I HURRIEDLY GOT UP FROM the bench.
“Amber, is my outfit weird now?”
“No, though you need to touch up your hair again.”
“Okay.”
“I have led him to the parlor, so there is no need to rush. He didn’t even send a letter in the first place—”
Amber wrinkled her face with a look of displeasure. Her reaction was not unusual.
For anyone looking at it, this was against the rules of etiquette.
Still, the fact that she came to ask me, would have played a significant role in Noah’s usual position. He was in the same salon as Lucian, and he seemed to be quite friendly. And, it must have been because I had a crush on Noah all this time.
If it was Amber, who was always with me, she would have known better than anyone.
But, why did he come to see me and not Lucian? Also, didn’t Brother go to the salon today? Didn’t Noah go to the salon…?
“Master, shall we go with you?”
Oscar, who had been clinging to the side, asked. Damian also glanced at me with a no-different expression.
“Well…”
He was not a person to be wary of enough to have an escort, but…
I hadn’t seen him in a long time, he might not want to separate? As I lived with Lucian, the time we met naturally decreased. We used to drink tea together, although lately, we haven’t been able to do that at all.
After weighing my thoughts for a moment, I nodded happily.
“Thank you, Master!”
“Then, let’s go there.”
I stopped into the room with Oscar and Damian, then simply rearranged my outfit and headed to the parlor where Noah was.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───
Click!
“HELLO, BROTHER NOAH.” As I entered the parlor, I was greeted with a dazzling moment. It was because of Noah, who sat alone and monopolized the sunshine.
No, even this brother’s appearance is getting more and more crazy every day…!
Lucian’s face glowed differently day by day. Just like the time when Noah and him had a good time in the original story, as his beauty was in full blow.
Nonetheless, this one was worse!
While watching him as if possessed for a moment, Noah stood up. He approached me in stride, and slightly bowed.
“Forgive me for having to come to you even though I thought it was rude, Mister.”
Then, he lifted his head and smiled at me. By the way…
I seemed to have seen that smile a lot.
Yes, when and where I saw it was when we met in the alley of a bookstore. Even Noah’s face, with a grinning smile, was so calm that I almost met a small death toll for a while. Despite that, I worked hard to manage my expression.
No, what was wrong with him again? And, obviously, he was smiling brightly, but why is he doing this all of a sudden?
In confusion, Amber asked me.
“Should I prepare tea?”
“…Yes. Prepare the Darjeeling First Flush.”
I asked for the tea I drank with him before
“Brother Noah, no need to bow. You are a close friend of brother Lucian, so I will close my eyes on today’s rudeness.”
Even though I like him, I have to draw a moderate line. Well, the reason I liked him was because he was Lucian’s lover.
My undisputed bias was only Lucian.
I stepped proudly to the sofa and sat down. As long as I’m borrowing the Leon family’s surname, I shouldn’t tarnish their names.
I knew for a long time that Noah’s behavior was rude, but I couldn’t figure out why. As in the original story, if he was dating Lucian, it was understandable, though his behavior was a bit ignorant to convince him that it was just because he went to the same salon.
The fact that I was not called Young Master a while ago, but Mister, was also in line…
“Darjeeling First Flush… It was a good choice, Young Master.”
Noah, who was sitting across from me, said with a grin on his lips. Nevertheless, since I did not have time, I did not delay and asked the main point.
“May I ask why you called me?”
He glanced at Oscar and Damian, who came with me to my question.
“I want to talk with the Young Master alone.”
By the way, didn’t he say that we should go out to drink tea? Of course, it was something I would have done without knowing back then… But, not now, right? Why does he keep making such rude requests?
A little offended, I declined his request.
“It’s difficult. If you’re worried about the word leaking, you don’t have to because they are like my limbs.”
“Hmm… It was Young Master’s personal limb.”
“So, can you tell me now?”
Strangely, I did not mind.
