Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Since that day, Hizen had deliberately avoided Leasis. Because he kept feeling weird.

Hizen was always a calm man. Despite the death of his subordinates and colleagues, he did not lose his cool. But he kept becoming a different person because of one maid.

It was an uncontrollable feeling. His face kept getting hot, and he was covering his eyes. The feeling did not go away even after reading books.

In the end, he visited the imperial doctor, frustrated. Hearing his symptoms, the doctor burst out laughing.

“Don’t mess with me.”

“Do you think I’m capable of making jokes now?”

He was too desperate and serious to make a joke. The doctor looked at Hizen. The strongest knight on the continent looked like a sick man wherever he went. The sharp lines of his cheeks had become sharper.

Recently, Leasis had made him rather sensitive. He kept looking to see if she was around. It looked like he had an accident or something and got neurosis.

It was not just that. He was worried that she would not be able to work properly if she ate less, that she would look weak, that he had become an evil Commander, and he was worried that his swords skills would decline.

It did not get better even after eating macarons. He would not have come all the way here if he was not afraid. Sitting in the white clinic, Hizen revealed all of his symptoms.

The biggest problem was that she had a kind of halo. Every time she smiled, he seemed to be blinded by a light brighter than an intangible sword. His eyesight seemed to be in trouble.

“Well… I mean. The lady is… a servant?”

“No. She’s a maid now. She’s my only direct maid.”

The word ‘only’ was stressed. He also felt a subtle sense of pride. He explained the process of how she became his maid. His cheeks were colored with a faint rose. The doctor cut off his words because he did not need to hear more.

“You don’t need medicine. I’ll give you the quickest solution.”

Hizen’s eyes were relieved. In a moment, the doctor brutally broke his expectations.

“Give her a hundred roses with a confession.”

“…What?”

“That’s it for you.”

As expected, he was a quack. Hizen sprang up from his seat as he glanced at him with pathetic eyes. The doctor told him something from behind, but he could not hear it properly. Hizen was really dull in this respect.

While walking in the hallway, his mind got more complicated. He had come all the way here. He felt like he had had a temporary shock from feeling hateful and affectionate at the same time. He had no choice but to conclude that way.

* * *

“Phew.”

“What’s the matter?”

Owen, who was wiping the floor next to her, raised her head when she heard a long sigh. Leasis smiled bitterly as she wiped the shelves of the cafeteria.

“I… I don’t know when I’ll be able to learn swordsmanship. He didn’t even look at my skills properly…”

“Huh? Swordmanship?”

“Actually… I came to the Imperial Palace to become a knight.”

Owen doubted her ears at the unexpected words. For the first time, Leasis informed her personally of what had happened.

She even summarized the situation in which she fately met Neren at the Duke’s mansion, she was kicked out by Hizen, entered Liduré, and became a direct maid. Of course, Hizen’s tastes and the sight of his body were kept secret.

“That’s ridiculous…”

Shocked, Owen opened her mouth wide. Leasis had been so enthusiastic that she had thought she had a crush on Hizen. Owen came to her senses and told her to stop messing with her.

Leasis smiled embarrassingly at her reaction that was stronger than expected.

“Really.”

“And you didn’t give up?”

“Yes. But these days, the Count-nim is being good to me. We played a game, I won, and he taught me a little bit of swordmanship…”

Leasis whispered as if defending Hizen. But Owen was a little frustrated.

It was easier to just give up. In fact, Owen had been envious of Leasis. She did everything well, and people trusted her. Furthermore, being Count Dratius’s direct maid was the best place that everyone dreamed of.

She could not believe such a person wanted to become a knight. Concerns arose in Owen’s head, who had never seen Leasis’ sword skills. She felt that she could not start to realize Leasis’ troubles.

No matter how good labor could be for physical strength, she remembered hearing that exercising was different. She thought it was too much to try to become a knight only by trusting physical strength. Furthermore, there was no guarantee that learning swordsmanship from the first-class knight Hizen would make her as strong as him.

She could not put her words out of her mouth. She was grateful to Leasis who always helped her. She was helping her even now. Owen got up after robbing her apron, and took her mop from her.

“Then you don’t have time for this. You have to look good to the Count-nim.”

“But it’s…”

“The Count-nim must have finished his bath. Stop now.”

Owen pushed Leasis’ hesitating back against her will.

“Thanks for your help. I’m going then.”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

Looking at Leasis’ back, Owen exclaimed ‘Ah!’ Come to think of it, there was a rumor in the Imperial Palace. It was a rumor that could be helpful for Leasis, who dreamed of becoming an knight.

She had to tell her Unnie tomorrow. Owen made up her mind.

*

After a brief greeting, Leasis walked resolutely to the hallway of the Imperial Palace. She crossed the hallway with antique patterns, and a few more steps later, she could see a familiar antique door.

Swoosh.

The sound of a stream of water rang when she opened the solid door. Turning her head, she could see the tightly closed shower door.

It was time for him to come out. Leasis closed perfectly even the slightly open windows. She stood by in an immovable position at the door.

Hizen’s suspicious whereabouts were drawn in her mind these days. He could not make eye contact with her, like a liar. And he was busy. He had become especially busy. He was away alone every night, and returned with blood on his body. Surprised by the sight, Leasis had made a fuss, but he had said calmly that it was not his blood.

