Chapter 10

Anasha immediately climbed the tree and examined the nests placed on each branch. It was already dark and difficult to see, and fending off the ravens’ attacks caused further delay.

She thoroughly searched everything with a faint hope that the brooch might be in one of them, but ultimately couldn’t find it.

At that moment, a raven sitting on the highest branch took flight. Anasha immediately followed it. She climbed walls and ran across rooftops, tracking the raven’s path as closely as possible. Her speed was so fast that she was practically flying, just without actually taking to the air.

The raven, flying westward, landed on a chimney of a house. After looking around a few times, it disappeared into the chimney. Anasha climbed onto the old roof and peered into the chimney.

The building seemed uninhabited, as the chimney emitted neither smoke nor warmth. From inside the pitch-black chimney, she could hear faint bird cries. It seemed the raven had made a nest there.

Anasha slowly descended into the chimney. Though the darkness below might have been frightening, she ran her hands through it as if accustomed to it. She used her feet to find crevices in the inner wall to step on while her hands firmly gripped the narrow chimney.

After descending further, the faint cries grew closer. With eyes adjusted to the darkness, Anasha could see a deep groove beneath her left foot. Avoiding it and sticking to the right side as much as possible, she saw a small nest made inside the groove.

‘The brooch!’

Among the assortment of twigs and odds and ends haphazardly gathered together, she spotted the silver brooch. Anasha carefully reached for it.

At that moment, a raven cawed and fiercely opened its beak toward her face. Anasha successfully grabbed the brooch quickly, but simultaneously lost her balance and fell down the chimney. Fortunately, she managed to spread her arms and legs just in time to avoid being impaled on the iron skewer set up at the bottom of the chimney.

‘That was close……’

With a face that looked like she had aged ten years, Anasha carefully avoided the iron skewer and crawled out from the bottom of the chimney. As expected, the house appeared abandoned, with no signs that anyone lived there. She exited through the door and immediately returned to the knight order.

She thought it was late evening, but it must have been quite late as the lights in the commander’s office were off.

Anasha headed straight for the knight order dormitory building. Climbing the wall in one go to the third floor, she knocked on the fifth window from the left.

“Uncle! Uncle! Are you sleeping?”

“…You only call me uncle at times like this? Why, what’s the matter?”

“Do you know where the commander lives?”

Chris, who had opened the window with a face just woken from sleep, continued to speak slowly with his eyes still closed.

“That place, Horaison 50th Avenue, there’s that famous count’s mansion on the southern street, and if you go further, you’ll see an empty forest. Remember that large mansion beyond it that you once said looked like a castle? I think I heard he’s staying there…… More importantly, why do you look so……”

“Thank you!!”

Before Chris could ask in astonishment as he opened his eyes, Anasha quickly disappeared like the wind.

⁕⁕⁕

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Weilgresle ducal mansion, located in the southern part of the capital, had been abandoned for nearly 20 years. This was because after the previous duke passed away early, Rihirt, who succeeded him, had stayed exclusively in his direct territory.

However, thanks to the diligent management of the servants, the mansion remained clean and luxurious enough for the owner to return at any time.

The porcelain decorated with silver and gold, the luxurious furniture comparable to that of the imperial family, and even the gleaming wide floor beneath the chandelier—each showed evidence of meticulous care.

And the owner of this mansion, Rihirt, sat alone in his study at a late hour. Though he wore casual attire of a linen shirt and cotton pants in this private space, his appearance remained impeccable.

He was in the process of reviewing documents that had come up from his territory. He must have been sitting in deep concentration for some time. Rihirt looked up at the small sound of knocking.

It wasn’t the door. It was the window on the opposite side.

In the dark outside the window, with no moon in sight, a small silhouette peeked its head. This was the fourth floor. As far as he knew, only one person could move freely at this height. Rihirt approached the window and opened the locked window.

“Commander, I found it as promised!”

Appearing suddenly as if she had been waiting, Anasha cheerfully waved the brooch in front of him.

Rihirt remained expressionless, but he was more surprised by her appearance than the recovered brooch. The woman, fully illuminated by the light spilling from the room, looked quite disheveled. Her hair was a mess, and the elbow part of her clothes was torn.

As he seemed at a loss for words, Anasha took the initiative to speak first.

“You have to give me affection as promised. No backing out, okay?”

Rihirt stared at her hand as she held out the brooch. When he stood still for a long time without taking it, Anasha lowered her gaze to her fingertips.

