* * *

When Ed entered the office with the letters, the Duke looked puzzled.

“Why are you here instead of Jaynon?”

Recalling Jaynon’s request not to inform the Duke, Ed set the letters down on the desk.

“…Jaynon said checking the facilities would take longer and asked me to handle this.”

“I see. Good work, Ed.”

Relieved by the Duke’s calm acceptance, Ed sighed quietly.

‘It seems something happened to Jaynon.’

The Duke, who pieced together the situation from just this small act, refrained from asking more questions until Ed left the room.

Once alone, he thought to himself:

‘I should check on Jaynon.’

---

The next morning, after breakfast, Ed encountered Ronen waiting outside the dining room.

“Ed!”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“Yes, did you finish yours already?”

“Yeah, I have something to do today. Oh! Ed, want to come with me to the greenhouse?”

Ed held Ronen’s hand and asked, “The greenhouse in the rear garden?”

“Yep! My brother called me there to help with some work.”

“His Grace did?”

“Yeah. Tens is fixing up the greenhouse today, and they’re going to spruce up the inside a bit too. He said I could help like I did back at the Count’s estate. But just in case, I want you to come too.”

“Of course, Young Master.”

When they reached the greenhouse, Tens was holding a shovel while Jaynon was inspecting seedlings nearby.

“I said I’d dig the ground, Tens.”

“If you do it, we’ll still be here by tonight.”

“Why is His Grace telling me to take a day off?”

“That’s why you should just go rest in your room instead of hanging around here.”

“Doing nothing in my room makes me anxious.”

Jaynon sighed, and Tens muttered back, “Having you here makes me more anxious.”

“Why?”

“If you get another nosebleed, it won’t just be a day off this time.”

“How did His Grace even find out? Ed and I were so careful.”

“Of course he knew.”

Jaynon frowned. “Why?”

“Why else? It’s you and Ed.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you’re bored, go bother Irtel.”

“Watching knight training isn’t my thing.”

Hearing their bickering, Ed and Ronen entered.

Tens stuck his shovel into the ground and waved.

“Good morning, Young Master Ronen. Hello, Ed.”

“Hello, Tens. Did you already finish fixing the greenhouse?”

“Yes, we started early to finish before it gets colder. Now, we just need to arrange the inside. The soil’s good, so everything should grow quickly.”

Excited, Ronen rushed over and tapped the ground with his small trowel.

Smiling at Ronen’s enthusiasm, Jaynon and Tens resumed organizing the soil.

Ed gathered the pots and seedlings on the ground and said to Tens:

“I think this soil’s ready for planting.”

He inspected the seedlings.

“It seems most of them are for food, not decoration.”

“Yeah. My brother thought herbs, tomatoes, and strawberries would be more useful.”

“We traded the old ornamental plants with the merchants for these.”

Ed nodded, pleased, and approached Jaynon, who was readying the seedlings.

“To help tomatoes root well, the soil needs to be thoroughly watered.”

Jaynon immediately fetched a watering can and soaked the soil.

“Is this enough?”

“Wait a moment, Jaynon.”

Ed consulted his notebook and continued giving advice while Ronen marked planting areas with wooden signs.

Once everything was planted, they circled the greenhouse, admiring their work.

“We finished before lunch.”

“Yeah… With just the two of us, it would’ve taken a week.”

Listening to them, Ed held back a thought.

‘If it was just the two of you, you’d have wasted a week bickering.’

“Shall we take a break?” Jaynon suggested.

They gathered around a table, and the warm sunlight made Ed’s eyes droop.

“Ed, I’ll go get Tens and Roa.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

As Ed struggled to stay awake, he realized Ronen and Tens had already left, and Jaynon was dozing off.

‘Maybe I’ll rest for a bit too…’

Yawning softly, Ed finally closed his eyes and slumped forward onto the table.

Ed felt a refreshing sense of lightness coursing through his body.

Remembering where he was, he gasped and sat up quickly.

Thankfully, it hadn’t been long, as the greenhouse was still bathed in sunlight.

He felt something slide off his back and turned around to see a blanket had fallen to the ground.

‘…That wasn’t there before I fell asleep.’

Looking around, Ed noticed Jaynon slumped over the table, also asleep, with a blanket covering his back.

When he glanced down, a note he hadn’t seen before lay on the table.

[When you wake up, come to the dining hall.]

The handwriting seemed familiar.

Ed rubbed his eyes and brought the note closer.

“This… This is His Grace’s handwriting!”

Startled, Ed sprang to his feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor of the greenhouse.

Just then, Tens burst into the greenhouse, his steps stirring up a cloud of dust.

He delivered a sharp slap to Jaynon’s back, who was still fast asleep.

“Hey, how long are you going to sleep? Get up already.”

“Ugh! What the hell!”

Jaynon jolted awake, wincing and rubbing his back.

Ed waved the note at him. “Jaynon, I think we’re in trouble.”

“What trouble?” Jaynon mumbled as he looked down at the note.

His tone was dismissive, but his actions weren’t.

He shot up, sprinting out of the greenhouse.

“Wait, Jaynon! Wait for me!” Ed called, grabbing one of Jaynon’s shoes as he ran to follow.

“I swear, if I get ordered to rest for another day, I’ll break out in hives! I was practically writhing to death just lying around this morning!”

* * *