“Who ordered to change the contracted merchant group? Three out of five? Are you crazy?”

“…”

“Right, I’m the fool for asking. No wonder the goods are a mess….”

In less than 4 months, Jade’s uncle Felix Broen, who took her place, seemed to have meddled with many things. Or at least tried to.

He probably intended to increase his influence over the territory and win over people in the family, but fortunately not everything went according to his plans.

This was partly because Jade had set up measures to block Felix at every decision-making stage just in case, and Mabel likely restrained him to some extent as well.

In any case, while it was only moderately chaotic, it was still a mess.

“It only takes a moment to ruin things, but why does it take so long to fix them? Have you been able to contact the merchant from Balum?”

Her irritated grumbling was thickly coated with fatigue. Bernard answered carefully.

“It seems his pride was greatly wounded due to Felix’s rudeness. I will try contacting him again with news of Jade’s return.”

“Right. What was he thinking, canceling the deal with the merchant who brings the highest quality goods? And they sell so well too….”

Recalling the red-nosed merchant of Balum who loved alcohol, Jade let out a deep sigh. She could almost hear his boisterous laughter and bellowing voice.

She tilted her head back for a moment and closed her eyes. Clack, clack.

The stones in her hand made a sound as they collided. They were lazulites dotted with blue spots.

“You should rest a bit.”

“It’s fine. I just came back from resting.”

“Did your soul really not get switched in the Athanase Forest?”

Jade glared at Bernard with half-open eyes. But he continued to chatter without being intimidated.

“I know you’re more diligent than you look, but this is clearly not normal.”

“So what if I changed?”

Bernard smiled at her curt reply.

“Then I’d have to go find you and bring you back. And find out what on earth is there that has made Jade’s heart so confused.”

“Wh-wh-what?”

Jade started her suspicious flailing once again. This time she abruptly stood up from her chair, banging her knee on the desk and screaming.

“Aaah!”

Seeing that absurd movement, Bernard could add more certainty to Emil’s speculation. But when he met Jade’s narrowed gaze, she began to ramble hurriedly.

“Wh-what could be there? What could be in the Athanase Forest! It’s just a st-stupid forest where magic doesn’t even work. There’s nothing there, I tell you! They still use flint!”

The more he listened, the more suspicious her voice became. So unlike Jade Broen, who had to walk a tightrope looking out for everything since childhood, she was so clumsy that Bernard couldn’t even laugh.

“Lady Jade….”

“What!”

Even shouting and losing her composure.

Bernard, being the meticulous and diligent assistant he was, decided to carefully recite her actions. Of course, this wasn’t just because he found teasing his employer amusing. Really.

“You banged your knee just now when I barely said anything.”

“So what?”

“Earlier, you were spinning around the garden, then suddenly fell backwards, and then started banging your head against a tree trunk.”

“What? I was spinning around the garden?”

Jade dropped her pen with a face that suggested she hadn’t even realized it.

“Crazy….”

“For your reference, it’s been happening for quite some time now. I’ve seen it at least three times.”

“You should have told me! Do you want people to say your employer has gone mad?”

“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

Bernard cheekily retorted and continued describing her behavior while folding his hands.

“You hugged a horse’s neck for a while then trudged away, you jump up and down every time someone mentions the Athanase Forest, and you even contacted the author who first coined the term ‘homesickness’.”

These were clearly things she had done, but hearing them from someone else’s mouth was extremely shocking. Especially when listed all at once!

Jade let out a silent scream, shuddering with embarrassment.

“Shall I continue? Actually, I could fill this entire paper with a list of how strangely you’ve been acting lately.”

“Aah! No!”

As she stomped her foot on the floor, Bernard smiled generously. He liked Jade Broen both as an employer and as a person, so he hoped she would realize something and be happy.

However, realizing that all her strange actions had been discovered, Jade was thoroughly annoyed and picked a fight.

“Why are you smiling? What’s with that weird corner of your mouth?”

“Ahem, am I not allowed to smile as I please?”

“Right! Is it okay to be so happy at work? No, it’s not!”

Finally, a statement completely opposite to her own principles.

