Chapter 20

‘Who came in?’  

With a click, the sound of the door closing woke her.  

But there was no one in the room except her and Ray.  

“Ooh… ouch!”  

Sleeping slumped over the bed while sitting in a chair made her back ache immediately.  

As she slowly rose, the robe draped over her shoulders slipped off.  

“What? What’s this?”  

She picked up the fallen item and saw it was an indoor robe.  

A man’s robe.  

‘Why is this here? Who covered me?’  

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she examined the robe.  

The robe carried a familiar scent.  

It smelled like a fresh summer forest.  

‘Was it Duke Conver?’  

She briefly pondered the owner of the scent but soon gave up.  

She was too sleepy to think straight.  

Wearing the robe, she carefully climbed onto the bed and lay down.  

It was obvious that Ray would nag her for sleeping without washing her face when she woke up in the morning, but there was no choice.  

Her tired body and mind quickly fell back into deep sleep.  

* * *  

The next day, two maids responsible for cleaning Astrid’s room came to Vanessa with surprised expressions.  

“What’s the matter?”  

“Head Maid, look at this!”  

The maid handed Vanessa the indoor robe she was holding.  

Vanessa recognized the garment instantly.  

It was Duke Conver’s robe.  

“Isn’t this the Master’s robe? But why is it here?”  

“Do you know where this robe was found?”  

“It was found in the nanny’s room.”  

The maids chattered excitedly.  

“Why was the Master’s robe in the nanny’s room?”  

“Isn’t it strange, Head Maid?”  

The maids seemed thrilled as if they had discovered some amusing secret.  

Vanessa felt a sharp pain in one temple.  

It was a migraine.  

She pressed her head gently and looked at the maids.  

As her frowning face turned toward them, the maids held their breath.  

They knew well that the Head Maid was not someone to be trifled with.  

“We haven’t told anyone yet.”  

“We won’t tell anyone.”  

“Of course. If crooked suspicion and reckless speculation are added to trivial matters, it creates very amusing gossip. Things that are utterly worthless.”  

“……”  

“Such gossip… is not tolerated in the Conver Ducal House. If you want to continue working here with me, mind your words. Understand?”  

“Yes, of course, Head Maid.”  

The maids answered hurriedly with tense voices.  

Watching the maids scurry away, Vanessa fell into thought.  

‘Why was this in the nanny’s room? Why did the Duke go there, and why did he leave his robe?’  

Vanessa had to stop her thoughts there.  

The migraine prevented her from thinking clearly.  

Her hand, searching for headache medicine in the neatly organized desk drawer, was very irritable.  

* * *  

“Do you have something to say, Vanessa?”  

“Yes, well…”  

Bryce and Vanessa were walking along the long driveway from the mansion to the main gate.  

Usually, carriages were boarded right in front of the building, but Bryce preferred to walk to the main gate when the morning schedule was leisurely, like today.  

It was a habit of his father, the former Duke.  

In the old days, when the former Duke walked to the main gate, the youngest son, who followed his father around, had now grown up to carry on his father’s habit.  

Startled by his question, Vanessa opened her mouth but hesitated to continue.  

“What is it?”  

“Master, did you visit Miss Astrid’s bedroom yesterday?”  

“What? Why do you ask?”  

“The maids brought your robe, which they found in Miss Astrid’s bedroom.”  

“Oh, that.”  

Bryce remembered putting his robe over Astrid’s shoulders when she appeared cold, slumped over sleeping beside Ray.  

Recalling that moment brought a natural smile to his lips, which the veteran maid Vanessa did not miss.  

“I just covered her because she looked pitiful and cold while sleeping beside Ray.”  

“Oh… I see. It was nothing… after all.”  

“Anything else you’re curious about?”  

“No, nothing, Master.”  

Vanessa followed Bryce in silence.  

Though she said so, her mind was very busy.  

It wasn’t nothing.  

She was curious.  

But she had nothing specific to ask yet.  

She carefully studied Bryce’s back as he walked ahead.  

Jet-black hair, a straight back, broad shoulders.  

Nothing had changed.  

He seemed to have been a man of few words and sensitive in the academy and social circles, but at home, he was completely different.  

Bryce was always the gentle and cheerful youngest son.  

He was the darling of the house, skilled at making not only his parents and siblings but also the employees laugh.  

But after the family fell apart, and they reunited after five years, the warm nature of the youngest son was nowhere to be found.  

