Having read the letter, Nelia had no choice but to invite Layton to Duke Hart’s residence.

The letter contained information about Tréy, and in summary, it revealed that she knows Layton is pretending that Tréy, a non-existent person, is Duke Hart’s cousin. Layton was asking her to keep this secret and formally invite him to Duke Hart’s residence. The content was something along those lines.

‘How in the world did he come up with the existence of Tréy?’

What kind of conversation did he have with Duke Hart when he visited the residence a few days ago?

Considering how busy Duke Hart was that day, it seemed unlikely that he casually discussed Tréy.

As Nelia, who was pondering alone in her room, thought about Tréy, he approached.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Nelia lowered her gaze and looked at Tréy, who was grinning.

It was all because of this mischievous dragon.

Insisting on appearing in human form, he caused trouble after trouble.

She wanted to squeeze him out of frustration, but looking at the overly cute figure of Tréy, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Nelia sighed.

“Tréy. Do you have any intention of appearing in your dragon form now?”

“No. I like my current form.”

“Then, are you going to tell Duke Hart about Tréy’s existence?”

Even if she could confess the truth to Duke Hart alone, Tréy strictly forbade her from telling anyone else about his existence.

“Of course not.”

Nelia furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why not?”

“Well, you know…”

Tréy trailed off.

Look at this, without any reason. It’s not even a matter of mystique.

“Anyway, it’s not allowed! Just try telling Duke Hart about my identity. I won’t even open the dimensional door for you!”

This stubborn-headed dragon with a temper.

Why did Sieglinde consider Tréy so adorable?

‘Revoke the title of my protector!’

Suppressing her irritation, Nelia gave up trying to persuade Tréy. At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Miss Nelia, it’s Ton.”

Nelia, who had been arguing with Tréy, adjusted her voice and said,

“…Come in.”

Ton entered the room with a tray. On the tray were cookies emitting a fragrant smell. Tréy’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the cookies.

‘No wonder Tréy wants to stay in the form of a child.’

Ton, who admired Tréy too much, always brought snacks when he visited her room.

Originally, Nelia had strongly rejected such treats, but lately, due to Tréy’s childlike appearance, she lost interest in desserts to the point of not caring.

As Ton placed the cookies on the table, surprisingly, Tréy reached out his small hand and grabbed a cookie.
Watching the scene, Ton soon turned his head to look at Nelia.

“Miss Nelia, I heard that you are going to invite Mr. Layton to the Duke’s residence.”

“Yes… I’m sorry, Ton. It’s just another task for you because of me.”

“No, not at all. I’m actually pleased that a guest is coming to the Duke’s residence after a long time.”

Ton was truly born to be a butler.

How could he be so happy to talk about something as bothersome and troublesome as having a guest?

“I heard that Mr. Layton is your only brother, and I’ll do my best to serve him well.”

It wasn’t necessary, but… Nelia swallowed the words she wanted to say and instead gave a polite response.

“…Thank you.”

Not stopping there, Ton, with a brighter expression than usual, made a suggestion.

“If you haven’t set a date for the invitation yet, how about this weekend for dinner? We expect fresh seafood to arrive on that day.”

“Yes… Well, it doesn’t matter.”

“Then, I’ll prepare dinner for that day. Please inform Mr. Layton when you see fit.”

Ton bowed politely and left the room.

Even though he was also an employee of this house, he was begging so earnestly. Nelia couldn’t understand why.

‘As if I’m the lady of this house…’

The lady, the lady… What am I even thinking?

Nelia shook her head to dispel her embarrassing thoughts.

“Your expression is very colorful.”

While eating cookies, Tréy looked at Nelia with a curious gaze. Tréy’s mouth was full of cookie crumbs.

Nelia wiped the cookie crumbs off Tréy’s face as he sat on her lap.

“It’s noisy.”

Tréy, who had quickly bitten off a piece of the cookie, looked up at Nelia and asked.

“Is your brother coming to the Duke’s residence?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, I asked if it’s okay to tell Duke Hart about Tréy’s true identity.”

Nelia patted her forehead as if she were trying to ward off a headache.

“My brother is trying to use Tréy’s existence as a bargaining chip against me.”

Tréy, with cookie crumbs still on his mouth, swallowed and said, “Humans worry about such useless things.”

“I wish dragons didn’t worry about such useless things.”

Nelia stretched Tréy’s soft cheek with her hand. The way it stretched out like a glutinous rice cake was very cute.

“This is mine!”

“Even if it’s a dragon who doesn’t listen, it’s okay to do this much.”

“Stop it!”

While pulling and playing with his cheek, Tréy’s pronunciation slipped. When she let go of his cheek, his pale skin had turned slightly red.