Chapter 127
Vivian, who beca speechless for a mont due to his unexpected look, set herself straight before launching a brusque expression on her face.
“I’m sure Ez has already told you that you don’t need to help out, sir.”
“I just want to help you out since it looks rather arduous.”
“Really—I said, it’s…”
“Don’t you take orders here?”
“Yes! Please wait a minute!”
The guest’s voice that intercepted Vivian’s words was soon heard. Then, right when Vivian was just about to head towards the urging voice after wiping her hands off with her apron—
“I’ll go.”
While stopping her from going out, he stepped forward.
“You stay here.”
“But—”
It was at the mont when she tried to firmly shake her head at the Grand Duke, who had never attempted to bow towards others. But she quickly turned to the stove at the sll of sothing burning. Eventually, she just bore a hole at the Grand Duke.
“You can’t impose on the guest, okay?”
“Of course.”
He nodded his head. Vivian then heaved a faint sigh at his pair of prudent eyes.
“Well then, please. If sothing happens, don’t hesitate to call out for .”
“Understand.”
Vivian fixed her gaze for a long ti at his back, which had already left without any delay. Back when she was still Alexia, it had beco her routine to stare at that back of his. Nevertheless, the back which always induced sadness to her then had sohow felt rather closer today.
When dinner ti had eventually ended sowhat, only then Vivian could finally manage to take a breather. The mont she scanned through the hall after she finished organizing the last bit of ingredients, she could then find Ez.
“Ez!”
“Ah, ma’am!”
He stopped cleaning the table before smiling brightly as he approached her.
“Have you finished preparing for dinner?”
“Yes. That custor is the last one.”
“I’m glad, then. I never knew that this many people would be visiting and how successful our inn truly is.”
Vivian laughed unconsciously along with Ez, who uttered the remark playfully, before stopping herself.
“By the way, Ez, I asked you to send that person back, but why…”
“Ah, actually, I went up to see Ashley for a mont—since you kept on looking upstairs, ma’am.”
Vivian’s hand ceased to move abruptly. During the ti she was cooking, she thought that Ashley might be whining to which she kept on looking upstairs and it seed like it was eventually noticed by Ez.
As her face slightly reddened at the feeling that her heart had been exposed, Ez smiled brightly in response.
“Don’t worry, ma’am. I looked after Ashley for a little while and perhaps because she was hungry, she quickly cald down right after I fed her so milk.”
“Thank you, Ez. Thank you so much.”
“You don’t have to be. Now, let us work together and wrap this all up.”
She reached out to Ez, who revealed that he was still in full spirit, and continued to stroke his head. At that very sa ti, his face crimsoned deeply.
“I-I’ll go and clean up the table over there then!”
Vivian then looked away from Ez, who imdiately rushed ahead while bringing along the dishcloth, and turned to Knox, who was already by her side ever since he had finished taking orders from the guests.
“It’s okay if you leave now.”
“Is it really okay?”
His hand reached out to her cheek. The mont his hand had carefully brushed against her cheek, he imdiately flinched before clenching his fist.
“You look pale.”
“When did you ever look properly at my face?”
As she recalled how he couldn’t even discern herself and Alexia before, Vivian’s voice unconsciously grew sharp.
Even though you always thought it’d be if they just had those fancy hats and red hair. She shook her head as she was reminded by him, who danced with the Young Lady at the ballroom without suspecting anything back then.
“Thoroughly.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve been looking at you thoroughly this whole month. How you smile, how you move, how your lips part when you talk, how your eyes beco round when you’re anticipating sothing—everything. I’ve already gotten as much as I haven’t been seeing you.”
Her words were snatched in an instant.
Co to think of it, it had already been a month since he showed up. If he ca here to punish , he would already do sothing when he found back then. So, what is it then?
“…How did you even find ?”
For the first ti, Vivian slowly t with his gaze. Knox’s eyes, which were now eting hers, trembled with excitent, albeit slightly.
“I’m sure it must’ve been hard to find .”
“…I used so people.”
“What did you say?”
Vivian, who was bewildered by a rather coercive asure, imdiately gasped.
“At first, they did say that it was hard finding you. But I couldn’t believe it, so I commissioned them once more. And this ti, they said that you weren’t here anymore. When I commissioned them again one more ti, I heard that you might no longer be in this Empire—or perhaps, you might have been dead already.”
As if he was confessing, his whisperings continued.
“I wasn’t sure if your hair was actually black or red, so I suffered a lot. There were tis when I had a run the mont I heard that they had found you, but it wasn’t truly you.”
The more she heard of it, the more it felt like his words weren’t really a lie.
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