What did I just hear?

I quietly stared into his teal eyes.

At the same time, I barely exhaled, breathing heavily from confusion.

However, it seemed Dietrich was equally flustered by my reaction.

“Ah, I mean, that’s not what I meant…”

“Oh, I know. That’s not what you meant, right?”

“Right. I just said that because you’re so good at running errands.”

“Of course. Naturally, that’s what you meant.”

What kind of conversation is this?

I’m not sure either.

But I wanted to escape this suffocating situation quickly.

“Did you come here to say that?”

“You can speak informally now. Your friend is gone.”

Dietrich casually informed me after confirming Robert had disappeared.

“What do you mean by asking for a refund on Harpe!”

As soon as I heard that, I couldn’t help but speak informally.

Anyway, Dietrich had a knack for saying unexpected things.

He nonchalantly tapped Harpe in its scabbard.

“This sword. It’s useless. Is it really a treasured sword? It just feels heavy.”

“Just heavy! Do you know how much help this sword is to you?”

Although it was destined to shatter in the end, Harpe was an indispensable part of Dietrich’s life.

It played a crucial role in him becoming the true head of the Delgado family.

Literally, Dietrich and Harpe were true comrades.

They had a positive influence on each other, and when Harpe finally broke, there was a story that Dietrich collected and kept all the pieces.

But to say it’s useless!

Just heavy!

Ungrateful Dietrich!

I glared at him and said gruffly.

“Harpe is an incredible sword!”

He shook his head firmly.

While he didn’t care much about any sword as long as he could wield it, if he had to choose, he had his own firm criteria.

It should feel just right when gripping the handle, be moderately heavy, and have a blade that’s not too thin.

But Harpe didn’t meet any of these conditions.

“The sword is strange. The more I use it, the more I feel like I can’t even use half of my strength.”

“Isn’t that because your skills have gotten rusty lately?”

“To be precise, it feels like my strength is being stolen.”

He drew Harpe. The dark green gem embedded in the center of Harpe was glowing brilliantly.

“They say this sword contains magical power.”

“Magical power?”

What is he talking about now?

Nothing he says makes sense.

As I stared blankly at the gem, Dietrich let out a short sigh.

“Looks like you don’t know either.”

Of course I didn’t know. I quickly tried to recall the original story. But I couldn’t remember anything about the sword having magical power.

So how did Dietrich know about this?

Who could Dietrich have talked to about Harpe?

Besides me, the only person who could…

“Viscount Nocturne Frey’s son told you, didn’t he?”

“How do you know that?”

“Well, Viscount Frey’s son is a magician, and he’s close to you.”

“We’re not that close.”

Even though he says that, I already know that Nocturne is the only person Dietrich could call a friend.

“The important thing isn’t Nocturne. They say the sword contains great magical power, but I don’t feel anything when I use it.”

“Don’t tell me that’s why you asked for a refund?”

“Yes.”

Have you ever seen such a shameless person?

So according to Nocturne, the sword contains tremendous magical power.

But it seemed Dietrich couldn’t draw out Harpe’s power at all.

I didn’t know the reason either.

Dietrich is a great swordsman who will be remembered for generations to come, but even he doesn’t know the true way to use Harpe?

Well, given the original story, I had no doubt he would find a way later on.

Besides, there was nothing I could say right now.

‘It’s not like I can actually give you a refund, right?’

Let’s push through with shamelessness.

It wasn’t my fault that he didn’t know how to use it.

There wasn’t even a “Harpe User Manual” included in the first place!

“I can’t do that. A contract is a contract. If you abandon me, you’ll have to pay the price!”

I was anxious, worried that Dietrich might abandon me like before.

Although Dietrich had changed a lot, the most important thing to him was naturally succeeding to the duke’s position.

If he thought I wasn’t helpful to him, he might treat me coldly.

I wondered if he had ever been kind, but at least he wasn’t cold to me.

We had become close enough that he would occasionally play pranks.

Dietrich laughed as if he found it absurd.

“Are you afraid I’ll abandon you?”

“Even if Harpe is useless, I’ll be useful. Want me to tell you what I’ve been doing?”

“No need. I know without you telling me.”

“I’m adapting well in the kitchen, and I’m not trying to cling to you to survive.”

