While recalling the past, Susan stopped abruptly when she heard the voice of a strange man behind her.
Susan couldnât breathe as every cell in her body felt like it was pulling backward. It wasnât fear or panic.
This, this was thrilling.
Her heart was beating so fast that her chest ached, but Susan didnât care. She just held her trembling hands together and took a deep breath.
The voice is different, but the person behind me is⊠. It isâŠ!
Susan turned her back slowly with an ecstatic face, very carefully as if stepping into the unknown.
And she saw it.
Under the bright sun, your hair is whiter than anything else. It was nothing like the hair that contained the twilight, but Susan was still sure.
âMaster.â
The eye color was also different. However, the long pupils in the blue eyes remained the same. It was the first time she saw the strange pupil in ten years, but she dared to be sure.
Itâs like the eyes she saw when she first met her master.
Susan erased her usual mechanical smile and smiled more broadly than ever.
âMaster, ah master.â
âYou recognize it right away, you have a good eye.â
âOf course, Iâll recognize you no matter what you look like. Is that body your real body?â
âThatâs how it is.â
âI see. I thought my masterâs body was stolen⊠⊠Then whose body is that woman? Whoâs in that body now?â
Instead of answering, he extended his hand with a meaningful smile. His white, bony hand touched none other than Susanâs hairpin.
âSince itâs been a while since Iâve met you, Iâm thinking of giving my baby something insignificant but quite useful.â
âEverything you give me is an honor for me. What do you mean insignificant?â
âItâs still the same, the flattery.â
He smiled and held out his hand to her. There was a smooth hairpin on the hand that had nothing on it just a moment ago.
It was a hairpin with a cool color like the sea. A hairpin with a small sea-blue jewel at the end, giving off a mysterious energy.
Susan looked surprised for a moment, then replied by removing the hairpin she was wearing. At that action, he narrowed his eyes and laughed.
âDonât lose it. I barely stole it.â
âYes, I will.â
âIf you carry this around, you may hear hallucinations sometimes.â
â⊠âŠâ
âYouâre smart, so you know how to react to those hallucinations, right?â
His words inadvertently reminded Susan of what the woman who kicked her out had said.
âI thought you were smart, but I donât think youâre that smart, so Iâll tell you exactly, Susan.â
Itâs only been less than a day since it happened, but itâs now blurry as if it were in the distant past.
Susan smiled, then threw the original hairpin on the floor, took what he gave her dearly, and spoke in a whisper.
âOf course. Is it okay to follow the hallucinations? Master.â
Since Susan left the mansion⊠. No, itâs been a fortnight since she was fired.
In fact, I thought a lot of things were going to happen when I let her go. What Susan said to me in the hall should have been quite shocking.
Besides⊠âŠ
âBy the way, I wonder what your Excellency is thinking. Thereâs no way he doesnât know that youâre not the master. Just in case, I should tell your Excellency.â
Since Susan said so, I assumed Reden would question me. Thinking about it, the future was dark and my mood was sinking to the ground, and I tried to break through, so I went into the closet without realizing it.
What came back was, oddly enough, not accusations or suspicions, but rather kind words. He even called my name for the first time.
I wondered if he was trying to pry me while I was eating, and I ate as if I was sitting on a cushion of thorns. But neither was it. He didnât say a word, as if he didnât know anything about Susan.
Despite knowing everything.
âWhat⊠the hell are you thinkingâŠâ
âIâm the one who wants to ask what youâre thinking. Misspelled here. Write it right.â
âAh, yes.â
Reden, who was looking down at me from the side, pointed it out with a serious expression. I hurriedly drew two lines over the misspelling and corrected it in small print.
Reden murmured in a low tone as if he was dissatisfied with it.
âWill this be the only way I can recognize it when I see it later? Just rewriting this pageâŠ.â
âNo! I still have more than a hundred pages left, and I canât write another page.â
âThere are more than a hundred left, so it doesnât make much difference if you add one more.â
âBe quiet. My wrist hurts?â
Reden narrowed his eyes. I opened my eyes wide without losing to him. Then he sighed and tapped the paper lightly.
âOkay. Iâll take care of it, so finish it. If you donât do it today, youâll get a penalty.â
Thatâs right, he muttered quietly, lowered his head again, and cast his gaze at the paper.
Yeah. On a sunny day that would be nice to go out to play right now, why am I holding a pen stand at the desk of Redenâs office in a gloomy way⊠âŠ
Last mission of the day.
<table>âLetâs burn all the paperwork that Reden Blair handled for a week.</tbody></table>
What is it? Of course, itâs because of the damn mission.
After the dismissal of Susan, Redenâs reaction was different from what was expected, so even in the midst of discomfort, the mission appeared steadily.
I foolishly threw the maidâs position into the trash, so I couldnât complete the maid-related mission, so I had a hard time for a few days⊠âŠ
Today, I had no choice but to accept the last mission because I couldnât cheat on the first and second missions, but this was the trick I came up with.
Burning the originals after copying all the documents that Reden processed for a week!
In fact, I consulted with Reden about this mission in the morning, and he copied it with magic right away⊠âŠ
Beep.
<table>Error</tbody></table>
<table>âNot burning all the documents.â</tbody></table>
The window that appeared when the original was burned was an error window.
