“When can we get the prototypes?”
“It’s possible within 5 days.”
“Proceed.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Shaun left the tent to immediately carry out Schuden’s orders. Robin, of course, was next to him. The young knight, who had been working hand in glove with Shaun for a few days, asked the leader whom he looked up to. He had been curious since earlier.
“Commander, the cloak that His Gracementioned, is he talking about the blue cloak that milady… I mean, Madam wore before?”
Robin’s eyes twinkled.
“Because he’s thinking about Madam.”
When Valia wore a blue cloak of the Kingdom’s knight, she gave out a strong impression and had even impressed Robin. As soon as Schuden mentioned a ‘blue cloak’, it was only natural for him to recall Valia at that time. Shaun replied bluntly.
“Don’t make assumptions about His Grace’s intentions, Robin.”
“I will correct myself right away!”
Answered Robin while standing at attention. After packing up some documents, taking notes, and signing, Shaun handed Robin a bundle of documents.
“Bring this to the administrator.”
“Yes, sir!”
After saluting, Robin quickly turned and walked away. Shaun frowned slightly as he watched Robin’s back disappearing as if he was flying away.
[Is he talking about the blue cloak that milady… I mean, madam wore before?]
In fact, Shaun had also briefly thought of that the moment he heard Schuden’s orders. It was probably because blue cloaks were seldom worn in the Gel Empire and had left a deep impression on him. But that was it. The subject in question was Schuden Garth and his liege whom he respected, it was only natural that any romantic sensibility would be removed.
‘He only took out any impractical aspects of the cloak.’
This thought was far more convincing. Shaun let out a small sigh and moved his feet back to the tent.
“Aren’t you Sir Shaun?”
Shaun turned his head at the source of the voice. A familiar man approached him with a glad expression.
“Oh my, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m working at Garth’s manor. General Butler Paul sent me here.”
“Oh, I remember you. What’s your business here?”
“I’m here to give something to His Grace.”
The servant smiled and lifted a small paper box he was holding dearly in his hand. It was a modest size and did not go well with the rough training ground. For a moment, Shaun wondered what it was. He answered without expression.
“That’s great. I’m on my way to His Grace too, let’s go together.”
“Yes, it was my first time coming here so I’m quite worried. I’m glad I met you, Sir Shaun.”
Shaun and the servant crossed the long training ground and arrived at the tent. Schuden personally went out at the training ground and observed the knights’ sparring with sharp eyes and pointed out anything wrong. Shaun sent the servant, who was terrified by the sound of sharp metal clashing, to the tent. Then, he approached Schuden.
“Your Grace, someone has come from the manor.”
“From the manor?”
Schuden slightly frowned at Shaun’s words. This was because the manor had never sent anyone to the training ground.
“Where is he now?”
“He’s waiting in the tent.”
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Schuden and Shaun strode to the tent. The familiar servant recognized him and bowed politely. Schuden moved his gaze back to the training ground without any change in his expression.
“What’s going on?”
“Madam sent me here.”
His red eyes stopped. He turned to the servant. A slightly ferocious voice came out.
“Did something happen to her?”
“Oh my, no, Your Grace.”
Employers were very sensitive to changes in their owners’ moods. Sensing that Schuden’s mood had changed slightly, the servant hurriedly raised the box he was holding in his hand. It was taken out of the paper box he was holding earlier.
“Madam has sent you some snacks.”
“…Snacks?”
“Yes, sir.”
Schuden’s energy calmed down. A nicely folded light brown box caught his eyes. It was a small and cute box that was neatly tied with a blue ribbon, it did not match the training ground where various weapons made noise. Anyone could tell it was a gift for a lover.
“She said you must be tired from training so eating sweets would be good for replenishing your energy.”
Shaun had an oops moment. Due to Schuden’s method of not allowing entry to the training ground unless otherwise specified, most of the insiders of Garth’s manor were unaware of what Schuden was like in the training ground.
First of all, while Schuden did observe in the training ground, he rarely wielded the sword directly. The reason was that there was no knight who could take on his sword. Naturally, he hardly ever broke a sweat. Moreover, Schuden was a man of great physical strength. Schuden Garth was the ‘devilish murderer’ who sentences death with his cold eyes and expression.
“Tell directly to the lady. I will enjoy the snacks.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I will do that.”
Knowing Shaun’s anxious heart, perhaps the Heavens descended to help. Schuden did not return the snacks. In addition, he unexpectedly sent back the servant, saying he would enjoy the snacks.
But that was it.
The small box that Schuden’s aide had received and opened contained fruit tarts that seemed to have been made to perfection by the chef. Schuden looked down at the fruit tarts with a blank face. He did not even reach out his hand.
