There had been multiple voices heard at dawn. The ringleader must have been the maid named Becky, and the maids who had informed on her must have been her accomplices.

However, there was no evidence, only those claiming to be witnesses, which made severe punishment difficult.

Moreover, if the matter were escalated further, it would certainly reach the Duke’s ears.

Caspian glanced at Catherine. She was watching the situation with a perplexed expression from behind the maids.

“Dismiss her.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Handle the rest as you see fit.”

Caspian briefly informed Catherine and went outside. Cordelia quickly followed him.

Caspian only stopped walking when he reached a secluded part of the garden. He turned around.

“Why that expression?”

Cordelia picked up her pen with a gloomy face.

「The bird disappeared because of me.」

“How is that your fault?”

「Those people bullied me. That’s why the bird disappeared. I failed to protect it.」

It seemed this wasn’t the first time they had bullied Cordelia.

Caspian had neither relieved the child’s guilt nor completely removed the group that was tormenting her.

“…Indeed, this place doesn’t suit either you or that bird.”

Caspian whispered softly. Seeing his green eyes devoid of light, Cordelia took a step toward him.

At that moment, a bird flew down from a tree. It was the canary with its beautiful, glossy yellow feathers.

Cordelia, her eyes widened into circles, reached out her hand in delight. The bird circled around Cordelia once before settling on top of her head.

The canary pecked at Cordelia’s crown as if reproaching her. Cordelia winced silently in pain.

“Why…”

The canary stopped moving and looked at Caspian. Cordelia carefully took the bird down from her head.

‘I’m so glad you came back safely!’

Cordelia smiled brightly after thoroughly checking that the bird wasn’t injured.

“…Yes.”

Caspian made a peculiar expression as he looked at the child and the bird perched on her shoulder.

He felt strange. The grass scent carried by the gentle breeze, the bright sunlight, everything surrounding him at this moment felt unfamiliar.

It was a sensation he felt he had never experienced before in his life.

“From now on, if anything happens, tell me.”

Caspian suddenly blurted out after a long silence.

“Things you want to have, things you want to do, or even things you want to get rid of—it doesn’t matter. If there’s something you want, get it through me.”

He spoke like a pledge while looking into those clear blue eyes.

“Use me.”

* * *

Three weeks had passed since Cordelia entered the mansion.

The young master spent each day the same way. He ate at set times, spent his time reading, and generally went to bed early.

Although there were slight variations depending on his mood or circumstances, his schedule didn’t deviate much from this pattern.

He hadn’t gone to the dining room or garden since the canary incident.

During this time, Cordelia had diligently studied the imperial language while attending to the young master.

Cordelia tried to learn the imperial language quickly so as not to inconvenience the young master, but studying alone still presented difficulties.

Lost in thought, Cordelia turned her gaze toward Caspian.

Water dripped from the ends of Caspian’s hair as he leaned against the bathtub with his eyes closed.

The young master was always remarkably handsome, but he looked especially transparent and beautiful when wet.

Cordelia suddenly thought she wanted to touch the water droplet forming on the tip of his pale nose.

“What have you been thinking about all this time?”

Caspian’s languid eyes turned toward Cordelia.

Cordelia wiped her wet hands on her apron and took out her notebook.

「Excuse me, but may I go out a while?」

Cordelia, of course, still used imperfect grammar. Caspian didn’t bother to point it out.

“Where are you going?”

The young master’s expression was blank, but his gaze was intense. He often stared at Cordelia without saying much.

Cordelia wasn’t uncomfortable with those green eyes that reminded her of Ernel’s verdant forests.

「Home of person who teaches imperial language.」

When Cordelia, whom he had thought had quit, returned and showed him the note written in imperial language expressing her opinion, there was a significant difference between the imperial language she used then and what she used afterward. Caspian had guessed that someone else must be teaching her the imperial language.

Caspian, who had been quietly observing Cordelia with his chin resting on his hand, got up. Cordelia quickly brought a bathrobe and draped it over his shoulders.

After returning to the room, Caspian, who hadn’t said anything until Cordelia dried his hair, suddenly spoke.

“Return before sunset.”

Cordelia nodded. Standing behind Caspian as he reclined on the sofa, her gesture wasn’t visible to him, but he didn’t demand a response.

After finishing her bath service duties, Cordelia went to find Gideon to study the imperial language, and as promised, hurried back to the mansion before the sun set.

On her way back, Cordelia pondered Gideon’s words. He had asked her to tell Amelia that he loved her.

That heavy phrase she had heard every night now felt a little less burdensome.

Thinking that her decision to work at this mansion had been absolutely right, Cordelia decided to write a letter to her mother.

After finishing dinner, Caspian received Cordelia’s service as usual without saying much.

She had thought he might have some task for her since he had told her to return before sunset, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

「Good night, young master.」

Cordelia offered the same greeting as always after confirming that Caspian had lain down in bed.

As usual, the child bowed to him as he closed his eyes without responding, then turned off the light.

Just as Cordelia was about to step over the threshold to leave the room, a low, deep voice traveled through the darkness.

“Sleep well.”

Cordelia stopped abruptly.

She hurriedly turned around and responded with a bow, but it wasn’t visible to the young master who had already closed his eyes to sleep.

Cordelia thought that, for the first time in a very long while, she wanted to make a sound.

* * *

There wasn’t a person in Asteris who didn’t know about the sickly young lord of the Obenhart family. This was because the young lord was effectively the master of Asteris now.

Asteris was one of the many territories belonging to the Obenhart ducal family.

Located at the southern edge, far from Obenhart in the north, which was the largest territory, it had been managed by vassals until now without the Duke coming down to inspect it directly.

However, about seven years ago, the young lord had taken up residence in the empty villa.

Contrary to the expectation that he would just stay for a short recuperation like previous lords, the young lord didn’t leave, and the residents became uncomfortable with the ducal family’s servants who occasionally appeared in the village.

Despite being a port city, Asteris was a region with strong prejudice against outsiders.

Before becoming the property of the Obenhart family, Asteris had been poor for a long time and was a place where many low-quality criminals hid.

Because of this, a habit of being wary of strangers and strengthening bonds among themselves developed, which over time degenerated into rejection of outsiders.

The ducal family’s servants were also nothing more than outsiders to the residents of Asteris.

Some of them didn’t hesitate to bully the servants who would only stay temporarily before leaving, and made rude remarks.

However, those who had been mocking the ducal family’s servants almost as a form of entertainment suddenly disappeared one day. And several days later, they were displayed in the square with ropes around their necks.

An investigation was conducted but ended inconclusively without catching the culprit. This happened less than a year after the young lord had arrived in Asteris.

Afterward, not touching the ducal family’s servants became an unwritten rule among the residents of Asteris.

As years passed, some residents began to converse with the ducal family’s servants. They heard stories about the young lord from these servants.

That he had left the cold Obenhart due to his congenitally weak body and was recuperating at the Asteris villa, and that because of his illness, he couldn’t take a single step outside the mansion.

That he had sparkling golden hair and green eyes uncommon in the Empire, and his beauty was so exquisite that even gods would covet it.

However, unlike his beautiful appearance, he was an extremely sharp and cold-hearted person.

A story told by one maid instantly became a rumor that spread throughout Asteris, and afterward, that maid was never seen again.

Around that time, the residents concluded that the person who had committed the series of incidents must be the young lord.