“Welcome, Young Master Weinstein. I’ve been waiting for you.”
What awaited him in front of the Duke’s Mansion was neither Leje nor Alma.
“I am Frishe, the head handmaid of the Duke’s House.”
With her light sky-blue hair and eyes obscured to the point where one would wonder how she sees, she was an impressive woman with a mechanical voice that betrayed no emotion.
“Hello.”
“Miss and the head handmaid have been delayed in their preparations.”
“Oh, I see.”
From Rudell’s perspective, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
After all, this birthday was the occasion where Leje would be recognized as an adult.
Naturally, there would be a lot to prepare for such an event.
He might need ten bodies just to get through it!
“Please come this way. I will guide you to a place where you can wait.”
“Oh, yes.”
With that thought in mind, Frishe politely bowed her head and began to walk, while Rudell followed her.
A short while later…
Ahh, it’s been a while since I’ve been here.
He walked down the now familiar hallway for a few minutes.
“You can wait here.”
The spot he arrived at was one he recognized well.
“This place…”
A garden filled with countless flowers and plants.
This was the garden he visited the second time he came to the Duke’s House.
“If you need anything, please feel free to ask the waiting handmaids.”
“Yes, thank you.”
As Rudell nodded at Frishe, who bowed again, she turned and left the garden.
With a heavy thud the door closed, and Rudell, who had been looking in that direction, turned to stroll through the garden.
The sound of water flowing from the fountain in the center of the garden.
The sound created by the grass swaying in the spring breeze.
Even the chirp chirp of the small birds hiding in the foliage.
Everything was just as he remembered.
“Oh, this is still here.”
At that moment, his eyes caught sight of a familiar table.
A table polished so much that one could see their reflection.
“I remember you asking me to be your friend here.”
Rudell stopped in front of it and recalled the memory.
[I wanted to be friends with you.]
“It’s really been a long time…”
A whole seven years.
The time when the boy and girl who used to play tag had now become recognized as adults.
Just then, as Rudell was smiling while reminiscing about the old memories…
“Huh? Who are you? I’ve never seen you before?”
“…?”
A voice from behind him made Rudell turn around, and what he saw was a woman.
She was at least a head taller than Leje, with a voluptuous figure.
With an adult-like appearance, sharp features, and deep red hair, her striking golden eyes made her deserve the title of beauty.
“Being here means you were personally invited by Leje, right?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Rudellheit Weinstein, Lady Karens.”
As he knelt down, carefully observing the woman who narrowed her eyes at him, it was Kaylee Jane Karens.
Sure enough, just like Leje’s Lagrind Dukedom, Karens was one of the five Duke’s Houses within the Kingdom.
“Weinstein? Oh! You’re that Leje’s boyfriend!!”
“I-I’m her boyfriend!?”
Upon hearing Kaylee clap her hands as if she remembered something, Rudell exclaimed in surprise.
To be honest, Rudell always thought of himself as Leje’s friend and had never considered he might be her boyfriend.
“Of course you are! You’re a boy and her friend, so that makes you a boyfriend, right?”
“Oh, is that what you meant…?”
Considering her personality, she must have intended it as a serious relationship.
After all, in the original story, her role was to tease Leje.
Of course, Rudell couldn’t openly interrogate her about it either.
In a sense, she was far more dangerous than Leje.
“By the way, I was curious to see what kind of person Leje made friends with. You’re way more normal than I expected?”
“…”
Saying such a rude thing on their first meeting was a sign she held enough status to not care about the feelings of those beneath her.
Why would someone with sufficient power and authority need to consider the feelings of others below them?
“Speaking of which, I should introduce myself. I’m Kaylee Karens, as you just heard, the daughter of the Karens Dukedom. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, Lady Karens.”
While she tended to be rude, she wasn’t a bad person at heart.
She simply had a laid-back personality that didn’t bind her to authority or status.
In fact, in the novel, she often took good care of those around her and provided crucial help when the protagonist’s group got stuck.
That meant she was a reliable ally, in other words.
“So you were also invited by Leje, right?”
“Yes.”
The phrase “you too” meant she had received Leje’s invitation as well.
By now, Rudell could guess Leje’s intentions.
Clearly, she was trying to introduce him to Kaylee.
“Now, now, don’t make such a serious face. Come over here and sit.”
“In that case, I won’t hold back.”
Looking at him, Kaylee settled into a chair on the table, and Rudell nodded, taking a seat opposite her.
“Hey, can you bring some tea and snacks?”
“Understood, Lady Karens.”
At Kaylee’s command, a nearby handmaid moved quickly, and Kaylee squinted at Rudell.
“Hmm. For now, you pass.”
“Pass… what do you mean?”
It wasn’t hard for Rudell to grasp the meaning behind her words.
“Let me reiterate: I’m not in a relationship with the Duchess Leje.”
“Hmm…? Is that so?”
With that, Kaylee’s eyes narrowed, and just then, Rudell felt a sense of foreboding from her gaze.
“So how about me? I’m much prettier than Leje, right?”
Getting up, Kaylee approached Rudell with a seductive smile.
Her thigh brushed lightly against his knee, teasingly…
“I can give you anything you want.”
That was the truth.
In political ability, Kaylee’s Karens Dukedom surpassed Leje’s Lagrind Dukedom, there was no denying that.
But…
“Lady, I mean no offense, but it seems your jokes have gone a bit too far.”
From the start, Rudell became friends with Leje for a greater purpose, not for the sake of wielding power.
To prevent a future where people like Leje and those around her would be harmed or killed.
“I must have misjudged you. You’re definitely not like all those typical no-good types.”
It seemed his answer pleased her, as Kaylee smiled brightly and took her seat again without any sign of what had just been said.
“I apologize. I can’t watch my little sister with some no-good loser.”
“I understand.”
Anyone would have reacted similarly if they saw Leje with someone who was not worthy.
Kaylee’s earlier actions were understandable to Rudell.
“Well, now we should start talking, shouldn’t we?”
“What do you mean?”
Hehehe. With a gleaming look in her eyes, Kaylee rested her chin on her hand and gazed at him.
“About how you two met.”
“…”
So this is the way it goes…
Her personality could be described positively as playful or negatively as somewhat malicious.
When on earth is Leje coming…?
In order to escape this situation, Leje needed to arrive as soon as possible.
Just then, Rudell found himself longing for her even more, desperately trying to buy time.
Bang!
With a loud bang, the door to the garden swung open…
“Sisterrrr-!!”
There stood Leje, wearing a light green dress, gasping for breath.
“Oh my, our little sister is here?”
Kaylee let out a low chuckle as she saw her, and Leje strode toward her, leaning on the table fiercely as she asked,
“Rudell, are you okay? She hasn’t said anything weird to you, has she?”
“She would never say anything strange to my boyfriend.”
With her eyes narrowed, Leje inquired, while Kaylee wore a playful grin.
And at that moment, Rudell could see it.
Kaylee’s sharp eyes glaring at him.
‘If you say anything, you’ll die.’
That look seemed to say just that.
“W-well… nothing happened…”
Facing a lady of the same Duke’s House as Leje, Rudell practically had no choices left.
“Really? What a surprise… No! More importantly, you have a boyfriend!?”
“If I’m a boy and a friend, that makes him my boyfriend, right?”
“Really, this sister of mine…!!”
In the peaceful (or was it chaotic?) garden of the Duke’s House, a storm began to brew.
