I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

41 – True Color (1)

“You’re a little late…”

It has already been three hours since Mr. West went to the artisans. The blueprints are still lacking, so it’s too late to get advice.

Since there are no more traces of Mr. Seo to be collected in the office, I hope you come back soon…

Smart –

“…Come in.”

At that moment, there was a Laurel-style knock at the door.

Instinctively feeling that the attendant will tell them why Claude isn’t coming back, Ines gets a little nervous and gives permission to the attendant outside the door.

“Excuse me, Ines.”

“What’s up?”

“Lady Claude and Lady Chloe went into the garden together, but they haven’t come out for two hours already.”

…What?

I’m sure if Chloe did anything strange to Mr. West, he would have told me to report it right away… Why report such important information now?

The atmosphere in the office becomes cold in an instant.

Ines’s face was darkly shaded, and the attendant didn’t know what to do.

“That… Well, it was difficult to keep an eye on the terrain, and the garden was off-limits, so it took a while to find whereabouts…”

“Okay, I don’t have to say more.”

Certainly, there was no good place to hide until we got to the artisans’ quarters, and it would have been harder to chase them if we had gone into the garden.

I tried to follow you around the garden, but I lost sight of Mr. West’s party, and after all, I seem to have managed to find a clue that he is still in the garden after wandering around gathering information.

Ines, convinced in her own way, told the attendant that there was no need to say more, but the attendant became even more pale after hearing that.

“Ugh…”

The attendant keeps wanting to apologize, but he can’t because Ines has given orders not to speak.

The servants who serve Ines know very well what Ines is afraid of.

Ines gains favor by acting as an innocent girl in front of others, but she doesn’t do that in front of those who clearly judge her to be below her. In other words, it is to reveal one’s true colors.

‘Please… Please…’

The servant continues to pray to the god in his heart.

Not too long ago, even though one of the attendants who was watching over Chloe went missing, Ines-sama showed a reaction as if she had simply lost her pencil.

If Ines sees me as a mere tool… I don’t know when I’ll be removed for not working properly. She will go to that terrible room–

“Hmm… I’ll have to go to the garden.”

However, Ines didn’t care at all about the condition of the attendant in front of him.

Even though anyone would know that it was not normal by seeing that the color of the face turned pale and the eyes and the corners of the mouth trembled violently.

“Guide me.”

Ines gave orders to such an attendant as usual.

Of course. It is because there is no reason not to write if there is no problem in writing even if the pencil is half full.

“Yes, yes…!”

However, the attendant felt greatly relieved inwardly, regardless of what Ines was thinking.

Issuing an order like this means that I have some use for it. That doesn’t mean it’s useless.

The attendant, relieved that he survived, hurriedly prepares to guide Ines.

…………

“How many times do I have to tell you? The garden is normally off…Accessible… To all but gardeners and craftsmen…?”

“Huh, hello.”

The servant who found Laurel’s attendant sighed heavily and was about to say the same thing as before, but then caught Ines coming from behind and immediately swallowed his breath.

“Welcome, Ines!”

“Can I come in?”

“You don’t have to ask for my permission!”

Ines is Claude’s wife, or Duchess.

The servant has no justification or reason to stop Ines.

The servant, who had been annoyed just a moment ago, had completely disappeared and bowed his head to Ines, terrified.

If Ines took issue with this, she would be immediately fired from her job as a servant.

“hehehe, good job.”

“Thank you!”

But Ines puts her servant’s concerns to shame, so she smiles at him and she goes into the garden.

She doesn’t spot Ines right away, and the servant who slips her tongue makes her very anxious, but she is relieved by that smile.

‘Yes, there’s no way that kind-hearted Ines-nim could get angry with something like this.’

In the aristocratic world, it is said that marriage is a complete gamble because one cannot know the character and appearance of one’s spouse… You are blessed to have married such a person.

Hmmm… These are words she will never say out of her mouth, but the duke is definitely a lucky person.

Because it can be said that the fact that he ascended to the position of duke as an illegitimate child literally followed his luck.

‘A footstep… A fairy disease… The whole family was killed in an accident, leaving the duke alone…’

…It must be a coincidence.

Even if it wasn’t a coincidence, lowly servants like me don’t change what we have to do. I need to stop thinking about this.

