“Can I really take this?”
When I first saved him, I used a potion that I considered a loss anyway, so I never imagined I would get it back in the form of another potion. More importantly, didn’t I tell him not to repay me for anything back in the warehouse? I decided it was better not to get further entangled with him, so I considered the potion a loss.
But now, here I was, holding an even more expensive and precious potion in my hands.
I looked at Alex with a newfound expression.
I had been thinking negatively, but perhaps that wasn’t the case.
Was it because of my memories from my previous life? My trust, solidified by the belief in the power of money, was unwavering.
How much was this potion worth?
I couldn’t even dare to think about buying it, right?
So, if I sold it, would it fetch a good price?
“I’m glad to see you’re happy.”
“Well, who doesn’t like gifts?”
Alex chuckled at my thoughtless response.
Worried it might break, I took out a handkerchief from my pocket, carefully wrapped the potion, and stored it safely.
Then I looked up at Alex.
“But you didn’t call me here just to give me this, did you?”
If Alex had called me all the way here, there must have been a reason. I almost got distracted by the potion.
If he just wanted to give me a potion, he could have done it in the corridor.
But there must be another reason for moving to such a secluded place.
That was important to me.
No one knew if he might try to harm me while pretending to repay his debt.
Alex gazed at me intently with calm eyes.
Looking at his handsome face like that made me feel a bit burdened and embarrassed.
As I avoided his gaze and rolled my eyes, Alex raised his hand toward my face.
I instinctively shrank my neck.
It was a reflexive action because I was still afraid of him.
Alex seemed momentarily taken aback by my reaction, paused, and then reached out again. He slowly tucked my stray hair behind my ear.
The atmosphere felt strange.
At this moment, it felt like Alex and I were in some special relationship.
But that was nonsense.
There was no reason for him to like me in the first place.
So what was this?
I stared at Alex’s face, a bit dazed.
Seeing my confusion, Alex, who had been silent, slowly opened his mouth.
“I brought you here because there’s one thing I wish for.”
“What is it?”
If there was something I could do, I wanted to finish it quickly and part ways with Alex.
Being with him drained not only my physical but also my mental strength.
I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep without thinking about anything.
Alex slowly smiled at me, a sly smile.
“I want you to call me Alex.”
“What?”
That was it?
Contrary to my tense expectations, what Alex asked for was trivial.
“If we were there, Claire, you’d call me Your Grace because of the people around.”
I was dumbfounded by his unexpected words and could only open and close my mouth.
“So, Claire, I hope you treat me as you did before.”
Alex whispered to me persistently as if calling him by his nickname was a mission.
In truth, calling him by his name wasn’t difficult.
It was what he wanted, and I could just call him Alex once.
But did he bring me here just to hear that one word?
Could there be another motive?
Maybe something happened to Miss while I was out here… No, that couldn’t be.
The biggest threat to Miss was right in front of me.
“So, I just need to call you by your name once?”
“Yes.”
Looking at Alex, who seemed oddly expectant, I hesitated for a moment before calling his name.
“You’re not planning to punish me for calling you by your name, are you?”
I needed to confirm this.
As a commoner and a maid, calling a noble by their name was incredibly disrespectful.
If he took issue with it, I wouldn’t escape severe punishment.
Alex nodded as if wondering what nonsense I was talking about.
“You are more suspicious than I thought.”
Well, I couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Coming to such a strange situation and not doubting anything would be even stranger.
“Please say I’m thorough.”
“Alright, let’s say that.”
Alex finished his words and smiled.
I hesitated for a moment and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Alex… Is that enough?”
“Yes. From now on, when we’re alone, please call me like this.”
“Yes. I mean, what?”
From now on? When we’re alone?
When would we be alone again? I looked up in surprise.
But Alex left those words and was already walking out of the garden.
It was truly a strange day.
Before meeting him again, I had been genuinely afraid of him, but now, instead of fear, I was left with a strong impression of him as a strange person.
And the ‘from now on’ part meant we would meet again, right?
Judging by his almost certain tone, we might meet again soon.
I shivered lightly.
I didn’t know what Alex was thinking, but it seemed best to find a way to avoid him as much as possible.
After Alex left, I retraced my steps back to the waiting room.
The seat I had been in was still empty.
I grabbed a few snacks from the table and put them in my mouth.
The savory taste of the cookie spread in my mouth.
As expected, even these small cookies were top-notch in the capital.
“Excuse me?”
As I was eating snacks, hoping time would pass quickly, I heard someone calling me from the side.
I turned my head absentmindedly and almost spat out the cookie in my mouth.
Cough, cough!
I coughed, suddenly choking, and the people next to me looked at each other.
“Did I startle you?”
One of the five figures handed me a handkerchief and asked.
I took the handkerchief and nodded.
After coughing for a while, I finally calmed down.
“Thank you for the handkerchief. I’ll return it to you later if I get a chance.”
“No need. You can keep it.”
The bear-like man smiled warmly.
Come to think of it, the handkerchief he gave me was a cute one with flowers embroidered on it, which didn’t match his rugged appearance.
“You know who we are, right?”
A cute boy who looked to be in his mid-teens sat on the chair next to me and asked.
They were people I couldn’t forget.
They were Alex’s subordinates I met when I left the warehouse.
“Aren’t you the retainers of Duke Alexander Berzel?”
I spoke as politely as possible, feeling a bit intimidated by the fact that five people were surrounding me.
Whether it was Alex or his subordinates, they were all difficult and uncomfortable to deal with.
Maybe it was because I was afraid of them.
But that wasn’t important. What mattered was why they came to see me.
First, Alex came, and now his subordinates.
I felt a bit perplexed.
“That’s right. You remember.”
The man with the vague impression said.
Although I had only seen them a few times, the fact that there was one person who didn’t stand out among the four distinctive ones made him stand out even more.
The man smiled and extended his hand to me.
It was a gesture to shake hands.
“We all belong to the Rose Knight Order under the Duke. And I am Kruger, the captain of the Rose Knight Order.”
I grasped his hand and then gasped as I realized what he had introduced himself as.
“Yes? You’re the captain?”
This was truly unexpected.
The least noticeable person held the most important position.
While I was surprised, the people who claimed to be from the Rose Knight Order all burst into laughter.
Even Kruger himself was smiling lightly, but I felt I had made a mistake and quickly bowed to him. In my surprise, I had been very rude to him.
“I made a mistake without realizing it. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m used to it.”
Sir Kruger lifted me up, waving his hand as if it was really okay.
“Yes, when he reveals he’s the captain, everyone reacts like that, so don’t worry too much. My name is Faby.”
Sir Faby waved lightly at me. Then the others began to introduce themselves.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Zyle.”
The bear-like man was Sir Zyle.
“Kain.”
The man with the prickly impression was Sir Kain.
“An honor to meet you again, beautiful miss. I’m Tennant.”
The last one, with such a beautiful appearance that people would turn to look, was Sir Tennant.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Claire Evernizer, Miss Veronica Maynard’s maid.”
I greeted them in return.
“But may I ask why you came to see me?”
If possible, I didn’t want to get involved with Alex or his people.
They were both scary and unsettling.
Whether they knew my feelings or not, they exchanged meaningful smiles.
“We came to greet you because it seems we’ll be seeing each other often from now on.”
- ianthe
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