Chapter 50

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Chapter 50

“That’s exactly what I said before. Why are you copying me?”

Gosh. Look at him?

Daisy nudged Carlyx’s shoulder lightly.

“Just because you said it first doesn’t mean you owned that sentence, you know?”

“No. I’m just saying that you must respect me a lot for copying me like that.”

“It’s sarcasm, though? But you don’t seem to understand right away. Geez~ how tactless.”

After saying that, Carlyx did not respond immediately. He still looked at Daisy with his usual gaze. His purple eyes even sank deeply.

“You hired Natalie along with two students she recommended. Today, you hired three maids at once from this Maid School alone.”

“I didn’t just hire a maid.”

“Yes, you hired a housekeeper as well. The famous housekeeper, Ava, who was rumored to be retiring, was known among the maids as strict but gentle and skillful, yet you managed to hire her into our household.”

Carlyx glanced briefly at the director’s office and continued.

“Because you threatened that housekeeper’s cousin, Sera, right?”

“Did you eavesdrop on us?”

“It seems you forget that I was just outside the door doing the escort duties. I had to listen in case of an emergency, and it’d be harder not to hear such a desperate cry.” Carlyx raised his eyebrows as if Daisy was asking the obvious.

Instead of heading straight to the carriage, they took a slow stroll around the garden.

“How did you know that?”

This one question was layered with several questions.

How did she know about what’s going on between Sera and the baroness? How about the deals between Sera and the maids? What about corruption that runs deep inside the Maid School?

It was a complicated question, but the answer was surprisingly simple. Daisy stretched her body in a cool wind. All the accumulated fatigue seemed to wash away.

“Pfft, so what happened is….”

Daisy gave a short chuckle before she tripped over her own feet and staggered. In that fleeting moment, his strong arm quickly wrapped around her back. She could feel his thick muscles through her clothes.

Carlyx creased his fine eyebrows as he looked at Daisy.

“Watch your step, won’t you? It would have been dangerous if you fell here.”

The pressure he put on her left arm subsided along with a cold baritone voice. Daisy exhaled the breath that she held back for a moment.

“Phew, you’re right. It would be dangerous if I fell and hit my head on that huge stone.”

And so, she understood what he was concerned about. There was a huge stone in front of her that seemed to have sat there for hundreds of years.

Daisy regained her footing by holding onto Carlyx’s shoulders.

“I lived thanks to you. Now you should let go of me, right? Ahahaha.”

Although she said that with an awkward laugh, she didn’t loosen up her grip on him.

Oh, what should I do?

She was so embarrassed and wanted to run away from there if possible. But there was no strength left in her legs.

“Hahaha, never mind. Don’t let go of me. If you let go, don’t blame me if a similar stone will land on your head someday.”

Daisy deliberately tried to crack a joke here, but her voice was obviously tinted with nervousness. She knew Carlyx was a gentleman who wouldn’t let her get hurt no matter what their relationship was like, but she couldn’t shake off her anxiety. Her mind traveled back to when she used to annoy or tease him as she pleased.

“I don’t think that’s something you can say to someone who just saved you.”

“Nope. Why can’t I say that?”

But Daisy added with an awkward smile and pleading eyes.

“I can’t stand up…”

“Are you asking me to help you now?” Carlyx asked in an arrogant tone, but his face was still as dull as ever.

So Daisy replied.

“That’s not all. I’m asking you to help me all the way to the carriage.”

“What if I say no?”

Daisy pouted at his annoyingly dull answer.

Should I just shove him into that stone?

Such a thought naturally crossed her mind because she was too tired to deal with him. But at that moment Carlyx suddenly lifted her.

“Huh? Uh? H-Hold on.”

Surprised by his action, Daisy’s eyes widened. She naturally wrapped her arms around his neck and lowered her gaze. She was just looking at what occupied her gaze while she was in that position, which was him, but Carlyx stopped walking.

He put her down on the grass and got down on his knees.