After thinking about what this means, I was able to come to this conclusion.
If Reden doubles the documents by copying them himself, the paperwork he processed has doubled, so the conclusion is that I must burn twice as much in order to succeed in the mission!
In other words, I did not succeed in the mission because I burned only half of the original.
âHaaâŠâ
It was like this. Thatâs why I had to transcribe them one by one myself. If I could use magic like Reden, I would have succeeded in this mission in one shot⊠âŠ
Glancing at the stack of papers I had already copied, I rolled his eyes. The remaining paperwork is piled up like a mountain.
However, it was already past lunchtime. Can I really finish this before the end of the day?
It was then. Just as Reden pointed out to me that my hands were not moving, there was a knock and Catherine entered.
âYour Excellency, the guest you mentioned and I guided him to the drawing room.â
âItâs already been that long.â
âWhat? Who is the guest?â
âYou donât have to know. Youâre finishing up.â
âUghâŠâŠ Are you leaving me behind?â
With ink on my hands, I clenched my fists to cover my mouth* and looked up at Reden. Reden stared at me like that, then patted me on the shoulder as if to encourage me and left.
TL/N: Sheâs acting cute again LOL rmb this?
Th, this bloodless brother without tears⊠âŠ
Of course, having Reden by my side didnât speed up my copying speed, but being alone was so lonely. Ah, Iâm not a child and I feel lonely being aloneâŠ
âMy lady.â
I was staring at the tightly closed door as if looking at Reden, but Catherine, who hadnât left yet, started talking to me. She quickly pulled something out of her pocket and held it out.
It was a simple letter in a black envelope sealed with red wax.
âWhatâs this?â
âA letter addressed to you, my lady.â
âHuh? Me? In front of me?â
âYes. I think it comes from the esteemed son of the Bradley family.â
Who is heâŠ
I was puzzled, but I received the letter and turned it over without showing any signs. I could see my name and Bradleyâs first name, or rather the last name, written in gold ink.
Bradley⊠I have no idea⊠However, I nodded as if I knew.
âAh, thank you anyway, Catherine. Good job.â
âIsnât that what I should be doing?â
âBut I have a question. Whoâs the guest who just arrived?â
I had high expectations because I suddenly thought it might be Anastasia. However, Catherineâs subsequent answer exploded my inflated expectations.
âSir Diwen Fergus, the head of the Royal Knights, and Sir Zion Glass, the deputy head of the Royal Knights.â
It was an unexpected name, so I frowned for a moment and remained silent.
Catherine asked in a worried tone.
âWhatâs the matter, miss? Is there any inconvenience?â
âNoâŠâŠ Thatâs not the case, but youâŠâŠ. No, why are they here?â
âI donât know. I want to tell you, but I donât know what kind of exchange there is between the three of youâŠ.â
âWait! But why the Royal Knights? I donât think itâs the Royal Knights.â
âNow weâre calling it that.â
Catherine let out a troubled laugh, then rubbed her chin with Hmm.
âI donât know the details as I am not a person involved, but the Hugo Knights decided to take responsibility for what happened within the palace a month ago. The reason for taking responsibility is unknown, but I understand thatâs why the Hugo Order swore to the royal family and became a member of the royal family.â
âAhâŠâ
I immediately understood Catherineâs succinct explanation and rubbed my chin like she did.
They have no choice but to take responsibility. At that time, the reason for the uproar was because of the half-dragon, and the reason for the half-dragon was because of the Hugo Knights. Even after losing the dragon bones, they tried to cover up the fact, so it was clear that the king would have been angry if he knew the inside story.
Above all, Zion was like that that day. If the king knew this, he would surely use that as an excuse to make him a member of the royal family.
âI guess thatâs what happened.â
I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders. Well, itâs a pity, but Iâm so glad you didnât get more punishment.
My curiosity was also satisfied. I thanked Catherine for letting me know and sent her back.
Now, the only thing in Redenâs office was me and these vomit-like documents. Compared to the amount of paperwork Reden always handles, about a hundred sheets were on the small side, but I got tired of it anyway.
The letters that need to be written on each page have to be quite dense and small. Seeing so many letters made my mind feel at ease and also gave me a headache.
I felt like I was going to lose my motivation, but I immediately shook my head vigorously.
First of all, after copying and burning the original even in a mess by today! Mission accomplished! Letâs slowly transcribe the messed-up parts tomorrow! At that time, Reden will be able to help.
Thinking that way seemed to give me strength. It was the moment I pulled back my long hair and grabbed the pen holder.
The weather was nice, and the wind blew pretty strong from the balcony, which I had intentionally left open. I approached the balcony, feeling that the papers would fly away.
I admired the sight beyond the open balcony. It was because the weather was really nice.
The sky was clear of clouds, the sun was warm, and the large gardens at Blairâs mansion were green.
âI have to go play with Anastasia on a day like this.â
âI know. I have to go play.â
It was the moment when I muttered to myself inadvertently. Startled by the voice I heard from under the balcony, I looked down. Then I saw a guy who seemed to appreciate the garden like me.
âWhy did I come here on this fine day, hmph⊠.â
He muttered with his hands in a shading position, probably dazzled by the pleasant sunlight.
It was none other than Diwen Fergus, who was supposed to be in the drawing room.