I was about to say the obvious words of refusal, but I looked into the unknown face and nodded.
I need to find out now. What on earth does this person do that keeps meeting me?
Sabagsabag.
Fallen leaves or grass debris were stepped on underfoot.
While I was slowly walking along the path through the garden, Daniel, who was walking at my pace, was the first to open his mouth.
"You don't seem to be in a very good mood."
"I see. There was nothing to feel good about."
If it feels good to look into the abyss inside a person and expose their low-level insides, then there must be a problem with that.
I glanced at Daniel and asked.
"And what about Daniel?"
"The feeling of coming here after such a long time was so special that I had a hard time falling asleep."
"You seemed closer to the Marchioness than I thought."
Why did they pretend to be faceless and keep their distance from each other at the banquet?
Daniel smiled awkwardly for a moment at my words and continued.
"I only had the opportunity to see her occasionally when I was younger than I am now. I was young at the time, and Madam would prepare delicious snacks for the cute boy."
Daniel's gaze turned to the main building of the mansion where Madam Mancini would be sleeping.
"When something bad happened to the Marchioness and she chose to stay in this mansion, I was still a child who couldn't do anything on my own."
I was convinced after guessing his age.
He would not have been close enough to visit the patient alone, and most of all, he would not have been old enough to clearly recognize the tragedy that had happened to Madam Mancini at the time and be able to comfort her.
"As time went by and we had fewer encounters with her, we naturally stopped communicating."
Despite that, Madam Mancini treated him very carefully.
I had a feeling that there were hidden 'personal circumstances' that I couldn't tell him about beyond what was clearly visible.
"Do you mind if I ask you something too?"
"Please."
"For some reason, the Lady seems strangely reluctant towards me. Of course, you didn't leave me injured and helped me, but I got the impression that you didn't like having anything to do with me at the banquet or afterward."
That's because nothing good would come of being associated with that side. Moreover, the robbery that Daniel suffered and the troublesome things that he had to do with the security forces were all related to me in the guise of Rebecca.
I don't feel guilty since he was the one who provided the cause in the first place, but it was true that it was annoying.
No matter how different I looked...
It was me. Furthermore...
"It's frustrating to have a conversation with someone you don't know what's going on."
He blinked as if he was surprised by my answer.
"Me?"
"Why did you willingly accept my request to tell you about the matter with Lady Rosalyn?"
I was also curious. For Rosalyn, who pretended not to notice me riding on her wild horse and walked away, but she went out of her way to protect her with the excuse of exchanging her words'.
But Daniel didn't ask anything. It seemed like he didn't even tell his guards about what he knew.
"I think that's what you want to do."
"Hmm."
Daniel laughed as if he was embarrassed by my question.
"If it's something as minor as this and doesn't really affect me, wouldn't it be okay to do that? Because you helped me when I was in trouble."
"..."
It wasn't an understandable reason.
It was a perfectly understandable action from his perspective.
'Why?'
The more we talked, the more I felt strangely uncomfortable, and a warning came from somewhere in my head.
Daniel saw me rolling my eyes and asked softly.
"So now the reason for your dislike of me has disappeared?"
"No."
He chuckled at my words and asked with a smile still in his voice.
"It's difficult. I wanted to leave a good impression on you."
"..."
"If there is still a reason, do you mind if I ask what it might be?"
As I looked at my face reflected in the moonlight, I came face to face with particularly striking golden eyes.
Suddenly this thought occurred to me.
The sun has always been above my head, but I have never faced him properly.
It was my first time seeing DanieI's face in such close detail.
And concluded.
"You always have a smile on your face every time I see you."
Daniel tilted his head as if it was unexpected at my answer.
"Was that uncomfortable?"
"Rather than being uncomfortable..."
After thinking for a moment, I nodded towards Daniel, who had harmless eyes.
"Is it so. It would be fair to say that it is a little uncomfortable."
Eric puts on a smile to offset his sharp expression.
It disarms the other person's wariness and makes them feel more attracted to him, making it easier to 'use' them.
Daniel was not as calculating as Eric, but he was similar in that he put intention into his laughter.
"You're not always smiling like that because you're happy."
"Yes?"
"In my experience, people who are always smiling like that are usually more likely to do it because they have less to smile about."
If you are a person full of fun and happy things, you will naturally and often laugh without having to be conscious of the other person.
"Because I know similar laughter."
In an instant, a familiar face flashed through my mind.
The face of a small child smiling brightly trying to reassure someone precious to him.
When it was time to come home after working all day, tired, the child would always come out to the door and wait for me. Whenever we met each other, he always smiled brightly.
It was a smile meant to reassure me as I was worried about the time he would not be by my side. Even on nights when I can barely breathe, even after crying until my beloved puppy dies and my eyes swell. He always tried to smile at me.
Welcome, sister.
As a result, laughter became a habit for me, and the child who couldn't show that he was having a hard time always remained in my heart.
"..."
"The wind is cooler than I thought. I have to go in."
Maybe it's because it's a dark night. After revealing my overly honest feelings, I felt embarrassed.
As I turned to the mansion, Daniel, who had been standing still, silently followed me next to him.
Eventually, until we entered the building and went up the stairs, he stood in front of the door and did not take his eyes off me.
I only realized this after entering the room.
The fact that we didn't even say good night.
***
Alfred frowned at Aileen, who had come to see him early in the morning.
'Do you really think that you are a ten-year-old child because you act so that people call you cute or young?'
Now, she was a lady who was about to make her debut.
Whether he has seen it since childhood or not, it is highly inappropriate for an unmarried man and woman to talk alone in the early morning.
Above all, it was not good for her to know that he was the one who had dragged her into coming here.
'I knew he wasn't a very smart person, but I never thought he would be this thoughtless,'
Alfred pressed his eyebrows and opened his mouth in a voice that tried to disguise calmness.
"So... Why are you looking for?"
Aileen flinched at Alfred's question, which seemed uncomfortable to anyone, and opened her mouth, pretending not to notice.
"I mean, Isabella."
Is that the story in the end?
He brought her into the mansion to clean up a rock he didn't know where it came from, and Aileen, who was always causing accidents, gave him a headache.
'I guess I'll have to send her back.'
If you move yourself, you will be able to handle things more cleanly and cause less work to those around you.
Alfred hated having to mess around with a woman who moved without thinking.
This is something he shouldn't do to the Marchioness.
Aileen said, raising her head high towards Alfred, who had a cold face.
"I finally caught the tail of that family."
Only then did Alfred's eyes turn to Aileen, who was puffing out her chest in triumph.
"Tail? What kind of tail are you talking about?"
Aileen looked around and lowered her voice.
"Well, as the Commander-in-Chief knows, one of my maids is close to the maid who works in the kitchen. There's a girl from the grocery store who does groceries there, and she seems to recognize Isabella."
"...!"
Alfred's eyebrows twitched in response to Aileen's words.
He thought she was going to upset people again with something trivial. If what he heard was true, it was a story worth paying attention to.
"How did you find out?"
"There is a mercenary who has been indebted to the top for a few weeks, and he is looking for someone. Very secretly. But the appearance described is exactly that of Isabella."
"Are you sure?"
"I can guarantee the child's identity. Because she is a fully registered employee at the top."
This is the woman the mercenary is secretly looking for.
Either way, it was an opportunity to get closer to Isabella's suspicious activities.
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