“Who sent you?”

Lutis, having subdued and restrained the black-clad man, asked while simultaneously threatening him with the candlestick he held in his hand after destroying the man’s weapon.

In that case, it was not so much a question as it was a demand for an answer.

For the intruder, even this much was clearly a generous treatment. The fact that he didn’t die on the spot was nothing short of a miracle.

In fact, Lutis had intended to dispose of him as soon as he was discovered, but the reason he didn’t was−

“Ugh…”

…because there was a separate reason. How could he commit murder right next to a child not even a year old?

Based on that judgment, he had barely managed to spare the assassin’s life.

Crunch,

Kwak!

“I never told you to die.”

When did I say you could die? Lutis growled in a low voice, covering the mouth of the man who was about to bite down on his molars with a look of dismay.

All the while, his mind was constantly focused on speculating about the mastermind behind this incident.

“My lord!”

Whoosh.

The knights, who had heard the commotion in the middle of the night, rushed into the room.

Lutis, who had pulled out a raw molar tooth presumed to be tied to the assassin’s poison pouch, opened his mouth.

“Who is in charge?”

“Yes, yes?”

“I asked who is in overall charge of the mansion’s security.”

Lutis spoke, tightening his grip. Naturally, a despicable scream escaped from the mouth of the man pinned beneath him.

“It’s… Sir Robert, the Deputy Knight Commander.”

“Bring him here.”

“……”

Lutis frowned and opened his mouth at the knight who remained unmoving with a dumbfounded expression even after he finished speaking.

“Can’t you hear me? Do I have to go myself?”

“Ah, no!”

The man, tense from the sharp gaze, hurriedly turned his back. But even so, his anger was not quelled.

“Were the guards not properly stationed?”

Lutis immediately shot back at one of the remaining knights. If they came at the sound, it meant they were on standby inside the estate, so what were they doing without properly guarding?

The knight, observing the situation, opened his mouth slightly and answered.

“Usually, there are four guards during the day and six at night, with each taking turns guarding inside and outside the young master’s bedroom.”

“Then why was there no one? I didn’t see any guard knights inside or outside. Moreover, where did the head maid who should be by the child’s side go…?”

Lutis, trailing off mid-sentence, turned his head. Come to think of it, there was a faint presence that he had mistaken for the head maid until he opened the door.

Which means,

“…It seems they’re still alive, so take them to the doctor.”

“Yes. Understood.”

There is an injured person.

A figure could be seen collapsed under the baby’s bed, seemingly trying to shield the child from the assassin. It appeared that it had been hidden from his sight by the shadows, so he hadn’t checked properly.

Moreover, due to poorly controlling his strength while subduing the assassin, he had deeply cut the person’s leg with the candlestick, causing the scent of blood to mix and delay his notice.

After belatedly checking the servant’s condition, Lutis gave an order to one of the knights in sight.

Soon, the injured servant was carried away by the knight. The knight who had been conversing with Lutis continued.

“As you saw… The head maid cannot stay awake 24 hours a day, so around this time, we usually call a servant to take her place briefly until morning.”

“……”

“Also, it’s fine during the day, but the young master seems to have difficulty sleeping at night, so we thought an unfamiliar person might be the problem. Until you fall asleep, everyone except the head maid and the servant from earlier wait outside, so…”

There was no internal guard at the moment the child fell asleep late into the dawn today. And as fate would have it, the assassin entered at that very moment, unable to respond in time.

“…Is that all your excuses?”

As soon as the knight finished speaking, veins bulged on Lutis’s neck.

According to those words, where did all the knights who should have been outside the room, at least six of them, disappear to? Just as Lutis was glaring at the knight with a stiff expression at the words full of loopholes.

“Uh, …The duke ordered us to go downstairs.”

“……”

“To be exact, he said, ‘It’s annoying, so stop loitering and get lost.’…”

The knight’s voice gradually faded as he continued speaking.

Right after hearing that story. Only then did a scene flash through his dazed mind, suppressing the headache with medicinal power.

That he had said such a thing…

[Your Grace. Perhaps the young master,] [Shut up, it’s noisy.]

…It seemed like it.

At this, Lutis raised his hand to touch his face and opened his mouth. Just then, the Deputy Knight Commander he had called for earlier was entering through the door.

“I… made a mistake.”

“……”

“I won’t impose any particular punishment. You, take the child and move them to my bedroom on the 2nd floor.”

“Understood.”

At Lutis’s words, the knight who had been observing the situation until now picked up the child and left the room.

Only after taking a little more time to be certain that the knight had left the floor.

Lutis, releasing the suppressed energy to strangle the assassin and knock him unconscious, clenched his teeth.

Crack.

Crunch.

Snap.

A few more eerie sounds of intangible energy piercing through flesh and bone rang in the ears.

Lutis looked at the assassin who had collapsed on the floor, writhing and fainting from the pain of severed tendons and broken bones in his hands and feet. Lutis opened his mouth and spoke, gesturing with his chin to the Deputy Knight Commander.

“Lock him up.”

I will personally go and interrogate him. Lutis, who had given the order with a face devoid of any emotion, turned his head to gaze out the window.

The sky was dimly lit as if the sun was about to rise.

“……”

Come to think of it, how long had it been since he last saw the sun?

Unsure of this as well, Lutis narrowed his eyes before blinking slowly.

Until all the knights in the room, including the Deputy Knight Commander, had left their positions.

Lutis, who had been standing there silently, trying hard to recall something that could not be specified, finally moved his feet, dragging them across the floor.

