Chapter 46

Adolf entered the dining hall for breakfast, passing by a slightly pale Adrian to take his seat at the head of the table.

“You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

Adolf’s face lit up with a wide smile at Ramona’s lavish morning spread.

“Since I made it anyway, please enjoy.”

Ingredients Ramona had mentioned were instantly placed before them. ‘This is why being rich is so great,’ she thought, setting out a more extravagant meal than usual.

All for Raon.

Beef bulgogi, steamed eggs, and more…

The table was balanced with meat and vegetables. As the three generations sat down to eat, their conversation gradually dwindled until they simply ate in silence.

Only after the simple, unadorned meal was finished did he let out a sigh of satisfaction.

“This is truly delicious. Heh heh heh, I’m relieved that our Raon got to eat such a meal, but I’m also a little envious.”

‘I wonder if Adrian didn’t come home easily because Ramona cooked so well.’

“As I ate, I realized that making such a diverse range of dishes must be quite exhausting. So, I don’t think we should ask her to do it anymore. It would be too much for Ramona.”

It was delicious, but it wouldn’t be right for Ramona, who was our guest, to be even slightly inconvenienced by it. Even if she weren’t a guest, it would be shameless to keep accepting such elaborate meals. Adolf licked his lips inwardly but shook his head with a sigh of regret.

“But Raon is eating so well.”

“Still, now we should let her rest…”

“Even just once a week?”

“Yes, let’s settle on once a week. That should be comfortable enough.”

Adrian chuckled inwardly at Adolf’s wavering, but he didn’t add his own opinion. He’d eat whatever Ramona made and be content with it. After all, this household had a skilled chef.

“Speaking of which, how about we set a specific day? Since today is Monday, how about Monday evenings from now on?”

Adolf had duties at the Imperial Palace in the capital every Monday. He’d leave early in the morning and arrive home late in the evening, utterly exhausted. To combat Monday blues, he hinted that he’d like to eat Ramona’s cooking on Monday evenings.

“I’m always free, but if the Duke prefers Monday evening, we can do it then.”

“G-good. Ahem, I have urgent business, so I won’t be able to join you for tea. You two enjoy yourselves.”

Adolf left immediately, as if his business was truly pressing, and hurried away. Seeing this, Adrian offered Ramona a cup of tea as it arrived.

“Does the Duke visit Eclipse often?”

“Yes, he holds administrative meetings there once a week. Sometimes twice if things are particularly busy.”

As they relaxed with tea in Adolf’s absence, enjoying a moment of leisure, they received word that Raon’s tutor had arrived.

“Mom, I’ll study hard and come back. Toto, wait for me.”

Toto, who had been comfortably chewing on hay at the table, patting his full belly and lounging at ease, perked up at Raon’s words.

“Toto, if you’re done eating, you should move. You’ll turn into a honey pig if you keep lounging around like that.”

At Ramona’s words, Toto finally stood up and hopped into her arms. He nudged her with his head, asking to play. She stroked his fur.

“Toto seems a bit bored without anyone to play with. How about we take him for a walk?”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

Adrian offered his hand, and she took it to stand up. They had never walked alone together before, so she felt a little awkward at first, but Adrian led her gently.

“So this is the garden. It must take a lot of work to maintain.”

The garden, filled with blooming, nameless flowers, was immaculate. It seemed like the perfect place to relax and enjoy a cup of tea.

“The gardeners work quite hard, you know.”

Ramona paused briefly as she admired the ornamental garden, then glanced over her shoulder. Spotting Toto hopping toward her, she resumed walking.

“Um, you said to ask if I wanted anything…”

“Yes, anything at all. If there’s something you’d like to learn or have, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Hmm… Since I can’t commute here from home every day right now… I’d like to try farming here.”

It felt like a waste to have so much land lying idle, covered only in lush green grass. That’s why Ramona wanted to cultivate crops she wanted to grow here.

“Hmm, I see. Farming, you say… Alright. Tell me what crops you’d like to plant.”

Adrian, who had granted permission so casually, looked down at his calloused hands. He gently pressed his lips to the back of Ramona’s hands, which were covered in scars from raising Raon. Suddenly, he felt a hostile aura from behind and took a step back.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

A pink object whizzed past his face with an unusual sound. It was Toto. Adrian barely dodged Toto’s flying kick and chuckled as he watched the creature land and shake its fur with a wobble-wobble.

