Chapter 40

After the meat feast, Lord Billion was quietly led away by Lord Baston. Although Lord Billion was the Commander of the Secret knights and older, Lord Baston’s higher rank was undeniable.

“Lord Billion, are you in your right mind?”

“Hmm? I’m always in my right mind. Though, perhaps my conscience is a little singed right now?”

The combination of meat piled atop vegetables, roasted garlic and onions, and Ramona’s special sauce naturally elicited gasps of delight. For example, Adolf kept subtly nudging Lord Billion with his eyes, but eventually, he even urged him to quickly grill more meat, claiming they were running low.

“It was a small garden party hosted by the Duke’s family. What would happen if Lord Billion, the Commander of the Secret Knights, were to show himself there?”

His primary duty had always been to secretly guard members of the Duke’s Household from the shadows. Yet, the Commander had abandoned this crucial task, revealed himself, and even started grilling meat himself—something no one could have ever anticipated.

“What of it? When the Young Duke lived at Lady Ramona’s, this was a daily occurrence. We all have to eat to live, don’t we?”

Lord Billion, who had always followed protocol, had changed since returning from an external assignment. He had argued that Secret Knights shouldn’t have to live like shadows, guarding without proper meals, and that their human rights should be respected.

At this, Lord Baston frowned and let out a deep sigh. He knew that Secret Knights silently performed their duties in the shadows, without complaint, even when it drained their vitality. While he felt sorry for such beings venturing from their path, he couldn’t help but find it displeasing.

“If we abandon our duties, who will do the work?”

“There are other Secret Knights besides me, so why get so worked up? I assure you, there will be no lapse in our duties. Don’t worry.”

Lord Billion, having said he was just doing his job for his salary, sauntered away. Lord Baston let out a heavy sigh.

“But to be honest, I can understand Lord Billion’s feelings. I only took one bite, and I was speechless.”

Sir Onyx, who had been standing guard, had been handed a wrap personally made by Ramona, who told him to taste it. After trying it, Sir Onyx began to understand why Sir Billion had stepped forward first to grill the meat.

It wasn’t beef, but pork. He didn’t expect it to be very tasty, but his preconceptions shattered the moment he took a bite. It was richer and more delicious than beef. Moreover, the freshness of the vegetables, the aroma of roasted garlic, the sweetness of grilled onions, and the savory special sauce that finished it off were pure bliss.

Sir Onyx, who nearly abandoned his guard duty after one bite, enthusiastically described the ecstasy of the meat wrap to the Commander. Hearing this, Lord Baston involuntarily swallowed hard, his mouth watering.

Rumors had been circulating that Adrian hadn’t returned to the Duke’s Manor because of Ramona’s cooking skills, but he hadn’t believed them. However, after hearing the stories from Lord Billion and Sir Onyx, it seemed the outlandish rumor might actually hold some truth.

“Even so, you shouldn’t neglect your duties for the sake of food.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I’ll be leaving now.”

Just three days after arriving at the Cassius Ducal Estate, Ramona was preparing to return home. She couldn’t stay here any longer.

“Mom… can’t you stay a little longer?” Raon pleaded, his eyes welling up with tears. Ramona shook her head.

“Raon’s mother! Just as Raon said, why not stay a little longer?” Adrian interjected, but Ramona remained firm.

“I need to return to my own work. If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid I’ll let everything slip away in this comfort.”

As soon as I woke up, a basin of water for washing my face was ready. At every meal, meticulously prepared food was placed before me. If I took off my clothes, clean ones would appear as if by magic, as if they had been washed at some point. I didn’t even have to clean anymore. I felt that if I continued to live like this, I would struggle when I returned home.

Knowing that she couldn’t enjoy all this for long, Ramona decided to leave early.

“Then I’ll be going now. See you next time, you silly little prince.”

Raon’s eyes welled up with tears as he watched Ramona leave without specifying when she would return. He tugged at Adrian’s sleeve, as if begging him to stop his mother.

“Ms. Ramona has her own life too. We can’t keep forcing her to stay… Hoo.”

Adrian let out a deep sigh and hugged Raon, who had finally burst into tears, patting her back as he watched the carriage carrying her drive away in a daze.

Silence settled in the carriage. Ramona, holding a small travel bag, looked at Adiel, who was seated in front of her.

