* * *
Was I thinking of him so much throughout the day that I was finally starting to see hallucinations?
It was only after watching Locke bow respectfully to my mother, Cassian, and Ciel in turn that I realized this was reality.
I quietly dabbed the corners of my mouth with my napkin.
Then, intending to acknowledge Locke, I pulled the corners of my lips into a gentle, warm smile.
However, as if by design, Locke didn’t cast a single glance in my direction.
He turned away nonchalantly as if his business was finished, and the open dining room doors swung shut again.
‘…What about me?!’
Why didn’t he greet me?
Was I so small that I was hidden behind Aiden?
If not that, I wasn’t some invisible man who couldn’t be seen by his eyes—how could he not give me a single look?
My lips, which hadn’t yet dropped the smile out of sheer embarrassment, trembled slightly.
Clang.
Perhaps my grip had weakened from the absurdity of it all; the knife slipped from my hand and fell to the floor.
Snapped back to my senses by the sharp noise, I reflexively bent over to pick it up while stammering an apology, but I froze.
Cassian had grabbed my shoulder firmly, glaring at me with disapproval.
“Have you completely forgotten your table manners just because you’ve been eating in bed for a while?”
It was a basic rule of etiquette for a noble never to bend their waist under any circumstances.
Nobles considered it a disgrace for anyone to look down upon them.
Because my mind had been entirely preoccupied with Locke, I hadn’t managed to pay attention to that.
I straightened my body and bit my lower lip slightly.
“Anna, go to the kitchen and tell Locke to bring out new cutlery.”
The servant who had been about to pick up the knife stepped back at Cassian’s command.
I didn’t know why he had been passing by earlier, but it was lunchtime—a period when servants typically had no duties unless they were specifically attending the meal.
‘Why call someone who’s on their break?’
I spoke up quickly before Anna could leave to carry out the order.
“Wait, Anna. Is it necessary to call someone who isn’t even here, Brother?”
“I’m saying it because the fellow who ought to be by your side is missing. He is your personal servant, after all.”
“I am the one who gave him free time. I personally told him to have his own time except during my medication hours. To reverse that now would be a blow to my own dignity.”
“Is it not more appropriate to follow Mother’s command to stay by your side rather than your own? Since when did the master of the Hestian house change to you?”
To avoid the missions, I had to stay away from Locke, so immediately after my regression, I had granted him permission to have personal time whenever there wasn’t a specific task.
Since this was the complete opposite of the instructions Mother had given, I had tried to keep quiet about it.
To think he would use it to counter me like this and point out my fault right in front of Mother.
He seemed to be taking his anger out on me for not being able to meet Eclat that day.
Not only is his personality rotten, but his heart is as narrow as a grain of sand.
Mother, who had been quietly dabbing her lips with a napkin, looked at us with a somewhat cold gaze.
“A guest is still dining. Do not raise your voices at the table so rudely.”
Cassian might have bullied me even worse if anyone else had intervened, but he was strictly formal when it came to Mother’s words.
He didn’t say anything further, simply bowing his head and shutting his mouth.
Instead, he merely glared at his own servant with a sharp gaze and jerked his chin.
Anna flinched and hurried toward the kitchen.
Under Mother’s chilling warning, I couldn’t stop her this time either.
Before long, Locke entered the dining room carrying fresh cutlery.
The reason he had no choice but to follow Cassian’s order despite being my servant was simple: my standing in this mansion was at rock bottom.
I was, after all, a person who was going to die anyway.
‘How bitter.’
“I will replace your cutlery.”
Locke approached me and began to collect the old set.
Thick veins bulged along the back of his left hand and up his arm as he gripped the knife.
Watching this silently made it difficult to breathe.
I couldn’t pull my gaze away from his hand.
It felt as if he might suddenly reveal his true nature and plunge that knife into my throat.
I reflexively swallowed hard, and I could feel Locke’s gaze shifting toward my fingertips.
Fearing I might show how nervous I was, I quietly clenched my fists.
At that moment, as Locke finished setting the final fork and began to pull back, the edge of his hand brushed slightly against the back of mine.
I flinched and looked up. For a split second, my eyes met his golden ones.
I was startled enough to feel my heart shake, but Locke was unexpectedly calm.
A servant touching a noble’s body without permission was a serious offense that would normally lead to a harsh scolding.
Yet, why didn’t he seem even slightly surprised?
Before, he would have prostrated himself and trembled if our bodies touched even by the smallest mistake.
The strange thought crossed my mind, but I hurried to control my expression.
I checked first to see if Mother had seen.
Since she was busy drinking her wine, she didn’t seem to notice what had just happened.
‘Thank goodness.’
