21
A few days had passed since the merchant guild head incident that had stirred up the Grand Duchy.
There were noticeable changes in the annex.
“Head maid Elda, here are this month’s supplies and extra firewood. Where should we place them?”
Elda, who had recently been promoted to the annex’s head maid, efficiently commanded the servants like a seasoned matron.
“Leave them in the storage room at the end of the hallway.”
“These are the young lord’s newly tailored seasonal casual and outing clothes...”
“Put those in the wardrobe room on the right.”
“We’ve brought the new props and furniture you requested.”
“Please place them in the young lord’s bedroom and the adjacent private room respectively.”
Currently, the upper floor of the annex was so busy with servants bringing in various supplies and furniture that there was barely room to walk.
Thanks to Sion’s crucial contribution to resolving the earlier incident, many aspects of the annex were improved.
And Sion followed through on the bluff I had made earlier to win Elda over.
“Elda, from today onward, take full responsibility as the head maid of the annex.”
“Th-thank you, young lord! I will do my best!”
Since then, it was as if Elda had always been observing things. She meticulously identified and improved all the lacking supplies and facilities in the annex with utmost dedication and sincerity.
Sion, Garen, and I stood a little ways off, quietly watching the annex transform bit by bit.
“Hehe.”
Seeing the piles of supplies growing around me, I said with satisfaction,
“Just looking at all this is enough to make me feel full.”
“Ms. Lin! A few snack boxes just arrived—what shall we do with them?”
“Snacks? What kind?”
“They look like sweet butter cookies.”
“Bring them over, bring them over.”
Elda placed the cookie box on the tea table and opened the lid so I could take one.
I quickly grabbed a cookie, snapped it in half with a crisp sound, and shoved it into my mouth.
“Mmm-mmm… Oh my gosh, this is so good! Sion, come try one!”
I waved my hand enthusiastically, and Sion approached with a sigh.
He had realized that giving in to most of my demands was less troublesome in the long run.
“Excuse me, young lord.”
At that moment, a servant carrying items passed by Sion and bowed his head with a polite and cautious demeanor.
It was a drastic change from the cold and indifferent attitude they had shown before.
Watching this, Elda came up to us and whispered.
“Word of the recent incident seems to have spread quite a bit. There are quite a few maids who are genuinely grateful to you, young lord, saying it’s thanks to you that the North can pass this year in peace.”
I snorted and said.
“Well, after all that trouble, there should be plenty of rumors going around.”
Garen added with a satisfied smile.
“I heard that the elders and vassals feel a great sense of relief. A few even mentioned your contribution multiple times. It’s a good outcome.”
That day, thanks to the letter we presented and the testimony from the aide Garen brought, Sion was cleared of all false accusations, and the North was able to secure its supplies safely.
The merchant guild head, who was dragged back to the Grand Duchy by the knights dispatched from the North, ended up confessing his crimes without resistance and reportedly begged for forgiveness with hands and feet on the ground.
In return for not reporting the incident to the Imperial Court, the Noel Merchant Guild had to sign a contract promising to supply goods to the North under extremely favorable terms for the next five years.
“Thanks to that, the North shouldn’t face any financial difficulties for at least the next five years.”
That was Sion’s calm summary after hearing all the news.
I glanced at Sion, who was quietly watching the servants move around the room without much expression.
‘Hmm…’
Though his position in the grand duchy and his living environment were clearly improving, he didn’t seem particularly pleased. That bothered me.
On impulse, I poked Sion’s cheek.
“Poke.”
His dimple showed as he slightly raised an eyebrow.
“What was that for?”
“Come on, be a little happy, Sion.”
I gestured toward all the supplies piled around us.
“You can now eat delicious food, wear nice clothes, and sleep comfortably in a good bed. You don’t even have to go out and chop wood yourself anymore.”
“……”
“I just want you to care more about the things happening to you and enjoy them. Come on, smile.”
I looked at him with sparkling eyes, like someone eagerly waiting for a reaction after giving a gift.
‘Come on, show me that beautiful smile you gave me before…’
But, true to his nature, Sion replied in his usual dry tone.
“I’m not quite sure what there is to be happy about. As for clothes and food, I never really felt lacking. I had enough for myself. And chopping wood helps with sword training, so I never minded it.”
“Ah, no, that’s not what I meant…”
I considered explaining the luxurious and leisurely lifestyle typical of noble sons in rofan (romantic fantasy) stories, but ended up closing my mouth.
‘Well, I guess that kind of emotionally barren attitude is part of Sion’s charm too.’
Even in the original novel, Sion was the kind of character who relentlessly pursued practicality and efficiency.
A principled and stoic knight who loathed unnecessary extravagance and ceremonial formalities—a true man’s man.
Especially when it came to his own lifestyle, he was practically indifferent.
“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to use all this stuff. It might be better to redistribute it to the servants or the knight order for space efficiency.”