This person in front of me, who was acting completely different from the usual Noah, was Noah, but he looked like a different person.
“That is…”
Noah tried to open his mouth with an expression that he couldn’t help it with my decisive attitude.
The next moment, Amber pulled in the trolley. I waited for her to prepare. When I also noticed him wishing for her to leave, I instructed her.
“Amber, can you wait outside for a while and let me know when brother comes back?”
“Yes, Young Master.”
At that, Amber pulled the empty trolley out of the parlor.
“Drink tea first and then talk about your business slowly.”
There was something I wanted to check first. Once that was confirmed, I had the intention to listen to whatever Noah asked for.
He confided secrets to the trash booger king, and he was also harmed.
No, well.
To be honest, it was not severe damage. It was just that there was nowhere to borrow money. After all, in the original story, he was in trouble because he owed the trash booger king.
Yes. Rather, I was tired of the trash booger king.
My mind has become complicated. I didn’t quite understand why I had such unpleasant feelings for Noah. A teacup of black tea in a beautiful succulent color was carefully picked up. I savored tea elegantly according to the etiquette I had been taught.
As I drank, he followed me and lifted the mug. I glanced down at it with my eyes down.
Even though it was the first time I drank tea with him, I often saw him holding a glass of champagne at the banquet hall. Noah had a bit of a peculiar habit. He held the champagne glass post with his thumb and forefinger, and raised his little finger to support the round part.
If so, wouldn’t he hold the teacup? Human habits don’t go away easily.
His little finger, who carried the teacup up to his mouth, was quietly coming out and was not holding the teacup together with the other fingers, though folded neatly.
His slightly crude gestures looked a little different from his usual ones.
Noah was the type that showed off characteristic fine lines like the main spotlight. Although he was a man, he had an elegant and beautiful charm.
However, today’s Noah was rough. Hmm… Should I say, like a knight, right?
Though he was a nobleman, he had been trained as a knight for a long time, so it came out without knowing it.
The moment I realized that, my spine shivered. At the same time, I remembered what Oscar had said and what the informant had told me.
If there was a case where a being like Cassander took over, wouldn’t they be possessed like me?
I thought so.
Of course, I have a slightly different concept, but the context of borrowing someone else’s body was the same… If he was the possessor, did he have special abilities like Cassander? If so, what were those abilities?
My mind started spinning round and round. I stood still with my cup in my hand and pretended to sip the tea in my mouth in a hurry so as not to show it.
“Hmm… As expected, the workmanship of the Duchy’s employees is different. Even if the workmanship is not as good as at that time, the taste of the tea is quite good.”
“…Is that so? How does the tea taste different?”
I finally confirmed.
If my hypothesis was correct, he would give an answer that is not different from then.
“It’s a little less savory, but it tends to bring out the flavor of this darjeeling well.”
I wanted to turn away from him with a confident smile on my face, but I asked again without taking my eyes off him.
“What do you mean by a little less savory?”
“Doesn’t the darjeeling smell smoke? If you use the scent well, the sweet taste that spreads in your mouth is indescribable.”
Could this habit be a criterion for judging the possessor? So, what happened to Noah I saw last time? I was confused that the original Noah had disappeared.
Was it because of the tea he was holding?
He quietly set the glass down. Then, as if waiting, he opened his mouth again.
“I came here for a request from Young Master.”
“Request…?”
“Yes, I think my father will die soon.”
Even what I heard from the informant expressed that it was an emergency.
Noah, who interpreted my serious expression at will, added, “Well, there’s no need to be so sad because it’s not that different from the time-limited verdict.”
I didn’t say anything though just looked at him, hoping to get the gist.
“So, when I held the funeral, I came here hoping that Young Master would help as my partner.”
This was my impression of hearing his story to the end.
…This man couldn’t be Noah.
Such a shameless person was him? A partner of the heir who leads the funeral—
That was the fiancée or spouse’s job!
You idiot…!
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