The place I arrived at with the Duke was the Duke’s mansion. The little one was standing in the middle of the path connecting the main gate and the garden, and when he saw me getting off the horse, he ran over at full speed.

“Au-aun, huff huff, auntie, are you okay?”

The little one circled around me once. Then he grabbed my arms and lifted them up. Even though he couldn’t lift them fully due to his short height, he examined every corner with pursed lips.

“I’m fine. The Duke saved me just in time.”

“That’s a relief.”

The little one seemed relieved and continued speaking with a relaxed smile.

“Let’s go inside first. If we keep standing here, my legs will hurt.”

I hesitated for a moment. I was thinking of Anna.

“Anna will be surprised……”

“Don’t worry. I contacted elder sister separately.”

“You did?”

“Yes!”

Looking at the child smiling brightly, hoping for praise, I said:

“How did you know Johnston was there?”

The little one flinched at my question.

“By the way, when did you contact Anna……”

Rublion glanced furtively at the Duke who had gone to pass a message to the coachman. Then he came closer and waved his hand, asking me to lower my posture.

I bent down to match his height. Rublion whispered in my ear as if he was about to tell a secret.

“Father had already returned, so when I asked, he said Johnston was up to something suspicious and that he had to go check.”

“The Duke did?”

My voice that was about to get louder suddenly became very quiet. The little one kept glancing in the Duke’s direction as he answered.

“Yes. He was also extremely worried that you’d be left alone like me.”

Come to think of it, why is the Duke helping me?

‘What benefit does he get from helping me?’

Although I told the little one not to tell, since it happened within the Duke’s sphere of influence, he must surely know about the pink diamond being pawned.

‘Lüb even caught the swindler who scammed 3rd Street.’

I unconsciously gulped.

‘Even enlisting my father and giving a large down payment.’

On top of that, he noticed Johnston’s sinister plan and came to rescue me.

It seems I had a prejudice that the Duke was a scary person, so I couldn’t see his benevolent nature. Unexpectedly, he was a kind person.

“Um… Don’t tell Father I said this. He gets embarrassed easily.”

The little one said with a wink. I answered while combing Rublion’s bangs that had been tousled by the wind as he ran at full speed.

“So he gets embarrassed easily.”

* * *

When I went in holding the little one’s hand, the butler welcomed us warmly.

“Thank you for visiting the mansion again. Let me introduce myself formally. I am Gaven Drais, who has been serving the Duke’s family for generations.”

“Nice to see you again. As you know, I’m Schmidt Deli.”

We had met when I came to see the exhibition. He welcomed me warmly then too, just like today.

“I heard you’ll be staying until the repairs on the Baron’s residence are completed. I’ve prepared the cleanest guest room, so I’ll escort you there.”

“What?”

What is he talking about? I have no intention of staying here.

“But…”

“The Duke said so!”

Before the butler could finish speaking, the little one’s words came out, and I just blinked.

“The Duke said you should stay here while your mansion is being repaired because you’ll have nowhere else to go.”

“Oh, really?”

With perfect timing, the Duke came inside. He spotted us and came closer.

“You’ve come at a good time. I haven’t thanked you properly yet.”

Perhaps it was because I had ridden a horse with him, but the Duke who had seemed only brutal and terrifying now looked a bit different.

“It must not have been easy to grant Rublion’s request, but thank you for allowing me to stay like this.”

“It’s nothing.”

“I’ll send a separate letter to Father.”

“I’ll tell him since he’s entering the military unit right away.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

The little one’s eyes, who had been silently listening to our conversation, grew infinitely large.

“My request… you say?”

The Duke looked down at Rublion and said:

“The morning training you mentioned as payment for the favor starts tomorrow. Of course, it will include basic swordsmanship, so be prepared. Marksmanship is on hold until I arrange a separate instructor.”

Rublion’s golden eyes shook violently. His face was turning bright red.

I gently stroked Rublion’s head, who was sweating profusely in embarrassment, and said:

“Thank you for saving me, little one.”

“……You knew?”

“That you planted someone with Johnston? Or that you proposed to do the training you declared you’d never do in exchange for saving me?”

“……”

“Or if not that, then that you planned it all and tried to pin it on the Duke?”

The little one’s mouth fell open. He looked like he hadn’t even thought I would have heard the full explanation from the Duke on the way here. Then he glared at the Duke with eyes that looked hurt from betrayal.

