The Male Lead’s Younger Sister is Still Sad Today

Episode 8

Since Isis usually ordered custom-made clothes, the designer came to the mansion in person.

Well, I had guessed that the place operated by someone who made clothes for nobles would be magnificent, but… I never expected it to be this glamorous.

I was left dumbfounded as I wandered around the opulent boutique, and Raiden started shopping as if he were familiar with the place.

Considering he brought me to a place like this, could it mean he had developed some human-like affection for me?

It’s typical for high-end boutiques to bring the entourage of nobles.

I hoped it was the case… but within the boutique, there were countless clothes, yet they all looked the same to me.

The only difference was the color; externally, they seemed no different at all. However, they must have appeared differently in the eyes of nobles.

Raiden meticulously inspected every detail, from buttons to the pockets on the jackets.

The designer, after thinking for a moment, quickly sketched again and showered Raiden with compliments about his taste.

But I couldn’t tell what had changed at all.

Several hours passed like this. Raiden bought a bunch of the same clothes and accepted the ones he had ordered previously.

“Come in.”

“Yes!”

I carried a handful of bags with both hands and followed Raiden diligently. The clothes were quite heavy, so there was a significant difference in walking speed between Raiden and me.

Then, unexpectedly, Raiden, who had been walking ahead for a while, stopped for a moment and soon matched his pace with mine.

I was pleasantly surprised by this unexpected consideration, and Raiden comfortably placed his right arm on my left shoulder. It was like having a walking armrest.

His arm was quite heavy, and because I was already carrying a bunch of bags, the weight was unbearable.

…Do I have to keep walking like this?

While I was sweating profusely, Raiden spoke.

“Charles, how do you like being a chamberlain?”

In response to his question, I smiled broadly and replied.

It was as if I would die if I weren’t a chamberlain at the Akaruth estate.

“It’s so much fun! Plus, the other chamberlains have been very helpful, so I adapted quickly.”

“That’s good. I want to see you for a long time.”

Really?

I rolled my eyes while listening to his words as he patted my shoulder.

Given that he’s saying such things now… Maybe I’ve made up for my mistake from last time, or at least a little?

I was truly relieved.

Whether Raiden liked it or not, I was in a position where I had to keep serving him until Abel attached himself to the estate.

Raiden raised the corner of his mouth.

“I’m curious about what’s inside your head.”

“Inside my head…?”

“I’m curious, but I can’t just bring an axe and split open your skull right now, can I?”

Reconciliation my foot; it seemed that his impression of me remained the same.

Raiden casually uttered such harsh words and then tapped my head with his fist.

He didn’t lower his arm until he got back into the car. Thanks to that, I, drenched in sweat, gasped for breath as I loaded the bags into the back seat.

The way back to the mansion was quick.

After we arrived at the mansion, I watched Raiden turn off the car’s engine and contemplated.

…Now might be the right time.

During that brief moment, it felt like I had a thousand thoughts racing through my mind.

After some contemplation, I retrieved a chocolate bar I had packed the night before from my bag. The rustling sound seemed to catch Raiden’s attention, and he turned his head toward me.

Oddly, when our eyes met, Raiden appeared to regard me with a strange wariness. Maybe it was just my imagination. I couldn’t think of any reason for him to be cautious around me.

However, he didn’t have his usual carefree smile, and the atmosphere suddenly grew tense. I managed to take a deep breath in the icy atmosphere that had enveloped us.

Soon after, Raiden glanced at the pocket in my hand and started to fidget. Realizing that his eyes were shifting slightly, I cautiously spoke up while keeping an eye on his reaction.

“On the first day, I wanted to apologize again to the Duke for my mistake… I was truly sorry at that time.”

“…”

Whenever that moment was, Raiden was staring at me as if he might devour me. Because of this, I couldn’t bring myself to meet his gaze and instead looked elsewhere as I continued speaking.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s my favorite Belrosan chocolate. You can have one when you’re bored, while looking through your documents…”

My voice wavered in pitch due to my nervousness. With every word I uttered, I felt like I wanted to disappear into a mouse hole.

…Still, I hope I showed a bit of sincerity.

There was still no response from Raiden. He simply continued to stare at me in silence.

But this didn’t last long. Raiden eventually smiled wryly and took the bag of chocolates from my hand.

“Thank you.”

“No, I’m the one who should be thankful.”

In response to my words, Raiden chuckled, and I followed suit with a smile.

