Demian was walking toward me holding a ladle while wearing a floral apron.

His demeanor was remarkably natural.

“Didn’t I ask you to wait just a little while?”

“When?”

I tilted my head, my memories of the mansion becoming hazy. It’s always better to quickly forget unpleasant things to make life easier. At this, Demian’s expression crumpled.

“The day you left the Count’s residence. I resigned from my position as butler.”

“But why?”

However, I wasn’t one to care about such expressions. And I was genuinely curious. Why would he leave the stable job of being the Count’s butler to come to me? Could it be.

“Are you perhaps?”

“Didn’t you hear from Master Limpe?”

“What do you mean? Ah, come to think of it.”

When he shouted “Demi!” I had already put away the crystal ball.

As I nodded to myself, Demian gave me his characteristically arrogant look. I returned an equally defiant expression that said, “What are you going to do about it?” After letting out his typical deep sigh, Demian spoke.

“So what came after that?”

“Limpe was about to say something, but I put away the crystal ball.”

“Then, what did you think came after?”

“Hmm, I thought maybe you came because you liked me too much.”

“That’s impossible.”

“So, why did you come?”

He shook his head and looked at me directly.

“Well, I don’t dislike you.”

“Yes, I know you like me.”

Why else would you come all this way?

“I heard you needed talent for your charity work.”

“But you quit the Count’s household before that, didn’t you?”

“I had planned this from the beginning. I was worried about how you would manage on your own.”

Demian’s cool gaze swept once across the people in the living room and once across the garden beyond the window.

Particularly the garden—it couldn’t be described as well-maintained by any stretch of the imagination.

I needed to stop him before the barrage of nagging began.

“Well, there’s a reason for all of this. A giant mole appeared and—”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I’ve heard roughly what’s been happening.”

He sighed, holding his head with his free hand that wasn’t holding the ladle, while I frowned and glared at the others in the living room.

Who had tattled to Demian?

Judging by how everyone avoided my eyes, it seemed like all of them had.

“Ah, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you. You just arrived, and you’re already nagging.”

“You’ve always been unable to ignore those in need, Miss. You’ve been like that since before.”

“Was I like that?”

The Lora in my memory wasn’t like that. As I scratched my cheek and avoided his gaze at this unfamiliar story from my past, Demian’s sigh deepened.

“What has happened to this mansion in less than a month?”

“Well, these things happen.”

“From now on, I will manage the mansion.”

Demian gave up on conversing with me and began giving instructions to the others.

It was certainly more systematic than when Irena and I were managing things.

After watching him for a moment, I called out to him.

“Demian.”

“Yes.”

“But I haven’t said I’ll hire you yet.”

“….”

“Why are you working on your own?”

For a moment, his eyes widened.

This seemed to be outside his plan, as he remained frozen in silence, which made me laugh.

“I’m joking.”

“Miss.”

“I missed you, so I’m glad you came. Could you please do something about the garden first?”

Demian shook his head and headed back to the kitchen.

As soon as he disappeared, those who had been working according to his instructions slowly gathered around me.

“So will that person become the mansion’s butler?”

“Wouldn’t that be good? It’s hard to find someone as capable as him. He’s clever in many ways.”

“He’s as cool as big brothers Lionel and Sion!”

Beside me, Mia tilted her head.

“What’s a butler?”

“Someone who oversees the mansion.”

“What does ‘oversee’ mean?”

“It means to manage everything.”

“Manage?”

“Management means taking charge of tasks and giving directions. Like telling Sion to chop firewood and Aria to cook.”

Mia nodded and disappeared with Soho to one corner of the living room to play a puzzle game.

And Sion looked at me with a bitter expression.

“Miss Lora, you look comfortable.”

“Huh?”

He simply brushed past me, put firewood in the fireplace, and went out to the garden.

Lionel followed after him and disappeared.

“What’s going on?”

Somehow, I was the only one left bewildered in the living room, scratching my head.

***

“Demian, do we really have to do this?”

“This is what happens to a mansion when you’re too soft, Miss.”

There were both good and bad points about Demian’s arrival.

The advantage was that the mansion became well-organized and properly managed, and the disadvantage was that the mansion became well-organized and properly managed.

Demian never left the mansion’s residents alone. From morning until evening, he enthusiastically assigned them work. In just three days since his arrival, the garden was already beginning to regain its proper appearance.

Watching Demian and Lionel sawing wood while sweating profusely despite it being midwinter, I felt guilt creeping up on me.

“I think you could slow down a bit.”

“And what about those wages? Giving slave-level pay to regular employees.”

Now he wasn’t even listening to me, just saying whatever he wanted to say.

“Do you know what happens when someone with great wealth doesn’t understand the ways of the world?”

I do understand the ways of the world.

While I nodded in apparent agreement but inwardly talked back, my eyes began to droop.

Though what he said wasn’t wrong, it was terribly boring.

“And now charity work, sigh. Actually, charity work worries me even more. How much more will you give away? If there’s one thing I’ve learned living in the human world, it’s that fellow humans are the most frightening.”

At his words, my half-closed eyes snapped open.

After listlessly responding with just “yes” and “right,” I raised my head, making him flinch.

“Human world?”

“Pardon?”

“Didn’t you just say ‘human world’?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“I’m a mixed-blood.”

This was the first I’d heard of it. Mixed-blood?

“What kind of mixed-blood?”

“I’m part beast-folk.”

“What kind of beast?”

He remained silent. Now the situation had reversed—he was keeping quiet while I bombarded him with questions.

My eyes sparkled with curiosity as I examined him from all angles.

“So do you have a tail and ears too? But you don’t. Your ears are just normal human ears.”

“Mixed-bloods don’t have those. And I’m only a quarter, so even less so—”

“So what kind of beast-folk are you? Why didn’t you tell me until now?”

Circling around him, looking for ears and a tail, I couldn’t contain my curiosity and thrust my face close to his. He took a step back, and I could see him smoothing down his chest.

“Is my face that surprising? Well, I suppose my beauty is dazzling.”

“…Everyone at the Count’s residence knew.”

After briefly moving his lips, Demian ignored my comment about my beauty and answered.

So only Lora, the family outcast, didn’t know. Once again, Lora’s life was becoming melancholy.

“So what kind of beast-folk are you? Wow. I really didn’t expect this.”

“Look. Irena is coming. Go spend time with her.”

Avoiding the topic, Demian suddenly waved to Irena, who was far away and had no intention of coming over. Then he pretended to be busy and disappeared somewhere. Irena approached with a puzzled expression.

“Miss, did you call for me?”

“No. Irena, did you know Demian is a mixed-blood beast-folk?”

“Yes, most of the mansion’s employees seemed to know.”

“Then do you know what kind of beast-folk he is?”

“Ah, I’m not sure about that.”

His thorough concealment only made me more curious. What could it be that he was trying so hard to hide?

Naturally, my burning curiosity led me to start hovering around Demian.

“Sigh. What is it?”

After pretending not to notice me for a while, he finally surrendered when I entered the kitchen, propped my chin on my hands, and stared at him intently.

Clack-

He put down the ladle with a sound and gave me a cool stare.

“Demian. The apron suits you well.”

Though it’s a floral apron, so it’s not much of a jab.

As he ignored me and pretended to focus on cooking again, I narrowed my eyes and spoke.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I know.”

“…Know what?”