Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Preparing for the New Year’s party was not easy.

If it were just about attending the party, preparing a dress and understanding the main social issues, it would be enough.

But Luwin’s goal was to show that we were preparing something.

Moreover, we had to show that we weren’t as ruined as most people thought.

[But you are ruined, aren’t you?]

[Let’s see, the debt is…]

[SYSTEM | Currently, 99,991,834 jurang remains until debt repayment.]

‘Damn it.’

We had to pretend we weren’t ruined.

[That’s right.]

And I had to prepare much more for ‘ice cream sales’.

“Where and how to sell ice cream is a problem, but an even bigger issue is with my skill.”

I needed to greatly increase my skill proficiency to at least be able to succeed every time I made it.

After nearly collapsing once while practicing last time and having a private conversation with Sian Terezia, I’ve been training at a more controlled pace.

“And… ah, Apple.”

“Oh, hello, Miss.”

“Yes, how’s the ice cream research going?”

“I’m trying to eat it with waffles or decorate it with chocolate syrup. I’ll soon compile a list of desserts that would go well with it!”

I smiled gently at our bandit-like cute Apple, who was full of energy today too.

I don’t know how much more livable each day has become thanks to our Apple. 

This applies not only to me, but to everyone in this mansion.

Even the servants who don’t have the chance to eat Apple’s cooking directly have said that the quality of their meals has improved thanks to the cooks influenced by Apple.

“Excellent as always. Let’s work a bit harder.”

“Thank you!”

“Could you send up the best-looking dessert later when I contact you?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, keep up the good work.”

I patted Apple’s shoulder once and then climbed the stairs towards Cassis’s office.

Knock knock.

“Cassis, it’s Irina.”

It was a time when everyone in Luwin was working as if they had two bodies.

Knock knock.

“Cassis?”

These days, I usually deal with work related to Luwin’s existing businesses in the morning and afternoon, and in the evening, I have sluggish meetings about new businesses with Roen and other practitioners.

And I tend to invest the whole night in cooking skill training.

Today, I was visiting Cassis’s office to report on matters related to the banquet after a slightly late lunch.

Even after knocking on the door several times and waiting for a long time, there was no answer.

[Let’s go in.]

After hesitating a few times, I slightly opened the door and went in. 

Peeking my head in, I saw someone lying face down on the desk.

“As expected…”

I quietly closed the door and approached him. 

He was supposed to be a knight, but he was deeply asleep, not even noticing my approach.

The black hair scattered over the white papers felt good to the touch even to the naked eye.

And beneath that hair was a pale white forehead. 

Following that forehead came a nose like a sculpture.

Next to it, a pale white cheek was revealed, a cold cheek without a hint of blush.

“…”

Surely this person is breathing and alive, so blood must be flowing in this face, but it seemed that if I touched it, it would be as cold as marble.

‘He is beautiful, isn’t he?’

[Is that so?]

I waited for a moment near the desk. 

It was in the hope that Cassis might wake up.

Although I’ve never directly seen Cassis wielding a sword, he, who is said to be the world’s best knight, was usually very sensitive to presence.

“Cassis.”

But the fact that he didn’t notice me standing in front of him like this now suggests that his accumulated fatigue must be considerable.

I slightly lowered my head to check Cassis’s face once more.

I put my hand under his nose, on the face that looked as peaceful as if he were dead. 

A warm sensation touched my fingertips.

Hmm, he’s not dead.

[Should we just leave him?]

‘Yes. He seems to be sleeping well, and he has insomnia too.’

It seemed better to just let him sleep since he was sleeping well for once. 

Besides, the content I was going to report today wasn’t that important anyway.

I hurriedly took a step back, worried that I might wake him up.

“Ah…!”

But there was a force grabbing me much faster than I could step back.

I stumbled once at the force that snatched my forearm, and was then subdued onto the desk with both hands caught.

It happened so suddenly that I didn’t even have time to be surprised.

I blinked blankly, unable to move an inch, and then looked up. 

Close by was Cassis with an irritated face.

As if he wasn’t the person who had been sleeping just a moment ago, he was pressing down on me from above with a sharpened presence. 

His red eyes even carried a killing intent, as if they could kill a person.

He must have been startled by someone approaching while he was sleeping.

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized first with an apologetic heart.

Only after my voice reached him did he seem to come to his senses, and the strength in the hands holding my arms began to loosen. 

However, I was still not free from restraint.

“Good afternoon. Did you sleep well?”

“Irina…?”

“I seem to have woken you up, Cassis.”

He blinked his eyes languidly a few times.

And then he slowly opened his mouth.

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Only then did Cassis release me and step back. 

I straightened my posture and reassured Cassis, who looked flustered.

“You must have been tired. Go to your bedroom and sleep comfortably.”

“It’s fine, I have a lot of work.”

“No. When the top decision-maker collapses, it’s the subordinates who suffer.”

There were many times when it was really troublesome if there was no one to make the final decision at an important time. 

Moreover, if that person collapsed and couldn’t make any decisions at all, it went beyond troublesome and became frightening.

“If you’re that anxious, at least take a short nap.”

After all, humans need to sleep. 

Judging by how Luka scolds Cassis every time, he must not be sleeping properly at night either.

I dragged Cassis and moved him to the couch in the office. 

He, who had been dragged along obediently, lay down on the couch, yielding to my coercion.

I covered him with a blanket, tucking it in tightly so that nothing stuck out.