‘I should tip off Madam earlier.’
Shaun blamed himself for no reason. After escorting Valia for a few days, Shaun found out that she was exceptionally resolute. But still, she must be upset to see the snacks that she sent were returned back. That was only natural. But…
‘The Marquess does not like sweets.’
It was a fact that only Shaun, who had participated in numerous battlefields together, knew. Schuden preferred simple food and disliked sweets. After killing countless people and constantly advancing, he makes up for the lack of sugar by only chewing sugar cane stems.
But, sadly, the tarts that were sent by the Marchioness looked very sweet. White sugar powder was even sprinkled on top. It would be perfect to eat it after circling the training ground for 50 rounds. Shaun looked at Schuden’s expression without realizing it.
‘But he will still eat a piece of it, considering the sincerity of the Marchioness who sent it.’
Shaun thought that even if Schuden did not touch it, he would for sure say he had eaten them all if Valia asked later.
“…”
Schuden slightly frowned but that was all. The bite-sized fruit tarts suddenly went into his mouth. He did not even leave any. A strange silence flowed in the tent.
[He’s thinking about Madam.]
Robin’s hypothesis somehow seemed close to the truth. Shaun thought so to himself.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Valia went through a very burdensome experience while Schuden was away.
“I extend my formal greetings to you, madam. I am the general butler, Paul.”
The general butler, Paul, was old and had grayish-white hair, he bowed his back deeply. As he greeted her, dozens of employees stood in a line and bowed together.
“Greetings, Madam.”
It was at the hall on the first floor of the manor. As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the voices of dozens of employees were perfectly on beat. Valia sat down on the soft leather-lined sofa and greeted them. There were too many people for them to come one by one and tell her their names and tasks, so only the people in charge came out as representatives to their respective divisions and greeted Valia.
Valia was always one of those people who gave out her greetings like that. But now, her position has changed. Valia felt awkward, but as she was a master at hiding her feelings, she merely nodded her head lightly with her seemingly peaceful face, concealing the burdens she was not accustomed to.
‘There certainly are a lot of people…’
It was not as much as the Imperial Palace, but with this number of people, Valia could vaguely guess that it was a fairly large number among noble families. When she listened to their task’s introduction, there was no place where it was wasted. But she felt that the number of people was a bit excessive.
‘Is it because Garth’s manor is so big?’
Back on her wedding day, Valia was too nervous to see the manor properly. But at first glance, it was not just an ordinary large manor. It was an understandable scale as it was a family that had a great reputation as a wealthy family in the past. The bigger the house, the more difficult it was to manage.
And Valia became the lady of that manor. She still felt awkward and burdensome, but since she had already taken the place, she could not just do it haphazardly. She did not mean to step up and try to do something but she wanted to at least finish what she was responsible for. Valia has lived such a life all her life. If experience persisted, then it would become a habit.
“General Butler, can I call you Paul?”
After the greetings from the employees, Valias asked so, where only the main figures remained. It did not matter if she called his name as it was but she did not want to treat her subordinates carelessly due to her experience as an escort lady-in-waiting in the past.
“It would be an honor, Madam.”
Paul replied politely. Valia smiled brightly.
“Thank you for the wedding procedure explanations you sent me last time. It helped me a lot.”
“No, Madam. It’s an honor for me to know that it helped you.”
The delicate consideration of the employees was often taken for granted by the owners. It was very rare for the owners to remember the consideration and express gratitude like this. The positive emotions shown by the superiors were a great source of energy for the employees. Paul was an experienced and old butler and had little emotional expression. But Sarah knew. He was definitely touched just now.
Paul gave Valia a brief explanation of the manor. Not realizing her one sentence had made the general butler take a liking to her, Valia blinked her silvery-gray eyes and listened to Paul’s explanation.
To be honest, she was very surprised to hear that the combined number of rooms in the C-shaped main building and several annexes were close to 100. Valia had yet to see any of them and had only seen the couple’s bedroom, the Marchioness’ bathroom, and the dining room. She only remembered the backyard she stepped on at the wedding was wide.
‘It’s a very rich family.’
Most nobles built castles on their territories and set up a manor in the capital. The high-quality residential area where nobles clustered together was at a level where the land value was breathtaking. For this reason, among emerging nobles, there were often cases where they could not buy homes in traditional residences. The only family that built a manor like an old castle in the capital were several families who made contributions to the country.
Contrary to its reputation, the House of Garth was not one of the founding contributors. Nevertheless, since a huge manor was built in such a place, she was still able to guess the power of the family.
As she listened to the stories about the manor, she had a question that gradually rose. It was actually something she had been wondering about ever since Sarah first introduced herself as the housekeeper.
“When can we get the prototypes?”
