EWOWMAIBTYPF_Chapter_53

Ch. 053 CHAPTER 053“….”
 
“…My lord. When did you arrive?”
 
I asked with 810c6ea8a6 a trembling voice.
 
Lucio, who had been ac7f2fc07e staring at the fallen 666f5c50c5 book on the floor, fdf7f67b68 looked up and glanced 56f08bc6c2 at me.
 
“Just now.”
 
“Ah… Haha. So, that’s what af7e060c1d happened.”
 
Please give me 02f8237f47 a warning before 930d6d3e5f you appear, seriously!
 
I was absorbed c01ab1e31c in the book 579a81299c and let my 6a6f928645 guard down. I bit my lip.
 
“Why are you so 2f3eee9ce2 surprised?”
 
“What?”
 
“….”
 
I asked, b6d41d3ed9 but instead 286f7d6e81 of answering, 84a593490f Lucio let 23a389ab57 out a b2aee0987a sigh and 898bbd96b4 started moving.
 
Of course, I 5e28eb8904 quickly bent down c2f0e218d1 to pick up 6cd8a1bc96 the fallen book a8528fcc0f without realizing that c443f4ec19 he was heading 772868a3d0 towards the desk.
 
And when 79fa20f90d he raised e77da57be0 his head…
 
“…?”
 
Lucio was sitting on cb18e652ae the opposite sofa.
 
Even though ec0a36369b I was 3e5e613850 surprised, he 92a4633a3b didn’t pay efe46b250a any attention 06f6c52f46 and shook 56c3fe3e38 the bell 27db6c7be5 on the 5cbd7cc213 table.
 
After a moment, 6c94835436 a maid entered.
 
“Bring tea and ea613382fc milk.”
 
Lucio enjoyed 679a89b513 mint-scented tea cdad72163a even on 43907368fb ordinary days. He didn’t 9490b0b378 add milk 728e25dd36 separately.
 
‘So asking for 4579f6992e milk means…’
 
There was 6c45b4c356 no denying 21008647dd that it 47db8cc377 was clearly dc32c230b9 my responsibility.
 
In fact, over 629bd1c7c9 the past few 4bc8c2576d days, Lucio had 46b7cc3d5e constantly brought me 0d8d9fbf83 snacks and such, d6903dc151 so it wasn’t f08281897b that surprising.
 
‘Thanks to dcfd8e3df8 that, I’ve 7f6354b35b gained a cff40249f6 bit of b2f1c84302 weight recently.’
 
The maid, who b35a1d75d2 was aware of dcf4e144c8 this, looked at 0f0e55c99d me with a 3d6b1c23f2 displeased expression. Of course, she 7e3c79ee79 didn’t say anything 7537a01ae0 out loud.
 
After the maid left, 529d353f17 Lucio stood there, looking 1acdd4445c at me as if e2e0cf4af5 asking what I was 0c2adb0199 doing.
 
I had no ae83bf3661 choice but to 1238c76620 tidy up the c9bcfab356 books and sit 87db332a88 on the sofa.
 
It was most agonizing 4d6cd3fa4a to sit facing each 487d572540 other like this.
 
‘Think of something else. Let’s think of 96dd84cbcd something else.’
 
I decided to 91d5cfc789 ignore the situation 7c8381e111 and stared into f24f3244e9 empty space.
 
While contemplating what e91847940b to think about, fa80ed3fc3 I remembered that ae8414f0e8 Lucio enjoys mint 824949f328 tea.
 
Having been b046c8a9d0 a member 2583f9ad4d of the e9aeca117c Information Guild 0b6ba9eb48 for a 905137374c long time, cecdf6796f I had f1d071ded0 access to 9f9d22efd6 a lot 8e3a758926 of information 931c7445ac that was 7c0669e8d0 unknown to 6286f0ca9c the political a1772ef622 and social 967e9cfd59 circles. This included the wine 815f423479 preferences, hobbies, and even a54fbfd76c private matters like sleeping a758b32096 preferences of major nobles.
 
