Chapter 24

So… What this means is:.

You’re a bit unhappy because I didn’t treat you as my top priority, right?

I was dumbfounded by the unexpected point.

Who gets to decide who’s “more” helpful or not? Roche and Katarina can help me in different ways.

Roche can’t stand on stage like Katarina, and Katarina can’t guard me like Roche.

Roche must have read the bewilderment in my expression, because his face began to flush a little deeper.

His fingers loosened their grip on the hem of my clothes. He winced, his knuckles stained red all the way down to his fingernails.

“……No. Call me when you need me.”

He stood in front of me, looking at me, even as he said those words, as if he were going to run away in shame. He couldn’t leave because he didn’t have an order from me to do so.

I still couldn’t get over the absurd feeling and opened my eyes wide.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Go back inside and rest.”

Roche gave me a curt nod and shuffled down the hallway. His strides seemed larger than usual.

I hesitantly entered my room and closed the door behind me. I sat down on the couch, loosely, almost lying down. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Roche had said earlier.

“I can help you more than Miss Blanchette.”

I chuckled to myself as I recalled the sound of his voice. I couldn’t help but laugh, even though no one was watching.

The statement felt sudden and out of place, but I seemed to understand the reason behind its abruptness.

He was thinking about it all along after I said that to Miss Blanchette on the way back to the hotel.

That he could do better than Katarina.

His embarrassed face from my bewildered reaction flashed in my mind. The reddening cheeks and the fingertips that hesitated before releasing my clothes.

The way he acted was like that of a well-trained puppy who wanted to disappear right then and there but was waiting for my permission.

“Oh, he’s cute. What can I do? ”

I found myself clutching the cushion that had been propped against my back. In hindsight, it was too cute…

What should I do with him?

I slashed the armrests of the sofa and flopped down.

I flopped back onto the sofa, giggling to myself as I traced the delicate patterns on the ceiling.

Suddenly, the communications device on the mini-table beeped loudly.

I tidied up my hair, which was disheveled from lying down, and fiddled with the device. Soon, the caller on the other end of the receiver began to speak.

-“Hello, Countess Balthus, this is Dylan Moore, your butler.”

“Ah, Dylan.”

Count Balthus has two butlers.

One is Lewis Gardner, an old man who has served the Count for many years.

The other is Dylan Moore, a young butler who has been assisting with external affairs for the past five years.

After I made the decision to stay in the capital as Countess Balthus, the two butlers decided to split the duties of caring for the county.

Lewis, who has been involved in the Count’s affairs for a long time and has fond memories of the estate, stays at the countryside estate to oversee the operation of the orange farm, while young Dylan takes care of the townhouse, living with me.

While I was overseeing the Count’s external properties, visiting the press, attending regular meetings at the Luces Club, and meeting Katarina, Dylan arrived in the capital with the servants to repair the neglected townhouse.

-“Countess, the repairs to the townhouse are roughly finished.”

“Oh, really?”

-“Yes. The spaces like the underground food warehouse and kitchen need a little more time, but the living spaces for the Countess seem to be in order.”

Dylan’s enthusiasm and confidence were palpable even through the communication device.

-“Starting today, you can move out of the hotel and into the townhouse. I’ll do my best to accommodate you.”

Dylan was clearly not pleased with the idea of the new Countess Balthus living in a hotel. His insistence on serving her properly is almost combative.

Hmm, it’s not bad to have someone who takes such pride in their work. I actually like it.

“Okay, then call a carriage to the hotel around five in the afternoon. We’ll have dinner at home, so get it ready, and I want to see what your chef can do.”

I knew I was going to bruise Dylan’s ego again by suggesting we eat dinner at the hotel.

I was right, and I could hear the joy in his voice when he said yes.

After exchanging brief farewells, just as I was about to end the communication.

Suddenly, Dylan said this:.

-“Countess, I sense that you’re greatly looking forward to this.”

I blinked, wide-eyed. He just said that out of the blue?

“Huh?”

