Deon remained seated for a long time in the back garden. The calm of the night helped his thoughts crystallize and take form.

Who is Viktoria De Avila, really?

Other than being the mother of Deon and Vierenna, there were many mysteries surrounding her. The first thing Deon planned to do in the near future was to learn as much as he could about her.

For now, he had his personal maid, Yven, who claimed to have been close to her. There was also Vierenna, but Deon was cautious about revealing anything to her.

Although Deon hadn’t put much effort into fully assuming the role of his predecessor, he didn’t know much about him anyway. The former Deon had, in a way, made it easier for him to act with some personal freedom. Thanks to the fact that he had been depressed about his talent, everyone would simply assume that he had changed, "found himself," or something along those lines.

Even so, Deon remained cautious about Vierenna, as she was the closest person to him. At the same time, he learned from her as much as he could without drawing attention to himself.

The more Deon learned about his surroundings and the world around him, the higher he could push his investigation’s horizons—for instance, searching with the de Avila. But for now, the idea was distant.

He was weak, inexperienced, and unknowledgeable. Only by compensating for these deficiencies could he address his flaws.

With a tired sigh, Deon rose from his seat, the Memories Record in his hands, and made his way toward the mansion with steady steps.

…

The next day, Deon woke up very early, the darkness still blanketing the world.

He felt no fatigue or lack of energy, thanks to the mana coursing through his body.

Thus, all he could do was train—not that he needed anyone to tell him; this was the only reason he had awakened so early.

He assumed a familiar position on his bed, the blue cube in his hands, and closed his eyes.

Part of his consciousness drifted away as time took its natural course.

At a certain point, the figure of a young girl with bright green eyes quietly entered the room.

She was astonished, even a little shaken, as soon as she noticed the faint blue glow illuminating the bed.

‘I wonder what it feels like...!’

But she quickly regained her composure, her fear of her master’s reactions having lessened after their recent conversations. She now found him kind and reasonable.

‘For a high-ranking noble, at least! It's a bit strange, though.’

Compared to any ordinary noble, Deon appeared mild. He seemed calm and without any arrogance despite his name, which would strike fear into anyone. He appeared far too focused to take pride in anything but himself.

Yven found that attractive; he reminded her of Lady Viktoria. Though they didn’t resemble each other physically, their actions did.

‘Maybe I should tell him that… Just not the ‘attractive’ part!’

Yven placed the laundry basket beside the door, which she carefully closed, and tiptoed to the changing room.

She was pleasantly surprised to find her master’s clothes neatly placed in the designated area for used garments. Though this didn’t make her task easier or harder, she preferred order over chaos.

She picked up the used clothes and glanced around for anything else that needed organizing.

Everything was in its place, so she left the room.

This time, her eyes lingered on the bed where her master sat cross-legged. Thus, she wasn’t surprised when she found him staring at her.

Well… she was a little surprised, but not as much as yesterday morning.

Recalling that fateful day, Yven’s cheeks turned red as she lowered her head to hide her face.

“Good morning, Yven,” her master’s calm voice pulled her from her embarrassment.

Taking a deep breath, she raised her head again.

“Good morning, sir. I apologize if I disturbed your training.”

“No, you didn’t. There are limits I cannot surpass, and I need rest from time to time.”

Yven nodded, her earlier tension and embarrassment now gone.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

‘It’s easy to talk to him.’

“Is there anything the master would like me to do for him?”

“Besides coffee with milk, I’m just curious why you come to clean at this time, and all you do is take care of the used clothes.”

‘Mental note: coffee with milk—honey with milk after whisking.’

“Well, sir, I’m your personal maid, so I’ll only take care of your specific needs and requests, like coffee with milk and your clothes. As for the room, for example, it’s cleaned weekly by a full staff of servants. I can request cleaning if the master feels it needs it.”

Deon nodded, his expression remaining calm.

“That explains your duties, but my question is: why this specific time?”

‘What? Is he pretending not to know when he was the one who used to send me away before?’

Yven felt her heart clench with tension, and without realizing it, her expression shifted to a slight frown.

“The master didn’t like anyone entering his room before... so—so I use...”

“I see.”

Deon interrupted Yven mid-sentence. Along with her slight frown, which didn’t escape his notice, Deon got his answer.

“I’m sorry for making your job difficult before. Ignoring you being my personal maid exposed you to bullying and exclusion, which only added to your troubles.”

Yven’s eyes quivered slightly, but she remained silent, her mind unable to process his words.

“I won’t excuse myself or my actions with weak justifications, but I hope you can forgive me if you find it in your heart. Only then can we work together honestly. I want you to feel proud to be by my side, and I want my name to carry enough weight to protect you. So please, forgive me.”

There was a simple reason why Deon chose to apologize to Yven now.