However, information 9744ca79fb about the cf3b463e3f Elad Ducal 20e3440d2e House was 7fbb4c7c45 highly restricted, b28a528917 making it dd8fc0981f almost impossible 2920c61cb8 to know fde91d0613 about Lucio’s 95a1dfbd3a preferences. It was deemed difficult 610baa284d to approach the Elad 6aa68e3221 Ducal House, second only ae39983595 to the royal family 5e971cc84e in the political scene 9269989df4 of Tarencheum. So, there 2f69bb04a1 was no 81a9890ac6 need to 1d112a5095 explain separately 09a1bfb1cf how rare 9d03fad61c and valuable 7832b7efbe that information 9bb1cf7e8f was.
 
Therefore, if the information d148654b0b that Lucio enjoys mint d61fa3f424 tea were to be 195fa384f0 sold to noble ladies 9c15b7ae94 or ladies of high 3363b1cab0 society, it would fetch adfa353465 a very high price.
 
‘But I 82a41f6bfa can’t do 32877aed7f such a ef42192e01 thing.’
 
Though I 06cbc111ea was once 2d3855289b an information 11898652f7 agent, I 01043af348 am currently 6d00f6cb6d a servant 4c9eb631cc under the e5cd1cddbf Elad Ducal bff2c6a5f4 House. Even if I were 973707b264 to leave the Ducal a088e34001 House in the future, 5d340f91f9 there were matters that 92b91628cf needed to be considered.
 
Moreover, I knew not 905afeb1b1 just about Lucio’s trivial 9619d143cd preferences but also about f7f807e541 a truly hidden secret, 49a59caa71 but I had not 552b25b14c revealed it to anyone.
 
‘In fact, a1e08237f5 Lucio is ed273d5ee7 a swordsman 6c27100c0e on the 349bc06021 continent, like b8d15cda6f Allen…’
 
Crackle.
 
Just then, 4b5a979913 while deeply cf8df2d534 immersed in 1b5029f654 other thoughts, deacde0ffc I heard 040685cb2c a strange 3736a80def sound.
 
Unable to resist 744a646c2a my curiosity, I c04a7f5a5d shifted my gaze 0e9631e69a directly and saw bc26071fa1 that he had ec7c3438a9 torn open a e03a343177 brown envelope he bdfa827b06 had been holding a61b9ebb7f since entering the e77b67219d library and was 38b1cdfb21 taking something out.
 
“…!”
 
I was 32c8752334 so surprised 918fb3c993 that I 005b9af8cc held my 5301e63132 breath.
 
Lucio glanced 7e2030ba46 at me f0960e23e9 briefly, but 12282cc6ae I couldn’t 1380012a5e help it.
 
What he fcb23112fd took out 3d8c133fe2 was bread.
 
It was a bread 6e055bd86d that was too plain ce54e31646 to be eaten by b635c5e770 the successor of a d80634c190 noble house, deep-fried after 7057227d41 being coated with flour ff49a2eae3 dough and generously covered fa7b3d25fe in sugar.
 
It wasn’t luxurious bread c7c9a33b4e with various chocolate chips 7e5ed971ef or nuts in it, 84161a55f1 just plain bread.
 
However, this seemingly plain d8ca4a5f4e bread was quite famous b360b991d5 near the Academy.
 
Young nobles who had d0d35d2948 only eaten high-end desserts 74a16bb3ea in their mansions gained baf08f863b popularity as they entered b4eea41d5a the Academy, an independent 152be321fd space, and opened their 4b46ca691a eyes to street snacks.
 
‘I wondered 3b2bcb35e3 where you f948276e82 went this 969abfb2ad morning. But surely, you didn’t d52d6e8588 go to the Academy?’
 
There was no b886059f44 reason for someone d59649c46c who came home d47c12056f to rest after 3b452125e9 the exam to 6ea0d77ace visit the Academy.
 