“Do we really have to go this far?”

“Yes. Now close your eyes too.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re feeling awkward looking at me right now, aren’t you?”

Irina knows everything.

Whether it’s because it’s the first time showing such a weak side to someone, or because you’re embarrassed to show this side to someone you’re not even close to.

“If you close your eyes, you won’t see anything. You won’t see me either.”

“But.”

“But?”

Cassis closed his eyes following my words and said quietly,

“I can hear your breathing.”

I was silent for a moment at this unexpected answer. 

Oh, he can hear my breathing.

“Actually, that’s how I noticed earlier too.”

“…”

“Because your breathing suddenly got farther away.”

So he noticed me earlier while sleeping soundly at the desk because of my breathing.

I suddenly became conscious of my breathing.

“…I didn’t think of that. Then I’ll turn off the lights and leave now.”

I couldn’t finish my sentence properly because Cassis opened his eyes, which had been closed, and grabbed my sleeve.

“Cassis?”

Cassis looked clearly flustered, as if he had grabbed me without realizing it himself. 

Although they say nobles are skilled at managing their expressions, the Cassis in front of me was not like that at all.

So I just smiled.

Even the great Grand Duke of the North gets lonely, huh.

[Because he’s human.]

That’s right. 

Because he’s human too.

I looked once at the large, firm hand still holding me, and then just sat down.

Sitting at Cassis’s bedside, his face was right in front of me. 

I whispered to his face, which was full of flustered expressions.

“Tut-tut, close your eyes.”

“But…”

“Yes, yes, I’m right in front of you. Close your eyes because it’ll be embarrassing for me if you open them.”

Cassis, who was about to protest slightly, closed his eyes tightly and lay still on the couch in a correct posture as soon as I finished speaking.

I burst into a small laugh at this posture that looked as if he had stiffened, and sat down in a comfortable position.

After thinking for a moment about what kind of story would be good to tell, I finally decided to talk about how I sold wine.

“At first, when we made Seike wine, packaged it prettily, and put it on the market, no one showed any interest.”

Nothing in the world goes well from the start. 

I started with high expectations that it would do well, but only cold winds blew. 

I thought the warm south was colder than I expected.

“I kept my spot all day and only sold seven bottles. Seven bottles of wine that didn’t even cost 20 gold.”

I wanted to give up on everything.

I started with confidence and conviction, believing in my own judgment, but as time passed, I became unable to believe in myself.

This wine tastes really good to me. 

I really thought it was good. 

Could it actually not be? 

I doubted like that.

“I want to give up on everything, but how can I? This is my last hope.”

Cassis lay still without moving. 

However, I could tell he was listening to my story through his slightly moving lips and eyelids.

“So I poured out a glass of wine each. I handed them out to people passing by on the street. Telling them to taste it, asking how it tasted to them.”

I was lucky.

Word of mouth started spreading one by one like that, and by chance, the wine ended up in the hands of a noble lady.

That lady had some recognition in the local social circles, and thanks to that, it became somewhat popular among small provincial cities.

It wasn’t a massive craze, but it was a big help in establishing our winery to some extent.

“Seike still sells wine by the glass. At first, it wasn’t profitable, you know? But there was more demand than we thought. So we changed the packaging a bit more and kept selling it, even at a higher price. And when we established ourselves to some extent, it turned out to be an effective promotional strategy. Now it has become quite a significant income source.”

I whispered softly. 

This is how Seike Winery grew.

In front of the system, I whined about how to sell ice cream and make that big money, but actually, I’m a bit expectant too.

I hope Luwin grows like this too.

I whispered softly. 

As my words continued slowly, Cassis’s stiff posture softened gently, and his breath, which was almost inaudible, began to leak out faintly.

The gradually slowing breathing soon changed to regular breathing, and I made my words a little slower and more sparse.

“So…”

“…”

I quietly looked at the sculpture-like man who now showed no reaction even after I just started the introduction.

Why does this pale and tired face keep catching my eye?

‘I guess I do have a sympathetic personality.’

[You just realized that now.]

‘He keeps catching my eye. I just can’t leave him and go.’

[Sigh. That’s Irina’s charm.]

With a slightly depressed feeling, I recalled another pitiful person I had seen recently.

Sian Terezia.

‘It was a world that even god had given up on. I ended up protecting it, but look at me. Now god doesn’t even answer me.’

Sian Terezia called himself a failed hero. 

I oppose that expression.

The chat window that stuttered like it was lagging when standing in front of Sian Terezia spat out dozens of lines of broken text before finally showing the reaction ‘No – ㅇ ㅑ!’.

Afterward, I asked the system many times what the truth was, but the status window kept being unresponsive. 

Only the occasional heavily broken text showed that the god was not avoiding this conversation.

‘No. My world is gone now.’

I think about how many frustrations must have been in front of Sian for him to say he had failed, how many deaths must have been laid out.

But…

“Cassis, Sian Terezia didn’t fail.”

I whispered softly to Cassis, who had dozed off.

“But Mr. Sian says he failed.”

“…”

There was no answer. 

The quiet room was filled only with faint breathing. 

Listening to that subtle yet comfortable sound, I looked at another hero who now had to protect the world.

I am his helper and…

“Cassis, you won’t become like Sian Terezia.”

At least Cassis shouldn’t be made like Sian Terezia.

He shouldn’t be made to live such a hard life like Sian.

I should protect him by his side.