CHAPTER 6
Bivia blinked several times in the short moment.
The man in front of her was clearly wearing a servant’s uniform.
What is this?
But why was that?
He did not feel like a servant.
From the man’s gaze and every expression he made, there was a dignity that felt as if it had been thoroughly refined over a long time.
A natural elegance was ingrained in his body.
Even though she lived in the countryside, Bivia had encountered quite a number of nobles throughout her life.
Her eyes had naturally become sharp at distinguishing nobles from commoners.
He even seemed to be of a different class than ordinary nobles.
“I came out to the hall once, but I don’t know how to get back.
This place is much bigger and more complicated than the estate where I used to live.”
The man added in a casual yet gentle tone.
Bivia hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Excuse me, but may I ask which family’s young master you are?
I’m afraid I might commit a rude mistake toward someone of noble standing.”
The man stared blankly at Bivia with round eyes at first.
“Hahaha.”
Suddenly, he let out a quiet laugh.
Bivia momentarily lost focus and had the absurd thought that this handsome man even had a pleasant voice.
“I’m not a noble.”
“You’re not a noble?”
This time, Bivia became confused.
“Yes.
I only came out to the garden because I followed my master.
At some point, he disappeared, leaving me behind.”
The man smiled deeply.
No.
Something felt different.
“Ah, I see.
You just seemed so dignified that I thought you were a noble.”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard something like that.”
“No, really!
I have a good eye for people.
You can take pride in it.”
Bivia relaxed the tension she had been holding.
If he was not a noble, it made things much more comfortable.
Besides, since entering the Broten estate as a child, she had never seen such a handsome servant.
If the man had passed through Broten even once before, there would have been rumors, or Bivia would have seen him herself.
He was surely a servant visiting this place for the first time.
Bivia felt lighter when dealing with someone who did not know her in Broten.
“You must not have noticed on the way.
The door leading to the hall is one you already passed earlier.
If you go back the way you came while checking, you’ll find it soon.”
The man’s eyebrows rose in a round shape.
“Why?”
“Because speaking casually like that on a first meeting is a bit difficult for me.”
“Where in the countryside does that kind of thing matter?
If you keep worrying about those things, it’s hard to survive here.
From what I see, you look about my age, so wouldn’t it be better to talk comfortably?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course it is.
Where did you come from if you don’t even know that?”
“From quite far away.”
The man shrugged his shoulders.
Bivia liked that he seemed flexible and straightforward.
Since his master probably came out to the garden for a secret meeting anyway, perhaps they could chat to pass the time.
“What’s your name?”
“Achero.”
“Achero…”
Bivia repeated his name as if savoring it in her mouth.
It was a rather unusual name for the great nobles of the capital.
At some point, Bivia realized the cold had faded away.
It was after meeting Achero.
A quiet vitality of summer seemed to dwell in his whole body.
He was the kind of person who changed the surroundings to match himself.
“Yes.
Achero.”
Achero stepped one step closer toward Bivia.
It smelled somewhat like the cool scent of alcohol.
And also like the scent of unripe fruit.
If described in color, it would be the shade of lush greenery beneath a blue sky.
That scent lingered at the tip of Bivia’s nose.
“Then what about you?
What’s your name?”
Bivia’s lips moved slightly.
For some reason, it was not easy to speak.
It felt as if this single conversation might cause her life to flow in an irreversible direction.
Whether that direction would be positive or negative.
She could not easily predict.
At the time, she simply thought it must be a trivial worry.
“Bivia.”
A mysterious smile spread across Achero’s lips.
“I’ve heard that name before.”
At that moment, Bivia’s heart jolted.
The wind swept through.
The dry branches swayed.
“You’re quite famous in Broten.”
Bivia was reflected in Achero’s deep blue eyes, which rippled like calm waves.
“Unfortunate Bivia.
They say your appearance and nature are perfect,
so you must have been made unhappy to balance the world.
That’s what everyone here says.”
“Ah, so you know about me.”
Bivia sighed lightly.
She had thought they might spend some pleasant time talking, but it already felt ruined.
“Then are you a noble or a servant?”
Achero asked the clearly rude question with a smile.
Judging by his expression alone, it seemed as if there was no problem.
But Bivia responded just as calmly.
“If you treated me like a maid, then I would be a maid.
If you treated me like a noble, then I would be a noble.
Since you showed proper courtesy first, it would only be polite for me not to lower myself.”
“I suppose that’s true.”
A fresh smile once again appeared on Achero’s face.
Whatever it was about Bivia’s answer that pleased him, Achero looked satisfied.
“Then shall we try doing it properly now?”
Step.
Achero suddenly lowered his posture.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance.
I am Achero Rodrigo.”
The angle of his bent knee and the precise handling of his gaze.
It was such perfect etiquette that one would want to ask again whether he truly was not a noble.
Is he asking me to play along with him pretending to be the Rodrigo Duke now that he’ll treat me like a noble?
He was certainly a strange man.
Bivia was bewildered, but she did not show it and immediately matched his rhythm.
“Greetings to the Duke Rodrigo.
I am Bivia, the second daughter of the Pernolain Viscount.”
A simple greeting without embellishment.
But it still contained the essential information.
She held the hem of her black dress and bent her knees slightly before rising again.
The movement was smooth and natural.
Achero stared at her intently.
From Bivia’s low-tied blonde hair,
to her straight forehead and sharply defined nose,
to her rose-colored full lips.
And every movement of her arms and legs that followed.
His blue eyes were the same color as hers.
But Achero’s blue eyes resembled the waves of a sea resting in the deep ocean.
When their gazes collided, ripples spread across the quiet lake within Bivia.
A subtle tremor in her eyes that only she could feel.
Everywhere Achero’s gaze touched, her skin felt as if flowers were blooming.
Yet she did not reveal it and held her head straight.
“Amazing.
You really look like a noble.”
Pure astonishment appeared on Achero’s face.
“Right?
When the people of our Viscount’s house go out together and an important guest comes, they make me handle them.
So since I was young, I watched nobles and practiced their behavior and speech by myself.”
“Is it okay to tell that to an outsider like me?”
“Yes.
It doesn’t matter at all.
It’s not like I’ve been telling people about it, but in Broten there’s no one who doesn’t know.
It’s such a rural place that people are overly interested in others.”
Sometimes.
Very rarely.
Bivia had to welcome guests as a member of the Pernolain family.
The Viscount and his wife usually did not even acknowledge her as a Pernolain.
But when necessary, they used her efficiently.
Even when guests consistently ignored Bivia, her attitude remained steady.
Maintaining a thick mask just to survive.
That much was not even difficult.
Rather, it was one of the easier things.
For that rare occasion that might occur, Bivia observed the behavior and speech of the nobles who visited the Viscount’s estate.
She practiced etiquette tens of thousands of times alone in front of the mirror.
If she could not prove her usefulness this way, she could not remain in the mansion.
“Hmm.”
Achero smiled with narrowed eyes.
“If you learned all this by yourself, then you’re diligent and talented.”
“Oh, thanks for the compliment.”
“Is it true that the Pernolain Viscount’s family looks wealthy, but is actually hiding enormous debt?”
For a moment, Bivia’s pupils tightened.
The relaxed posture she had maintained stiffened with tension.
“No.”
Bivia was still smiling.
But the emotion contained in that smile was completely different from before.