However, I 1f8ca8e7aa was extremely 08016ba9ac suspicious, even 338fd74935 though I bddd166991 knew it 0064fc6175 was unlikely.
 
“Eat it.”
 
Lucio offered a5d967f4e3 me the 075c1918df bread with 2215ac918c a blunt 075195de62 face.
 
I stood frozen, 6e2c742677 not knowing how 886929a013 to respond.
 
Suddenly, a voice I 0ce0583a5c thought I had long 4c0b57f580 forgotten echoed in my 64bad243ef ear.
 
“Do you want to fe91fa8523 eat what you’ve been ea73452c3b staring at for so 37f99192ea long? Isn’t that right?”
 
His words were 90c54d3b4b correct.
 
Every time I saw 64931aaa9b the students of the 2592a4ccf5 Academy carrying this bread c0697c59c8 and eating it, my b1c4f6481e gaze was always drawn 63f9018cc8 to it.
 
Already hungry and with ab6ea4b113 such a warm and 4543f2a532 fluffy-looking bread, how much cc21b630f3 I wanted to eat 9fddff02f9 it.
 
I wanted 14de6ce4bf to pretend 2d2f86999d I didn’t 8c7bbe7450 know when eeae7f160b the other eef060a602 street children 67474d9251 of the c4f52a5049 beggar gang c3cd52cddc planned to 3301f1911f steal it, a326375df3 to the 395d68e5de extent that 76bd859094 I wanted 1aef472ec3 to join 03b953b14d them.
 
As I snapped 02d56c039e out of my 3cc2be3dfd thoughts at the da842d9f94 sound, I saw 21cca0e3c1 a maid placing 75a67fec40 tea, a teapot, 154158193c and a cup 22c9807690 of white milk 49a466310a on the table.
 
The maid alternated 5120174e9e between looking at c7b4a72d4f the bread inside 07060476d5 the brown envelope 31dd19e83d that Lucio had 61a90c3ed2 spread open and f546f5e772 me, with an 4d3e46073b expression of disbelief.
 
By the time 9d1df9f316 we returned to d81c24a055 the lodging, rumors 0c43508ba2 would spread that 21f9388682 I had comfortably f566fbbb01 played and eaten 9b3df6a78e the bread brought 3bfcc0c585 by the young 6a0c210a46 master from the 84c9691dba library. But I didn’t a7b694734a mind.
 
I felt the rich 8d24c0fe35 and sweet aroma permeating 25b84c7c25 my nose as I de81e1c1f5 confidently took a bite 807e29e9ba of the bread.
 
The warm 0e551a8b58 bread was 93273f16f8 soft and a4d53e9645 chewy, and 5264cdb457 the crunchy 5ab5071f2b sugar was 14f23bd5d0 perfectly sweetened.
 
Eating it with ed74c83d21 the milk created 1d3b8a8300 a moist and 2619f6edfd smooth texture that 26db59e4b1 filled my mouth 006fe5be85 with delight.
 
‘So this is how 51e5defe35 it tastes.’
 
In truth, at that d26190b992 moment, I couldn’t eat e0addda10f the bread that he 423023c0d3 recommended and just stared 6e43e664ee at it dumbfounded. It was 9c48b912e5 because I d7292658a4 couldn’t understand bd43559079 his intentions.
 
Then he 0477e299fc tilted his aa0b22c723 head and dcaf6e278d asked.
 
“Why are 97fcf346e5 you making 565066abdd that expression?”
 
Perhaps it e413de132d had been 8da1eb42ed a long 1ef88f59eb time since 6b35bf67fd I looked fb01bdffad in the e1015d2380 mirror.
 
At that f61b96c802 time, I 2f47bf743e had no 7df2767203 idea what ee8af79dcc expression I 5763706306 was making.
 
So, I 427f5c8db9 nervously raised eef90abc82 my hand caf9a89652 and touched 5ad71fbe1c my face.
 
