Heloise’s mood slowly became strange.

Saying that she looked like a kid. Continuing to liaise without asking for the other’s intentions.

Although there wasn’t anything wrong with her words, she’d be lying if she said that she wasn’t offended.

‘What in the world was her intentions with all this?’

Heloise frowned as she watched what they were doing, before turning around.

“I seem to have come to the wrong place. Excuse me. I’ll be returning first.”

When she was leaving the tea room, everyone stopped chatting and looked at Heloise.

In a corner of her heart, she wanted Zenon to grab her, but in the end, Heloise’s name never appeared from his mouth.

On the carriage ride back home, Heloise gritted her teeth and thought about why the madman was being cantankerous again.

But she still couldn’t figure out why he returned back to the way he was, no matter how much she thought about it.

“I’m the one that’s crazy.”

She had only felt regret and anger for misunderstanding that they had gotten slightly closer during the period of time they spent together.

⋄────∘°❃°∘────⋄

At the height of noon in early summer, when the sun was shining brilliantly, a young man leant against the base of a large tree.

With dense black eyelashes lining the edge of his closed eyes and a sharp nose, along with shapely lips and a statuesque jawline, the boy that possessed an unforgettable appearance had his eyes closed with a peaceful expression, as if he was completely unaffected by the humid weather.

The boy’s peace was broken by the owner of the voice that resounded throughout the garden of the large mansion in search for him.

“Zenon.”

“…….”

Cracks appeared on Zenon’s face upon hearing that voice.

He opened his eyes with a frown and slowly got up, picked up the closed book and was about to leave.

However, Jude, who had suddenly appeared at the scene, was a step faster.

“Zenon, why did you say that you aren’t at home when you’re here?”

Dressed in a white frilly one-piece, lace gloves and black shoes, Jude continued to approach Zenon.

“Why are you here again?”

Annoyed that he was caught before he could disappear without a trace, Zenon spoke irritably.

But Jude didn’t back down, and spoke unyieldingly.

“I came here because I thought you’d be frustrated to be home alone everyday.”

“Enough of that, leave.”

Zenon didn’t hide his displeasure at all.

As such, Jude wore a tearful face and she gripped her skirt.

“You’re too much. How can you be like this to someone that’s worried about you?”

Zenon turned his head without responding.

Recently, the atmosphere of Langbert Mansion had also changed along with his increasing sensitivity and frequent edginess.

But ironically, after the tea party had ended safely, rumours that Zenon had somewhat mellowed out began spreading.

As such, even the Wells family, who had always prevented Jude from heading to Langbert Mansion, allowed her to head out.

The problem was that Zenon didn’t suddenly use magic like he did previously, but his temper had become so frayed that it was hard to speak with him.

‘He had been acting weird ever since a few weeks ago…’

Jude sighed as she looked at Zenon, who had his head turned away.

She opened her mouth to encourage him, who seemed listless.

“What has made you so wan and dejected? Why don’t you invite your playmates and let them compete like how you used to in the past?”

“What?”

“Hasn’t there been quite a number of faces I haven’t met recently? Whether it’s with that blondie that pretended to be close to you during the tea party, or your new playmates, wouldn’t it be great to play like how we did in the past?”

“Jude Wells, I’m warning you, mind your own business.”

She would obviously be reprimanded by her father, Marquis Wells, if he knew that she encouraged him to do something dangerous.

She was already mentally prepared and said that in order to match Zenon’s mood, but the frigid response she gained instantly upsetted Jude.

“Weren’t you like this before?”

While they had never been on noticeably good terms, conversely speaking, he had never been so obviously angry.

From an early age, Zenon was often sickly, and as such was a child that’s good at hiding his feelings.

He was either smiling or expressionless, so it was unfamiliar to see him angry and showing hostility so easily.

Just as Jude was about to start grumbling.

“Are you really sure that it’s fine?”

The butler’s voice was slowly drawing closer.

“I didn’t come to visit anyways, but to convey my father’s regards, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But……”

“Please convey to the Young Lord that someone came from Viscount Lorca’s household.”

As Jude listened to the girl’s voice that rebutted calmly to the butler’s worried tone with suspicion, she inadvertently looked at Zenon and what she found caused her eyes to widen.

“Zenon?”

Zenon ignored her and walked back down the garden path.

As a result, he encountered Heloise, who had just parted ways from the butler in front of the mansion’s pond.

The two made eye contact for a while without speaking.

