TCBUP 27

Episode 27. The Difference Between ‘Where’ and ‘Who’

“Her neck’s so delicate, I don’t even want to touch it. Joshua, you treated her properly, right?”

“Of course. I applied the special ointment carefully and even gave her a thorough warm compress.”

Joshua answered right away, but his attention was fully captured by the food Leon had brought.

Maybe that’s why Leon still looked worried and didn’t take his eyes off me.

Feeling a bit awkward, I rubbed my neck and helped Joshua unpack the food.

It was a four-person table, but it was soon completely covered with dishes.

“Wow, this looks amazing. Have a seat, miss.”

“Ah, yes.”

Joshua smiled brightly and reached for the steak plate first.

Leon, watching in disapproval, snatched it from him and pushed it toward me.

“I didn’t buy this for you.”

“How petty. We’re eating together, what’s the big deal? Start with the pumpkin soup, miss.”

“Why are you feeding her soup first when I bought meat?”

“It’s an appetizer, an appetizer. You know that, don’t act like you don’t.”

“Thank you, I’ll eat well.”

I hurriedly took a spoonful of the pumpkin soup before their bickering could escalate.

The warm, slightly sweet flavor lingered on my tongue, and I felt like I could finally breathe again.

“Here, eat this too.”

Leon, having already cut the steak into bite-sized pieces, pushed the plate toward me.

“Eat a lot. Beef is good for bruises.”

“So I’ve heard. So eat it all.”

“All of it?”

That’s too much.

Besides, the steak was so thick it was almost unappetizing just to look at.

“You stop eating now.”

“Wow, how heartless. You can’t treat your subordinate like this, Captain.”

Joshua frowned and waved his fork dramatically.

“I spent all day yesterday cleaning up the mess, and today I got chewed out so bad by the client I wanted to die. And now you won’t even let me eat? That’s just cruel.”

“Oh, really? Too bad.”

Leon responded half-heartedly like it was someone else’s problem.

At that, Joshua finally exploded, unable to hold back the grumbling that had been building.

“Even Eugene scolded me for letting you do whatever you wanted. And I was dragged out there clueless, just to get torn apart by him.”

“Eugene’s fine and all, but he nags way too much.”

“Exactly! And that sharp voice of his still echoes in my ears—I couldn’t even sleep properly.”

“Then you must’ve lost your appetite too. Stop eating. Let Sienna eat.”

“So I get woken up just before dinner and dragged out here, and now I’m not even allowed to eat?”

Despite the table being filled with enough food to feed a small army, Leon and Joshua kept bickering.

And for two fully grown men, their argument was ridiculously childish.

But compared to the silent days I spent alone in the Count Hagrives’ manor—or truly alone in this house—the noisy squabbling felt so warm and welcome.

So much so that even Damian’s warning—telling me to stay away from dangerous people—faded from my mind.

Even the loneliness I’d felt just a few minutes earlier seemed like a distant memory now.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Huh? Oh…”

I awkwardly covered my mouth.

I hadn’t even realized I was smiling.

“It’s just… the food’s good.”

“Oh my, how pitiful. She’s so touched by food it’s bringing her to tears.”

Joshua dramatically wiped away invisible tears.

Not quite tears of emotion… or maybe they were?

Maybe it was just the joy of having a lively, noisy meal again after so long.

Just yesterday I was acting all tough and pretending to be fine, but now it felt like my weakness was being exposed.

My face flushed from the sudden awareness, and though I tried to cover it, my bright red ears betrayed me.

From then on, Leon started visiting often.

Sometimes he came alone and dropped off food before leaving.

Other times he brought Joshua to check on my fading bruises.

“….”

I stared at Leon sitting across from me.

He had come early in the morning with freshly baked bread and coffee, now sipping like it was his own home while reading the newspaper.

“What?”

He didn’t even look at me as he asked casually.

“Got something you’re curious about?”

“Not really, just…”

Of course I was curious.

I’d only run into Leon maybe three times in passing.

Why was he going so far for me?

I was the only one being helped here—was that really necessary?

‘Maybe it’s because Leon’s one of the male leads. He’s naturally drawn to the female lead?’

You know, that cliché—male leads instinctively attracted to the heroine.

Of course, I wasn’t the female lead. I was just the suddenly appeared hidden heroine. Still, I had the ‘heroine’ label.

Excited, I tapped the silver padlock that showed his favorability score.

‘Only 8%?’

It was 7% when I first checked, so it had only gone up 1% all this time.

My hopeful excitement fizzled into disappointment instantly.

Apparently, being a “hidden” heroine was a curse—no matter how much effort I put in, his affection barely budged.

‘This is seriously labor.’

Speaking of affection levels, I wondered how Nox’s was doing.

I understood the drop after our fund crashed, but there was that mysterious dip even during a good streak—it made me anxious.

‘I should go see him.’

That’s what my head said, but my heart didn’t know what to do or say when I met him.

If I showed up with an amazing plan to recover our profit rate, maybe his favorability would shoot up.

But that brilliant idea felt like trying to find a tiny needle in a thick fog.

“You’re worried about something?”

“Mm.”

Worried? Yeah. Too many worries to count.

I just couldn’t talk about them.

Still leaning on my hand, I turned my head slightly.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Feeling cooped up?”

“Mm. Kind of. The only time I’ve been outside is to water my tomatoes, onions, and potatoes.”

At that, Leon folded the newspaper and rested his arms on the table, leaning in toward me.

“Want to go out?”

“That’s new. You told me to stay inside.”

Leon had warned me to avoid going out, especially around nobles, just in case someone else had seen my face that day.

“I’m with you now.”

“You’ll come with me?”

I lit up, genuinely happy.

I’d been itching to go out—having Leon by my side would be a huge relief.

“You thought I’d just let you go out alone? Where do you want to go?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

“Just say it. I’ll take you anywhere.”

“…”

My heart skipped a beat without meaning to.

But I quickly reeled it in.

Numbers don’t lie.

His affection for me was still only 8%, and I reminded myself of that as I straightened up, coolly.

“How do you know where I want to go? Why say things like that so casually?”

Leon grinned, wrinkling the bridge of his straight nose in amusement.

“Try me. See if I’ll actually take you or not.”

“Then…”

I thought for a moment, then smiled back at him.

“Hello, teacher.”

“Miss? What brings you here?”

Nox looked up from where he held his head with one hand and a pen in the other.

Just as I suspected.

He’d probably been too busy cleaning up the disaster to take care of himself.

Sure enough, his face was pale, dark circles under his eyes, and he looked thinner somehow.

His already sharp features now looked borderline severe.

“Have you eaten?”

“Ah… yes.”

Yeah, right.

Apparently, he forgets about hunger when he’s buried in books—same goes for work.

Good thing I brought food.

“Come on. Just eat a little of this.”

I started unpacking the food I brought on the conference table.

Then Leon, who had been standing behind me the whole time with a sullen face, leaned over and whispered,

“So basically, you brought me as a bodyguard just to meet another man?”

“You said it didn’t matter where.”

“Where doesn’t matter—but who does.”

He’s acting jealous for someone with just 8% affection.

I glanced at the silver padlock above Leon again.

That darned blue spade was still quiet—like the deep sea asleep under a dark night sky.

“But…”

Nox took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes, glancing at Leon.

He looked a little surprised—probably because I usually came alone, and now I’d brought someone with me, and a man at that.