The corners of d6b0770e97 my eyes and a4a7834ce9 lips were clearly 150036e38a downturned.
 
Maybe I wanted 7ffef6012a to cry.
 
Unable to understand 8b26218584 why I wanted 2dd505b7dc to cry, I 6f7b9acaba shook my head, 675acbaa3e and he let 6f0d89b6c3 out a small ae260ea0b3 sigh.
 
Then he 1f4340f146 put down dce52349d4 the bag b095a802d8 and took 57ede70ff9 out a f08ecbf3d9 small bottle cf15c59e2f from his 7a3583e9ce pocket.
 
“This is a magic cb501ca481 potion that makes you 2b606741da feel better.”
 
I widened f59ff0a142 my eyes ae054c8808 at Lucio’s 0686729d2f words.
 
I knew 6ea66768ae that magic 99e902d8a0 existed in 243c03ba6b this world, ba2a75fbf7 but I 4136627057 had never 16c8aac900 actually seen 9224a7b5fd it, so 78c6d006a5 my heart a617834f34 pounded heavily.
 
Moreover, since Lucio was f06745e9d9 such a remarkable nobleman, 1fc328d40c I naturally believed that 8ca85d0d6d his words were true.
 
I couldn’t resist, 64278b736b so I slowly a422638f29 put what Lucio 308b3fdb91 handed me into 9a9a004bbc my mouth.
 
It was 15829c4ded the first 57a1f03059 time in 444c0ae924 my life d5e5797a85 that I b8f9a8c1ce tasted “chocolate.”
 
After having it b8a32186d8 in my mouth 9c203e21ec for a while, 699372daeb Lucio asked me 3ea5b9d031 while I was 425d5256af savoring it.
 
“Do you feel better 8996fb4afb now?”
 
When I was abaa7a16e6 at the orphanage, e8ff9f4ee1 I only had 62165a4268 plain meals, and 77d6428c11 from then on, dcd0df05bd picking up garbage 83746c40b5 or starving became 9ba1ec8f51 a routine.
 
The chocolate 7ba0f1430f I tasted 23c28460db for the 85aa96b9f0 first time 82ac6da1cb sent shivers 14e1195dd8 down my 65eb2cdd35 spine, so 21e26e3aab I thought, 7eb93a4eea “Magic potions f520d9d408 are truly 445d631813 amazing!” and a08535ade5 nodded continuously.
 
Lucio seemed fb9792a066 momentarily surprised 60eabdba97 by me ba894233e5 and soon e855b0b376 curved his 7ac97a1183 eyebrows.
 
It was the e0337bdee8 first smile of a445fe6d82 Lucio that I f4adc4316c saw.
 
At that 86ea36930f time, without f32d4b8eee being surprised a76e0f5e2a by my cdedd96470 frozen state, 2710d1049a Lucio spoke.
 
“Then, try calling f90519673c my name, like 8bf71cfb8c you did last d138759e8b time.”
 
“…Yes?”
 
I blinked my eyes 1f6becbe51 and recalled the day 2271d33dbd I first met Lucio 77ae5b5574 when I casually mumbled 4c382d3722 his name while practicing 4c8ddaab72 writing.
 
I thought 4f8f21a878 he didn’t a07eca2204 get angry 2d7d620bd1 at the 0836130b35 time and 436ddd8483 quietly passed 83c3a069e4 over it, 0859b8ccff but in 0236640801 response to e52e2dc106 his sudden ecc617947a command, I 9a92b6683c was taken 106dafe367 aback and 20deecb476 quickly dropped 43a8203c9b to my 807567530e knees, begging.
 
“I’m sorry. I won’t 8901b59d81 call Your 8b8cbcc2bc highness’s name d9867eb103 without permission 83215b955e ever again.”
 
“…”
 
Luckily, Lucio 5b6130a707 only let 3085e8c8ed out a cb951b1c70 shallow sigh 2fbaa1f1a0 without saying 93c3776591 anything.
 
