CH 31

Benjamin made sure to lock the door. He just went and he may not be able to get in when she ran to Adler to get the key.

“Huh, huh. Mr Adler. Please give me the key. Huh, Eok. Master key.”

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“The workers saw it…”

“Yes.”

“They said they saw Mr. Benjamin tie Leone-sama up. I don’t think so, but I’ll have to check.”

Before she could finish her words, Adler jumped to his feet.

“Adler, the key-”

“No need.”

As the intimidating knight stepped forward, the floor seemed to vibrate.

“I believed it because you look desperate.”

A fire lit up in Adler’s eyes. He walked away and because he was still wearing his armor, his every step made a heavy sound. Seeing his anger, she was rather embarrassed, because she was not sure, she was just trying to confirm…

“I could be wrong, so calm down first.”

“Can you?”

“Take the key with you. Yes?”

“It’s in the first drawer.”

At that, she ran to the drawer, but Adler opened the door first and left. She was crazy. She grabbed the keychain from the drawer and ran out.

Adler was already at the far end of the corridor. Through that was a very long hallway, but he crossed it in an instant like that.

‘It’s like a knight full of mobility and confidence, really.’

He could check it politely! In the light episode about the jam lid that won’t open in the original story, it reminded her of Adler smashing the bottle while trying to open the jam lid. There, too, he had no wounds.

“Oh come on, wait for me. Please!”

She screamed and ran. 

Pom.

Adler did seem to be trying to open the door normally.

“Aww. Don’t break it!”

Then, the door suddenly opened.

“Did something happen?”

Benjamin stood facing Adler with a bewildered face. Adler went into the room, leaving Benjamin alone.

“Leone! are you okay-”

Adler’s voice stopped.

No way. Could it be that the hunt for people really happened? Was he really tied up? Arriving at the front of the room, she gasped and went inside.

“Leone, what… Ugh.”

Leone was sitting in a bright, warm room bathed in the afternoon sunlight. He was dressed in a white shirt and had a rather bad-tempered face.

“Si, sir Leone… !”

Adler slumps to the floor and falls to his knees. Leone, who closed his shirt all the way to his neck, really looked like a prince. Wouldn’t it be a foul to be overflowing with elegance even though it’s just a white shirt? The sunlight made his shirt shine brighter and even made his face look divine.

“Oh my gosh.”

‘Strange.’

It is said that clothes make a person, but does it give such a different feeling?

“What the hell is going on?”

Benjamin asked in an absurd voice.

“Oh, no.”

Adler was looking at Leone with moved eyes, as if he had no intention of coming to his senses. He was ready to put his hands together and pray. So she had to tell him properly.

“No, someone said that the teacher tied up Sir Leone…”

“Yes? Me?”

“I must have heard it wrong.”

“Never before- oh, I taught Leone how to put on a shirt by himself, but he was clumsy and almost got eaten by the shirt.”

Benjamin laughed. Even thinking about it again, it was a funny face.

“I prepared it with old clothes on purpose, but he tore several pieces and ate them. It could have looked like it was wrapped around a torn shirt and tied.”

“Ah…”

Tom, the witness, seemed to be a very sincere person. After understanding Benjamin’s explanation, she turned her head.

Leone was looking at her. It was a slightly surprised, stiff face. Why… was he like that?

“Teacher.”

It was a face that rarely showed emotion. Leone just got up and came towards them.

“Yes, Sir Leone.”

“Go.”

The words Leone uttered were words she hadn’t taught him. Without looking at her or Adler, he grabbed Benjamin’s arm and moved toward the window.

“Leone. We have to go out the door.”

“Promise.”

The pronunciation of the word ‘promise’, which was pronounced profusely the other day, has also become quite clear.

“Ah, yes. Yes.”

Benjamin let out a helpless sigh. Leone jumped over the window first, and Benjamin followed suit and climbed onto the window sill.

“Uh, where are you going?”

“Sir Leone is in his puberty, so he seems to get stressed out when he’s with a lot of people.”

Benjamin, who had left the answer behind and barely climbed over the window sill, groaned as if overpowered, and stood next to Leone. The backs of the two men moved away toward the forest.

‘What was that?’

Leone was weird.

“Heo-eok, hee-eok!”

