Red Tape

“…!”

Liam also looked at Erwin with surprise, and the two exchanged bewildered glances.

Erwin sat on the floor with one knee bent to match her eye level and looked at the girl holding his hand with shaking eyes. Erwin immediately remembered her name.

“Lady Aila, do you know me…?”

“Yes! I read it in the letter my brother sent me.

“The letter…?”

Erwin’s face turned pale.He nodded to Liam with an anxious expression on his face.

“But, he is Erwin.”

Even if someone knew the name, they needed an explanation to figure out which of the two standing next to each other they knew.

The girl pointed at Erwin’s hair with her little finger. Her small hand stretched out into the air, twitching as if she wanted to touch it.

“He said Erwin has honey-like hair.”

“Right… .”

Now that I think about it, Francis used to write letters every day to relieve his homesickness.

I thought they didn’t know me, but maybe they knew everything from the letters Francis sent. Who I am, and how harshly I rejected Francis.

Erwin put strength into his trembling knees and slowly got up.

The Viscount and his wife, who were approaching him, smiled happily.

Could it be that they didn’t know? If they did, they wouldn’t be smiling at me like that.

The Hervey family lined up in front of Erwin, who is stiff with alertness.

“Greetings from Alfred Hervey.

“This is Miriam Hervey.”

The warm-looking Viscount and his wife greeted him politely. Then they introduced their children one by one.

“This is our older second son, Oscar; third son, Jacob; older fourth daughter, Abigail; youngest fifth son, Harry; and youngest daughter, Ayla.”

“Greetings to the lord Erwin of Calliwell.”

The children of Viscount Hervey, who had lost their eldest son, Francis, are now five children, greeted Erwin altogether.

Erwin, who feels an indescribable sense of guilt, wants to leave the place right away.

“Thank you for inviting me. Baden Hall is a truly beautiful place. I appreciate the hospitality of allowing us to stay in the mansion. Thanks to you, I had a comfortable night.”

Erwin continued to speak quickly so that no one could interrupt. He just wanted to leave this place quickly.

“Since we have a schedule, we should stop here…”

“Will Erwin be joining us for lunch?”

The innocent child’s voice cut off Erwin’s words. The Viscountess looked at her youngest daughter with embarrassment.

“Ayla!”

“Let’s eat together! Right?”

“Stop it. The young Duke is uncomfortable.”

However, the youngest daughter, who grew up with only love from her five older siblings and her parents, is unusually stubborn.

“Erwin! Will you join us for lunch? Can’t you sit next to me?”

Only then did the Viscount and his wife understand why the youngest was acting up. The young lady of the Viscount’s family has fallen in love with the blond young duke from the north at first sight.

The Viscount, who couldn’t stand it any longer, cautiously suggested

“It would be a great honor for us if the young duke and her friend would join us for lunch.”

It seems that he is quite fond of his seven-year-old daughter. The Viscount reprimanded the child with his eyes as if to say “What is it?”, but he secretly wanted to give her what she wanted.

“… Then I will be thankful.”

Erwin, who was captivated by her bright eyes looking at him with anticipation, ended up saying yes.

Ayla jumped up and down in joy, and Abigail, who had recently had her debutante, blushed slightly.

After moving to the dining room, the Viscount asked Liam.

“Where is the taciturn friend next to you from… .”

Erwin quickly interrupted.

“He is a friend from Asteria. He is still not very good at speaking the Imperial language, so he is not very talkative.”

“Oh, I see. Excuse me. Please enjoy your meal.”

The happy family’s mealtime was filled with the sound of dishes clinking and chatter. There was no special or fancy food, but no one complained.

Ayla, who had taken the seat next to Erwin as she had hoped, held a serving spoon with her small hands and served salad onto Erwin’s plate.

“Erwin, you need to eat a lot of vegetables to become healthy.”

It is absurd in terms of etiquette for a noble to personally serve food. However, everyone in the baron’s household just smiled as if they found it cute, and no one pointed out or criticized Ayla.

Erwin, who had learned cynicism and contempt before affection or tolerance, found their appearance completely unfamiliar.

Is this what a normal, harmonious family looks like?

Erwin responded with a bitter smile.

“Thank you for thinking of my health.I hope you eat a lot and grow up healthy,Ayla.”

Erwin, who thought that they definitely didn’t know about him and Francis’s secret,is starting to let down his guard a little.

“There was always a story about the Young duke in Francis’s letters.”