“Heidi.”

Even though I thought I had said it jokingly, I felt uneasy for some reason and started rambling self-defenses.

Until Dietrich called my name, I had been holding my hands tightly, to the point where blood wasn’t flowing.

“I won’t abandon you.”

“But you said Harpe was useless.”

“This mere sword might be useless. Even if it contains magical power that could overthrow the empire, what value does it have if it can’t be used? But you have value.”

Dietrich’s teal eyes were staring at me straight, without a hint of deception.

“You’re talkative and chaotic, but you have strengths that I don’t possess. That’s enough for me.”

I can’t believe Dietrich would say such things.

I felt the urge to shout at the top of my lungs and let the whole world know.

How about trying it once? I thought, but I decided to hold back, feeling it would completely ruin this touching moment.

Instead, I quickly checked that no one was around and patted his shoulder.

This was the best expression of affection I could offer.

“You can even say such touching things, Dietrich, you’ve really grown up!”

“…”

Oh, was that not right?

He lightly grabbed the shoulder my hand had brushed past and let out a laugh mixed with a sigh.

It was a response I couldn’t tell if he was dumbfounded or angry.

He silently held my shoulder and then started walking away without a word.

This time, I was the one who was dumbfounded. I had playfully praised him for growing up, but he leaves without a word?

How embarrassing.

“I take back what I said just now, I take it back!”

I screamed at the top of my lungs at his arrogant silver head, but he didn’t even pretend to hear.

He was indeed a formidable opponent. I felt my insides boiling and my ears burning, but I could endure it because I was an elegant sword spirit.

‘Nasty Dietrich.’

He can’t even accept a compliment.

Cursing Dietrich with all my might, I was about to open the kitchen door and enter.

However, someone gently grabbed my shoulder.

“Miss Heidi?”

It was a gentle tone with no hint of hostility. I turned around to check the person’s face.

The person who had grabbed my shoulder was a maid I had never seen before. Considering I hadn’t run into her while walking around the main building, she was probably a maid serving the duchess or Yurian.

I felt a bit uncomfortable. If she was Yurian’s maid, it wouldn’t matter, but if she was the duchess’s maid, it was a different story.

I didn’t have good feelings towards the duchess, so even if she wanted to know something from me, I had nothing to say.

“Yes, I’m Heidi.”

As soon as I answered, the maid’s face brightened.

“I’m Becky, I work in the main building. Were you surprised that I suddenly came looking for you?”

I nodded awkwardly. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised.

She carefully observed my reaction and asked cautiously.

“Do you have time? There’s something I’d like to ask.”

It wasn’t break time yet.

But I nodded once more. Although I felt like I was being dragged around here and there, I thought I should at least hear why a maid working in the main building had come looking for me.

Not far from the kitchen, there were a few benches prepared for the kitchen staff.

The scenery wasn’t great, but it was a good place to sit and talk.

I couldn’t go far because of the time, so I led her to the bench.

The maid named Becky sat gracefully on the bench and met my eyes.

I could feel her carefully examining my face, wondering what she was going to ask.

I smiled kindly and answered.

“I’ll answer within the limits of what I can tell you. What are you curious about?”

Is she going to ask about Dietrich’s hysteria or how much he abuses his power?

If it’s something like that, I’d be more than willing to answer.

Though if she actually asked that, I wouldn’t be able to answer.

‘Thinking about it again, it’s irritating.’

Just you wait, I won’t praise you again.

While I was gnawing on thoughts of Dietrich, Becky, who had organized everything she wanted to say, opened her mouth.

“I heard you’re close to Young Master Dietrich.”

“We’re not that close.”

That guy ran away after I praised him.

I lightly omitted the latter part.

It was obvious I’d only receive puzzled looks if I said it.

“Is that so? Everyone said you and Young Master Dietrich were close. Anyway, you must be busy, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

Becky seemed to have a clean and clear personality. She briefly shortened the introduction and immediately got to the main point.

“I’ve heard that lately, the atmosphere of fear towards Young Master Dietrich has been disappearing in the Delgado mansion. There’s a very dangerous rumor going around that Young Master Dietrich is actually a kind person, while the madam is hiding her true nature. By any chance, are you the source of this rumor, Miss Heidi?”