On a long, luxurious couch in the corner of his office lay an equally long figure. He shielded his eyes with one arm, but didn’t bother to draw the curtains.
Then he heard someone knocking on the door. In a low voice, he bade him come in.
Lucas entered with a tray and let out a small sigh when he saw Estin on the couch.
The tray contained bread, butter, and white soup. He’d brought breakfast for Estin, who hadn’t been out of his office much lately.
Lucas set the tray on the table in front of the couch and shook Estin gently.
“Did you sleep here again?”
The languid eyes beneath his wrists opened to Lucas beside him. Lucas didn’t need an answer to know that Estin hadn’t moved from this spot for another day. Estin turned to Lucas, waving a hand in annoyance.
“Dr. Brown is coming in for a checkup.”
“……was it today?”
“Yep. If he finds out you haven’t eaten or slept like this again, he’s not going to leave you alone.”
Lucas’s threatening tone caused Estin to lazily raise his upper body.
Dr. Brown, who came to see Estin regularly, had been the Grand Duchy of Conler’s physician since Estin was born.
Although he had resigned from his post since he was old, he was willing to come to take care of Estin when he heard that he had fallen and lost his memory.
Estin only knew a few adults who had cared for him since he was a child, so he was vulnerable to Dr. Brown’s nagging.
“Eat some before you wash up.”
Lucas’s nagging was no better than Dr. Brown’s. He felt like he had to pretend to chew something to get him off his back. Estin stood up and grabbed the bread on the plate.
“Have some butter, too. It’s made from goat’s milk and very tasty…….”
“Oh, it’s delicious.”
He chewed the bread roughly, not wanting to hear what Lucas had to say.
Lucas touched his head with his hand as his forehead throbbed. Maybe he should ask Dr. Brown to check him up when he comes in later.
Maybe his prescription would say, “Don’t see your boss for a while.”
A freshly bathed Estin looked over at Lucas, who was sitting on the couch with his forehead pressed against it, wondering why he hadn’t left yet.
Estin, who had gone over to his desk and looked over his files, looked at Lucas with.
“Is Tia Bluea visiting again today?”
“I’m guessing so. She’s always showing up unannounced, like a gift.”
Estin chuckled lowly at Lucas’s exaggerated gesture in describing Tia’s visit as a gift.
Estin, who had been cold to Tia Bluea, had recently invited her back into his office to listen to her stories.
The sudden change in Estin’s demeanor sent a chill down the people of Grand Duchy’s spine once more.
The most upset was Theodore. Theodore was now in Tahata.
He said he wanted to inspect the place where Mary had met the God of the Underworld.
That was true enough, but he was also there because he didn’t like the sight of Tia Bluea constantly going in and out of the Grand Duchy.
Lucas felt uncomfortable around Tia Bluea, but he also realized that she was an amazing person. She could come and go as she pleased in this place where no one is welcoming her.
He wondered what she was thinking when she came here, so he struck up a conversation with her. Tia seemed like a normal kid, but for some reason, their conversation made her feel out of place here.
It was a little out of the ordinary, which shouldn’t be surprising since her mother wasn’t from here. But aside from that, there was something else, something different…….
And it was clear that she was hiding something.
Well, she wouldn’t tell him what she was hiding if he asked, so he didn’t pry, but Tia felt a little uncomfortable with the way Lucas was treating her, so she avoided him when he tried to talk to her.
She seems to be able to communicate well with Logan. When he asks Logan he said he already screwed up.
Tia is already wary of him.
He hadn’t planned on getting to know her, but hearing that made him feel bad.
He approached her, hoping that if he talked to her, he might learn something about her purpose in coming here, or about Duke Bluea.
Logan neatly sums it up for Lucas by saying that if she approached him in such a manner, she would raise her guard.
“Dr. Brown is here.”
While Lucas was lost in thought, Hestia came into the office to announce the arrival of Dr. Brown.
The most reliable person after Mary’s disappearance turned out to be unexpectedly Hestia Taylor. As much as Lucas hated to admit it, Hestia had been the person closest to Mary in the Grand Duchy.
