Seeing his employer’s flustered face, Bernard quickly added, whispering as quietly as possible.

“Of course, being handsome is important. I’m not saying this because I’m ugly. But what I mean is, it’s not the most important thing. Anyway, I was just carefully mentioning it in case you had momentarily forgotten.”

Jade, who had been briefly dumbfounded, clenched her teeth and barely suppressed her laughter that nearly burst out. Then, she lowered her voice and whispered.

“Don’t worry. Leon is not only good-looking but also very skilled. His heart is as gentle as satin. I fell for that gentle heart of his.”

No matter how much they whispered, they were in the same space. The knights, whose five senses were extremely sensitive, heard everything clearly.

Jenassen looked at Axel with a grinning face, and Axel let out a low sigh and said,

“They can hear everything.”

“Oh, really? Well, it’s not like what I said was wrong, so it’s okay if they hear it. Your heart is really as soft as satin…”

Axel immediately grabbed the back of Jade’s collar and pulled her close to his side.

“Stop teasing me already. Nice to meet you. I’m Leon Vintz.”

“Ah, yes. I apologize for having an inappropriate conversation in front of you. I’ve known Jade for a long time since her childhood, so I was just unnecessarily worried…”

Bernard apologized with an awkward expression, but Axel shook his head.

“It’s understandable. Since Jade revealed the truth to you first, it means she trusts you a lot. It’s only natural for you to be so worried.”

Then, he slightly smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.

“So I’ll have to make a good impression.”

The moment his chilly look softened and melted slightly, Bernard’s entire face turned bright red as if it would burst.

What the, why is he like that?

Jade looked at him suspiciously. But Marien couldn’t hold back and shouted,

“Bernard’s face turned red! And that was after seeing Jade’s fiancé smile!”

“No, that’s not it…!”

The sight of the middle-aged man flustered and covering his open mouth was not a pleasant one to see.

Jade quickly turned her head and said,

“Sir Jenassen, thank you for coming. As always, I’ve prepared a place for you to rest in the next room.”

“Hmm, I think it’ll be more fun here today. May I sit here and spectate?”

He seemed comfortable with his grinning face as if he had become used to this kind of thing.

“Yes, sure. Anyway, Bernard. You roughly know the situation I mentioned last time, right?”

Her assistant seemed to be struggling to choose his words. Axel shook his head.

“You can speak comfortably, it’s okay.”

“Ah, thank you. So, Lady Mabel doesn’t like any of the ‘knights with pure blood’ that she demands, and she wants to pair up with this knight who has a surname she’s never heard of before, right?”

“……”

At the blunt explanation, Axel made a displeased expression, but Bernard didn’t stop talking.

“But if we expose this knight right away, there’s a risk of danger, so you’re planning to surprise Lady Mabel on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony and engagement ceremony. Until then, you’ll be using Sir Jenassen Marlowe as a shield.”

“Exactly.”

When Jade and Marien applauded, Bernard smiled with satisfaction.

“Thank you.”

“For what.”

“Contrary to my first impression, I somehow want to distance myself from you a bit.”

Axel muttered as he leaned comfortably against the armchair. Jade sat on the edge of the table and grinned.

“You like that he’s honest?”

“Well, let’s say that’s the case.”

He naturally reached out and tucked a strand of curly hair that had stuck to her cheek behind her ear.

But even though that touch was clearly plain and simple, it somehow gave the onlookers an indescribable, subtle feeling. Perhaps it was because at that brief moment, Jade narrowed her eyes and slightly leaned her head as if it were natural.

They looked like old lovers who already knew everything about each other. The feeling of their flesh touching and the familiarity of that moment.

Bernard, who remembered when Jade was fifteen, felt a sense of great betrayal at that moment.

Of course, she was Bernard’s employer and the only heir to the Broen family, and he was someone of common birth who had to look up to her, but human emotions weren’t so clear-cut.

There were days when he danced a ridiculous dance with Mori to stop the crying of a very discouraged young Jade, and days when he and his wife made a terrible cake after hearing that she had finished memorizing all the magic books. Seeing Jade happy made the burnt flour worth it.

He had watched her grow up for that long.

But then! This knight with a pretty face who came from who knows where! How dare he caress her cheek as if it’s natural!

No, and also. Since he has a name they’ve never heard of, they must not have known each other for long, so how can Jade sit there so comfortably leaning against him? That knight too. Shouldn’t they keep an appropriate distance in front of others?

Bernard was indignant as if he were Jade’s father. He instantly forgot how he had been captivated by Axel’s faint smile earlier and was busy finding suspicious points.