-“Maybe I’m mistaken due to my lack of control, but I could hear the Countess’s voice over the receiver, and I thought there was great pleasure in it…….”

“Well.”

Of course, it’s good to be home. The coziness of your own home and your own space is hard to beat.

But while staying at the hotel wasn’t bad, and since the Count’s townhouse was still unfamiliar to me…

I didn’t feel such overwhelming joy about it, did I?

Is it just Dylan’s self-consciousness?

As I pondered that, I had an epiphany.

…The feelings of affection I had for Roche earlier still lingered.

My cheeks flushed slightly as I realized the nature of the “joy” Dylan sensed.

But I didn’t bother to correct him. If he thought I was looking forward to moving into the townhouse, that was a good thing.

I quickly disconnected the communication with a slightly stilted, “Yes, I’m glad to finally feel like a true Countess Balhus.

I didn’t put the receiver back in its place after the call ended. There was someone I wanted to tell this news to.

I immediately called the hotel’s front desk and asked to be put through to Roche in the room next to mine.

-“Yes, Countess. You wanted to see me?”

Roche’s voice on the other end of the receiver was already calm; the embarrassment of a moment ago was gone.

“…….”

I felt a little disappointed. He was really cute earlier…

Meanwhile, Roche must have realized that something was wrong when I didn’t speak beyond the receiver.

He didn’t act rashly and waited patiently for me to speak, but his audible breathing had subtly slowed.

…Trying not to show any awkwardness or embarrassment, huh? How cute.

I smiled broadly and delivered the good news to the waiting Roche.

“The mansion is finished being repaired. We’ll be moving in this evening.”

-“…Congratulations.”

The slight pause before “congratulations” seemed to stem from a momentary relief from tension.

Even so…….

What, that’s it? That’s too short for a response.

Though his voice was calm, was he still feeling a bit awkward because of my earlier embarrassment?

I leaned back on the couch for a long moment, still holding the communication device.

That was actually the end of the call, but I didn’t feel like disconnecting. Hmm, why is that? Would it seem too indifferent if I ended it abruptly?

Perhaps I wanted to alleviate Roche’s embarrassment and awkwardness.

Okay, that was definitely the case.

Leaning back against the sofa with my legs stretched out, I rested my head on the armrest and tapped my toes against the floor, saying,

“I’m letting you know as soon as I hear it, because I remember.”

The words were broken and slightly honeyed, hoping they would sound good to Roche, my closest right-hand man. But it wasn’t a lie, either.

I had indeed called Roche immediately after hearing the news from Dylan.

Roche, on the other end of the line, hadn’t said anything yet.

As I waited for his response, gently running my fingers over the grooves of the mana stone protruding from the back of the communication device, I added, “I treasure you the most. You know that, right? I even gave you a name. It’s the first time I’ve named anyone.”

Of course, it’s not common to name people, so it’s natural, right? Am I making too much of a fuss over nothing? Would Roche be surprised to hear that?

But none of that happened. From the other end of the receiver, Roche replied quietly.

-“I understand……. Countess.”

The reply was short again, but different from the previous one. 

Even without face-to-face contact, I could picture Roche’s expression on the other end of the communication device.

An embarrassed but nice expression…….

I’m sure I’m not being overly self-conscious. 

I’ve only known Roche for a short time, but he and I have been together for the entirety of that short time, and Roche is like a child who easily shows his emotions.

Like a puppy whose tail wags no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

I couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He’s just too cute.

It’s so therapeutic to have Roche by my side instead of Oscar, who is always standing on top of everyone’s head, trying to take pictures, and getting hysterical when he doesn’t get his way.

My voice is suddenly much softer than it was a moment ago.

“We’ll go home together later. Okay? To our home.”

At that moment, even though I knew Roche was a young noble who had lost his memories and probably wouldn’t be able to stay like this forever, I still said it.

-“Our home.”

And Roshe repeated the words “our home” to himself a few times afterward, as if mulling them over. There was a hint of laughter mixed in with the softly spoken words through the communication device.

I kept my eyes closed, quietly listening to his voice.