“It’s possible within 5 days.”
“Proceed.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Shaun left the tent to immediately carry out Schuden’s orders. Robin, of course, was next to him. The young knight, who had been working hand in glove with Shaun for a few days, asked the leader whom he looked up to. He had been curious since earlier.
“Commander, the cloak that His Gracementioned, is he talking about the blue cloak that milady… I mean, Madam wore before?”
Robin’s eyes twinkled.
“Because he’s thinking about Madam.”
When Valia wore a blue cloak of the Kingdom’s knight, she gave out a strong impression and had even impressed Robin. As soon as Schuden mentioned a ‘blue cloak’, it was only natural for him to recall Valia at that time. Shaun replied bluntly.
“Don’t make assumptions about His Grace’s intentions, Robin.”
“I will correct myself right away!”
Answered Robin while standing at attention. After packing up some documents, taking notes, and signing, Shaun handed Robin a bundle of documents.
“Bring this to the administrator.”
“Yes, sir!”
After saluting, Robin quickly turned and walked away. Shaun frowned slightly as he watched Robin’s back disappearing as if he was flying away.
[Is he talking about the blue cloak that milady… I mean, madam wore before?]
In fact, Shaun had also briefly thought of that the moment he heard Schuden’s orders. It was probably because blue cloaks were seldom worn in the Gel Empire and had left a deep impression on him. But that was it. The subject in question was Schuden Garth and his liege whom he respected, it was only natural that any romantic sensibility would be removed.
‘He only took out any impractical aspects of the cloak.’
This thought was far more convincing. Shaun let out a small sigh and moved his feet back to the tent.
“Aren’t you Sir Shaun?”
Shaun turned his head at the source of the voice. A familiar man approached him with a glad expression.
“Oh my, I don’t know if you remember me. I’m working at Garth’s manor. General Butler Paul sent me here.”
“Oh, I remember you. What’s your business here?”
“I’m here to give something to His Grace.”
The servant smiled and lifted a small paper box he was holding dearly in his hand. It was a modest size and did not go well with the rough training ground. For a moment, Shaun wondered what it was. He answered without expression.
“That’s great. I’m on my way to His Grace too, let’s go together.”
“Yes, it was my first time coming here so I’m quite worried. I’m glad I met you, Sir Shaun.”
Shaun and the servant crossed the long training ground and arrived at the tent. Schuden personally went out at the training ground and observed the knights’ sparring with sharp eyes and pointed out anything wrong. Shaun sent the servant, who was terrified by the sound of sharp metal clashing, to the tent. Then, he approached Schuden.
“Your Grace, someone has come from the manor.”
“From the manor?”
Schuden slightly frowned at Shaun’s words. This was because the manor had never sent anyone to the training ground.
“Where is he now?”
“He’s waiting in the tent.”
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Schuden and Shaun strode to the tent. The familiar servant recognized him and bowed politely. Schuden moved his gaze back to the training ground without any change in his expression.
“What’s going on?”
“Madam sent me here.”
His red eyes stopped. He turned to the servant. A slightly ferocious voice came out.
“Did something happen to her?”
“Oh my, no, Your Grace.”
Employers were very sensitive to changes in their owners’ moods. Sensing that Schuden’s mood had changed slightly, the servant hurriedly raised the box he was holding in his hand. It was taken out of the paper box he was holding earlier.
“Madam has sent you some snacks.”
“…Snacks?”
“Yes, sir.”
Schuden’s energy calmed down. A nicely folded light brown box caught his eyes. It was a small and cute box that was neatly tied with a blue ribbon, it did not match the training ground where various weapons made noise. Anyone could tell it was a gift for a lover.
“She said you must be tired from training so eating sweets would be good for replenishing your energy.”
Shaun had an oops moment. Due to Schuden’s method of not allowing entry to the training ground unless otherwise specified, most of the insiders of Garth’s manor were unaware of what Schuden was like in the training ground.
First of all, while Schuden did observe in the training ground, he rarely wielded the sword directly. The reason was that there was no knight who could take on his sword. Naturally, he hardly ever broke a sweat. Moreover, Schuden was a man of great physical strength. Schuden Garth was the ‘devilish murderer’ who sentences death with his cold eyes and expression.
“Tell directly to the lady. I will enjoy the snacks.”
“Yes, Your Grace. I will do that.”
Knowing Shaun’s anxious heart, perhaps the Heavens descended to help. Schuden did not return the snacks. In addition, he unexpectedly sent back the servant, saying he would enjoy the snacks.
But that was it.
The small box that Schuden’s aide had received and opened contained fruit tarts that seemed to have been made to perfection by the chef. Schuden looked down at the fruit tarts with a blank face. He did not even reach out his hand.
