<All Trials Dragged On for Years End in Count Seveste’s Victory>

Every article across the newspaper page pointed to a single figure. Duke Russell. An unfamiliar name. It was about some high-ranking noble unrelated to me anyway.

I quickly lost interest and focused on writing the list.

Tap tap.

“Finished writing?”

Ernst, his lips faintly curved like he found it amusing, asked while leaning against the doorway. I stood up with the paper I’d just finished and gave it to him.

“This is all?”

His eyebrows lifted slightly at the short list. How arrogant. When I lived with Lucas, it took two months just to get this much.

When I looked at him sourly, Ernst laughed quietly.

“You can be greedier.”

“……”

“You’re modest, our Liv.”

Who’s “our Liv”? I was displeased, but the words that still couldn’t become words were swallowed futilely.

At my sullen expression, Ernst twisted his body to make space for me to leave, without erasing the smile on his lips.

“I’ll bring them soon.”

Leaving the gently falling voice behind, I fled upstairs to the second floor.

* * *

What I’d ordered was carefully delivered to my room a few days later. There were more than I’d requested, and the quality was much better. Moreover, all the books I’d ordered came in two copies each. Two copies of the same things.

Finding it strange, I must have frowned without realizing, because Ernst resolved my curiosity first. One was for reading and one was for possible note-taking. He said he had lots of money, so I didn’t need to be frugal.

Hearing that made me inwardly flinch a bit. I liked marking favorite passages, phrases I wanted to remember, and parts I didn’t understand well, and taking notes.

When I lived with Lucas, all I did holed up in my room was read books. Lucas probably didn’t know, but I read while making notes here and there and underlining until the paper wore thin. 

Given our circumstances and my situation, I couldn’t ask for one more book, but I’d sometimes wish for new books.

Yet the one who granted this was none other than Ernst.

Though he’d done it unknowingly, I was a little happy and a little amazed. Though I knew it couldn’t be, my heart sank for a moment at the situation that seemed to see right through me.

Anyway, I started reading without hesitation, freely wielding my pen. Time passed quickly doing that. Sometimes I’d get so absorbed I’d forget the time and eat late, but fortunately that was rare.

Today as always, I’d been absorbed for quite a while reading a new book, stiff and flawless. After finishing one book, I moved my stiff neck around and looked at my surroundings to find darkness had thickly descended. Had time already passed this much?

Growl. A small sound came from my stomach. I’d never skipped a meal until this late before.

I roughly estimated the time and, judging the man would be asleep, carefully left my room. Since there was no kitchen on this floor, I had no choice but to creep down the stairs like a mouse and search here and there for food.

I was looking for things that wouldn’t make noise while eating and would fill my stomach. Suddenly, tapping sounds came from behind me. What’s that sound?

My spine went cold. I slowly turned my stiff, tense head.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!”

Startled by the sudden voice, I let out a small scream without realizing. Ernst stood leaning obliquely against the doorway with his arms crossed, looking this way. 

His always neatly arranged pale blond hair was disheveled, and comfortable pajamas covered his large upper body instead of a shirt.

I faced him with an awkwardly frozen expression.

“You have such a nice voice. It’s a shame I can’t hear it often.”

The corners of his lips seemed faintly raised. Scanning my appearance with a leisurely gaze, he slowly closed the distance. Light footsteps quietly echoed in the silent space.

“Were you hungry?”

He asked, looking at me standing awkwardly with one hand stopped while trying to open a cabinet door near my forehead. Before I knew it, the distance between Ernst and me was only about three or four spans.

“There’s probably nothing to eat at this hour.”

Hmm. He stroked his chin with his right hand, passed by me, and rummaged through the shelves instead. I exhaled the breath I’d been holding and straightened my posture. 

My appetite had completely fled. I was hungry, but compared to the fact that man had caught me like this, it was nothing.

When I tried to leave, Ernst stopped what he was doing and spoke to me.

“Don’t go, sit down.”

Then he strode over and pulled out a chair. When I stood there dumbfounded, he finally tapped the chair, forcing me to sit.

“Just sit down.”

I had no choice but to follow his words. Since living in this house, this was the first time he’d shown this much interest in me, leaving me dumbfounded. A bit of confusion made me docile and made me slide my bottom onto the chair.

