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'Do you even know? That you're the only one I act like a fool around anymore.'
Mikael first showed his face in high society when he was seventeen.
Being shy, he couldn't properly talk to anyone else and didn't fit in.
Because of that, he was ridiculed among the nobles.
That was when Leticia reached out to him.
"There's space left on my dance card... Would you do me the honor of requesting a dance?"
At the time, Leticia, who was two years older than Mikael, was already the flower of high society.
Even though she didn't need to dance with a fledgling who had just debuted, she was the one who suggested the dance to him first.
At that moment, Leticia looked so radiant in his eyes.
With his dance with Leticia, Mikael went from being a socially inept boy with no presence to an attractive man on the border between boy and man.
Simply because the flower of high society had chosen him.
'I suppose the lady probably doesn't even remember the kindness she showed that day...'
That memory instilled a great determination in Mikael.
He wanted to become an objectively better, more decent man. Even for Leticia, who had chosen him.
After much effort, he no longer trembled or felt intimidated in front of people.
Of course, he couldn't change his innate introverted nature itself, so he couldn't become an extroverted person.
But he was able to become a gentleman who was decent in anyone's eyes and possessed the dignity of a noble.
However...
"Uh, I mean... I'm not a suspicious person. Please believe me!"
The composure and noble attitude that he had acquired through hard work crumbled as soon as he faced Leticia.
It was so absurd that he had managed to get the chance to work with her.
Still, it was good.
Because he was able to see Leticia again, who had been rarely seen at banquets since her marriage to Peydan.
"Lord Hildes? Why aren't you eating?"
Leticia, who had somehow bought another ice cream, tilted her head as she looked at him.
Mikael finally snapped out of it.
"...Ah."
"The ice cream is melting..."
"I was waiting because I wanted to eat it together."
Leticia blinked at Mikael's absurd answer, and then burst into laughter.
"Then eat it quickly."
Then she took a bite of the ice cream. A satisfied smile spread across her lips as she savored the taste.
But Mikael, without even thinking of eating the ice cream, was just staring at her blankly.
He was happy just to look at her, just to be by her side.
It would be a lie to say that he didn't want more at all, but he didn't dare to hope.
Because to him, Leticia was not simply a woman he liked, but a 'star'.
A person who illuminated him in the darkness.
A person who became a light so that he could become a better person and move forward.
So...
I hope she never loses that light.
I hope she continues to smile happily as she does now.
After finishing my work, I returned to the mansion in the evening.
And I went down to the dining room, feeling a little nervous.
The reason being...
If I go to the dining room, Idris will probably be there as usual, and when I see his face... I don't know how I should act.
'Of course, nothing happened between us...'
The subtle atmosphere from last night kept bothering me.
It might just be my imagination, but I was afraid that the different atmosphere would bring about a change between us.
But.
"His Highness's schedule has been delayed more than expected, so he will be late in returning home. It would be best if you had dinner first."
The person who caused the ripples in my lake did not appear.
Not even until I finished my meal.
'I was a little scared because I didn't know what my reaction would be when I saw Idris's face...'
But not seeing his face made me even more scared.
'I think I'll only feel relieved if I see Idris's face and confirm that last night's events haven't changed anything between us.'
I told the butler to let me know when Idris arrived.
I decided to wait for him in the drawing room and do some work.
That was, writing the bazaar invitations.
Usually, invitations like this are sent by many people, so maids in noble families or people in the administrative office write them for national events like this bazaar.
However, instead of entrusting it to Mikael, I brought it, saying that I would write the invitations myself.
"You're going to send invitations directly to all these people?!"
"It's a bazaar that's being held after a long time. You have to show that much sincerity so that the invitee will feel like showing sincerity, don't you think?"
"It must be very difficult..."
"It's okay. What job in the world is easy?"
...I shouted confidently like that, but.
As soon as I saw the list of people to send invitations to and the pile of letters, my wrist seemed to hurt already.
'I should have just entrusted it to the administrative office.'
But I can't allow my pride to go back on my word!
I started filling the letters with content related to each person, thinking of the stories I had shared with people in high society.
It was at that moment that I was absorbed in writing the letters.
Suddenly, a shadow fell from behind, and a large hand rested beside the table.
Soon, a familiar voice was heard.
"I was waiting, so I was secretly hoping..."
Surprised, I turned my head and saw Idris, who seemed to have just returned home.
"You were waiting to order this today, weren't you."
He scanned the list in front of me and sighed.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now."
I was reminded that he was a war hero. He approached without a sound.
"Did you have dinner?"
"I ate, roughly. Are you worried about me now?"
His playful appearance, turning to me and smiling, was no different from usual.
As if the subtle atmosphere from last night was all a lie.
I was relieved to see his unchanging appearance, but I wondered why I felt a little disappointed.
But there was no time to question that contradictory feeling.
'The distance seems too close...'
The distance between him, who was leaning his upper body towards me with one arm on the table, was too close.
The warmth that is usually felt when people get close, even without touching, the smell of the outside air, the languid breath mixed in with it, all of it.
"Don't trust me too much, Leticia."
Overwhelmed by the sudden memory of last night, I subtly avoided his gaze and broke away from the memory.
"Ahem, still... I have to feed you before I work you."
"But why are you writing this? Isn't writing invitations the job of the administrative office?"
Idris's gaze, which had been scanning the list and letters, turned sharply cold.
"Don't tell me that guy ordered you to?"
Realizing that 'that guy' he was talking about was Mikael, I quickly cleaned up the situation before an unnecessary spark flew.
"I said I would do it. If we show sincerity on this side, the recipients will feel that we are paying a lot of attention to this event. Then, even if they weren't interested, they might become interested."
"I think the curiosity of Mariposa's new products is enough."
"Some people value curiosity, but others value this kind of sincerity. You know, business requires you to capture both reason and emotion."
"That's a sophisticated approach, like a businessman."
Idris chuckled and pulled a chair next to me and sat down.
"What will you give me if I help you?"
He, who can have anything he wants, wouldn't really want something material from me.
So that was another joke.
"Um... deep trust in a partner?"
"Oh, you're going to get away with just words?"
"Then what do you want?"
As his gaze, resting his chin and staring at me, became a little awkward, Idris opened his mouth.
"Tell me a story."
"A story?"
"What happened today, what you ate, what you felt. Anything."
"..."
"I want to hear. How was your day."
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