The condition of her hand in the light from the room was dirtier than she had imagined. Whether it was from inside the chimney, black soot was caked all over her fingertips and the back of her hand.

“…Oh, I’m sorry!”

Only then did she understand why he hadn’t taken the brooch. Even though he was different from other nobles who minded dirty things, it would naturally be off-putting to receive something from such hands.

Anasha blamed herself. She hadn’t seen it because she was in the dark, but it was her mistake for not checking in her excitement. What should have been a moment of praise for her quick delivery had turned into the worst outcome.

“I’m really sorry. It must have gotten dirty on the way. Um, I’ll leave it here……”

“Thank you.”

“What?”

At the unexpected words, Anasha looked at him with a bewildered expression. She wondered if it was sarcasm, like “Thank you for dirtying my precious item.” However, his face was as neat and polite as ever.

“It seems I’m always receiving help from you. I’m grateful.”

“……”

“Your clothes are torn. Are you hurt anywhere?”

She had been listening to him in a daze. As her body relaxed, her grip loosened simultaneously, and the brooch fell.

Anasha instinctively bent down to catch the brooch. The moment she caught it in mid-air, a strong grip seized one of her arms. Then a thick arm embraced her waist as if snatching her up.

“…?”

Anasha looked up at him, sitting on the windowsill like a child cradled in a mother’s arms. Then her eyes widened greatly.

“…Ah!! Commander, your clothes!”

Dirty soot had smeared all over his expensive white shirt.

“It’s fine.”

“But it’s so black! I’m really sorry. Will it come out if we wash it…?”

With a dismayed face, Anasha only asked about the state of his clothes, seemingly not intending to listen to him. As a result, Rihirt had to speak again.

“I’m not the type of person who says something is fine when it’s not. As for the clothes, I can simply change them.”

“…When you put it that way, I feel a bit relieved.”

Anasha felt sheepish at his response. Indeed, someone of ducal status would hardly care about discarding a single piece of clothing. He could just buy another identical one.

“Anyway, I’m sorry for suddenly showing up so late. Please wash the brooch thoroughly. It was inside an abandoned house’s chimney.”

Having said what she needed to say, Anasha handed him the brooch and tried to get up. Or rather, she tried to.

“Then tomorrow, I… Commander?”

“It’s late.”

If not for his hand that wouldn’t let her go.

“It doesn’t seem right to send you off like this. I’ll provide you with a guest room, so please stay the night.”

“A guest room? I don’t know if I should dare stay in such a place… As you can see, I’m quite dirty.”

“I’ll assign someone to help you bathe.”

“Ah, no! Just lend me the bathroom. I’ll wash myself.”

Before she knew it, Anasha had accepted his offer. She realized her mistake too late, but she was tired, and thinking she might never get another chance to stay in such a luxurious mansion, she decided to comfortably accept his kindness.

Immediately guided to a guest room by the mansion’s maid, Anasha entered the bathroom first. Lying in the spacious bathtub with warm water pouring abundantly, she felt like she was in heaven.

‘So this is how three days of hard work gets rewarded.’

With such a reward, she felt she could search raven nests every day. After draining the murky water several times and emerging clean, Anasha changed into the nightclothes the maid had brought and jumped straight into bed.

In the soft, smooth blankets, Anasha quickly fell asleep. She looked forward to tomorrow.

⁕⁕⁕

“…Nothing unusual happened yesterday? Like the commander’s expression was off or he seemed to be avoiding you?”

Chris quietly asked as soon as he met Anasha in the annex dining hall. Having directly witnessed her appearance the previous night, he couldn’t help but worry.

“Prepare to be amazed!”

“So something did happen? Don’t keep it to yourself… Honestly, you looked really dirty.”

“From today on, I’m going to be the commander’s favored subordinate!”

Anasha exclaimed after taking a big bite of the apple served for breakfast.

“Ah, favored… What? Favored?”

Chris, who had thought it would be fortunate if the commander didn’t despise her for being dirty, opened his eyes wide. Despite his persistent questioning about what she meant and what had happened, Anasha merely snorted.

“What are you talking about this early in the morning?”

“Didn’t she just say something about being favored?”

“Who by whom?”

The knights around them showed interest one by one and asked. However, Anasha pushed the remaining piece of apple into her mouth and stood up. Leaving behind only great curiosity, she headed toward the commander’s office with light steps.