Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“Of course. Allow me to help you.”

A large shelf beside the worktable was lined with vases of all shapes and sizes.

Of the five vases Albert had selected, Leonard chose a long, slender one with a narrow indentation around its middle.

“Hmm… Are there too few flowers?”

“There’s a saying that too much of a good thing can be worse than too little. The blossoms are so delicate and pretty that I think they’re better arranged in just two or three stems.”

Albert then gave Leonard a playful wink.

“Of course, I’m sure the Marchioness would be delighted even if the future Marquis simply picked a single blade of grass for her.”

“Then let’s call it finished for today.”

Paying little heed to Albert’s teasing, Leonard tied the stems of the three hyacinths in the vase together with a thin ribbon.

It had been exactly one week since he began taking responsibility for the flower arrangements on Irenea’s office desk.

By now, he had memorized the names and appearances of more than ten flowers, learned how to trim their stems without damaging them, and even mastered tying ribbons into bows.

“Done.”

“Your skills improve with each passing day. This old man can only marvel at your progress.”

“Flattery won’t get you anything.”

“Flattery? Please don’t mistake my sincere praise for empty compliments. That hurts my feelings.”

“Don’t say things like that, even as a joke…”

Even Leonard couldn’t bring himself to tolerate the sight of the old man with his snow-white hair looking so dejected.

When Leonard frowned, Albert burst into hearty laughter.

Realizing he’d been had once again, Leonard could only sigh.

“I wonder what you did for fun before I came along.”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been wondering myself. Perhaps I’ve developed dementia, because I can hardly remember anymore. It may be time for me to retire.”

“If you’re going to retire, at least find a successor first. I’d hate to see this greenhouse lose its current charm.”

“Haha. There isn’t anyone worthy of taking my place, so I suppose I’ll have to keep doing my best a little longer.”

“That’s fine too.”

Watching Leonard nod so readily, Albert felt a warmth spread through his chest.

‘What a wonderful young man.’

Albert, who had worked here for decades, ever since the previous Marquis was still a young lord, naturally knew Viscount Calio quite well.

‘What is this piece of trash?’

Albert vividly remembered the expression on Calio’s face as he glared at the flowers scattered across the floor.

That was why he liked the future Marquis so much.

‘Her Ladyship certainly chose an excellent husband.’

His background, which was apparently common knowledge throughout high society, was of little importance to Albert.

Having spent his entire life tending flowers, Albert knew only one thing about the future Marquis: every morning, he came to the greenhouse to arrange flowers for his wife.

And that was more than enough for him.

“Well then…”

“Excuse me, my lord.”

Just then, an attendant near the greenhouse door cleared his throat to announce his presence.

Leonard, who had been examining the vase and wondering whether he should retie the ribbon, raised his head and looked at him.

“What is it?”

“Your guest has just arrived, my lord.”

“My guest? At this hour?”

It wasn’t even time for breakfast yet.

At this rate, the visitor must have been waiting outside the capital’s gates since dawn, then entered the moment they opened.

“He says he’s the chief steward of the Elpiers household. Apparently, he’s brought urgent news from the count’s estate.”

Thompson, whom Leonard had given money to hire servants, had been planning to return to the capital after finishing the arrangements at the estate so that he could attend the wedding.

However, considering that the letter informing Leonard of his arrival had made no mention of any urgent news, whatever had happened must have occurred within the past few days.

“Where is Thompson now?”

“We’ve shown him to the reception room. I asked if he’d like to rest first, but he said he wished to see you immediately.”

“It must be something serious, then… Albert.”

As though he already knew what Leonard wanted, Albert nodded.

“I’ll take the vase to Her Ladyship’s office myself.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Under normal circumstances, Leonard’s duties as a supportive husband included personally delivering the flower arrangements to Irenea’s office.

But he was concerned about the urgent news, and he was equally concerned about Thompson, who must have passed through the capital’s gates at the crack of dawn.

Hurrying to the reception room, Leonard was glad he’d come as soon as he saw how exhausted Thompson looked.

Conversely, Thompson couldn’t help smiling when he saw how much healthier Leonard looked than the last time they’d met.

“Well, well, Count. It certainly feels like it’s been quite some time since I last saw you.”

“Has it really been that long?”

Though he said that, Leonard felt much the same way.

Feeling strangely self-conscious, Leonard absently touched his slightly fuller cheeks before dropping a few sugar cubes into the coffee the maid had poured for him.

Thompson simply watched him with a pleased expression.

Only after belatedly noticing his gaze did Leonard give a small cough and ask,

“More importantly, what exactly is this urgent news? Is it serious enough that you had to rush here so early in the morning?”

“First, please take a look at this, my lord.”

Thompson took a letter from inside his coat and handed it to Leonard.

