Chapter 39
‘Maybe it’s for the best. I don’t want to see Alferen regretting things because of his father.’
Summer had protected her younger siblings under a gambling, drunken father.
Naturally, her image of a father wasn’t a positive one.
So when she heard Alferen’s story, she projected her own situation onto it and labeled the previous Duke Ainluk as a villain.
But was the previous Duke Ainluk truly nothing but a villain?
Humans aren’t flat planes; they’re three-dimensional beings.
His methods of discipline couldn’t be called entirely right, but at their core was paternal love.
He’d tried to raise Alferen strong to protect his son.
Becoming the head of an authoritative family was like gaining enemies on all sides.
In the political arena where today’s allies become tomorrow’s enemies, and today’s enemies become tomorrow’s allies, he’d handed his son a sword so he wouldn’t get hurt.
The previous duke probably never imagined it would bind his son in an unexpected way.
Arriving at the Ainluk mansion made my thoughts swirl.
I’d felt it in the original story too, but it was strange how the meticulous Alferen met such a futile death by Nanael’s poisoning.
‘Could it be that Alferen was punishing himself?’
It might be an overreach, but the thought that he chose the path that hurt himself in crucial moments made me even more uneasy.
I sat quietly in the drawing room, and Alferen personally brought out the refreshments.
Dressed impeccably as if attending a banquet, he was pulling the trolley himself like a butler.
“Where’s the maid?”
I started to rise instinctively, but he gently pressed down on my shoulder.
“I wanted to be alone with you.”
As he stared toward the door, something whooshed by quickly beyond the window curtains.
The faint ‘Ouch!’ I thought I heard must have been my imagination, right?
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen a single person the whole way here.
In such a large mansion, it’s not like the servants are avoiding their master— is that even possible?
In the meantime, Alferen set the refreshments on the table and poured the tea.
Before I could even admire his skillful handling, he squeezed into the seat right next to me.
“You’re sitting there?”
With such a wide sofa, why cling so close? That’s what I meant.
Alferen gave a straight smile and said,
“Yes. I like it here.”
“Really?”
As I subtly shifted sideways, he followed and added,
“To be precise, I meant I like being next to you.”
Why so straightforward today?
His unfiltered words made my face burn hot.
Creaking away, I averted my gaze and quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway, I’ve known you for so long, but this feels like my first time here. Our first date spot being your house. Is it okay to bring me to such a personal space?”
“It’s the safest place.”
I didn’t need to ask safe from whom.
Just yesterday and today, the overprotective sis-con Adrian had tried to smash between us like King Kong.
Before flaunting our couple act to others, we had to evade the Peris family’s eyes and ears first.
This fake relationship had just begun. There were probably many things we needed to discuss in secret, so maybe that’s why he invited me home. That’s what I assumed.
“And I wanted to invite you first.”
“Me?”
“You’re the safest person I can think of. Plus, now you’re mine.”
Mine.
I don’t know why that word made my heart race like crazy.
I’m just a temporary girlfriend, but with him acting so real, it was confusing whether this was pretense or sincerity.
“Ahaha, I am a vetted person, after all! What an honor to be your first guest! If I’d known, I would’ve brought a gift or something.”
“You’re the gift, so it’s fine.”
Argh! This guy, really!
In the end, unable to recover, my face turned as red as a tomato.
This was all Alferen’s fault.
Why was he looking at me with that honey-dripping expression?
Just because of one ring, it felt like I was monopolizing Alferen’s affection.
As I innocently sipped the tea, someone knocked on the drawing room door.
In that instant, Alferen’s expression subtly furrowed.
“Come in.”
“Your Grace.”
A stern-looking man with monocle entered.
From his attire, he seemed to be the head butler.
He caught his panting breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and said,
“I didn’t hear about the guest’s arrival in time, so I’m late. I am Isaac, the chief butler of the Ainluk ducal household.”
It was clear at a glance that he’d rushed over.
Normally, a chief butler should be fully aware of the family head’s movements, right?
Especially in a historic grand noble house like the Ainluk dukedom, this was even stranger.
Then Alferen issued a cold dismissal.
“It’s an unofficial visit, so no need to fuss.”
“But…”
“You should focus on my father instead of me. If something happens to him when no one’s around, they’ll say I neglected him, won’t they?”
A sharp response, utterly different from how he treated me.
From the original story, he was particularly sensitive about his father, so Isaac must be someone who attended the previous duke up close.
The head butler bowed his head with a hurt expression.
“I’m sorry. I’ll take my leave.”
Seeing the chief butler depart with slumped shoulders, I couldn’t help but intervene.
“Wait a moment!”
At my call, Isaac flinched and turned back.
“Is there something you need me to do?”
His eyes sparkled as if he’d never been downcast. It looked just like a grandfather eager to do anything for his grandchild.
‘Given his age, he must have served Alferen since he was very young.’
Treating such a person so coldly was bound to make the atmosphere bleak.
Actually, since arriving here, I’d pieced together a few things.
For a ducal grand mansion, signs of daily life were quite visible.
That meant there were no dedicated servants cleaning every day.
Alferen bringing the tea himself might be because there was no maid specifically for hosting.
The tea tasted oddly bitter, suggesting the guest tea leaves weren’t properly managed.
In the end, the absence of servants meant that, except for a minimal staff, they were assigned elsewhere.
Probably all gathered where the previous Duke Ainluk was.
Summer, being from a fallen nobility, might not have noticed these details, but I did.
Thanks to growing up as high nobility from childhood, I’d observed and learned a lot.
Especially since Mother was passionate about household management, I’d watched from the side how she hired and oversaw the servants.
From my experience, the Ainluk mansion was in utter disarray.
‘With no lady of the house for so long, they’ve only focused on outward appearances, and the inner workings are a mess.’
The previous Duke Ainluk was famous for not taking a second wife after his wife’s death.
Because of that, I’d heard the head maid and chief butler handled everything in the lady’s stead.
With the lady absent for so long, they’d be ignorant of things like social trends.
It was essentially a dukedom in name only, completely out of touch with the capital’s currents.
‘From what Alferen said, it’s likely he assigned minimal staff here and sent the rest to his father.’
That would explain why servants didn’t feature much in the original story either.
Basically, a situation where the master says he’ll handle things himself, so focus on caring for the father.
To a slacker, it’d be welcome news, but to a loyal servant, it was no different from saying you’re not needed.
I looked into Isaac’s eyes, waiting for my command.
From his expression, he seemed worried about Alferen.
Seeing him oblivious to people and drawing lines even with his own, I couldn’t stay silent.
“Could I ask for a different tea, perhaps?”
“Pardon?”
Surprised, Isaac took a sip to check if there was a problem, then jolted in shock.
“Gasp. This seems to be the tea leaves the maids drink, not for guests. I’m sorry; I’ll bring a fresh one right away.”
At Isaac’s gesture, a maid quickly approached and collected the teacups and teapot.
With this, I could be certain.
They wanted to do better.
They just didn’t know how.