The throbbing in his head seemed to be the headache that he had suppressed with medicine.

However, even then, he still did not feel any particular emotion. He could only hope.

That he would not go insane like this.

[This is the timeline separator]

How much time had passed since then?

Lutis, trying hard to keep his sticky eyes half-open, scanned the documents placed in front of him. He had no idea how many pages he had gone through, but he didn’t feel the need to know specifically.

It didn’t change the fact that he had to deal with all the mountain-like piles anyway, so what was the point of knowing the exact number?

Thinking like that, he was mechanically moving his hands when,

“Waa…”

At the small sound coming from beside him, Lutis reflexively got up and reached out his arms. He thought the child had finally fallen asleep, but it seemed it wasn’t the case yet.

Lutis picked up the child from the temporary crib placed next to his office desk and patted the child’s back with a posture that had become quite familiar by now.

It was only natural since quite some time had passed since he first brought the child to his office.

‘Since I heard the story, leaving things as before would be negligent,’

This was an inevitable choice for him as well.

He could feel the warmth unique to a baby warming his embrace. Even though it was impossible, it felt as if the scent of blood that had splattered on his face while interrogating the assassin still lingered in the surroundings.

Lutis closed his eyes tightly while holding the child in his arms.

Did they say they accepted the request because the reward was good?

[I don’t know anything other than that you are a noble person, cough…!] [……] […I don’t know. But the reason is obvious, isn’t it?]

Do you even know how many requests to kill the duke’s son have come to the guild these days?

Although it was secretly used by the imperial family, the assassin, who had been given a truth serum that the Knight Commander had in his authority, spoke with a fishy sneer flowing from his mouth that had been babbling smoothly.

As if scoffing at the notion that he didn’t even know that.

But the man who had been mocking died soon after, foaming at the mouth.

“……”

What the conversation they had during the 3 minutes or so of interrogation without side effects implied was clear.

So from that point on, Lutis kept the child by his side and took care of them directly. In fact, after that, he had personally greeted several night visitors, so it must have been the right choice in the end.

“Hng…”

“…Shh,”

However, the unexpected thing was that the child developed a habit of fussing in their sleep, which they didn’t have before.

During the day, they would smile and play well like usual, but as soon as it was night, they would cry as if the mansion was going to collapse.

No matter how much he coaxed and soothed, it was of no use. As if that little one didn’t get tired, they would cry every night until their skin was red and their voice was hoarse.

…Actually. It wasn’t that he had no idea about the child crying as if asking for something uniquely when it was time to sleep.

It was something that even if he realized, he couldn’t solve. He even tried holding the child and lying down like Aeli used to do, but nothing changed.

The embrace the child was seeking wasn’t Lutis’s, and it was something that could no longer return to them now.

“……”

So beyond that, he really had no choice.

He would just hold and comfort the crying child every night until dawn, and only when they quieted down around daybreak would he deal with the piled-up work until late afternoon before the child woke up.

Like now.

“……”

“……”

Pat pat.

Lutis, once again, covered the reddened eyes of the child who had cried all night with his cool hand.

They had just fallen asleep exhausted a little while ago, so even if they woke up for a moment now, they wouldn’t have the energy to properly fuss.

He had been patting the small back like that for a while.

“Your Grace, a letter has arrived from the palace.”

“…Come in.”

Lutis opened his mouth at the small voice coming from in front of the office door. At that, the assistant who quietly entered bowed his head in greeting.

“I didn’t hear a report about a messenger coming.”

“Well, …it’s a letter delivered unofficially.”

A letter that had to be delivered secretly even before the vacation was over.

Although he hadn’t opened it yet, Lutis lowered his gaze, feeling a headache coming on for some reason. The child, who had fallen back asleep at some point, was breathing evenly.

Lutis paused for a moment, then put the child back in the crib and nodded slightly. Soon, the assistant approached and handed him the letter on a silver tray.

“……”

Lutis, who had read the letter that he tore open without a paper knife, frowned deeply.

“Is there a problem,”

“I’m going to the palace this evening. Tell the head maid to prepare in advance.”

Since it’s an unofficial visit, it doesn’t have to be a uniform.

At Lutis’s words, the assistant spoke, looking at his expression.

“But Your Grace. If you go to the palace in the evening, the documents…”

“I’ll do it now. I’m going to the office across the hall, so keep an eye on the child to see if they wake up.”

“If it’s something like that, I’ll go,”

“……”

“…I apologize. I momentarily forgot that entry was prohibited.”

Lutis, who answered the assistant’s apology with silence, moved his feet silently.

And so, after taking only a few steps and arriving in an instant, Lutis opened the door and entered the office. Inside, decorated with bright beige-toned wallpaper and white curtains, came into view.

Heading straight to where the desk was located, Lutis picked up the documents that were scattered haphazardly. As if reflecting the owner’s personality, it was cozily decorated but had a somewhat disorganized feel.

Unlike his own office, which only smelled of ink and paper. The sweet scent that permeated the air subtly stimulated his sense of smell.

‘It seems like it’s been well over a month, but still….’

In a way, it was only natural. Since it was himself who minimized entry to the bedroom, including the office, out of concern that if many people came and went, the lingering scent would fade quickly.

Except for those who came in to clean once a week without touching anything, Lutis was the only person who set foot in the place.

At that moment, while trying to gather the documents again, deliberately ignoring such facts.

Thud.

A light yellow notebook, as if soaked with water, fell at his feet.