I picked up my water glass naturally, as if nothing had occurred, but I couldn’t calm my racing heart.
“Is Aiden participating in the competition as well?”
At that moment, Mother asked quietly.
It was about the Imperial hunting competition mentioned earlier.
“Yes, Madam. I heard that the Imperial family is awarding a specially crafted sword to the winner. I liked that sword more than any perks or prize money. That’s why I decided to participate along with Lord Cassian.”
Aiden spoke comfortably when it was just us, but he was clear about hierarchies in front of elders or in official settings.
Although both Cassian and Aiden were children of noble houses without titles yet, there was a difference in status as they were the sons of a Count and a Viscount, respectively.
Though that would flip once Aiden received his own title.
While the tedious conversation of nobles flowed back and forth, Locke, holding the cutlery neatly wrapped in white cloth, knelt on the floor.
It was to pick up the knife I had dropped.
I hadn’t dropped it on purpose, but it was agonizing to have Locke be the one to clean up after me.
Lifting the tablecloth, Locke began to search for the knife.
As he tried to reach further in, my calf brushed against his shoulder.
I winced at the sensation of touching something solid, and Locke, having realized the mistake this time, stopped moving.
Shifting my legs to the side, I caught a glimpse of Cassian’s expression.
He was busy glancing at Mother, who had been showing a lot of interest in Aiden, and wasn’t paying me the slightest bit of attention.
‘How many people’s moods do I have to track just to eat one meal?’
I’m going to get indigestion.
If I had known, I should have claimed to be sick and skipped the meal altogether.
Grumbling internally, I was about to stab a piece of meat with my fork when I turned my head again.
One corner of Cassian’s mouth, which had been turned down earlier, twitched subtly.
Seeing that suspicious look, I decided I had to take control of the conversation once Mother and Aiden finished their exchange.
If I could keep Mother’s attention on me until Locke left the dining room, Cassian wouldn’t be able to pull anything foolish easily.
As if he had sensed my plan, just as Locke picked up the knife and was about to stand, Cassian stepped down hard on his back, pinning him.
Along with a short breath, veins bulged on the back of Locke’s hand gripping the knife.
“Brother!”
Is he insane? Does he want to die? Why is he doing that?!
Startled, I shouted, and every gaze in the dining room turned toward me.
Seeing Mother’s neat eyebrows furrow slightly, Cassian slid his foot off Locke’s back and coolly asked, “Why?” as if nothing had happened.
His sly expression felt just like a snake.
‘You despicable bastard. So you’re going to play innocent, huh?’
Mother valued social hierarchy, but she didn’t mistreat servants.
As their master, she respected and looked after their individual characters.
If I told her exactly what Cassian had just done, she would surely scold him severely.
But if that happened, Cassian would undoubtedly use it as an excuse to retaliate against Locke later.
If I, who have struggled every moment just to stay alive, were less clever than a young master who only knows how to hunt, wouldn’t that be a problem?
Besides, I’m on my second life!
I widened my eyes.
Then, I began to grope around my waist as if searching for something.
“Huh? I was definitely wearing it at my side, where did it go?”
The corner of Cassian’s mouth twitched as he watched my nonchalant acting.
“It is not like you, Cedric. Raising your voice repeatedly at the dining table.”
Mother scolded me quietly, noting the unusual behavior.
I ignored it and put on a dejected expression.
“I had something to show Brother, but I was flustered because I left it in my room. I apologize, Mother.”
“Is it perhaps that gift Aiden gave you?”
Ciel showed interest at the perfect timing, and I nodded quickly.
“That’s right, Sister. It’s a dagger set with a mana stone, and it’s so beautiful. I just wanted to show it off while we were all together… I was thoughtless.”
“To think you wanted to brag about it so much. As the one who gave it, I feel quite proud. Haha.”
At Aiden’s easy-going laughter, Mother’s gaze finally turned gentle again.
“A mana stone? Such a precious thing. I should like to see just how beautiful this dagger is that it has caused such a stir in my usually quiet son.”
Seizing the opportunity to get Locke out, I waved my hand behind my back, signaling him to leave.
“Locke, could you tell Marie to bring the dagger from the first drawer next to my bed? You have to finish the work I asked you to do this morning, don’t you?”
Since it was a lie I made up to get him out, I worried he might not understand the signal, but fortunately, Locke was brilliant.
I suppose that’s why he was able to lead a great rebellion and successfully seize the throne in just three short years.
Rising without a word, he bowed his head silently.
I watched Locke leave the dining room with a stiff face.
The knife gripped tightly in his veined left hand felt like the blade of a guillotine aimed directly at the Hestian family.
‘As expected, if the Hestian family is to remain intact, I have to deal with Cassian first.’
* * *