Erwin dropped the fork he was holding with a clang at the Count’s words.

Erwin isn’t the only one who is surprised. Liam was also surprised by the familiar name coming out of the Count’s mouth and stopped moving.

Francis. It’s the name of the person my master called every night.

Erwin naturally accepted the new fork brought by the maid and smiled, saying, “I see.”

Liam could tell right away that it was a fake smile when he saw the corners of his lips pulling up and his brows dropping.

“I’ve heard a lot of stories too.”

“About our family? What did that kid talk about?”

All the family members stopped talking and waited for Erwin to speak. They seemed eager to get at least a piece of their memories of Francis.

Erwin, who had been giving a polite and concise answer, hesitated for a moment as if embarrassed.

“For example… Oscar was so playful that he put a frog on Harry’s head and Harry fainted because he was so surprised.”

“Oh, that’s right!”

“Haha…”

The family members laughed as they recalled their memories.

“And like when Abigail Youngae and Jacob had a huge fight and Jacob cut off Youngae’s favorite doll’s head.”

“Haha! No, Francis must have really been badmouthing our family!”

“That’s impossible. All of them were just happy stories. I don’t have any siblings, so those are the stories I remember the most.”

After a burst of laughter, two maids came with a trolley.

They poured a golden liquid from a glass bottle into crystal glasses and placed them in front of Erwin and Liam.

“Try it. It’s Baden Hall’s proud apple wine.”

The golden liquid, which looked refreshing just by looking at it, sloshed. Erwin watched the small bubbles rise up and brought the glass to his lips as if in a trance.

As soon as he put it in his mouth, a little carbonation tickled the tip of his tongue. Then he felt the fresh scent of apples moistening his taste buds and spreading throughout his body.

“Lord Erwin?”

When he turned his head at Ayla’s call, he saw her green eyes widen.

“Huh? Erwin is crying!”

“…Huh?”

Erwin, startled, groped his face with his fingertips. Just as Ayla had said, his cheeks were wet.

Realizing that he was crying, he couldn’t hold back the tears that are streaming down his face any longer. It felt like something was broken.

“Ah, I’m sorry… Excuse me for a moment.”

Erwin gets up from his seat and runs out of the dining room. Liam, who bowed slightly to ask for his family’s understanding, quickly followed him.

Erwin left the mansion and leaned behind the pergola pillar at the very front as if hiding.

Liam approached him, deliberately making loud footsteps as if to make his presence known.

Watching his back and shoulders trembling slightly, Liam couldn’t help but ask.

“May I ask… Who is Francis?”

“…”

“You always call that name as you sleep-walk around the garden.

“…”

After a long silence, a thin, trembling voice answered.

“Francis was my friend. He stayed in the room next to me in Saint-Bernoulli… and committed suicide.”

The words that had been kept inside without being told to anyone came pouring out like a dam breaking.

“I knew he was suffering from homesickness… but I didn’t listen to him.”

“I got angry. I’m having a hard time too… No one can live without enduring that much weight.”

Erwin’s shoulders shook more and more as his emotions grew more intense.

“If that’s the case,then… You should just go back.”

Liam walked with a long stride, grabbed Erwin’s arm, and turned him around before he could finish speaking. His face, soaked with tears, looked up at Liam.

Liam couldn’t hold it in anymore and pulled Erwin into his arms.

A large hand wrapped around Erwin’s head and pressed it down as if shielding him from the world. Liam’s shoulders become soaked with tears.

“That morning, he came to look for me… It seemed like he had something to say. But I… .”

“…·”

“Later…Later, when I had some free time, I was going to look in. Really.”

Erwin’s voice broke into sobs as he made excuses that he could not tell anyone.

“I was so scared. I ran over and hugged the hanging leg, but… It was already cold.”

It was the moment when the question Liam had been having was resolved.

Witnessing someone’s death was a scary thing for anyone. On top of that, the guilt led to the disease of dream wandering.

“What have I done…?”

“…”

What if he died resenting me?”

When Erwin looked up, seeking an answer, he saw the Viscount and his wife over Liam’s shoulder. They were close enough for the two people standing under the pergola to hear them clearly.

“… !”

Liam carefully removed Erwin, who was startled and shaking, from his arms and looked at him with worried eyes.

Even his white face had turned pale. Only then did Liam, who followed Erwin’s gaze and turned around, spotted the Viscount and his wife and instinctively pulled Erwin to his back and hid him.

The Viscount, with his dark, hardened face, slowly began to approach.