“Do you always escort guests all the way to their destination, Butler?” she asked, subtly questioning why he was following her again, just as he had done before.

“Normally, I don’t leave the Duke’s Manor when seeing off outside guests,” Adiel replied. Even when the Emperor visited, he wouldn’t follow him outside.

“Then does that mean you always have business outside whenever I leave?”

“No. Nothing in particular. I simply came out to escort you, Lady Ramona. To open the carriage door for you when you alight.”

Such courtesy was unnecessary. Ramona could have opened the carriage door and stepped out on her own.

“Did Your Grace approve of Adiel acting this way?”

“Yes. His Grace instructed that whenever you return home, you must be escorted safely. So please don’t feel uncomfortable.”

As Adiel and Ramona chatted for a moment, the carriage came to a halt. Adiel opened the door, stepped down, and offered his hand. Ramona took his hand and lightly alighted from the carriage. She lingered near the door until Toto suddenly hopped over to her, and she picked him up.

“I’ll take my leave now. Please take good care of our Raon.”

“If you need anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“There won’t be any need, so don’t worry. Go inside now. You must have many tasks to attend to.”

When Ramona smiled, Adiel smiled back. As he watched her turn and walk into the house, Adiel bowed deeply from the waist, his sincerity evident. He knew that her presence was filling the void in the Cassius Family.

Adiel watched Ramona, who brought laughter to the cold mansion without ever expecting anything in return, with genuine admiration. Setting aside his disappointment, he climbed into the carriage.

The house was filled with people: grandfather, father, his teacher Freire, their neighbor Brown, and Baylor. Yet Raon remained sullen. The difference Ramona’s presence made was clear; he had grown quiet and withdrawn.

“Raon, are you upset that Ms. Ramona left? If that’s the case, don’t worry. She’ll be visiting often now.”

“But I don’t live with her anymore, do I?”

Freire sat beside Raon, who had been sighing heavily throughout his sword practice, and wiped his sweat-drenched little face. Freire, who had never seen this dejected expression when he was with Ramona alone, comforted the sulking child and then glanced at his older disciple, who was swinging his sword in the corner.

The problem was that he knew how to swing a sword but not how to understand people’s hearts. Freire didn’t overstep his bounds to mention it directly.

“Ms. Ramona went home, but the Young Duke couldn’t even hold onto her properly.”

Instead, he simply told the Head of the Family, who had just arrived at the Duke’s Manor.

Adolf, who had returned to the capital after a brief errand, raised an eyebrow slightly at Freire’s words.

“What about Raon?”

“Don’t even ask. He was full of life just yesterday, but his spirit has completely dimmed. I told him he’d see her often, but it didn’t seem to comfort him at all.”

Adolf understood why Raon had only greeted him and immediately retreated to his room without his usual chatter. He let out a low sigh. Roughly sweeping his bangs back, Adolf immediately ordered Adrian to be summoned.

A moment later, Adrian, who had been so busy he’d missed lunch and was hastily eating a sandwich, made his way to Adolf’s office. He wore a slightly sullen expression, annoyed at being summoned while already swamped with work.

“What is it? I’m swamped with the work my father handed over and need to get back to it immediately.”

“You’re putting on quite a show of being busy, aren’t you? Anyone would think you’ve been handling everything alone all this time.”

The father frowned slightly, displeased that his son was already complaining after being given only a small portion of the tasks he had been handling alone.

“I don’t have time for wordplay. State your reason for summoning me.”

“I heard Ramona left the capital while I was away.”

“Yes, she returned to her own home this morning.”

“Raon looked so dejected, his face all puffy and swollen. What have you been doing, failing to secure even one woman? Our family wouldn’t collapse if we had one more mouth to feed.”

Adolf let out a faint sigh at Adrian’s words.

“I asked her to wait a little longer, but she refused.”

“In that case, you should have clung to her and refused to let her leave.”

Seeing Adolf shake his head, Adrian threw his head back and said, “I’ve never had to beg a woman not to leave, so I don’t know how to do it.”

Adolf’s irritation flared for a moment at Adrian’s words, but seeing his son’s handsome face, which resembled his own, he let out a deep sigh.

‘What could he do?’

He himself was too handsome to have ever had to beg anyone. Adolf, who had wished his son wouldn’t inherit even this trait, inwardly blamed his own good looks.