhaling a sigh and rising to his feet. ‌‌
Naturally ‌‌‌assuming he was heading toward the desk, I quickly bent down and picked up the fallen book.
And when I lifted my head—
"...?"
Lucio Elrad was sitting on the sofa across from me. ‌
Unbothered by my startled gaze, he rang the bell on the table. ‌‌‌
Shortly after, a maidservant entered.
"Bring tea and milk."
Lucio Elrad typically enjoyed mint tea. He never added milk to it.
'So asking for milk means....'
There was no ‌‌denying it—the milk was clearly for me.
In truth, over the past few days, Lucio Elrad had been constantly providing me with small snacks and treats, so this wasn't entirely surprising.
'Thanks to that, I've been putting on weight lately.'
And the maidservant, aware of this, cast a displeased glance in my direction. Of course, she said nothing aloud.
Once the maidservant left, Lucio Elrad looked ‌‌at me as if asking what I was doing standing there.
I had no choice but to organize the books and sit on the sofa.
He might as well give me a task. Sitting face to face ‌‌like this was the most unbearable.
'Think of something else. Think of anything else.'
I gazed into empty space, deciding to ignore this situation.
While pondering what to think about, I recalled that Lucio Elrad enjoyed mint tea.
I had spent considerable time with the Information Guild, so I knew many secrets unknown to political and social circles.
Among them were the wine preferences of major nobles, their hobbies, and even intimate details like their sleeping habits.
But information about House of Elrad was ‌‌extremely restricted, making it nearly impossible to learn about Lucio Elrad's preferences.
In Terenthium, House of ‌‌‌Elrad was considered the most difficult to approach after the Imperial Family itself—so there was no need to explain how rare and valuable such information was.
So if I were to sell the information that Lucio Elrad ‌‌enjoyed mint tea to noble ladies or aristocratic wives, it would fetch a very high price.
'But I could never do such a thing.'
Though I was once an information broker, I am now clearly a servant belonging to House of Elrad.
Even if ‌‌I were to leave the estate in the future, there are matters I must keep silent about.
Moreover, I knew not merely trivial preferences about Lucio Elrad, but truly significant secrets ‌‌‌‌‌he harbored—yet I had never sold them to anyone.
'In truth, Lucio is also a Sword Master, as rare as Allen across the continent....'
Crackle.
It was then, while I remained lost in thought, that a peculiar sound ‌‌‌‌reached my ears.
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I shifted my gaze forward and saw him tearing open the brown paper bag he'd been carrying since entering the Library, withdrawing something from within.
"...!"
I held my ‌‌‌breath, too startled to move.
Lucio glanced at me in that state, but there was nothing he could do about it.
What he had pulled out was bread.
Bread ‌‌far too plain for the heir of House of Elrad to eat—flour dough fried until golden, then generously coated with sugar.
Not the lavish kind studded with chocolate chips or an array of nuts, but simple bread.
Yet this seemingly plain bread was quite famous ‌near the Academy.
Young nobles who had tasted only fine desserts at their residences discovered street snacks upon entering the independent world of the Academy, and it had become popular among them.
'I wondered where he'd gone since this morning—surely he didn't visit the Academy, did he?'
There would be no reason for ‌‌‌‌someone who had come home to rest after exams to make a trip to the Academy.
Yet even knowing ‌‌‌this was unlikely, ‌‌I found myself regarding him with considerable suspicion. ‌‌
"Eat."
With an expressionless face, Lucio offered me the bread.
I froze solid.
Suddenly, a voice I thought I had forgotten long ago echoed in my ears.
〈You wanted to eat it so badly you couldn't stop staring, didn't you?〉
He was right.
Every time I saw Academy students carrying this bread and eating it, my gaze was drawn to it.
Already starving and hollow-bellied, I had wanted this warm, fluffy-looking bread so desperately.
When the other children in the Beggar Gang devised a plan to steal it by distracting the street vendor, I had wanted to pretend not to notice and join in.
Clinking—the sound brought me back to awareness ‌as I watched a Maidservant set down tea, a teapot, ‌and a cup filled with white milk on the table.
The Maidservant's eyes widened in disbelief as she alternated her gaze between the bread in the brown bag Lucio had spread open and me.
By the time I returned to the Dormitory, word would surely spread that I had been leisurely eating bread the ‌‌‌young master had bought while playing in the Library, but I didn't care.
Feeling the savory and sweet aroma invade my senses, I defiantly raised the bread to my lips and took a bite.