The servant monologues while watching the back of Ines entering the garden.

…………

“Where is the West…”

Seobangnim and I first met in this garden. Even then, I didn’t expect the two of us to be in a relationship like this… It’s touching.

Looking through the garden, Ines finds Claude and at the same time reminisces.

“Obviously, if you go this way, you remember that the main road came out… It came out.”

Ines searches for his way through his memories.

From these dense forests to the structure of the road, nothing has changed since I saw it at my childhood banquet.

“hehehe… Sometimes I take a walk in the garden with Seobang-nim to reminisce…”

Ines, who laughed and made plans for the future, couldn’t finish his words.

Because the figures of Chloe and Claude came into the bench at the edge of my field of vision. It’s also very unexpected.

“Who… Ines?”

“…Miss Chloe, what is this?”

Seeing Claude sleeping on the bench with Chloe’s thigh as a pillow, Ines asks Chloe to explain the situation.

“The master has been working too much lately and has been quite tired. He was going to rest in the garden for a while and suddenly fell asleep.”

“…Really?”

The front and back of the words match. I know very well that Mr. Seo has done a lot of work, having seen it all along.

Chloe wouldn’t have been able to leave Seobang-sama alone, who suddenly fell asleep.

“For now, I’m just going to wait until the master wakes up. It’s warm and it’s still daytime.”

“…Thank you for your hard work.”

“Whoops, it’s something I have to do.”

On the outside, it’s a very normal conversation, but on the inside, it’s not like that at all.

Chloe’s words contain the meaning of [My master may wake up, so don’t make noise and go away.], And Ines, the daughter of the Duke of Laurel, understands it right away.

Ines feels jealousy and hatred at the same time for Chloe who monopolizes Claude, and Chloe looks at Ines with a superior yet mocking gaze. It’s like the look of a winner looking down on a loser.

“…As you said, we have no choice but to wait until Mr. Seo wakes up…?”

No matter what Ines thinks of Chloe, Ines thinks that she shouldn’t disturb Claude’s sleep. While trying to agree with Chloe’s words, Ines tilts her head.

‘…What is it?’

The bush behind the bench has been crushed in a very unusual way, leaving a mark as if a person had been tipped over.

Not only that.

It’s a little light, but I can even smell the smell that I’ve smelled a lot in the bedroom from that bush.

Since the attendants are behind me, they don’t seem to notice the smell.

“What are you doing?”

“No, nothing.”

Even though he found clearly suspicious traces, Ines quickly changed his words.

Instinctively, he realized that it was not the time yet. I don’t think so, but we need to be prepared for the unexpected.

“Then you can go back now.”

“Ines… But walking around without an attendant is a loss of face…”

“The attendant, Mr. Chloe is here, right? I will wait here until Mr. Claude wakes up.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Ines said firmly that he would not allow objections. Her voice is extremely quiet for fear of disturbing Claude’s sleep, but the will contained in it is very firm.

The attendants of Laurel, realizing that it is useless to say any more, immediately bow their heads and walk back and leave their seats.

“Excuse me.”

“…Yes.”

Because the justification is so perfect, Chloe can’t stop Ines from sitting on the bench.

Ines makes a place to sit by placing Claude’s legs on top of her thighs, and at the same time quickly scans Claude’s clothes.

The clothes have some dirt and grass on them, and they are very wrinkled.

“…Seobang-nim’s clothes are very dirty?”

“Yes?”

“…”

Seeing Chloe tilting her head with a confused look on her face, Ines felt something stir inside her.

“Why are you doing this—”

“And it sure even smells the same from the bushes behind you…”

“…”

Chloe’s eyes, which had been smiling until just now, grew cold in an instant, and she looked straight into Ines’ eyes.

Seeing that, Ines became even more confident.

“…What did you do?”

“Kick, knowingly.”

Until now, no matter how much they didn’t like each other, the two of them had the minimum amount of courtesy, but that’s not the case now.

With Claude in between, Chloe and Ines reveal their true colors.

Ines looks at Chloe with her pupils constricted to the limit, and speaks in a voice that seems to be squeezed. Chloe, who looks at Ines with cold eyes, smiles and replies in a mocking tone.