Of course, she deserved the apology, but Deon’s reason was deeper, though also simpler.

He wanted to get closer to her.

Close enough for her to speak to him freely outside the bounds of her duty as his maid.

Only then would the young maid feel comfortable enough to talk to Deon about Viktoria and her time with her.

Even though Deon doubted he’d learn much, every piece of information could hold importance. And if it didn’t, it would at least give him a direction to pursue.

The shock Yven felt at that moment was hard to describe in words.

She was just praising her master for being reasonable, but this went beyond the limits of reasonableness.

Although Yven had indeed felt wronged by the way her master had treated her in the past, she had not hated him for it. Her impression of nobles had always been like that.

She never expected, in her wildest dreams, to receive an apology—a full apology, no less. And from whom? From the very person who was her master.

‘Does he truly mean it?’

Yven’s thoughts were chaotic, her mind unwilling to accept the fact that her master’s apology was genuine. She suspected there was a hidden reason behind it, which was likely true from a logical perspective.

‘Why would someone of such high nobility apologize to someone like me?’

But her heart said otherwise. Her master was the son of a woman who had treated Yven well, a woman she respected and loved. Yven wanted her master to be like his mother; it felt right and honorable as a tribute to Viktoria de Avila.

So, Yven chose to listen to her heart, which had never failed her before.

She smiled a gentle and radiant smile that captured all of Deon’s attention.

Placing her hand on her heart, she bowed slightly.

“I will do my best to be good enough to meet the master’s high standards and will not cause him any embarrassment.”

Deon, still caught in Yven’s captivating smile, did not respond immediately. But he quickly regained himself and smiled in return.

He rose from his spot on the bed and approached her, stopping right in front of her.

‘He’s tall!’

Yven thought as she raised her head high just to look into her master’s violet eyes. His eyes were calm, like a still lake.

‘Just like Lady Viktoria…’

She felt as if she had drowned in his gaze, not even noticing the hand he extended toward her.

“I’ll rely on you.”

Deon’s words snapped Yven out of her daze. Her body trembled slightly as she bowed her head in embarrassment.

She was about to take a few steps back, but noticing Deon’s outstretched hand stopped her, one of her feet hovering slightly above the ground.

Yven shifted her gaze between the hand and Deon’s calm expression. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do, but then she quickly clasped Deon’s hand with both of hers.

“I’ll take care of you.”

“...?”

“...!”

‘I want to die!’

Yven thought as her face turned completely red.

“My… sir… I… I’ll return to work now...”

She released his hand and hurried to the door of the room, not forgetting to pick up the empty basket.

As soon as the girl left, Deon could no longer suppress the smile forming on his face.

“‘I’ll take care of you!’ Hah, haha.”

Looking down at the floor, he noticed the clothes Yven had dropped when she grabbed his hands.

‘What a delightful girl.’

Deon knelt down, picked up the clothes, and headed toward the door.

As he prepared to open it, he heard Yven’s faint voice outside.

“I wanna die… I wanna die… I want to die...”

“Of all the things I could say, I say, ‘I’ll take care of you.’ Noooo...”

“What is that even supposed to mean...”

“No… What will the master think I meant by that...”

“I have to die; there’s no other option...”

Deon felt pity for the embarrassed girl and opened the door, at least to reassure her.

But to his surprise, Yven fell backward, her head landing on the carpeted floor of the room.

‘Was she leaning on the door?!’

She looked up at him from below, her eyes glistening with tears, and for the second day in a row, she didn’t seem like she would get up anytime soon.

Deon, holding his clothes in one hand, extended his free hand to help her up.

She hesitated for a moment but took it.

Once she regained her balance, Deon didn’t give her any time to overthink before handing her what she had come for.

“You forgot these.”

She took them in silence, and to his surprise, she held them up to her face, covering half of it and leaving only her eyes visible.

‘What?’

Deon wanted to comment on what she was doing, but he stopped himself. She might actually kill herself.

He waited for Yven to step back so he could close the door, but she just stood there, watching him silently as if waiting for something.

SIGH

Deon sighed to himself.

“You can leave now, and don’t forget the coffee with milk.”

Yven raised her head slightly from behind his clothes, her eyes filled with hope.

“I know you meant well with your words, and I appreciate that...”

He placed his hand gently on her small head, ruffling her hair softly.

“There’s nothing wrong with being yourself. In fact, it’s endearing. I consider it a blessing to have a personal maid as kind as you, and funny from time to time. So you can leave now. Don’t forget my coffee with milk.”

Yven nodded, her face sinking back into Deon’s clothes in what seemed to be embarrassment.

She stepped back and hurried out of sight.

Deon closed the door behind her, his calm expression returning to a smile.

‘She’s too sweet to die young.’