“Please come in.”
Isabel, the Master’s personal secretary, greeted the guest with a kind voice. Roman was sitting on the sofa. As Diego moved closer, a friendly invitation to sit across from him followed.
The moment he sat down, something caught Diego’s eye. Between Roman’s slightly open collar, he could see a red mark—definitely a trace he had made last night.
Seeing his expression momentarily stiffen, Roman asked in a puzzled tone.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well…”
Right now, the two of them weren’t alone in the office. Though the distance was far, it might reach Isabel’s ears, so Diego lowered his voice and answered quietly.
“I think it would be better to button up your collar.”
A smile immediately appeared on Roman’s lips.
“Does it bother you?”
“It’s more that…”
The problem was that memories of last night naturally came to mind. Also, with traces of lovemaking remaining in such a place—a place that couldn’t possibly be created alone—anyone who saw this person might have lewd imaginations.
“Have some tea.”
Isabel approached and placed teacups emitting hot steam on the table. Roman, who took a sip of tea, once again sent his gaze to Diego.
“Aren’t you drinking?”
Only then did he see Diego reach for his own teacup. But watching him unable to readily bring it to his mouth, Roman quietly smiled. He knew that Diego couldn’t handle hot things well.
After a moment, Roman stated the purpose for which he’d called him.
“A request came in.”
The parchment that had been spread on the table was pushed forward. Diego set down his teacup and quickly scanned the contents written on the paper.
“It seems there’s someone spying on the young lady of Viscount Rood’s household. They’re asking for someone to be responsible for guarding her for a while, and the hours are good and the compensation is generous.”
It was as Roman said. The request details showed “Guard Request” written on it, with detailed conditions listed below. Fortunately, they were all things Diego could handle. Above all, what caught Diego’s eye was the part requesting guard duty only from morning to evening.
‘…So that’s why he called me.’
Master Roman knew his situation well—that he could hardly take on requests that required staying up all night or spending the night away because of his younger sister.
“Do you want to try it?”
“Of course.”
“Then sign at the bottom. I’ll settle the compensation every Sunday, so it’ll be troublesome, but come to the guild to collect it.”
This too was Roman’s way of being considerate of Diego’s situation. Originally, long-term requests paid compensation on a monthly basis, but since Diego had only been doing short-term work until now, if he received money a month later, he might have difficulty making ends meet in the meantime.
“Just go to the address written there by seven o’clock tomorrow morning. Do you need the paper?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Though he appeared to be a physical type at first glance, Diego was quite smart too. Even aside from that, if he couldn’t memorize such a short address in one go, he wouldn’t have been selected as a member of the guild in the first place. However, there was one thing that concerned him.
“I just saw that the requested number of people was two…”
“Ah. Martin will be going with you too.”
The face of a man with a build as large as his own came to mind. He was slightly nervous since it was his first guard duty at the guild, but he felt reassured knowing an experienced senior would be accompanying him.
“Learn a lot. Even though he sometimes says silly things, his skills are certain.”
“I’ll work hard. And…”
And?
Looking at Roman who was asking with his eyes, Diego once more put a reminder into words.
“Please button up your collar.”
“…!”
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be going.”
After leaving a polite greeting as when he arrived, Diego opened the office door and went outside. Instead of returning to the break room, he walked down the corridor leading to the outdoor training ground.
Another good thing about being affiliated with the guild was that he could swing his sword to his heart’s content anytime, anywhere. He didn’t know if there would be anyone there, but if there was no sparring partner, he planned to work up a sweat alone.
***
Diego returned home in the late afternoon when the sun had almost completely set. Arriving at the door, he made his presence known with a knock.
“I’m home, Emily.”
Shortly after, the shabby wooden door opened and Emily appeared.
“Welcome home, brother.”
As always, a welcoming hug followed. He lightly patted his younger sister’s shoulder and entered the house, where a sweet vanilla scent wafted.
“Were you making cookies?”
“Yeah. Tomorrow’s Thursday.”
Every Monday and Thursday, Emily visited the guild office with cookies she made herself.
The beginning was trivial. She had made cookies a few times for him to share with his coworkers, but a few days later, she heard unexpected words from her brother. The guild master had proposed asking if she could continue making cookies regularly.
At first, she thought it was a joke. But her brother’s expression was serious, and when Emily realized it was true, she was overjoyed.
Even though Diego never showed it, Emily was fully aware of their family’s financial situation. She wanted to help out by doing something, but there were almost no places where a sixteen-year-old girl with no connections could work. But if she made and supplied cookies, she could earn pocket money and do what she loved to her heart’s content—it was truly killing two birds with one stone.
The next day, Emily visited the guild with her brother and signed a contract one-on-one with the handsome Master. Since then, she’d been steadily supplying cookies twice a week.
“I’ll go change.”
“Okay.”
She answered without even looking, her hands moving busily. Diego smiled and entered his room. In fact, he hadn’t been very keen on it at first, but seeing how much she enjoyed it, he was glad he’d given permission.
Until dinner was free time. He was sitting on the bed resting when he heard Emily’s voice from beyond the door.
“Brother, I’m going out for a bit.”
Diego promptly got up. When he opened the door, he saw Emily standing there in her coat.
“Where are you going?”
“To the market. I’m going to make bread, but we’re out of yeast.”
“Then I’ll go.”
Emily laughed at the answer that didn’t deviate one inch from her expectations.
“It’s fine, so rest. I need to buy other things too.”
“It’s dangerous to go alone. Or go with me.”
Diego soon picked up the outerwear hanging on the wall, and shortly after, the two of them left the house side by side.
The market was about a 15-minute walk away, but since their house was in a somewhat remote area, the streets were sparse with people after sunset. Even when returning home, hardly anyone could be seen, and now it was even quieter. Although lights still shone brightly from every window, complete darkness would soon fall.
Talking about this and that as they walked, they soon arrived at their destination. The shop owner, recognizing regular customers, greeted them with a welcoming smile.
“You came with your brother today.”
“Yes. Please give me some yeast and sugar.”
“If you’d come just a little later, you wouldn’t have been able to buy any. Haha.”
The shop owner who turned around moved his hands busily. Watching that for a moment, Diego shifted his gaze to Emily.
“Don’t you need anything else?”
“No. I just need to buy sugar and yeast.”
“Next time, tell me to buy things like flour. Don’t think about carrying it while struggling.”
“Okay.”
Shortly after, the shop owner gathered the ingredients Emily mentioned and handed them over. Receiving them and paying, of course, were Diego’s duties.
As soon as they came out of the shop, Emily linked arms as if she’d been waiting.
“Cookies with raisins would be good too, right, brother?”
“Raisins?”
“Yeah. Earlier, the lady next door came and gave me a whole bag, telling us to eat it together.”
The kind-hearted neighbor often visited to share food whenever she had some.
“The guild people will all eat them well… Make plenty and take some to the lady too.”
“Yeah. I should.”
Since the guild came up in conversation, Diego brought up what he had planned to say at dinner.
