“If I hadn’t stopped you?”

Elena realized she was caught since it implied she had dried it for him.

“Please treat today’s incident as a one-time occurrence.”

“I will.”

Rudfelix ran his fingers through his hair again as he answered.

His hair fluttered softly between his fingers.

He seemed to enjoy the feeling, repeatedly running his fingers through and playing with his hair.

His lips curved slightly, pleased by such a simple thing.

‘He liked it.’

Should she feel proud seeing that?

‘But no more.’

She couldn’t offer to dry his hair every day just because he liked it.

It felt like giving a child a taste of candy and then saying they couldn’t have any more, but it couldn’t be helped.

Elena clasped her hands together and put on her professional smile.

“I’ll take my leave now. Your Highness has hands, and there’s a towel there, so you can dry yourself off nice and fluffy on your own.”

Elena bowed politely and left the room.

Left alone, Rudfelix still couldn’t take his hand away from his hair.

Now that he admitted it felt good, he felt even more regretful.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue briefly as he walked to the bed.

Originally, he had planned to work until his hair dried, but now it didn’t matter.

As Grand Duke Rudfelix lay in bed, he was about to reach for the light when he looked at his hand.

Immediately thinking of Aide Elena’s hands.

“They were small.”

He muttered to himself, remembering they had quite some strength.

His hair became a soft feather pillow.

After closing his eyes and letting a moment pass, even breathing could be heard.

* * *

Early in the morning, Elena stood in the conference room holding meeting materials, completely still.

She was careful even with her breathing as her superior would look over at the slightest rustle of clothes.

‘This is my fault.’

It was because she had dried his hair.

She could tell he had slept well from his refreshed face when he appeared. But when his relaxed expression hardened upon seeing Elena and showed signs of discomfort, the atmosphere in the conference room became tense.

His arms remained firmly crossed as he waited for Count Ephraim, showing no signs of relaxing.

“I slept very well yesterday.”

His words were unexpected, especially while showing such clear signs of displeasure.

“But I probably won’t sleep well today.”

Despite his incomprehensible and vague statements, both Quiet and Elena remained unshaken.

‘Be steadfast.’

They maintained their composure without being swayed by their superior’s mood.

While it was natural for Quiet who was used to it, it was surprising that even Elena was the same.

‘I know why he’s like this, so what’s there to be shaken about.’

She wasn’t fazed because she knew the reason for his behavior. She had avoided his gaze several times by pretending to look at documents.

“I don’t understand.”

“The world is full of incomprehensible things.”

Quiet responded smoothly. He believed it was more efficient to improve the current mood rather than questioning why his superior was acting this way.

Elena conveyed her admiration through her eyes at her senior aide’s composure.

“Count Ephraim will be surprised. He usually arrives first and waits for others, but now he’s the late one. He’s such a strict person, it seems he’s gradually being pushed out of the central…”

“Quiet.”

“I’ll keep quiet.”

Quiet stepped back, indicating he would exercise restraint. This naturally removed the barrier between Rudfelix and Elena.

Elena flinched but resisted the urge to step back. She silently endured Rudfelix’s piercing gaze.

As her hands became sweaty and she fidgeted with her fingers, Rudfelix’s voice cut through.

“What kind of person are you, Aide Elena?”

“Me?”

Elena asked back and then fell silent at Rudfelix’s direct question. How many people could immediately answer when asked what kind of person they were?

“Don’t think too hard about it. Just tell us what others usually say about you.”

Quiet kindly paved the way. She didn’t have to explain who she was outright, just think about what others had said about her.

Elena sent a grateful look with her eyes before stammering out her response.

“I’ve often been told I’m bright.”

She had heard this often because she smiled and enjoyed life as a noble lady. It was mainly the maids who said such things.

“I’ve also been told I’m not to be taken lightly.”

That was what she heard while working at the trading company. It was said by those who had underestimated her for being just a young girl and learned their lesson.

Elena almost smiled at how intently the two men were listening to her words.

“Especially what my father often said…”

Rudfelix’s expression changed. The credibility of her words increased when someone he knew was mentioned.

“He said I was too kind for my own good.”

“So you were a kind person.”

Elena responded with a smile to Quiet’s goodhearted acceptance of everything at face value. He was truly a senior colleague she couldn’t dislike in any way.

Compared to him, it was obvious how their superior would react after hearing everything.

He wouldn’t want to accept it as is. The evidence was in his twitching eyebrows.

“Are you really kind?”

“Father said I couldn’t even leave a stray dog alone, so yes.”

It was what her father had said about her tendency to help anything that seemed pitiful.

“She’s indeed a kind junior.”

Quiet seemed pleased with whatever Elena said. His smiling eyes and accommodating attitude showed how difficult his time as an aide must have been.

“Since you’re kind, let’s work together for a long time.”

Although there was a set time of two years, Elena nodded, not wanting to contradict his words.

‘The truly kind one is you, senior.’

She felt embarrassed belatedly at this impromptu self-introduction session.

While talking with Quiet, Elena glanced at her superior. He crossed his arms, clenched his jaw, and stared out the window.

She could only watch as he seemed lost in thought about something she didn’t understand.

‘He really received God’s abundant love.’

He was proof that the morning sunlight could hold such bright light. Even with just sunlight shining down, his face sparkled as if sprinkled with diamond dust.

His red hair created the illusion of finely drawn rubies, and his blue eyes were set in beautifully curved lines.

After long contemplation, strange words came from his pretty lips.

“So am I a puppy then?”

Elena’s expression crumbled at the conclusion he had reached after being silent in thought all this time.

Quiet kept glancing at the door, wondering what was happening now.

It wouldn’t be good for Count Ephraim to see this.

“Your Highness is absolutely not a puppy.”

Elena seemed dumbfounded by her superior’s absurd assertion, but he seemed to have his own reasoning.

“Did you have a desired answer in mind when you asked that question?”

“I wanted to hear that you’re a kind person with capable hands.”

“How can you ask questions when you’ve already decided on the answer?”

“That’s my prerogative.”

“Could you just tell me the answer first next time?”

“And here I thought you were someone without any compassion?”

Elena’s jaw dropped at the suggestion that he saw her as someone without any heart. How absurd.

“Just how do you see me?”

“Someone with a double standard – you won’t throw money at starving children on the street, but you’ll take care of puppies.”

Quiet’s eyes narrowed at the argument between Rudfelix and Elena. Stepping back to observe as a third party, he noticed something strange about his superior.

‘He seems to be enjoying this.’

Usually, he would cut conversations short, so the fact that he was engaging in dialogue was already an unusual signal.

Feeling that there would be more incidents like this in the future, Quiet quietly put his pen to his notebook.

<Boss has found an aide he likes>

Reading the sentence he wrote, Quiet pouted. This was the same person who had always cut him off so abruptly. Reaching the conclusion that he must not like him, he became depressed.

While Quiet was struggling with his emotional ups and downs, Rudfelix fidgeted with his hair.

When he stood up from his seat, Elena quickly composed her expression.

The change in his demeanor signaled the end of their personal conversation.

Soon the door opened, and Count Ephraim entered with his aide.

“You were here first.”

“We just arrived.”

As Rudfelix exchanged appropriate greetings, Elena wondered from behind how he had known in advance.

Whatever she thought inside, she maintained a professional face and opened her notebook as Count Ephraim’s two aides lined up beside her.

Ignoring their sidelong glances, Elena picked up her pen.

<Never dry his hair again>