Chapter 7

“My place is originally up here in this ceiling. So I’ll be going back to my original position……”

“Wait.”

Though she tried to slip away naturally, Anasha froze at the voice holding her back.

‘Could he have recognized me……? I deliberately lowered my voice, what should I do? What should I do?’

All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind during that brief moment, but she ultimately reached one conclusion. Prostrate and beg. Just as Anasha took a deep breath and turned around…

“Um… that.”

Despite her decision to immediately prostrate herself on the floor, Anasha awkwardly stood still, staring at him. More precisely, she was looking at the blue bead hairpin in his hand.

“Thank you. I thought I’d lost it……”

Receiving the hairpin from him, Anasha smiled slightly as if she had never been nervous.

“I really liked it. You don’t know how upset I was thinking I’d lost it right after buying it.”

“……”

“Perhaps the reason you were looking for me was to give me this……”

“There’s one more thing.”

Anasha stiffened again with a start. This must be the main point, she thought. Was he offering a carrot before wielding the stick? To the tense woman, Rihirt spoke calmly.

“Thank you for that day.”

“Oh, no! Rather, I should apologize for speaking so rudely, not knowing you were a duke! I’m quite ignorant about etiquette and such things……”

“I don’t particularly mind.”

“What……?”

Anasha, who had been bowing her head, slowly raised it again.

“But you’re a duke?”

A nobleman not caring about etiquette. It sounded as strange as saying a fish could live without water.

Vice-Commander Kalif, though he had loosened up a bit now, used to be obsessed with etiquette to the point of being desperate to catch her mistakes. Yet this man of much higher status was saying he didn’t care about such things.

“Perhaps nobles in the capital would, but I’m rather dull when it comes to such matters.”

His words were true. Having lived a life far removed from social circles, he didn’t pay much attention to etiquette or superficialities.

“…Phew, that’s a relief. I was really worried you were looking for me to punish me for my rudeness that day.”

“I never thought you were rude.”

With his words continuing once more, Anasha could finally put all her worries to rest. Though she felt somewhat deflated thinking about how she had been hiding for days, she also felt slightly sorry for misunderstanding him.

‘I’m glad he seems like a good person.’

Anasha smiled softly without him noticing.

“Oh, by the way, about tapping the desk twice. You probably didn’t know, but that was originally a signal between the previous commander and me. Well, I guess grandpa wouldn’t have told you about it.”

As he seemed to relax a bit, Anasha chattered away beside him.

“From now on, if you need me for anything, just tap the desk twice! Oh, what else should I tell you, ah! My name is Anasha Raina.”

“Rihirt von Weilgresle.”

“Please call me Asha. Everyone here calls me Asha. Except the vice-commander, of course.”

Rihirt quietly nodded once.

“You can call me anytime, not just when you have a task for me. Because unless I have a special mission, I’m usually free. I’m typically above the commander’s office ceiling, so call me anytime!”

After finishing her words, Anasha climbed up the wall and disappeared through a gap in the ceiling. Shortly after, the ceiling tile that had been open was put back in place.

Rihirt continued to look up at the ceiling for a while after she disappeared.

⁕⁕⁕

“Commander, I’ll leave your meal outside.”

At the knock from outside the door, Rihirt briefly paused what he was doing and checked the clock. It was already past noon.

When he opened the door, a tray with food was placed there. He brought the meal inside. Just as he was about to start eating, he suddenly remembered the woman he had met yesterday.

His gaze naturally turned toward the ceiling. Rihirt brought his hand over the desk. Without even the slightest hesitation or consideration, he lightly tapped the desk.

A ceiling tile a short distance from the desk lifted, and a small figure dropped from the darkness. The woman who landed lightly was dressed in the same all-black attire he had seen yesterday.

“What can I do for you! Just give me any order!”

Her black eyes were full of enthusiasm. Though such intensity might have been burdensome, Rihirt remained expressionless without the slightest movement.

“I was just checking if it worked.”

“What?”

“I have no business. You may go back up.”

“Oh, no! You can just call me anytime!”

Anasha exclaimed. Then she hesitantly got to her feet.

“It seems it’s already lunchtime.”