The warm bread chewed softly, and the crunchy sugar was perfectly sweet.
Eaten with white milk, the moist and tender texture filled my mouth completely, leaving me entranced.
'So this is what it tastes like.'
In truth, at that moment, I had not eaten the bread he offered but stared at it blankly. I was flustered because I could not discern his intentions.
Then he tilted his head and asked.
〈Why are you making that expression?〉
Perhaps it had been so long since I'd seen a mirror.
At that time, I had no idea what expression I was wearing.
So I raised my grimy hands and felt my face.
The corners of my eyes and mouth were distinctly downturned.
I think I must have wanted to cry.
When I shook my head, not understanding why I wanted to cry, he exhaled a small sigh.
Then he set down the envelope and pulled a small bottle from his pocket.
"This is a potion that lifts one's spirits."
At Lucio's words, my eyes widened.
I knew magic existed in this world, but I'd never actually seen ‌‌‌it before, and my heart raced with excitement.
Besides, a noble young master of his stature would never lie to me, so I ‌naturally believed every word he said.
I ‌‌‌was already salivating over the ‌‌bread alone, and now he was offering me a potion.
I couldn't refuse, so I slowly placed what Lucio handed me into my mouth.
It was chocolate—the first thing I'd ever tasted in my life.
"Does your mood feel better now?"
Lucio asked me as I savored it in my mouth for a long time.
Even at the orphanage, I'd eaten only meager meals, and after taking to the streets, I'd either scavenged garbage or gone ‌‌hungry—that was my daily reality. ‌‌‌‌
The chocolate I tasted for the first ‌‌‌‌time sent shivers through my entire body, and I nodded repeatedly, thinking, "Magic potions truly are remarkable!"
Lucio looked at me with surprise for a moment, then his eyes curved with amusement.
It ‌‌was the first time I'd seen ‌Lucio smile.
Right then, ‌‌as I froze in place, Lucio spoke without regard for my state.
"Then call my name. ‌‌‌‌Like you did last time."
"...Pardon?"
I blinked, recalling the day ‌I first met Lucio, when I'd carelessly murmured his name under the pretense of practicing writing.
I'd thought he'd let it slide without anger, but at this sudden command, I panicked and quickly dropped to my knees, begging for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry. I won't presume to call your name carelessly ever again."
〈....〉
Fortunately, Lucio only let out a shallow sigh and said nothing.
And after that, he even gave me chocolate quite often.
I treasured it so much that I couldn't bring myself to bite it—instead, ‌‌‌‌‌I let it melt slowly on my ‌‌‌‌tongue.
Later, the children from the Beggar Gang who saw this told me the ‌‌‌‌truth: it wasn't a potion at all, but chocolate.
I ‌was taken aback, and soon felt dejected.
I wondered why he'd offered such pity disguised as a lie to a mere beggar, and why it was me among all the other children.
But I would never find the answer.
'After all, I left the Beggar Gang not long after.'
Later, when I took over the café operated by the Guild, I tasted many desserts and chocolates.
But I could never recapture that flavor from the first time.
'...Or so I thought I ‌‌‌never would.'
When Diana and I came to the Duke's Castle.
The chocolate the Duchess Elrad ‌‌handed me was identical to that potion from that day.
So sweet it brought tears to my eyes, so sweet my entire body trembled.
Perhaps the first time is what truly matters.
"Um..."
Before I knew it, I'd called out to Lucio, and when our eyes met, I ‌‌was startled.
I had no idea where the courage came from. ‌‌‌
Thinking of the Duchess Elrad, the ‌‌‌‌‌words tumbled out impulsively—born from the worries and questions that had been plaguing me lately.
Over these past few days, Diana, Allen, and even the Duke have stopped by the library, yet there is one person.
The Duchess Elrad has never set foot here.
Though she has been occupied with her days, that does ‌‌‌not mean she leaves the estate every single day.
There were many days when she attended to her duties at the residence, and she could have easily visited at least once.
Yet even as she asks me daily how I spent my day, she has never taken a step into the ‌‌‌‌library.
I could discern the reason without difficulty.
It was because she believed Lucio Elrad found her presence uncomfortable.
Having ‌‌‌‌witnessed that ‌‌‌‌forced smile so many times only deepened my concern.
The thought that it might ‌somehow influence the Duchess Elrad's fate ‌‌‌filled me with dread.
Perhaps that is why I found myself asking Lucio Elrad, who still waited without taking his eyes from me.
"Why do you call the Head Maidservant ‌by her name?"

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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