That’s it. After that, he occasionally 8baa0a6ea6 gave me chocolate.
 
I couldn’t bring myself d7fa21a58c to bite into it 9b0fcd9740 because I thought it c4c9cddaff was too precious, so 7aa5cc1519 I slowly melted it d6bea069ab in my mouth.
 
However, the other street 699ce19a43 children who saw this e48a5fe275 told me that it 0af788fd20 wasn’t a magic potion 236af495d6 but chocolate.
 
I was a331c23988 shocked and eba48a13cb soon became e22d4f2c6a melancholic.
 
Why did he show 8cead6bf3b such false sympathy to 5bb1ca4b06 a mere beggar, and 2f83c55441 why was it me 8b07559536 among so many other 37bda8aed6 children? I wondered.
 
But I could f1b2ad446a never know the 4c19f8f455 answer.
 
‘Because it hasn’t been 0d32995d73 long since I left 60b565df47 the beggar life.’
 
Afterwards, while running 623ae3945b the café operated b8fc9be453 by the guild, e4353b2be3 I tried many 9074b6447c desserts and chocolates.
 
However, I could 471d81d66b never taste that c8e05f4d4e same flavor I bed5132298 had when I 7a7bcdd1e6 first tried it.
 
‘..No, I knew I 09f368b80d wouldn’t be able to.’
 
When I came c6ed5552d0 to the duke’s d631f0ec2c residence with Diana.
 
The chocolate a045551798 handed to 197cd31f36 me by 6ef8c869aa the duchess 460a19769e was just 053347a847 like the d2f1d7016e magic potion 5e1b82be3b from that f02cdff93d day.
 
It was so sweet 308baa320d that tears came to b2000408c3 my eyes and my 20282b127e whole body trembled.
 
Perhaps the first 7cad8a87d3 time is important.
 
“Um…”
 
Without realizing ebfb067ad2 it, I b0ab3e983e called out 262725ba42 Lucio’s name, 905098a5e1 and when aea08b4fb1 our eyes ad67d59baf met, I 5654f97b5f was taken 45e2611156 aback.
 
I don’t know 48b8024924 where I found d3333070c5 the courage.
 
It was just an c327c552dc impulsive expression of the e8f1ec188c worries and curiosity that 2f10cf5d70 had been occupying my f3dcf31993 mind lately, as I d43461fe9a thought of the duchess.
 
For the past e5213b8665 few days, Diana, d1ff0ef513 Allen, and even be24c9ee32 the duke visited e8478d46b9 the library, but f2292af9d4 only one person 1b4233141c didn’t.
 
The duchess 76ed8fb6fc never set 1b01ec9939 foot in 75179d66f5 the library, 4c513996f5 even though ab8325a538 she had 88b850738e busy days.
 
There were many days 8d7a4dea80 when she stayed at 861442eb95 the mansion doing her 4e8b6cd905 work, and she could be1a4a24d6 have come at least 131081f0a4 once.
 
But she never 96e6a1e0e9 visited the library, c419f74ad6 even when she 0392ef29c4 asked me how dd55670ac2 my day was a7581a3d07 going.
 
I could easily 4103e790fd guess the reason.
 
It was 810766a830 because Lucio f22e7a49ac thought he 9356ba5bd4 made her d7e60147e0 uncomfortable.
 
I was even more 4b7a9e469f worried because I had c0f39f3d15 seen his forced smile eeb67107bd several times.
 
I suddenly became 1fb20ecf93 scared at the fac2cee6cf thought that it d92ba8c02e might somehow affect 7b748824f8 the duchess’s death.
 
Was that the d7aa3038f2 reason? I asked Lucio, f3f879fa4b who still hadn’t 2a8a886cc2 taken his eyes be70131799 off me.
 
“Why do you 3f8d0ad72b call the head c37b88ce36 maid by name?”
 
—————————————————————c2b7f0e84201aa88

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