She was sure he was doing a special mission that could only be solved by someone at the Commander level. Leasis’ expression became gloomy. She wished she could see even a little bit, but there was no opportunity. She had no chance to see his special training, which she had seen luckily, and Hizen was colder than before.

He had watched her cleaning with disapproval. Then, when she had suddenly met his eyes, he had turned his head away.

Also, he seemed to want to bully her. He fed her a mountain of food, saying she had to work more. Thanks to that, she almost had an upset stomach several times, and it was hard to chat with Jason.

‘Did I do something wrong again?’

Leasis, with her arms folded, pondered deeply. If he ever found out that she was aware of his tastes but pretending not to…

Thud.

“Ouch.”

Opening the door, Hizen stared at Leasis with pathetic eyes. The door did not open properly because she was stuck in front of it.

“I’m sorry.”

She took a few steps back, scratching her sore back. Wearing a white gown, Hizen roughly wiped his head with a towel.

The rip-off hair that caused laughter became long enough to touch his eyes. She was looking closely, so he said bluntly.

“If you have something to say, say it.”

“Hey… Count Dratius-nim.”

Leasis wriggled and smiled awkwardly. Then he said lowly.

“There is no special training for the time being. And going out at night is for a mission as you think. You’re not saying you want to hear about the top secret mission, are you?”

“Ah, no. That’s not it.”

He had a talent for making things impossible to say. But how did he answer that? Did he just say what she was thinking? Leasis, who was stabbed to the point, thought about it with her mouth firmly closed.

Hizen sighed. He was able to read her thoughts just by looking at her eyes recently. He did not know if it was good or bad.

After drying his hair, he tried to head to the hanger. However, Leasis took out first a uniform and hold it in front of him.

“Did I pick right?”

Her red eyes were finely curved. If she was a puppy, she would have wagged her tail like crazy.

It seemed crazy. How lovely she could look. Hizen turned his head.

“Are you hoping for a compliment?”

It was his hard voice with fierce blue eyes that he tried to make. But Leasis was firm.

“You’re going to the library. Am I right? I’ll help you.”

“Give me my clothes.”

Hizen snatched up the black uniform. She smiled brightly while waiting beside his clothes.

There was no one in the Imperial Library as always. Standing between the maze of bookshelves, Hizen folded his arms. After a while of consideration, he picked up two thick books.

He looked like an ancient scholar, reading a book. When she saw him, she remembered what Neren had told her.

Neren had said Hizen and he looked a lot alike. Just as Neren was the eldest son of a scholars’ family but wanted to hold a sword, Hizen was from a family of knights but wanted to read books.

Young, Hizen developed his dream of becoming a scholar by secretly reading books without Count Dratius knowing. But his father Count Dratius was not easily fooled. The Count burned all the books in the mansion and forced his son to hold a sword.

[Fathers are the problem.]

[Fathers?]

[Actually, I almost died when I entered the knights training center without my father knowing. Hizen was the only one who supported me back then. Whoo. It’s amazing, by the way. I didn’t think he was going to be a knight, and even less that he would become the Commander.]

A small question came up. Why did someone who liked books so much choose the sword?

Leasis stood next to him with a small lamp in her hand. She looked at the sculptural sidelines illuminated by the soft light.

At that time, Hizen frowned slightly. It was a habit that came out when he concentrated. At first, she had thought he was angry, but as time went by, she found out that it was not it.

He was someone really easy to misunderstand. Leasis smiled faintly. She liked this hidden side of the perfect hero. Only those who shared precious time with him could know it.

Tack.

Hizen, who closed the book loudly, approached the bookshelf. The action of placing it on the bookshelf was unusually careful. It was a very delicate touch, like handling flowers.

Leasis looked carefully at the two books on the bookshelf. Their titles were ‘Hostena Law and Judgment’ and ‘The Court Hours of the Imperial Palace’. Like a legitimate man, his tastes were mostly law-related books.

Should she recommend him an interesting book instead of something boring like that? Leasis was struggling, but he turned around.

It was towards the exit. Hizen opened the Imperial Library. The cold wind from the outside caused her to tremble slightly and ask.

“Count-nim, are you leaving already?”

“You’re the only one going out.”

“What?”

“Get out. Your working hours have been over for a long time.”

Leasis’ eyes shook greatly. She always wanted to stick next to Hizen like a needle to its thread. As soon as she tried to refute that it was okay, he said coldly.

“Listen carefully. Under the Imperial Palace Act, the legal working time of a maid is a maximum of 12 hours.”

Thud.

Leasis, closed the door and looked up at him with a firm face. A sincere voice rang in the library.

“Count Dratius-nim, don’t worry. I don’t mind working more. It doesn’t matter if it’s 12 or 24 hours.”

“Ha. Is your job that good?”

“No. Count-nim is that good.”

Hizen’s eyes got a little bigger. He thought it was a joke, so he looked down at Leasis. However, there was no smile on her face unlike usual.

“It’s not the work that I like, but Count-nim.”

“…”

Hizen’s expression changed for a moment. He seemed embarrassed, pleased, and angry. He could not process it.

Leasis said, staring up at him.

“I want to be with you more. I want to stay with Count-nim and learn swordsmanship. I have to be with Count-nim to have that opportunity. So don’t kick me out.”

Only the sound of two people breathing echoed in the quiet library. However, the sound of one person’s breathing was getting especially rough.

“Count Dratius-nim, please. Look at my sword skills.”