Sion mumbled while resting his chin on his hand.
‘See? That’s exactly the kind of thing he says.’
He would go through hell for the North and the heroine, yet never care to enjoy the benefits himself. That always left me frustrated.
“Well, fine. I guess I’ll just have to work even harder to make sure Sion gets pampered properly.”
I shook my head with a sigh.
Though I was a little disappointed not to see that smile again, I told myself there would be plenty more chances to come.
Just then, a stranger entered the room.
“Uh, excuse me.”
She was a woman I had never seen before.
A knight with long, tied-back purple hair and a slender figure.
Unlike the knights I had seen so far in the Grand Duchy, this one gave off a much more carefree vibe.
I quickly darted behind Sion’s collar and peeked out at the woman.
‘Who is she? She looks kind of familiar…’
The female knight scanned the room and brightened when she spotted Garen.
“Oh! Look who it is—Garen?”
“…It’s been a while, Diene.”
Garen answered stiffly, looking noticeably tense and awkward.
‘What’s this? He looks like a guy who just ran into his ex.’
“So you were demoted. Looks like you’ve been working in the annex, huh?”
Diene chuckled as she strode over and gave Garen a hearty slap on the shoulder.
“Ugh.”
“What’s with the awkward act? People might think you’re still hung up on me or something—ha ha!”
“……”
‘Wait, for real? She is his ex?!’
After leaving the flustered Garen behind, she approached Sion and gave a proper, respectful bow.
"It is an honor to meet you, Young Lord Sion Luxior. I am Diene Schuto, adjutant to Deputy Commander Thurman of the Knights. I’ve come at his command to deliver this letter to you."
‘Diene Schuto?’
If she’s that Diene Schuto, the adjutant to the knight order’s deputy commander, then she’s a supporting character with significant presence in the original story—one of the main allies who helped the heroine and male lead.
Sion glanced at the letter she held out and asked.
“A letter? What’s it about?”
“I don’t know, Young Lord. Deputy Commander Thurman ordered that only you may read its contents.”
“……”
Sion frowned slightly, clearly displeased.
The one who sent the letter—Thurman, the red-haired deputy commander of the knights—was the same man who had cornered the merchant guild head during that banquet, using intense pressure while bringing up the North’s law and order.
If I recall correctly, he was also present during that wild brawl in the council chamber recently, watching the chaos unfold with an amused expression from the sidelines.
“That’s right… he was there.”
I muttered to myself.
Ulrich Thurman, the deputy commander.
In terms of narrative weight, he was among the top three most significant supporting characters in the original novel. His connection with Sion wasn’t meant to form until much later—after all the main characters had already made their appearances.
‘This is unexpected. I didn’t think he’d show interest in Sion this early in the timeline.’
It seemed he had recognized Sion’s extraordinary potential after seeing how he dealt with those knights.
‘Hmm. Not bad at all.’
I thought to myself.
The sooner Sion got recognition for his abilities, climbed the ladder of success, and secured powerful backing, the better.
Meanwhile, Sion decisively dismissed Diene with a cold command.
“I won’t accept it. Leave.”
“May I ask why?”
“You’re bothersome.”
“…I see. Understood.”
Diene nonchalantly retrieved the letter, as if she had expected such a reaction.
Just like how she treated Garen earlier, she gave off the vibe of someone who had been through every kind of battlefield—literal or not.
“Then, I’ll take my leave.”
As she stepped out, Diene gave Garen a quick glance and said.
“See you around, Garen.”
“……”
Garen could only look at her with the face of a dejected puppy, saying nothing in return.
Once she was gone, I quickly rushed over to Garen to satisfy my curiosity.
“What the heck, Garen? I thought you were a hopelessly single knight, but turns out you’ve got an ex?!”
“…Huh?”
“I’m talking about your ex-lover. Diene.”
“…Ah, ah… yeah.”
Garen scratched the back of his head, blushing furiously.
‘Ooh~ So he’s not as clueless as he looks! He's got more dating experience than Sion?’
I examined Garen again with fresh eyes.
“Well, to be fair, you’re objectively decent-looking, have a good build, and your personality’s alright too. You’re… approachable.”
“…Approachable, huh.”
It was a bit annoying that Garen managed to lose his “forever single” title before Sion, but considering the slight age gap between them, I decided to let it slide.
‘Hmph. Not like it matters. Sion’s going to meet the female lead soon and get swept up in their fated romance anyway.’
“…Wait a sec.”
Suddenly, a very important fact struck me.
The Winter Festival, where the female lead and Sion have their fated encounter and the original story begins… was now just a week away.
Without a second to lose, I darted toward Sion.
“Sion! We have an emergency!”
He looked at me in confusion.
“What is it?”
I replied with dramatic seriousness,
“We need to go shopping!”
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1 Comments
Aww, the little end bit was SO CUTE
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