***

With my hand on Winston’s door, I waited for an answer.

Not long after, Winston opened the door.

Winston’s eyes widened when he saw me.

“Tutor?”

“I’m sorry for coming suddenly. I have something to tell you.”

As I spoke with an apologetic face, Winston, who had been staring at me blankly for a moment, hurriedly waved his hand.

“Not at all. Please, come in.”

“Excuse me.”

As soon as I entered, I flinched slightly.

‘The scent of green tea…….’

The room was filled with the aroma of green tea.

It seems he had been drinking tea alone before I came.

“I hope I’m not interrupting your rest.”

As I spoke with an apologetic face, Winston shook his head as if it was nonsense.

“Interrupting? Not at all. Besides, didn’t I interrupt your vacation last time?”

He was referring to when he requested a consultation about Vincent’s Academy commemoration.

“If you’re really concerned, let’s call it payback for that.”

Winston smiled warmly.

Seeing him like that, a smile naturally appeared on my face as well.

Soon, Winston placed a cup of green tea in front of me.

I sipped the green tea and said.

“The aroma is indeed good.”

“Isn’t it?”

Winston showed a satisfied expression.

I pretended to take another sip before putting the cup down.

Then I went straight to the point.

“Actually, I have something to say regarding the young master’s lesson schedule.”

At this, Winston’s eyes widened.

He hastily said.

“Lesson schedule? How long has it been since you got up from your sickbed! You don’t need to worry so much.”

At Winston’s words, I looked at him with a surprised expression.

To think the day would come when Winston of all people would tell me not to worry about lessons.

‘I must have caused a lot of concern.’

I felt a fresh wave of guilt and overwhelm.

I shook my head and said.

“I’m in this house as a home tutor. Of course, I should prioritize the lessons.”

“Tutor…….”

“However…….”

I bowed my head towards him.

I could feel Winston looking at me with surprised eyes.

“I’m sorry, but could I postpone the lessons a bit longer?”

“O-Of course. Please raise your head.”

Winston was so flustered that I raised my head again.

He was looking at me, sweating nervously.

‘At first, he was the very image of a cold-hearted villain’s butler.’

When did his image change like this?

Newly surprised at the change, I continued to speak.

“And I might be away from the mansion for about a day.”

“You mean staying out overnight?”

Winston’s eyes widened.

I nodded.

And the next moment, I noticed Winston’s green eyes shaking violently.

Is this such a shocking matter?

He hastily opens his mouth.

“D-Do you have some kind of trouble?”

“Ah…….”

It seems I’ve caused worry.

I pondered for a moment.

Originally, I wasn’t planning to say where I was going…….

‘I don’t want to cause unnecessary worry.’

It’s not like I’m going anywhere illegal anyway.

Having made a decision, I spoke in a calm voice as if to reassure him.

“Actually, I’m going to attend a baptism ceremony.”

“A baptism ceremony, you say?”

His eyes rounded again.

Thinking that I’d seen Winston’s surprised expression a lot today, I nodded.

“When someone from the temple visited last time, they gave me an invitation too.”

I held out my invitation in front of him.

After examining the invitation, he muttered softly.

“Ah, that time…….”

He nodded, seeming to recognize the date.

Now that he knew the destination, some of the worry faded from his eyes.

I added a few words to reassure him further.

“It’s a good opportunity. I want to experience it once.”

“Certainly, that’s true.”

Winston nods several times.

“Then, are you going with His Grace?”

Huh? Why does Cardien come up here?

At the suddenly mentioned name, I blinked and then shook my head.

“No. There’s no such arrangement.”

“Pardon? But isn’t this invitation a partner invitation?”

Winston said, holding out the invitation I had given him.

I only noticed that tiny writing later, but it seems Winston recognized it right away.

Winston stared at me with a surprised expression.

Honestly, I wonder if it’s that surprising that I’m not going with Cardien.

‘I suppose it could be.’