Whenever something happened, Mary would run to Hestia.
Hestia, like an older sister, took care of her, so Lucas believed that if he heard that Mary was gone, Hestia would be the most worried and unable to do anything.
But Hestia comforted the shocked Grand Duke and ran around trying to raise the morale of the knights. She began intense training. The knights did not waste any time grieving Mary’s disappearance.
“Why are you doing this?”
Hestia also continued to train herself. Lucas, who hadn’t seen her hold a bow in a long time, asked her.
“Miss Kitty ran away to find a solution.”
As Hestia casually released the bowstring, the arrow flew like lightning and struck the bullseye.
Lucas applauded her impeccable form. Hestia smiled, gracefully letting the compliments flow without resenting him.
“If she comes back with a solution, I’d like to be able to help her. Whether it’s the god of the underworld or some other being…”
Hestia’s eyes gleamed menacingly as she said that.
“So that I can handle it.”
She was training in preparation for when Mary returned with a solution, so that they could deal with the god of the underworld.
That was so Hestia, Lucas patted her on the shoulder.
But Lucas knows that at night, Hestia weeps in front of the library where Mary’s drawings were displayed.
The Knights of Conler, who understood Hestia’s heart even without words, were also engaged in intense training that suddenly came upon them without any announcement.
Estin was also deeply grateful to Hestia.
“You’re here.”
Dr. Brown entered the office carrying a briefcase. The lines on his face, like the rings of a tree, showed his age.
And those wrinkles indicated that he was a wise man.
“I will leave now.”
“Hestia, you are not ill, are you?”
“Of course. If I’m sick, I would look like a corpse.”
Before Hestia left, Dr. Brown checked her health like a good doctor. Hestia replied cheerfully and said she had to train.
“She’s a very good fellow.”
“The most capable one. There’s a lot to learn from her.”
“Lucas, what do you think of Hestia?”
“What? She has a lot to learn…….”
“No, as a woman. You’re in your prime. What are you doing without getting married?”
Lucas’s smiling face stiffened at Dr. Brown’s words.
Dr. Brown couldn’t help but feel frustrated at times when he couldn’t bring Lucas and Hestia together.
To him, they were both fine, good people, and it was best for them to marry, but Lucas felt burdened whenever he did this.
“Well, considering the current situation…”
“If the situation is not like this, does that mean you have thoughts about that?”
“Well, Hestia is really like a little sister to me.”
“But he’s not really your sister. I thought you had an older brother.”
“Stop it.”
Estin’s intervention sounded like a salvation to Lucas, who was at a loss in front of Dr. Brown.
“Not Hestia. It would be a waste for her to meet a guy like him.”
It’s not salvation, it’s a curse. Lucas grumbled and Dr. Brown laughed cheerfully.
“Are you eating properly?”
Dr. Brown glanced at the tray on the table and changed the subject. There has been a slight change in Estin’s expressionless face.
Lucas caught the change and, feeling righteous, he complained to Dr. Brown.
“He doesn’t eat much. He just ate a piece of bread.”
“Are you sleeping well?”
“He’s been napping on the same couch he’s sitting on today.”
“Lucas, shut up.”
At Estin’s scolding, Lucas covered his mouth with his hand. Dr. Brown laughed as if he found them cute.
“You’re still the same. Still bickering like back then.”
“Tell him to take care of himself, doctor.”
“You must take care of yourself, Grand Duke.”
Dr. Brown was treating the two grown men like they were children, but Estin and Lucas didn’t seem to mind.
When Dr. Brown came to visit Estin after a long absence, he treated them no differently than he had treated them as children.
Estin and Lucas were embarrassed, but it was helpful to have Dr. Brown, who was much older than themselves, when they were exhausted as they are now.
“All right, all right.”
Dr. Brown’s benevolent expression changed in an instant as he looked at the two grown men as if they were mere children.
Estin met his expression and straightened his posture.
“Now, then, let’s talk about the Grand Duke’s memories.”