“Get on. I think it’s better to carry you on my back.”

“Oh! I feel the same way! You’re obviously not ugly, but thinking about being face-to-face with you for the whole 20 minutes made me uncomfortable.”

“…Aren’t you a little too honest?”

“Well, I think it’s fine because I know how to speak my mind under the right circumstances, unlike you.”

Daisy climbed onto his back as Carlyx directed. The arms that supported her body were strong and firm. Just like before, when he touched her body, she could feel his muscles through her clothes.

Daisy leaned against his wide back. Her eyelids become heavy due to the rush of fatigue. She was about to sleep, but suddenly he asked in a dry tone.

“So what were you going to say earlier?”

“Oh, right. What was it again?”

What was it? Daisy thought about it for a while and opened her languid eyes.

Ah, yeah. You asked how I know about everything, right?

“I took some time to investigate. I called the housekeeper to interrogate her, and the other maids also told me how they wrote a letter every night.”

Daisy closed her eyes languidly. She naturally tightened her grip around Carlyx’s neck. Her voice began to fade.

“…I woke up every morning and drew a map of relationships between people. It’s truly helped me. I’m going to buy a blackboard later. Oh! I’m going to buy colored chalk….”

“…Why did you do that? You could have taken one maid from another maid school.”

Carlyx had a point. It’s not like there was only one maid school, and she could have just gone to a maid school in another city. And if she knew about the corruption in the maid school, she could’ve just avoided it. That was so easy.

“Well, this is a way to hire a competent maid, and this is more beneficial in the long run.”

The easier it is, the less you get.

But the Marquisate of Jean had to get as much as it could from the beginning.

“Just think about it. A noble family who hired three maids from the Maid School. And a noble family who even hired a housekeeper who is about to retire. This attention will boost our family’s reputation.”

Daisy overcame her sleepiness and replied softly. Carlyx, who believed in her and took the time to accompany her today, deserved some explanation.

‘He must be doing this because he is deeply concerned about the marquisate.’

Unlike his appearance, he was a man with a soft side. Daisy recalled their past conversations.

It’s just something in the past. Don’t worry about it.

What my family turned out to be after the divorce was the result of my care.

Yes. I don’t have any thoughts on trying.

Suddenly, she could grasp what was unspoken at that time.

‘He gave up on trying now.’

It’s not that he didn’t try at all, he gave up after trying in his own way.

A long silence fell. Only the sound of Carlyx’s footsteps tickled her ears.

“….You’ve worked hard.”

Her voice didn’t contain any sarcasm nor admiration. Rather, she was so calm as if there was no sincerity in it.

The wind blew. Carlyx turned his head to Daisy and whispered.

“Do you think I can be more passionate than I ever was in the past?”

The words, ‘I don’t think so’ echoed in his mind. But her last words somehow lodged deep into his heart.

Soon, the sound of steady breathing filled the space. Following the sound, Carlyx slowed his steps so she wouldn’t wake up. Soon, they arrived at the carriage and he carefully deposited Daisy inside.

After the coachman closed the door, the space was occupied only by the two of them, and his hand moved by itself.

He brought his hand close to her and flinched even though no one was watching. In the end he only grabbed the hem of her dress and mumbled.

“I….”

Carlyx opened his tightly closed lips. He finally muttered to himself in a heart-breaking tone.

“Will I be able to feel passionate again…”

For a long time, his purple eyes only contained Daisy.

Daisy had been sitting in a chair for a long time and stood up. She stretched her body lightly and looked out the window.

Autumn colors were already filling the outside. The leaves had a unique color of yellow and brown, and the wind shook the dying grass.

“Madam, a letter has arrived.”

Daisy raised her head and took the letter Tyler offered. Hmm. Daisy’s eyes were tinted with curiosity.

“I’m going to read it.”

Daisy leaned against the sofa and tore the envelope neatly. But just then, a cheerful voice and a familiar step rang through the air.

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