Dragging along exhausted words, a dusty unit marched through the main gate. Thinking of going down quickly, I abruptly stood up from my seat, and Miumiu slipped into the bag.

“We’re not going for a walk right now.”

Now that I think about it, for the past few days, I hadn’t been able to go outside with Miumiu at all.

‘Having been confined to the room for several days, Miumiu must be feeling frustrated, too.’

I slung the bag over my shoulder and habitually descended the stairs quickly. Ever since I turned nine, I decided to maintain an elegant stride, but I only remembered that after reaching the main gate.

‘Oh, wait! Calmly, elegantly.’

Although I belatedly slowed my pace, everyone had already seen me. And there was a boy who looked at me with a puzzled expression as I abruptly reduced my speed. Behind his shoulders were three large monster heads tied to a reins. They were covered with black cloth, but the characteristic blue blood of the monsters couldn’t be completely concealed. The boy, who met my gaze, bluntly spoke up.

“What are you doing? Why did you come down here, ah! Oh, Master!”

“Speak politely to the young lady.”

Yan, whom I saw after a long time, heavily slapped Shankez’s head with a honey-soaked hand.

I waited for Shankez, sitting quietly in the garden pavilion, and sipped tea.

‘Um, the smell of cocoa.’

Actually, I thought it wouldn’t take long to finish the story even after drinking tea, so I tried to speak right away, but Yan insisted that it wasn’t allowed and forcefully took Shankez, holding his neck tightly, dragging him away.

‘You can’t hear the young lady’s words with such a dirty appearance,’ he said.

But now that I think about it, what Yan said was a bit strange.

‘Why did he say, “You can’t hear,” when I wasn’t going to say anything to Yan?’

Soon, not much time passed, and Shankez and Yan walked back to the gazebo where I was.

Their appearance now was completely different from earlier, covered in dust and the blue blood of monsters.

It was a far cry from the first time I saw Shankez, who had completely changed.

He looked like a mischievous little kid back then, but now he looked like a boy trying to get through adolescence.

“By the way, Shankez seems to have grown a lot?”

I had only heard through Yan that he was training hard in the knights, and I only occasionally saw him training from a distance since he entered the mansion.

Seeing him up close, he seemed to be quite tall.

“Is that so? It looks like an average height to me.”

“Really? He doesn’t look like a 12-year-old.”

“…Well, I’m not 12 years old.”

I sprayed the tea I was drinking all over at the unexpected answer. Yan took out a handkerchief and wiped my mouth.

“Shankez is 15 years old this year. Next year, he’ll be old enough to challenge the knight’s inauguration ceremony.”

My mouth widened even more at Yan’s explanation.

The Shankez I used to see looked like he had just turned 12.

On such a day, Shankez opened his narrow eyes.
“What? So, have you really thought that I was 12 all this time…huh?”

Facing Yan’s chilling gaze, Shankez added a small plea at the end.

“I thought you were only three years older than me….”

“In which part, exactly? …Huh.”

Upon my reply, Shankez snapped. I rolled my eyes awkwardly in embarrassment.

So, even when we first met, Shankez wasn’t 7 but 10 years old.

‘Back then, he was a little taller than me, so naturally, I thought the age difference wasn’t that big.’

Shankez looked me up and down.

“You’re already nine years old too? You don’t look like it at all. Ah! No, I mean, no, you don’t!”

At Yan’s earnest warning, Shankez scratched his head with a rough expression, finishing his words.

“I couldn’t eat well back then, so I didn’t grow much. Thanks to you, Miss… Heh, I was able to grow normally like this.”

Seeing him pause in the middle, it seemed a bit awkward.

I didn’t particularly think of it as a favor to him either.

‘In the end, I was interested in his talents.’

If Shankez didn’t have any abilities, would I have been even a little interested in him? I threw the question. Well, I couldn’t easily be sure of the answer.

‘He probably would have been sent to an orphanage.’

“I called Shankez because I have something to say.”

Shankez sat across from me and blinked.

“I have a new department called Special Aide, and I hope Shankez joins.”

“Why me? Ah!”

Shankez screamed at the end. Judging by the way he scratched his calf, it seemed that Yan had touched him lightly with his foot.

“Use polite language to the young lady.”

“No, Master said always to call the young lady, young lady…”

As he mumbled, Yan sent a stern look his way. Seeing Yan like that reminded me of his stern appearance I had glimpsed through Miumiu.

‘In this situation, it seems like I might know why Yan joined the Leviche Knights…’

“I’m not forcing you. I’m just making you an offer.”

“What position is it for, huh?”

Just then, a maid brought documents about him. She tried to explain, but Yan intervened.

“I think I can explain.”

“Oh, yeah. Please.”

Yan took Shankez aside to explain, but their conversation could be heard.

“Why can’t you understand it at once? I wouldn’t have taught you to be so dull.”

“Master only taught me swordsmanship…”

“It’s a proposal that the young lady made. You wouldn’t dare refuse, right?”

“You said earlier that the young lady wasn’t forcing me…”

They came back after reading the documents. Somehow, Shankez had a chubby expression.

I told him directly, “Take some time to think…”

“No, thank you.”