Of course, it was a happy occasion for Jade to meet someone she liked, but was he really the man she liked? Didn’t she hurriedly choose him because she didn’t want to be taken by Mabel? Wasn’t she mistaking her feelings because of his good looks?

Axel, who noticed Bernard narrowing his eyes and looking around with a grim expression, tilted his head to the side.

“Is there something you don’t like?”

“Pardon? No… Ahem.”

That cough contained undisguised dissatisfaction.

Jade knew that Bernard sometimes saw her as someone who needed to be taken care of, so she just grinned without saying much.

Bernard cleared his throat and politely asked,

“May I ask you a few questions?”

“I don’t mind.”

As soon as he said that, Bernard began firing off questions one after another.

Where did you two meet, how did you come to have feelings for each other, have you tried pairing up together, have you ever fought, how did you reconcile when you fought, do your tastes match well?

Axel answered more diligently than expected.

I picked her up when she was lost, I gradually came to like her more and more as we spent time together, we’ve paired up a lot, we’ve fought a lot, when we reconciled, it seems Jade usually reached out first so I’ll reflect on that, I don’t think our tastes match very well.

“Why don’t your tastes match?”

“I’m not really interested in picking herbs.”

“I don’t do that outside! It’s just that I had nothing else to do in my free time!”

Regardless of Jade’s outrage, Bernard carefully considered the answers and noticed something.

The diligent assistant asked again.

“Do you own a horse, by any chance?”

“Well, since I’m a knight.”

“What color is it?”

“Black. He’s a great horse. If you’re interested, I’ll show you next time.”

In Bernard’s mind, an image surfaced of Jade wandering around the garden and stopping whenever she saw the swords of passing black horses and knights.

Oh, could it be… In that forest…

Then, he saw their closeness again, as if they were about to lean on each other.

The handsome man seemed nonchalant, but whenever the woman sitting next to him moved, he would stare at her intently, and when their eyes met, he would smile slightly, following her lead. There was no suspicious or sinister side to him at all.

The woman was the same. Her gaze was attentive, watching to see if the man surrounded by strangers was getting tired.

Ah, I see. Jade is precisely pursuing her own happiness. Contrary to my misunderstanding, that choice has nothing to do with Mabel, and even in the darkness, she has found the right path well.

Then that’s all that matters.

Bernard, feeling satisfied, abruptly stood up and loudly exclaimed,

“Please take good care of Jade!”

“Bernard is even weirder today.”

Marien chattered at the sudden outburst.

But Bernard’s wrinkled face was smiling so brightly that the others couldn’t say anything. Even Jade was speechless, blinking her eyes, and eventually smiled with an embarrassed expression.

Instead of answering, Axel firmly held Jade’s hand.

Just that seemed to greatly reassure Bernard, and he grinned once more.

Marien and Jenassen clapped their hands. Even the ordinary-looking knight with the ordinary name, Tom, joined in.

Jade, who had bought about 5 days with Lishin Moretti’s party, unfortunately couldn’t spend all those days with Axel. There was a lot to prepare and a lot to check. Even the slightest mistake delayed the schedule.

Axel didn’t particularly express any regret or dissatisfaction about that.

“It can’t be helped. I said I’d be patient until this month. If Jenassen can endure it, it’s easy for me.”

“What if I’m this busy next month too?”

“Then we’ll have to elope.”

Bernard, who had come to like everything about Axel after the first meeting, worked hard to enthusiastically create separate time for them.

Thanks to his passion, Jade was able to check in one day the amount that normally took two days to review.

Thus, Jade was finally able to take a very brief vacation before the coming-of-age ceremony.

“Thank you, Bernard.”

“I’m… okay…”

Bernard muttered with a face that looked like he was about to collapse. He said Mori Avers had also worked hard, so I should compensate him with money later… Or with a portrait of your fiancé…

Jade nodded. Sure, sure.

The vacation was to a Lok-saeng near Siena. It was because there was a very beautiful villa owned by an acquainted nobleman.

But the most important advantage was that the entire vicinity was private property, so no one could easily enter.

Moreover, the original owner had such a sensitive personality and had cheated twice before, so the mere two servants moved stealthily only at dawn and didn’t show their noses during the day, acting as if they had no eyes or mouth.

Thanks to that, Axel thought it would be easy for him to move around, so it was a place deliberately chosen…

“Stop, stop…”

Jade muttered, panting. Axel didn’t even pretend to hear and buried his lips in the nape of her neck.

The feeling of being pressed was vivid. The sensation of the man’s tall, straight nose bridge brushing over it.

It gave her goosebumps.