“The Captain . . . is in a good mood?”

“That’s right.”

“What would make him happy when he just went around in that strange carriage?”

One of the knights shook his head.

Lately, Orion had gone on outings far more frequently.

A few days ago, had he not gone to the Imperial Palace to obtain well-bred horses to harness to the carriage?

And said carriage was not the official carriage used by Duke Miller, but a carriage used by the family members in their outing.

He had painted the exterior of the carriage black and even requested a magician from the magic tower to install a device that stabilized the ride for comfort.

Just as what had been said, it was a strange carriage dipped in money with an appearance that boasted none of what it had cost.

“Probably someone likes that carriage, or at least he believes so.”

“What kind of crazy person . . .”

The knight acted wisely. Before he finished his sentence, he gulped back the offended words.

Bayhan tapped that knight shoulder a few times before cutting across the training ground and heading to his friend’s office.

He knocked, then entered the office. And, as he had expected, he found Orion Miller was half stretched in the chair while chuckling to himself.

Bayhan stood—leaned his body in the door and smiled.

“Did she like it?”

“Very much. She couldn’t take her gaze off the carriage until I went away. It looks like she was very touched.”

“Really?”

“While it was regrettable, buying the horses was worth it.”

Bayhan sat on the sofa in the office then examined his friend’s condition.

Orion Miller was smiling from ear to ear to the point of letting off exclamation marks. He was very beautiful.

If he made such a face at a ball, where the young ladies and his admirers would be present, all of them would have inevitably lost their ability to speak.

It was unbelievable that Orion Miller, who was well known for his lack of emotion, became this joyful with only exchanging a few words.

This was something that was enough to astonish all those who admired his usual self.

Orion said in triumph,

“We’re already close and we can speak more comfortably.”

“Ho~.”

Bayhan smiled at Orion’s words that were permeated with joy.

He didn’t know for sure about what was going on, but he was sure that it was not a bad thing for Orion to be happy.

It was just that he was questioning whether or not the rumored little sister really believed that they were as close as Orion had made it out to be.

‘After all, she was the girl who asked for such a carriage’

Orion broke Bayhan’s train of thought.

“If only you didn’t advise that I should give a good impression in the first meeting with things such as bringing flowers or giving her the best treatment, we would have become closer from the start.”

“But those are things normally liked by young ladies of her age.”

“My little sister is different.”

Bayhan narrowed his eyes at Orion, who was folding his arms.

So you already called her ‘my little sister’, huh?

Orion was already in love with his new family.

Well, it was to be expected.

The Duke of Hastings, who had been associated with the Imperial family for generations, is the head of the noble faction.

On the contrary, the Duke of Bolton is the head of the kingdom faction, the representative of those who had pledged allegiance with the kingdom.

And the last, the Duke of Miller had thoroughly stated his neutrality.

He had to keep a distance from both the noble faction and the kingdom faction.

Because of his family’s tendency to be distant from others, Orion Miller could not help but become rather isolated.

Moreover, the present Duke had lost his wife and had not brought in another wife for a long time. Orion, as an only child, would have no one to share his loneliness with.

‘Well, that’s why having a little sister was enough to excite him to this extent.’

Although Orion’s sense of wariness itself was not all that strong, because he had lived as the Duke’s successor, he was not someone who was easy to influence.

For making such a person to become this helpless, Bayhan became curious about the little sister in question.

“I can see her face at the wedding, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your little sister. I want to see her.”

“And why do you want to see my little sister?”

Orion’s face that was adorned with a smile became cold at once.

And not long after, Bayhan was kicked from the office.

The absurdity made him laugh as he walked through the corridor.

He had only spoken a few words.

‘That was because he is very serious about this.’

Bayhan became even more curious since Orion was already shielding her.

What kind of person was the daughter of Madam Tatiana that was hidden beyond the veil?

Even though it was rare for people to not know about Madam Titi, there was no one who knew very much about the only daughter of hers.

It was to the point that even the Madam’s long acquaintances tilted their heads about her daughter.

‘A child with no presence, who grew up under a woman who likes nothing more than to stand out.’

Bayhan rubbed his chin. The situation became more interesting.

He had a hunch that a storm would definitely befall the quiet Duchy.

* * *