No further conversation followed. Since he was naturally taciturn and not one to enjoy conversing with others, only silence flowed between them.

Rihirt ate his meal. It wouldn’t be easy to eat comfortably with someone in front of him, but his characteristic indifference played a major role. Usually, the other person would break the awkward silence by speaking or saying they would leave, but Anasha was just as indifferent.

“May I sit on the sofa?”

Anasha, who had been looking around the desk, asked him. She felt a bit dejected that she now had to ask permission to sit on what used to be her dedicated sofa where she would lie down without asking.

“No need to ask permission.”

At his response, Anasha briefly doubted her ears, then hurriedly sat on the sofa before he could change his mind.

Watching her actions, Rihirt voiced a thought that suddenly occurred to him.

“You.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Actually, I’ve been eating steadily up there.”

In response to his questioning gaze that seemed to ask ‘What?’, Anasha showed him the pouch hanging at her waist, somewhat embarrassed. The pouch, about the size of an adult’s fist, contained nuts, dried fruits, and jerky.

“I eat little by little, so I’m always ready to carry out missions!”

Her voice was filled with energy as if she might jump up at any moment. Meanwhile, Rihirt recalled the incident from two days ago. He now understood where all those nut shells had come from.

“Thank you for showing me the way.”

“It was nothing. I couldn’t just ignore someone in trouble. Just to clarify in case you misunderstood, I wasn’t secretly spying on you that day. I was just passing by and happened to see you in the corridor……”

Anasha was chattering away when she closed her mouth at the sight of him opening a drawer. He took out something wrapped in a handkerchief, and when he unfolded it, a pile of nut shells was revealed.

“Don’t tell me you… collected and kept those?”

“Rather than keeping them, I simply didn’t throw them away.”

“That’s the same thing!”

Anasha jumped up from her seat and approached him.

“Give them to me. I’ll throw them away.”

She couldn’t possibly let a high nobleman keep the trash from her snacks. After receiving the handkerchief from him, Anasha opened the window and shook out all the nut shells.

She felt almost sorry for the handkerchief, which appeared to be made of expensive, smooth material. When Anasha returned the clean handkerchief, he took it and said:

“Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

‘He’s really different from how he looks.’ Despite being a high nobleman, he seemed uninterested in etiquette or formalities and didn’t act arrogant at all. Far from arrogant, he had thanked her twice just today.

Anasha found him both fascinating and somewhat approachable. The immense status difference that had made her feel distant now seemed almost meaningless.

‘It would be nice to become friends.’

How could she become friends with the new commander? Sitting back on the sofa, Anasha observed him while nibbling on nuts.

As he finished his meal and resumed his work, his demeanor remained unchanged and static. He sat with impeccable posture, quietly moving only his hands and eyes.

The scene was so calming that Anasha had to struggle to suppress the yawns that kept coming. Her stomach was full, and it was the perfect time to feel sleepy. The new commander seemed busy working. He probably wouldn’t notice if she closed her eyes for a moment.

Anasha closed her heavy eyes. But despite her promise to herself to sleep for just 5 minutes, she fell into a deep slumber.

About two hours later, Anasha opened her eyes. She tried to pretend she hadn’t been sleeping, but the realization that she was already lying on her side startled her fully awake.

Anasha immediately looked toward the desk. He was nowhere to be seen.

‘…I’m doomed.’

She instinctively knew her plan to become friends with the new commander had gone up in smoke. While one person was working, his subordinate was sprawled out taking a nap—she had no excuse if she fell out of favor.

As she was lost in thought, something slid down from around her waist. Anasha then discovered the large uniform jacket covering her body.

It was definitely the new commander’s coat. Anasha held it for a moment, then shook it several times to remove any possible dust before placing it on the sofa.

⁕⁕⁕

Rihirt had been receiving small notes recently.

[Good morning, Commander!]

Though no name was written, he immediately recognized who was leaving these notes on his desk every day. Rihirt neatly folded the note again, put it in his pocket, and began working.

After working for about two hours and observing the knights’ training for an hour, he returned to find another note placed on his desk without fail.

[Today seems to be going by quickly. Enjoy your lunch today too!]