Faced with the fuming Jade, Bernard finally burst into loud laughter. Jade now felt the redness rising to the end of her forehead.

“Stop laughing!”

“Oh my. I first met Jade seven years ago, but I never imagined I’d see such an expression… So, that’s why.”

Suddenly turning serious, Bernard approached the desk, and Jade found him scary today. Startled, she pushed her chair back with a screech to create distance.

“What’s wrong with you? Please let me work!”

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone tell their assistant to leave so they can work. Anyway! So, what’s the reason for Jade’s behavior?”

A great assistant shows their skills by noticing things their employer has missed and filling in the gaps. He had caught onto the inconsistency in logic.

Emil said it seemed Jade was experiencing unrequited love. Bernard agreed on this point. Her behavior was very strange and illogical. Surely only love could elicit such actions.

But Jade was looking up books on homesickness.

This meant that she herself knew she was different from usual, but she was looking for the cause in a place rather than a person.

Jade asked with a disgruntled look.

“What is this? A quiz?”

“Yes. There’s a prize if you find the correct answer.”

“Shouldn’t the quiz maker know the answer then?”

As always, Jade was sharp. Bernard grinned.

“That’s right. Please let me know if you figure it out. I’ll prepare a gift.”

This was enough of a hint for his employer. Bernard, smiling so brightly his angular face became round, turned and walked out with a light step far from solemnity.

Left alone, Jade stared blankly ahead before holding her forehead. She had a headache from the shock of her reported actions.

“Oh, damn…”

I’ve shown an unsightly appearance to the people in the castle. I wonder if Grandmother or Uncle saw too? No, this is something only people who are interested would notice….

She finally leaned back in her chair and sighed. Then she ruffled her hair vigorously, groaned, and writhed.

Yes, Jade was starting to have suspicions too. Is this… really homesickness?

Of course, she did miss the forest. Contrary to the misunderstandings spread among people, it was a very beautiful place, quiet and peaceful enough to hear the sound of snow falling. There were monsters, but well, where isn’t there?

She could still vividly recall it.

The vast land, the shape of the trees revealing vibrant nature, the lake shining like jewels reflecting sunlight during the day and embracing the stars at night. And even against that beautiful scenery, A…

Jade was about to naturally recall a certain name following the magnificent scenery, but she quickly stopped.

She started making excuses to herself. Th-that’s right! I was trying to remember Ollie, Nina, and Pavel’s faces after that!

But no one can control the flow of thoughts belonging to the realm of the unconscious at will.

What came to mind next was Axel with his indifferent eyes, Axel cooking, Axel coming to find her at night and waking her from nightmares, Axel giving a faint smile when their eyes met, Axel bursting into laughter, transparent gray eyes and crooked upturned lips….

“Aaaagh!”

Shocked, Jade banged her head hard on the desk. Bang!

You handsome devil! Get out of my head!

Of course, it didn’t work well. She felt cold sweat running down her back.

‘I wonder why Lady Jade is behaving so strangely?’

It was as if Bernard was whispering annoyingly in her ear.

She was on the verge of realizing something.

But if that thought was really correct, this was clearly a more serious problem than homesickness.

After that night when Bernard had stirred up troubling thoughts—Why are you acting so strangely? I’ll give you a prize if you guess! And so on—Jade was overwhelmed with anxious thoughts and couldn’t sleep properly.

No. It can’t be.

Axel is the benefactor who saved my life, so of course I’m grateful, and despite living in the forest, he has a more chivalrous spirit than actual knights, so anyone would like him.

Right? As a friend, I mean!

As she spoke to herself as if making a vow, it really did seem that way. Since she didn’t have any male friends as close as Axel, she could be misunderstanding her emotions, couldn’t she?

This made her feel relieved, and sleep started to come.

But the next day, thinking about it again, the question arose of how to distinguish whether this was an ’emotional misunderstanding’ or truly ‘affectionate liking’.

As she pondered, Jade decided to seek advice from Mori instead of Bernard, who was grinning as if he expected something.

“Mori.”

“Yes?”

She asked seriously to Mori, whose hands were trembling with the desire to look at documents and calculate numbers.

“How can I know whether I like someone or not?”