Out of habit, Leonard first checked the sender’s name on the envelope, only to furrow his brow.

“Marquis Waindal?”

“Yes. For the record, it’s addressed to ‘El.’”

Thompson added in a quiet whisper,

“The messenger didn’t know El’s true identity. It seems Marquis Waindal told him he could find El at the residence on the Elpiers estate.”

In other words, Marquis Waindal hadn’t even revealed to his own subordinate that the mercenary El was actually Count Elpiers.

Leonard felt rather strange about that.

‘He’s awfully thorough about keeping secrets when it comes to the most unnecessary things.’

“At first, I considered telling him that no such person was here. But the sender’s name gave me pause. Since I was on my way to see El anyway, I told him I’d accept the reply on his behalf, and he followed me all the way here. He couldn’t get past the front gates of the Marquis’s estate, though, so he went to a hotel instead.”

With the wedding only a week away, security at the Blair estate had been tightened considerably. They were wary of spies from somewhere slipping in under the cover of the increased traffic of visitors.

Since the messenger wasn’t carrying a letter for Marquis Blair, it was only natural that he hadn’t been allowed inside.

Had the letter from Marquis Waindal been addressed to ‘Count Elpiers,’ things might have been different.

But the recipient was ‘El the Mercenary.’

“He was quite insistent that I get a reply to him by noon, too… Do you have any idea what this might be about?”

“No, not at all.”

As Leonard opened the letter, he recalled his last encounter with Marquis Waindal.

‘If you ever find yourself with nowhere else to go, be sure to return here. Waindal will always welcome you.’

Marquis Waindal had been an excellent employer.

He was never stingy with money, never tried to slip anything underhanded into their contract, and faithfully and honestly fulfilled every promise he made.

Even when Leonard accidentally let his true identity slip, the Marquis understood why he’d concealed his real name and face, and was the first to promise that he would keep his secret.

And there was one other person.

There was someone else in Marquis Waindal’s territory who knew El’s true identity and had promised to keep it a secret.

‘You saved my life. How old are you? You look about my age, so how are you so strong? How long have you been a mercenary?’

‘El! Get up! Come spar with me!’

‘Don’t be like that. We went through life and death together, remember? Actually, how about we just become friends? I don’t have a single friend. Do you have any?’

‘I said let’s be friends!’

‘What? You’re a noble? And here I thought you were going to tell me we couldn’t be friends because of the difference in our social status!’

‘Wellll? I’m rather loose-lipped, you know. I might just go around telling people about it… But when it comes to a friend’s secrets, I’ll protect them with my life. So, what do you say? Still don’t want to be my friend?’

The person who had become his friend after that not-quite-a-threat was none other than Flint Waindal.

He was Marquis Waindal’s only son and heir.

Their friendship, which had begun that way, turned out to be better than Leonard had expected.

No, it was wonderful.

After all, Leonard didn’t have any friends either.

In particular, the camaraderie they’d developed while living and fighting side by side in the great forest had laid a solid foundation for their friendship.

They worried about each other and looked after one another.

Sometimes, they even shared things they’d kept buried deep in their hearts, gradually strengthening their bond.

Thanks to that, Leonard eventually found himself confiding in Flint about why he’d concealed his identity: his debts.

He even told him that once he returned the title to his younger sibling, he intended to go back to being a mercenary.

Perhaps that was why.

‘What’s the point of having friends if we can’t help each other? If you ever find yourself in trouble, contact me. I’ll help you.’

Just before Leonard’s contract ended and he returned to the Elpiers estate, Flint had said those words to him.

Leonard had thanked him, even if it was only a kind offer.

Aside from exchanging letters to ask how each other was doing, he hadn’t thought he’d ever need to ask Flint for help.

But not long after returning to the Elpiers estate, he received a message from Miles.

They demanded that he repay the entire debt at once.

Thirty million larks.

It was an astronomical sum.

After much deliberation, Leonard had finally written to Flint.

He explained the situation and asked whether Flint could really help him.

It was such an enormous amount of money that Leonard had thought he would understand if Flint refused.

But, strangely enough, no matter how long he waited, no reply ever came from Flint.

Instead, someone arrived from the Imperial Palace with a message that the Second Prince wished to see him.

‘It must have been either Marquis Waindal or Flint who revealed my identity to the Second Prince.’

There was no way the Second Prince could have discovered his true identity otherwise.

Besides, both men were the Second Prince’s uncle and cousin, respectively.

‘They shouldn’t have promised to keep my secret in the first place.’

Leonard scanned the letter with an expression full of resentment.

Seeing his face, Thompson cautiously asked,

“What does it say?”

Before answering, Leonard let out a short, derisive snort.

“He says something has happened in the great forest, and he wants to ask me for help. He’s asking me to come to Marquis Waindal’s territory.”