“Y-you… Not understanding my feelings!”

Rublion’s face, who had burst out shouting, turned as red as a tomato. Then he clenched his fists tightly and ran away quickly.

“You must be tired, so get some rest.”

The Duke said, turning his gaze away from the retreating Rublion. I gently lifted the hem of my dress and expressed my gratitude once again.

As I followed the butler who said he would lead the way to the guest room, I suddenly looked back.

The Duke was still standing where we had just been, looking at me with his usual indifferent expression.

* * *

“I’ve never seen such a nice room in my life, miss.”

Anna was ecstatic, saying her eyes were dazzled by the jewels attached to the furniture even though the curtains weren’t drawn.

I looked at the large painting on one side of the room’s wall.

‘They painted a picture on the wallpaper.’

This made it a one-of-a-kind wallpaper in the world.

‘What a brilliant idea.’

According to Tidd, murals that could be found from pre-imperial history were mainly painted in cathedrals, squares, or meaningful buildings. But because it took a long time to work on and there were few painters who could create large-scale works, it was rare to see new pieces.

As I was staring at it for a while, the butler approached and said:

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, it’s really beautiful.”

The scenery of lying in a lush green forest looking up at the sky was so intricate that it created the illusion that a gentle breeze was blowing.

“Not just here, but there are paintings in other rooms as well. Would you like to see them?”

Following the butler’s guidance, I entered another room with wallpaper paintings. I stared blankly at the landscape paintings that made me feel as if I were actually in those places.

Then suddenly, I was curious.

“But they’re all landscape paintings.”

“That’s right.”

The white-haired butler smiled bitterly. The wrinkles around his eyes looked even more crinkled.

“The previous Duchess had poor health and could hardly leave the mansion.”

By the previous Duchess, he must mean the current Duke’s mother, right? Tidd said the scandal’s protagonist never became the Duchess.

“The Duke painted landscapes all over the mansion for his mother.”

“He painted these himself?”

“Yes. However, he stopped painting after his mother passed away when he was fifteen.”

It was a level that couldn’t be explained simply by the word talent.

It was regrettable. So regrettable that I wanted to shout.

“No, this is God-given skill that might appear once in a thousand years……”

“I can’t say much more about the story beyond this, but I will say one thing: the Duke said he would never pick up a brush again.”

Suddenly, he seemed like a different person. I thought he wasn’t just someone running an art gallery for money.

The last place the butler took me was in front of an unfinished painting.

“It’s the Tidd Mountain waterfall.”

“That’s right.”

The butler stared at the half-empty space.

“Someday… we’re preserving it like this, waiting for the day when the Duke will pick up his brush again.”

What thoughts did the fifteen-year-old Duke have when he gave up on this painting?

I slowly ran my hand over the white wallpaper. The majestic and beautiful Tidd Mountain waterfall looked like tears.

After seeing all the paintings and returning to the room, I thought of Rublion who had run away with a bright red face.

It would have been good to say it right there.

‘Although it turned out well in the end, that doesn’t mean we should just let it slide.’

Making others misunderstand that someone else did what you did.

The Duke must also recognize that it’s wrong behavior.

‘……He’ll handle it himself, right?’

I tried not to worry about it, but it kept bothering me. I’m not the little one’s mother, nor am I his legal guardian, I’m just an adult he knows.

Knock knock.

As I was about to give up, someone knocked on the door. When I went out, the little one was looking up at me with tears welling up in his eyes.

My heart sank. Just as I was about to ask why he was crying.

“I’m sorry, auntie. I was wrong to say the Duke did it when I did it myself.”

The little one’s facial muscles twitched. His lips quivered, and finally, he burst into tears.

“I… I won’t do it again in the future. So please don’t hate me. Waaah.”

I lightly hugged the little one who was wailing with his hands clasped desperately.

“Why would I hate you?”

“But the Duke said you would dislike it if he lied……”

“Yes, I don’t like lies.”

“Waaaaaah.”

The crying sound that had subsided a bit erupted again. I brought the little one into the room and sat him on the sofa.

“Hic… sniff.”

Rublion barely swallowed his tears. I sat down next to the child and asked in a calm voice.

“Did the Duke scold you?”

“Yes……”

The little one hung his head low.

“Did you learn anything?”

The child nodded vigorously at my question.

“Can I ask what you learned?”

The little one looked at me with eyes as red as a rabbit’s and said:

“That I like you a lot, auntie.”