It was regrettable, but she thought it was inevitable.  

The situation had changed.  

He was no longer the youngest son of the family but the pillar, the head of the household.  

She tried to adapt to his transformation into a man of few words and sensitivity.  

But…  

‘Pitiful? Cold?’  

He was indifferent to household matters and people.  

Perhaps because he had so much work outside, but Vanessa thought differently.  

The veteran maid speculated that he maintained indifference because it was difficult to adapt to the drastically changed family landscape.  

‘The Master who covered her with his robe?’  

Moreover, he had been coming home early lately…  

Was the presence of his only blood, his son, gradually changing him?  

Or was there something else she hadn’t noticed yet?  

Whatever the case, it was certainly a good change.  

But there was one thing that bothered her.  

‘It’s unsettling that the nanny is around that change…’  

Astrid Vaughn was a young and attractive woman.  

She was bold and strong, shining brightly.  

And most importantly, she was the closest person to Young Master Ray in the world.  

‘Surely… it can’t be?’  

Vanessa’s face wrinkled deeply.  

Astrid was a fine woman, but she was no match for the Duke.  

The Master, who had once shaken the heart of the highest Princess in the Empire, was unlikely to be interested in a mere pharmacist and nanny, a common woman.  

Impossible. Absolutely not.  

‘Ugh, the thought alone gives me chills. Ugh.’  

* * *  

Afternoon at the pharmacy.  

As usual, Jeffrey had gone out for deliveries, and she was alone guarding the pharmacy.  

A little later, Neil entered the pharmacy.  

His voice rang loudly throughout the pharmacy.  

“Hello, Proprietor. I’m here for the arthritis medicine.”  

“Welcome, Neil.”  

She took out the medicine prepared for Neil and placed it on the table.  

“How’s living at the Conver Ducal House? Is it manageable? How’s Ray? Is he doing well?”  

“Ask one at a time.”  

“Oh, sorry. I was just eager.”  

“Ray is doing very well.”  

She answered the question Neil was most curious about.  

“Do you remember when Ray had an acute allergic reaction two years ago?”  

“It was because of apples, right? Why? Did it happen again?”  

“Yes. This time it was lemon tart.”  

His rough face crumpled, becoming even more intimidating.  

Even she, who had seen him for a long time, felt slightly intimidated by his expression.  

“The Ducal House’s doctor said it seems to be an allergic reaction to food from the Kingdom of Bragal.”  

“From the Kingdom of Bragal?”  

“Yes. It seems to be due to pollen from there.”  

“Hmm… well, there are many apples from the Kingdom of Bragal.”  

“That’s right.”  

Neil’s crumpled face deepened with wrinkles.  

“It’s okay now, so don’t worry.”  

“I’m not worried. Who’s raising the child that I’d worry?”  

His twisted expression relaxed somewhat.  

She thrust her palm forward toward Neil and spoke.  

“So, what’s the request? Hurry up.”  

“Impatient, aren’t you?”  

As he chuckled, she laughed along.  

Since entering the Conver Ducal House, she had been itching for investigation requests.  

Neil took out a thin envelope from his pocket and handed it to her.  

Inside the envelope, the details of the investigation request were neatly organized.  

“It’s related to the Lesper Merchant Guild. Famous tailor Madam Maggie requested the investigation.”  

Lesper?  

Of all things?  

She sighed deeply.  

It was a name that triggered headaches.  

Encountering it at the Conver Ducal House was annoying enough, but having to face it in investigation requests too!  

She frowned deeply as she read through the request.  

“Oh? They didn’t sign the contract after all?”  

“That’s right. But the problem comes after that.”  

The Lesper Merchant Guild seemed to have overturned a contract with several tailors, including Madam Maggie, at the last minute.  

But a few weeks later, the clothes design the Lesper Merchant Guild was planning to release looked very similar to the design Madam Maggie had conceived.  

“She hadn’t shown the design to anyone at Lesper, right? Hmm…”  

“Traces of magic device usage were found in Madam Maggie’s office. It seems they used a video transmission magic device to steal the design.”  

“Oh dear.”  

Crafty scoundrels!  

She clenched her teeth tightly.  

“Investigate the Lesper Merchant Guild and find evidence. Madam Maggie plans to file a lawsuit with other tailors, so she needs solid evidence.”  

“Alright. Leave it to me.”  

She smiled confidently.