Ernst placed a small plate in front of me, then smiled with satisfaction.

“Now wait.”

“……”

“It won’t take long.”

Walking back to the kitchen, he began moving with practiced gestures. Because of his tall height, he busily moved his arms with his head deeply bowed. Each time, his broad shoulders and the area near his shoulder blades endlessly created shadows.

I still stared blankly at that back, speechless at this unfamiliar scene.

“Eat.”

A steaming fried egg was neatly placed on my plate. Of all things, a fried egg. And completely cooked through.

Speechless, just staring at the appetizingly cooked fried egg, Ernst, who’d been watching from right beside me with his arms loosely crossed, tapped my hand with a fork.

“I know you’re impressed by my ability, but wouldn’t it be better to eat before it gets cold?”

“……”

“Are you waiting for me to feed you?”

Raising his eyebrows as he asked, he really seemed ready to feed me. I hastily snatched the fork from him. Only then did he pull back his upper body and laughed quietly.

“The taste should be fine.”

“……”

“It’s late at night, so eat moderately and go in.”

Having finished his business, he passed me and disappeared. Following his traces, lavender scent and faint oil smell flowed in mixed. What was the reason for coming here…

Clink. The sound of fork and plate colliding rang quietly. I continued a long meal, putting into my mouth bit by bit the fried egg that was just a little more delicious than what Lucas had made.

Whether making food for me was just charity thrown to a pitiful orphan, afterward Ernst returned to his original indifferent attitude. As always, if we happened to meet in the house, he usually treated me like air. However, there was one thing that changed.

After that day, when I went down to the first floor for a late meal in the deep night when only insect sounds occasionally came, food was always abundantly prepared. Things I didn’t have to bother cooking myself. Things I liked.

My heart stirred.

* * *

I was repeating only things like reading books holed up in my room and looking out the window. Suddenly, I grew tired of this peaceful daily life. 

If Lucas had heard, he would have burst into tears, clasped both my hands, and stomped his feet saying let’s go out right now. Even I thought it was strange.

The spark of fear still resided deep in my chest. But the fact that this wasn’t Sale made small courage well up in me. Surviving the fire played a part too. The newly gained life gifted me emotions of boldness and boredom, when I’d been desperate just to hide.

Ernst seemed to have helped a bit too. I, who had avoided even facing others except Lucas, now faced him so confidently and sometimes even showed my feelings.

I was fine seeing Ernst, and this was even a city I’d visited for the first time. So if I just hid my face well, couldn’t I walk around? 

I wouldn’t have to see the humans I wanted to tear apart and kill like when I lived in Sale.

After agonizing for several nights, I decided to go outside. It had been several weeks since coming here.

I didn’t know the way, so I had to ask. I went down to the first floor.

Ernst spent most of his time at home. Now he occasionally went out, but since I always stayed in my room, I didn’t know how long he was away from home.

I was hovering near his door, wondering whether to knock.

“Huh? Miss Liv Hallen?”

My name was called in a rather familiar tone. There’s no one here who knows me. I quickly turned my head, my mind mixed with puzzlement and fear.

“Sorry if I startled you. I’m Christopher Geril.”

He was a man with common curly brown hair. His gentle green eyes and freckles sprinkled across his nose bridge gave a somehow friendly impression. At the appearance of an unfamiliar person, I stared at him with guarded eyes.

“Uh, we’re meeting for the first time…”

When the man named Christopher, flustered by the blatantly erected wall, tried to say more to me, a voice cold as ice fell from behind him.

“Christopher, get out.”

I was a bit startled by the coldly shot words. The voice Ernst had let me hear was always monotonous. But even so, it had never been sharp.

Ernst, who blocked Christopher’s front in just two steps, murmured quietly with his gaze fixed on me.

“Not leaving?”

It was terrifyingly intimidating. The low commanding tone was unfamiliar. Though he wasn’t even speaking to me, my heart pounded anxiously. Those clear blue eyes coldly slapping my heart… A realization flashed.

Ah, no way. He’d said to be careful when guests were around. Was he angry because I’d caused trouble? Was that why he was glaring at me while speaking?

Anyway, I was living under his roof. Displeasing the homeowner couldn’t be pleasant. Especially since I didn’t know what he might do to me going forward.