‘I should tip off Madam earlier.’
Shaun blamed himself for no reason. After escorting Valia for a few days, Shaun found out that she was exceptionally resolute. But still, she must be upset to see the snacks that she sent were returned back. That was only natural. But…
‘The Marquess does not like sweets.’
It was a fact that only Shaun, who had participated in numerous battlefields together, knew. Schuden preferred simple food and disliked sweets. After killing countless people and constantly advancing, he makes up for the lack of sugar by only chewing sugar cane stems.
But, sadly, the tarts that were sent by the Marchioness looked very sweet. White sugar powder was even sprinkled on top. It would be perfect to eat it after circling the training ground for 50 rounds. Shaun looked at Schuden’s expression without realizing it.
‘But he will still eat a piece of it, considering the sincerity of the Marchioness who sent it.’
Shaun thought that even if Schuden did not touch it, he would for sure say he had eaten them all if Valia asked later.
“…”
Schuden slightly frowned but that was all. The bite-sized fruit tarts suddenly went into his mouth. He did not even leave any. A strange silence flowed in the tent.
[He’s thinking about Madam.]
Robin’s hypothesis somehow seemed close to the truth. Shaun thought so to himself.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
Valia went through a very burdensome experience while Schuden was away.
“I extend my formal greetings to you, madam. I am the general butler, Paul.”
The general butler, Paul, was old and had grayish-white hair, he bowed his back deeply. As he greeted her, dozens of employees stood in a line and bowed together.
“Greetings, Madam.”
It was at the hall on the first floor of the manor. As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the voices of dozens of employees were perfectly on beat. Valia sat down on the soft leather-lined sofa and greeted them. There were too many people for them to come one by one and tell her their names and tasks, so only the people in charge came out as representatives to their respective divisions and greeted Valia.
Valia was always one of those people who gave out her greetings like that. But now, her position has changed. Valia felt awkward, but as she was a master at hiding her feelings, she merely nodded her head lightly with her seemingly peaceful face, concealing the burdens she was not accustomed to.
‘There certainly are a lot of people…’
It was not as much as the Imperial Palace, but with this number of people, Valia could vaguely guess that it was a fairly large number among noble families. When she listened to their task’s introduction, there was no place where it was wasted. But she felt that the number of people was a bit excessive.
‘Is it because Garth’s manor is so big?’
Back on her wedding day, Valia was too nervous to see the manor properly. But at first glance, it was not just an ordinary large manor. It was an understandable scale as it was a family that had a great reputation as a wealthy family in the past. The bigger the house, the more difficult it was to manage.
And Valia became the lady of that manor. She still felt awkward and burdensome, but since she had already taken the place, she could not just do it haphazardly. She did not mean to step up and try to do something but she wanted to at least finish what she was responsible for. Valia has lived such a life all her life. If experience persisted, then it would become a habit.
“General Butler, can I call you Paul?”
After the greetings from the employees, Valias asked so, where only the main figures remained. It did not matter if she called his name as it was but she did not want to treat her subordinates carelessly due to her experience as an escort lady-in-waiting in the past.
“It would be an honor, Madam.”
Paul replied politely. Valia smiled brightly.
“Thank you for the wedding procedure explanations you sent me last time. It helped me a lot.”
“No, Madam. It’s an honor for me to know that it helped you.”
The delicate consideration of the employees was often taken for granted by the owners. It was very rare for the owners to remember the consideration and express gratitude like this. The positive emotions shown by the superiors were a great source of energy for the employees. Paul was an experienced and old butler and had little emotional expression. But Sarah knew. He was definitely touched just now.
Paul gave Valia a brief explanation of the manor. Not realizing her one sentence had made the general butler take a liking to her, Valia blinked her silvery-gray eyes and listened to Paul’s explanation.
To be honest, she was very surprised to hear that the combined number of rooms in the C-shaped main building and several annexes were close to 100. Valia had yet to see any of them and had only seen the couple’s bedroom, the Marchioness’ bathroom, and the dining room. She only remembered the backyard she stepped on at the wedding was wide.
‘It’s a very rich family.’
Most nobles built castles on their territories and set up a manor in the capital. The high-quality residential area where nobles clustered together was at a level where the land value was breathtaking. For this reason, among emerging nobles, there were often cases where they could not buy homes in traditional residences. The only family that built a manor like an old castle in the capital were several families who made contributions to the country.
Contrary to its reputation, the House of Garth was not one of the founding contributors. Nevertheless, since a huge manor was built in such a place, she was still able to guess the power of the family.
As she listened to the stories about the manor, she had a question that gradually rose. It was actually something she had been wondering about ever since Sarah first introduced herself as the housekeeper.
