Ardion specially asked me to stay here with him, so I couldn’t refuse. Probably because he had collapsed earlier, he was relying on me now.
It looked like our relationship had gotten better since he now thought positively of me.
I smiled.
“...” Ardion blinked at me and hurriedly turned his head away.
At that moment, Derol poked his head out of my pocket.
Ardion subconsciously lowered his head, then looked at Derol and said coldly. “You leave.”
“I dropped the brick in the office.”
I was surprised. “You... did it, Derol?”
“Yes, I disliked what the duke said.”
Derol caring about Ardion made me happy.
Ardion stared at Derol and reached his hand out.
Derol was baffled.
Ardion said, “Thank you.”
I lightly touched Derol’s back. He held out his small hand reluctantly, and they quickly touched hands and withdrew them.
❋ ❋ ❋
The story that happened in the duke’s office spread quickly. Some even praised us, sounding very happy.
“Laila, the young master you serve is really amazing. Was the duke so scared?”
I smiled faintly, and Ardion gave me a look, seemingly telling me how amazing he was.
“As expected of a prince, he changed the duke’s mind so quickly!”
“In that case, isn’t Laila amazing too? In a way, she educated the prince.”
I nodded secretly.
Suddenly, a sharp voice screeched, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you finish your work?”
It was the head maid. I quickly said goodbye to everyone and headed to the kitchen. Most of the servants hated the duke because he was an evil employer. But some were loyal to him, such as the head maid and the kitchen head, Deevher.
Deevher handed over a food tray nervously while others stared curiously at her.
I enjoyed the gazes thrown at her.
“Deevher, if you give me so much food, what if it spills? Wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“A waste? It’s your waste.”
“But it’s food made from the duke’s pantry. Duke Orchid wouldn’t like it if we wasted even a tiny bit.”
She glared at me, ticked off by the word ‘pantry’.
I carefully accepted the food tray. “Thank you. I’ll eat well.”
Deevher probably wouldn’t have the same reaction next time.
When I smiled and turned around, I saw someone behind me giving me a thumbs up. I nodded and quickly left.
“Young Master, I’ve brought you food!” I entered Ardion’s room.
He looked up from his book. Lately, he had been using the books we borrowed from the library to catch up on the basic education he had missed. Meanwhile, I had been studying how to conceal mana with the books I had brought from the library.
I moved the book aside and handed him his plate.
Ardion looked at it and said calmly, “At least it’s edible.”
“Yes, if you hadn’t spoken up, it would have been hard to get.”
“Of course!”
“Then, what do you want from me?”
“Oh, that’s...” I hesitated. I recently discovered that in order to receive mana from someone, you either had to hold hands or make physical contact for a long time. But asking Ardion about it right now...
“I’ll tell you later.”
“Do you really have something you want from me?”
“Yes, I definitely do.”
Ardion shook his head with a smile. “I’ve never met someone like you before.”
“What do you mean?”
“You want something from me, but you’re keeping it a secret.”
I burst out laughing.
Ardion looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Why are you laughing?”
“I’ll tell you later, not now.”
Ardion looked at me carefully. I made eye contact with him as I picked up a piece of meat with my fork and ate it. Sometimes, he would look at me quite closely, as if he were trying to figure me out.
However, he couldn’t guess what I wanted. He gave up and quickly looked away. “I’ll figure it out before you tell me.”
“Sure, go ahead,” I answered lightly.
Ardion couldn’t possibly know I was low on mana. In the original story, Ardion was never interested in Laila either.
And the phenomena that occurred due to lack of mana were all different, so it was hard to figure out unless someone had great observation skills.
Even if Ardion did figure it out, it wouldn’t do much harm to me. It would just be some embarrassment. While chewing on my food, I looked at the plates and noticed there was no food left on Ardion’s plate. I felt pleased because he seemed to be eating better than before.
Ardion pushed his plate aside and started reading again. It was a book about mana.
I was slightly surprised and asked casually, pretending not to care, “How are you going to figure out what I want?”
“Since all I have is this disgusting ability, isn’t it related to this?”
“... How can you guarantee that?”
“Because that’s all I have right now.”
Ardion’s mind certainly seemed to work quickly. He quickly turned his focus on the book when I didn’t reply.
Soon after, I finished my food.
If this continues, won’t he find out soon that I’m low on mana?
Even if he found out, the amount of mana he could give me nowadays was minimal. Only as an adult would he be able to store mana as easily as water.
The only way to replenish mana more rapidly was through the exchange of bodily fluids.
But that was entirely out of the question. That kind of relationship was impossible between me and Ardion, and I had no desire to receive mana in such a manner.
In the end, it meant I had to wait until Ardion became an adult.
Anyway, that was something I could think about later. I quickly finished my meal and put the tray and plates away.
Ardion still didn't take his eyes off the book.
"Young Master."
"What?"
"First, learn how to hide your mana and then read.”
Ardion set aside his book.
I told him about the thoughts I had been mulling over the previous day. As I spoke, he listened quietly, then reached out to grab a book from the stack beside him.