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Unexpected eye contact.

Ella froze in the position she had been stretching. She looked at Jinseong approaching her and thought about her ‘unladylike’ behavior. She recalled the conversation she had with the tiny thing claiming to be her sister as she entered the restaurant.

“…”

Ella felt her face getting hotter and slowly lowered the hand she had raised to stretch behind her neck. Then, as if trying to hide her disgrace, she pulled her shoulders together and clasped her hands against her chest.

And when her hands touched her shoulders, Ella realized another fact.

‘Oh, my pajamas!’

Ella was currently in her pajamas.

They weren’t overly revealing pajamas. But they weren’t exactly hefty either.

True to their identity as pajamas, they were made of lightweight fabric that was comfortable and airy, and even though they didn’t reveal her bare skin color, the silhouette of her body was clearly outlined.

That wasn’t all. There was no unnecessary makeup since she had been dragged into this just as she was about to sleep, so naturally, her face was bare. In short, she was facing Jinseong in the worst combination of light clothing and no makeup.

“Hik.”

The other servants in the mansion were just fine. What was the problem in showing her bare face and light clothing to the servants, who were there to assist in dressing and bathing? To her, the servants were people but also mere convenient tools that aided her life. Just like the familiars of witches.

Lee Yang-hoon? That was also not a problem. She had already shown all kinds of mishaps while being dragged along with Anastasia and Iarin, and perhaps because of that, Yang-hoon’s gaze toward her shifted from ‘a pretty and polite guest’ to ‘a poor girl being pulled by troublemakers’ or ‘a big dog that can’t contain its energy being dragged by huge puppies.’

To Ella, Yang-hoon was just a friend’s father or a neighborhood uncle, and nothing more, so this was not a problem at all.

But the Jinseong in front of her was someone her age, tall and with a handsome face. Moreover, unlike those who approached her outwardly politely while harboring ulterior motives and desires, he was the most genuine gentleman she had ever met in her life.

Therefore, Ella had no choice but to fluster and avoid Jinseong’s gaze, directing her frustration instead at Anastasia, who was just a few steps away.

“Hieek.”

The heat of her resentment was both fiery and sharp.

Anastasia, unable to do anything but awkwardly smile as her adorable little sister stared her down as if she would choke her, pulled out a black, jelly-like something from her fingertip. She gently placed that jelly on Ella’s hand, using the power of ‘something that transforms the user’s will into sound and conveys it to others’ to offer her comfort.

[ Little sister, it’s no problem at all. ]

No problem, huh?

Ella’s eyes turned into slits at Anastasia’s words.

[ Benefactors don’t care about that kind of thing! ]

However, when Anastasia spoke the ‘truth’ afterward, a look as if she was pondering something appeared on her face. Unlike before, when she had been avoiding eye contact, she gradually turned her gaze toward Jinseong, managing to meet his eyes as he placed plates in front of each of them.

As Ella’s eyes met Jinseong’s, he smiled warmly, and approached her.

Then, as if it were nothing, he placed a plate and utensils in front of her and said,

“Frau Winter. You look beautiful even in your natural state.”

“Is, is that so…?”

Jinseong spoke to her as though he truly meant it, his face earnest as he offered her the compliment.

“In fact, you seem even more beautiful like this. When you’re made up, it looks splendid but artificial; now, it’s like seeing a flower blooming beautifully.”

Jinseong’s praise ended there.

If it had been a French man who had a crush on the women he met often while in Europe, he would have said something overly flattering like “It’s lucky to meet you at this hour” or “You’re so beautiful without makeup in light attire; I can’t even imagine how stunning you would be dressed beautifully like a flower.”

But Jinseong really just left it at that without any trivial comments and started explaining the food.

“This is roasted capybara. It may seem unfamiliar, but it’s quite a popular food ingredient in South America. They even call it a delicacy there because it tastes exceptional, is nutritious, and low in fat, making it a healthy food option.”

Jinseong naturally picked up a knife and began cutting her meat into small pieces.

It felt like he was being considerate in knowing she preferred to eat with dignity by taking small bites of any dish.

“Capybara meat is said to enhance concentration and is good for beauty. It can also help prevent depression and slow down the aging process. And it’s supposed to be good for insomnia too. If you eat this meat before bed, you might sleep soundly.”

Jinseong spoke reassuringly to ease her concerns about late-night snacks, mentioning that eating capybara wouldn’t make her gain much weight and that it was good for beauty, along with a kind wish for her to enjoy her meal as he turned toward Iarin.

“Uhm— should I not be cut too—”

Naturally, Anastasia’s complaint came flying from beside Ella, but Jinseong simply smiled and replied to her complaint.

“Frau Lentz has an even better helper than I do.”

“…You know?”

Upon hearing Jinseong’s words, Anastasia’s expression flickered with surprise before breaking into a cheerful smile. She then sent him a meaningful look that seemed to carry the bond of a secret shared between them.

Crackle.

And as she shared this glance, Anastasia casually slipped her fingers into her sleeves and pulled out a piece of cloth.

It looked simple yet elegant, not embellished with any particular patterns; it reminded one of a handkerchief or a tablecloth used in Europe.

She pinched the center as if performing magic and placed it on top of the roasted capybara.

“Ta-da!”

When Anastasia removed it, the astonishing sight revealed that the capybara had been neatly cut into bite-sized pieces without a single shred tearing.

Moreover, it was so well-separated that even the bones and meat were divided, almost artistically arranged as if a chef had painstakingly plated it.

She looked at Jinseong as if asking what he thought, and he responded to her boasting with a smile.

Anastasia, seeming satisfied with how Jinseong received her smile, took the neatly separated bones and swiftly tossed them into the cloth before wrapping it up and shaking it in the air.

After a few shakes, when she unfolded the cloth again, remarkably, all the bones that had been inside had vanished.

The cloth was as spotless as it had been before, and the absence of bones made it flutter gently, expressing its satisfaction without a breeze.

Anastasia, finding the cloth adorable, patted it a few times before tucking it back into her sleeve.

“I always thought that looked convenient….”

“Well, it may not be exactly so…?”

Iarin looked enviously at the cloth that had vanished into Anastasia’s sleeve, but Iserin dismissed Iarin’s envy with a meaningful expression, as though she had received some inside information from the Grimoire. Then she turned toward Jinseong, who had approached her.

“Onii-chan, aren’t you going to eat…?”

“I had an in-flight meal, so I’m fine.”

Jinseong answered as he took his leave, gathering his carrier and stepping outside the restaurant.

Just as he stepped out, Iserin, as if recalling something, called out urgently behind Jinseong.

“Hey, there’s a briefcase in the vase on the way to your room! It has documents related to your coming-of-age ceremony, and since we didn’t know when you would come back, I left it there. Please read it when you have time…!”

“Got it.”

Jinseong listened attentively and moved toward his room.

On the way, just as Iserin had said, there was a briefcase with a lock fitted snugly, placed between the vase and the wall to avoid obstructing cleaning.

Jinseong picked it up and returned to his own room, where he was greeted by the strangely accumulated dust, as if no one had entered.

Once back in his room, the first thing Jinseong did was toss aside his clothes and open his carrier to take out a wooden sword. He felt the mana within the sword slowly and gently stroked it, beginning to extract the mana contained inside.

 

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