As she stared at the direction where the two disappeared, she heard heavy breathing. It was an urgent breath, as if pulled out from under the water.

“Adler?”

“Did you see it, Trixie?”

“Ah. They just left. It’s weird-“

“That beautiful figure!”

“… Pardon?”

No, the man just got weird. Adler praised the look of Leone dressed in a shirt or not.

“He is my lord. Isn’t he truly divine? It’s also Leone. How impressive was his confident appearance. A shirt, a shirt!”

“Haha, right.”

She was surprised too, but seeing Adler like that made her shut up. And there were more important things than the shirt. Leone seemed to be avoiding them. No, Adler was originally hated.

Then… her? Did he avoid her? She was dazed for a moment. Not only they hadn’t seen each other for a week, he was trying to avoid her.

“I… Did he hate me?”

She muttered involuntarily.

After the wary Deoksoon grew up, she didn’t think she was this sad even when he ran to ask someone to pet him even though she was there.

It’s a good thing. His anxiety about separation has also gotten better. Because sociality has also been created. When she left this mansion, she would be able to relieve herself of guilt and worry.

Still, a part of her heart thumped.

Leone changed his guardian… did dogs do that too? Her brain got confused.

‘Promise.’

Leone’s low, determined voice flowed through her confused mind. A promise, what was it? 

A promise to go somewhere else without Trixie? He didn’t even want to face Trixie?

She thought Leone was well aware of how to display vigilance and dislike. Leone just didn’t ‘hate’ her. But she had her doubts. She really… Did she know him well? Not the puppy, but the ‘human Leone’. If he really was avoiding her…

* * *

Just thinking about it didn’t change anything. From a long time ago, she was confident in her ability to act.

That night.

She sneaked out of the annex and headed for the main building. During the day, they were barred from the door unconditionally, so night was the best time. She was thinking of sneaking into Leone’s room and having a proper talk.

Adler has been busy lately and even now has been confined to his study. She thought she should tell Adler that she would go and talk to him separately at night, but she was reluctant. She also wanted to be considerate of Adler’s mood, who had a dreamy expression on his face all day.

There was no need to increase his worries. Besides… If it’s true that Leone avoided her… 

Benjamin was enough as a guardian, if he had expressed his intention that she didn’t need her anymore. Putting aside the sad thing, she lost her job right away. So, in order to understand what was going on, she had to sneak around Adler secretly.

It’s a fact that she belatedly recalled like an idiot, but she received an extra set of keys from that place when Adler left the mansion for a while. Adler didn’t take it back, and neither did she return it. She needed it to clean anyway.

The last time she sneaked in, she didn’t have a key and she wasn’t prepared, so she was caught right away, but she was confident this time. The second invasion would succeed.

“Whoa, whoa.”

After taking a deep breath, she  held my breath tightly in case he could hear the sound of breathing. These days, since Leone has calmed down, they tends to lock only one lock. It’s fortunate.

The time to insert the key and turn it passed slowly.

Giing-.

There was a small sound, but it turned slowly and smoothly. She didn’t know if it’s a dolphin, no matter how much Adler, it seemed unreasonable to hear this.

“… huh.”

Then she managed to open the front door without making a sound. She was proud of herself for diligently oiling the hinges while cleaning. Covering up the scratches with a thick carpet over the broken floor also helped a lot. The cleaning was to gain momentum for the day…!

She walked slowly, stepping cautiously on the stairs. It seemed like there would be a small sound because it was made of wood. She wondered if he heard that creaking sound and jumped out of the study. She calmed down and put his feet up the stairs.

Beep-beep.

It made a much louder sound than when the key was turned. Still, it wasn’t as violent as the window sound the other day. It sounded like the slightest wind noise. So it must have been a noise that could be heard.

“Who are you!”

At the same time Adler opened the door to the study. She was astounded and froze. The study was at the bottom of the stairs, so she  had to hide until he went back, but she felt like she would be caught if she moved.

So crazy. How good were his ears?

“There are people.”

The heavy, metallic sound of the armor came towards her.

Thump, thump, thump.

Did the main characters in horror movies feel that way? Her heart was beating like crazy.

“Damn knight.”

Amid the heightened tension, an unfamiliar voice flowed in.