* * *

Being a chamberlain at the Akaruth mansion was no small task. In addition to serving the Duke, there were plenty of other duties to attend to.

Moreover, the number of servants in the Duke’s mansion was significantly lower compared to other noble households.

There were many reasons for this.

First of all, the Duke’s mansion didn’t hire many people to begin with, but most of the servants who couldn’t handle Raiden’s personality would run away in the middle of their service.

As a result, each servant had to handle a substantial workload.

And if there were multiple events overlapping in a year, like this one…

“We’re going to have a banquet at the mansion this autumn. We also have a hunting competition before that, so it might be a bit tough, but after the banquet, we’ll give you a vacation, so let’s work hard with that in mind.”

Roel handed me a dried flower as he spoke.

“A vacation?”

It was something I hadn’t even considered.

When I first entered the Duke’s mansion, Mr. Henry had told me that there would be no vacations this year due to the consecutive hunting competition and the banquet.

I widened my eyes in disbelief and asked Roel. He smiled slightly and nodded.

“Yes. Instead, you can indulge yourself until the vacation.”

“Of course! I’ll work hard until then.”

Hearing about the vacation suddenly ignited my determination. Since it was summer now… Just two more seasons.

I felt like I could do well at anything. Of course, it might just be an illusion.

Ever since I made a huge mistake shortly after entering the Duke’s mansion, my self-esteem had been low.

I couldn’t afford to make another mistake…

“Um… senior, is this a very big event?”

“Just a bit? It’s an annual event.”

As I listened to Roel’s words, I started to worry.

I must have shown some anxiety unintentionally because Roel gently patted my head and spoke.

“You’ll do well. You learned from someone, right?”

“…I guess so?”

“Then you’ll be fine. And Chase, you’re doing well.”

Roel’s words seemed to ease the sense of unease that had been haunting me recently.

I adjusted the dried flowers I had been holding in my arms.

“Oh, it’s Abel.”

As Roel walked ahead and spoke, I turned my head towards the window.

Outside, I could see Abel, sitting under a tree with Peter, drinking water and resting. Abel’s relaxed expression as he rested under the tree was a relief to see.

Perhaps sensing our presence, Peter, who had been talking to Abel, turned his head in our direction.

His face brightened instantly as our gazes met. He called out to us enthusiastically and waved his hand.

“Roel, Chase!”

Unlike Peter, who greeted us warmly, Roel just nodded quietly.

“What are you two doing instead of working?”

“We’re taking a short break. Right, Abel?”

In response to Peter’s question, Abel roughly nodded. I waved my hand gently towards Abel, who smiled and reciprocated the gesture.

At that moment, Roel called me.

“Hurry up, Chase.”

I followed Roel, and it seemed like we had quite a distance to cover to get over there.

“Yes!”

As I rushed to catch up with Roel, it felt quite hot. However, once we entered the study, the coolness of the room was a welcome relief.

I wiped the sweat from the back of my hand and took a deep breath.

Inside the study, Raiden was in deep discussion with Grandfather Ben about something. So, I skipped the greetings and just nodded as a form of greeting.

Roel and I went to a large table in a corner and sat down.

“When I hand you the invitations, you need to spray perfume on them and stamp them with the seal.”

Roel handed me a document. The document listed the names of the guests to whom we needed to send invitations.

“When stamping the seal, you must sprinkle wax on the flower of the same color as the symbol of each family. I will pass you the invitations in order, so don’t make any mistakes. You can take your time, but be thorough.”

“Yes.”

Roel gave me the invitations and envelopes with the recipient’s name. Then he started typing the invitations on a typewriter.

The sound of the typewriter was surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

I checked to ensure that the content of the invitation matched the name on the envelope. I was sweating nervously, thinking that it would be a disaster if I made a mistake.

After double-checking about a hundred times, I finally sprayed perfume and placed the letter in the envelope. Then I made a small checkmark next to the guest’s name on the list.

The first guest, the Ruberstein family, was associated with the color blue.

I placed wax in a melting spoon and melted it over a candle flame. The wax color represented Akaruth and was black.

When it had melted sufficiently, I tilted the melting spoon over the envelope and let the right amount of wax drop onto it. Then, I placed a dried flower on top of the wax and pressed the seal firmly.

Looking at the beautifully stamped Akaruth seal, I felt strangely proud. However, there was still a mountain of invitations left to complete.