Adrian, who had been tricked once but wouldn’t be fooled twice, smiled triumphantly as he watched Toto seethe with rage.

“I’m sorry. Toto seems to be particularly sensitive about these kinds of issues.”

There was a man who had once grabbed Ramona’s hand without her permission. At the time, Toto had delivered a flying kick that shattered the man’s skull—or rather, his head. The pink rabbit snorted furiously through his nose, his fur bristling with indignation.

Despite his appearance, Toto possessed exceptional fighting skills. He glared at Adrian, his eyes narrowed.

“Still, I’m glad. It seems Toto is properly protecting his owner. I’d even believe he’s a hopeless beastman who was abandoned for failing to transform into a human.”

At that moment, Toto flinched and perked up his ears.

“Raon’s father must read a lot of novels. Or perhaps he has a very vivid imagination.”

No matter how you looked at it, Toto didn’t seem like an ordinary rabbit, but Ramona didn’t seem to dwell on the matter.

“There’s a library here, isn’t there? May I read there?”

“Of course. As I mentioned before, you’re free to enter any room except my father’s and the storage room. My room is always open to you, so you don’t need to contact me separately.”

Ramona chuckled and nodded at Adrian’s words, unsure if he was flirting or trying to seduce her.

Having been too busy with other tasks to do anything she truly wanted, Ramona longed for nothing more than to sip a cool drink and leisurely turn the pages of a book. With the help of others, she happily headed to the library.

Seeing this, Adrian scratched his head. She was on a completely different level from the women who had been scheming to trip him up all this time. Even when he gave her a free pass to his room, Ramona remained unmoved.

It was as if she dismissed his words as mere jokes.

“Am I really that unattractive?”

Adrian, who had always prided himself on being popular with women, decided to put out the immediate fire.

“I’d like you to look into this person for me.”

He handed a piece of paper to his aide, Asiel. In less than a day, Asiel presented Adrian with a brief report.

After reviewing the report, Adrian immediately instructed Asiel and began preparing to go out.

“Where are you headed, sir?” the coachman waiting outside the building asked, bowing his head as he saw Adrian.

“Take me here.”

The coachman glanced at the address on the paper Adrian showed him, nodded as if he knew the place, and immediately climbed onto the coachman’s seat.

“We’ll escort you,” Lord Onyx said, leading his horse forward. A few knights followed, their horses snorting in the cold. Even with Raon present, they wouldn’t be so reckless as to send the direct heir alone.

With the knights surrounding the carriage, it moved smoothly. As soon as they arrived at the address on the paper, Adrian stepped out. From within the dilapidated house, which looked as if it might collapse at any moment, came the sound of bickering.

“You should eat this, dear. You have to go out and work.”

“No, you should eat. I want to look at you a little longer. You won’t collapse from working if you skip one meal, right? Just eat a little. Or… how about we share it?”

Adrian peeked through the loosely woven window and let out a soft sigh. Though he had lived in Ramona’s house for several months, this was the first time he had seen inside anyone else’s home besides Anna and Brown’s, and the sight struck him.

Unlike Ramona, who, despite being a commoner, seemed to live comfortably without going hungry, the situation inside didn’t look good. Seeing them share a single bowl of pale flour soup made something well up in his chest.

After taking several deep breaths outside, Adrian gently knocked on the door, which looked like it would crumble with the slightest touch.

“Excuse me. Is anyone home?”

“Who is it? There’s no one expected.”

Adrian’s knock halted a small argument inside. Then the shabby door creaked open, revealing a familiar face.

“Hello, Mr. Cain.”

“Huh? Who are you…?”

Cain’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the man in the flamboyant clothes. Adrian shrugged, seeing Cain’s reaction.

“You don’t recognize me? We worked together on the city walls and built some rapport. I’m Raon’s dad. We even shared the lunch Ramona made for us. Have you already forgotten?”

Cain blinked, staring at Adrian’s completely transformed appearance. Seeing this, Adrian presented an employment contract bearing the crest of the Duke Cassius’s Household and said,

“Would you like to try farming on someone else’s land? You’ll have to deal with a troublesome rabbit, though. The pay will be generous.”