The first person that spoke up was Heloise, who was frowning.

“Your expression seemed to be asking why am I here. It’s not as though I came here of my own volition.”

“……Why are you using honorifics?”

“How can a vassal speak informally towards their Young Master? I’m aware of my place and acting accordingly, so please do not pay it any mind.”

Zenon was at a loss for words at her cutting sarcasm.

Heloise had originally wanted to continue to criticise him, but she gave up in the end and stated her business.

“My father had found many items that would aid in boosting your health, and asked me to deliver them, along with his regards. But you seem as energetic as ever from your appearance.”

“…….”

Heloise glanced at him reluctantly, before turning like she was about to leave.

At that moment, Jude appeared from behind Zenon.

“Zenon, what’s going on? Did you do that because someone came over?”

Jude came rushing over and stopped when he found Heloise.

“Oh my gosh.”

Heloise snorted at Jude’s exclamation.

“How do you do? I’m the daughter of Viscount Lorca, who had greeted you previously.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came as per my father’s orders to deliver his regards.”

She answered politely and gave the frozen Zenon a frosty look from the tail of her eyes.

Other than thinking that it’s unlucky that she had to meet Zenon again, Heloise didn’t think that that girl would also be in the mansion.

‘I guess that punk’s accursed whims are even influencing people. Does that mean that he’s sick and tired of toys?’

Regardless of what that punk thinks of her, as long as he was kept alive, they would just be strangers.

Sick and tired of toys.

That thought in itself hurt Heloise’s pride.

Just then, Jude asked like she was genuinely astonished.

“Even if you’re a vassal, you can’t enter and exit your lord’s mansion without permission, can you?”

“Heloise is…”

Heloise cut off Zenon’s words before he could reply.

“Yes, I should be begging for the Young Master’s pardon. I don’t know what I should do with myself, to have committed such a discourtesy.”

“Heloise.”

That remark caused Zenon’s expression to distort.

“What’s wrong, Young Master?”

“I was in the wrong previously, so don’t talk about yourself like that.”

“What? I’m just acting like I’m a vassal of the Young Master’s.”

Heloise ignored Zenon’s request for reconciliation expressionlessly.

It doesn’t matter if she was being childish.

Instead of being a fool that’s constantly being swayed by Zenon’s mood, she would much rather take this incident as an opportunity to draw a line and act accordingly.

Since they didn’t have to be together anyways, as long as this little punk was still alive.

When Heloise’s sarcasm was reaching a boiling point, Jude stepped up to Zenon’s side to stop the fight in her own way.

“Guys, don’t fight.”

“We aren’t fighting or arguing.”

Upon hearing her words that they have never fought, Jude placed her hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

“What a relief.”

While Jude said so, she seemed to find the sun very glaring even though she was under the shade of a tree, and used a hand to shade herself from the sun.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Oh, the sun is too glaring, perhaps because it’s about to be midsummer. I’m afraid that my skin will be damaged.”

“Hmm……”

Heloise nodded her head appropriately.

The marquisate’s young lady was indeed different, already having concerns about beauty and worrying about her skin.

“You can have the maids bring you a parasol.”

“I don’t know where the maids are.”

Heloise looked at the slender and innocent girl that was next to Zenon and wondered why she remained here instead of returning.

“In that case, do you want me to bring you a parasol?”

“Oh my. Really?”

Zenon suddenly became very angry after watching the two’s conversation.

“Jude!”

In the meantime, Heloise became uncomfortable when she heard Zenon scolding her with her first name, not her last name.

“Heloise, don’t. I’ll call the maid.”

“No, stay here.”

“That’s enough, Jude, stop being a nuisance and go into the mansion.”

Frustrated by Zenon’s intervention, Heloise ran to the mansion’s entrance and obtained a parasol from the maids.

When she was running back to the garden, she became annoyed as she didn’t know why she was doing this on such a hot day.

“I’m never coming to this mansion again.”

By the time Heloise arrived, two people were conversing at a close distance.

While Zenon had a frown, Jude still had a smiling expression, so Heloise didn’t know what they were talking about.

As she was distracted by the two people who were conversing, Heloise, who was running with a parasol in hand, stepped on the wrong side of the pond.

Splash!

Heloise’s world turned upside down, and her clothes and hair became completely soaked.

Though it wasn’t a very deep pond, she couldn’t get out easily as she was floundering in embarrassment.

Just then, a strong force grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

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