Since Cardien is the only person around me who might have an invitation.

I opened my mouth to clear up his misunderstanding.

“I’ve decided to attend the baptism ceremony with someone else, not His Grace.”

“……Pardon……?”

But for some reason, Winston’s expression became even more bewildered.

He stared at me blankly, then shook his head vigorously before hastily asking again.

“M-May I ask with whom you’ve partnered?”

“Well……”

Having said this much, wouldn’t it be suspicious to hide only who the partner is?

‘Besides, Lemon said he’d take a day off that day anyway.’

The master of the empire’s top information guild taking a day off.

It’s really an ill-fitting combination.

‘It’ll be revealed anyway.’

If I hide it unnecessarily and the truth comes out later, it could be awkward for both of us.

Right.

“It’s Mr. Raymon, the library librarian.”

Belatedly, I wondered if a librarian would qualify for an invitation, but I thought, well, they’ll assume he got it from somewhere and didn’t think much of it.

I looked at Winston.

“……”

For some reason, Winston was frozen stiff like a stone.

Seeing Winston frozen without even making a single sound, I tilted my head in confusion.

Is this such a surprising matter?

Soon, Winston, who had barely regained his senses, hastily parted his lips.

“H-How did you come to have a connection with that man, Tutor……”

Uh, well. I’m a special guest of the information guild, a betting partner, and a collaborator.

‘I can’t say that, can I?’

I smiled nonchalantly and answered.

“I became close to him while frequenting the library with the pass you lent me, Butler. We decided to go together while talking about the baptism ceremony this time.”

“……!!”

Once again, Winston’s eyes shook violently.

He muttered in a daze, “Because of me……”

‘Why is he acting like this?’

Thinking that Winston was acting strange today, I stood up from my seat.

And bowing my head towards him, I said.

“Thank you for understanding, Butler. We can reschedule the lessons after the baptism ceremony.”

“W-Wait……!”

“Then I’ll be going now.”

As Winston seemed to be in a bad state today, I hurriedly left the room.

***

Bang.

Staring at the door that had closed mercilessly, Winston was dumbfounded.

‘The Tutor…… is going to the baptism ceremony with that man?’

Winston’s eyes shook as he recalled the platinum-haired man.

When Livia first said she was attending the baptism ceremony, Winston immediately thought of Cardien.

That’s because he remembered telling him to take care of the invitation he had discarded.

He was feeling pleased, thinking something might have happened between them in the meantime.

‘Not His Grace, but that man?’

Winston simply couldn’t accept this situation.

But he couldn’t chase after Livia and demand, ‘Why him of all people!’ either.

‘His Grace probably doesn’t know about this……”

He wouldn’t.

Winston stood blankly for a moment before leaving the room with a determined face.

Eventually arriving at Cardien’s door, he took a deep breath and knocked.

Knock knock.

“Come in.”

A calm voice, unaware of the current situation, returns.

Winston quietly opened the door and entered.

Cardien was working in comfortable clothes as usual.

Winston looked at him with complicated eyes before bowing his head and saying.

“A letter has arrived from the Drake Count’s family.”

This wasn’t just an excuse to visit Cardien’s room.

In fact, since the Academy incident, Count Drake had been sending letters several times a day begging for forgiveness and asking for just one meeting.

The situation was the same for the other two families who had been hit by Cardien’s iron hammer along with the Drake family.

Cardien replied without even raising his head.

“Burn it. And tell them to throw any future letters from that family directly into the incinerator.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Winston bowed his head, accepting the order.

A moment of silence passed.

Then Winston deliberately cleared his throat and said.

“Ahem, I also just coordinated the lesson schedule with Tutor Pellington.”

Cardien replied in a cold voice.

“That teaching enthusiasm of hers is really unbearable.”

“She… said lessons would be difficult for a while. She mentioned having an overnight schedule soon……”

At that moment, Cardien’s pen, which had been moving busily, stopped abruptly.