“Who, the Master?”
“Yes. I have something to say to him briefly.”
With Emily’s eyes sparkling before him, Hubert fell into thought for a moment.
Normally, even if the Master was at the guild office, you could only meet him if you had an appointment or had arranged it in advance. As far as I know, the young lady before me doesn’t have a prior appointment, but… Should I go and at least mention it? The Master is quite fond of Emily too.
Having finished his judgment, Hubert soon answered with a smiling face.
“Then can you wait here for a moment? I’ll go check and come back.”
“Yes! Thank you.”
Hubert immediately left, and Emily waited with her hands clasped for his return.
Feeling needless tension while peering into the corridor for a moment, soon a bright smile appeared on Emily’s face. She could see Roman walking this way with Hubert.
Emily bent at the waist and offered a spirited greeting.
“Hello, Roman!”
“Long time no see, Emily. Have you been well?”
“Yes. Thanks to you.”
“I heard you asked me on a date.”
Her eyes widened at the sudden word, then understanding the meaning, she smiled broadly and played along.
“That’s right. Thank you for making time.”
The two moved to the reception room. Roman was the first to open his mouth.
“Why did you want to see me?”
‘Wow…’
A subtle blush rose on Emily’s face. It was a thought she’d had since she first saw him, but the man before her eyes—her brother’s superior and also her own employer—exuded a sexual feeling just by sitting there. With his gorgeous looks and his characteristic relaxed atmosphere added on top, her heart fluttered even though she was a Neo herself.
“Emily?”
Oh no.
At the voice calling her name, Emily quickly came to her senses. Gently holding her teacup with both hands, she stated the reason she’d requested this sudden meeting today.
“…There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you. Could you possibly look into a job for me?”
“A job?”
Puzzlement crossed Roman’s eyes. Seeing her nod, it seemed he hadn’t heard wrong.
“You want to do it, Emily?”
“Yes.”
He heard her answer with her gaze slightly lowered. She was someone who smiled prettily every time he saw her, but seeing her so nervous like this, she’d clearly brought it up with difficulty.
Roman looked at Emily like that while saving his words for a moment. Still, as someone who nominally led the guild, he knew to some extent about Diego’s family circumstances that others didn’t know.
Their parents had passed away when they were young, a few years ago the two siblings had left their hometown and come up to Brisel, and he’d been with a mercenary company for quite a long time.
Though he was skilled enough to pass the guild entrance exam in one go, Diego was exclusively taking on low-level requests that didn’t exceed one day in duration. Knowing the reason for that as well, Roman slowly continued.
“Looking into it isn’t difficult, but won’t your brother object if he finds out?”
Then, as expected, Emily jerked her head up and urgently exclaimed.
“It’s a secret from my brother.”
When he looked at her with eyes asking why, she hesitantly licked her lips before answering.
“There’s a gift I want to buy for my brother’s birthday.”
“When’s his birthday?”
“In two months. But the price is really expensive… The money I earn from making cookies won’t be enough.”
A faint smile appeared on Roman’s lips as he heard the whole story.
Emily was a young lady with quite a deep mind for her age. Yet if there was something she wanted to buy even while overextending herself, he thought it must be something absolutely necessary or meaningful to Diego.
“If it’s for such an admirable reason, I should help.”
“Really?!”
“Yes. But I don’t think keeping it secret from Diego is a good idea.”
As if she’d never been happy, Emily’s small shoulders dropped limply.
“But if I tell my brother, he’ll definitely say no, won’t he?”
It was an irrefutable statement. Diego cherished his only family member, his younger sister, very much. Roman knew he’d given permission for the guild cookie supply work after much deliberation, and if he introduced something more than that, there was a strong possibility the fire would spread even to himself.
‘Menial work won’t do, and I can’t say I’ll give her money…’
Though he couldn’t compare to Diego, her actual brother, Roman was also quite fond of the bright and cute Emily. So while he could willingly give her spending money, he could easily tell that wasn’t the kind of thing she was asking for. Moreover, it could be a great discourtesy or hurt to Emily if he wasn’t careful.
It seemed he’d need to think about it, so for now he decided to put it on hold.
“Then I’ll look into it, and I’ll let you know if there’s a good position.”
“Yes! Please do!”
“What’s the gift you want to buy for Diego?”
“That’s still a secret!”
She smiled prettily with her eyes crinkling. After talking a bit more, the two left the reception room. Looking at Emily holding the empty cookie basket neatly, Roman asked her with his arms crossed.
“Shall I take you home?”
Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, then Emily soon waved her hands, saying she was grateful but it was fine. He found himself laughing, thinking somehow she resembled her brother.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Alright. Get home safely.”
After bowing her head once more, Emily walked toward the plaza with quick steps.
Roman stayed in place until her retreating figure disappeared from view. In fact, just looking at appearances, the two siblings didn’t greatly resemble each other. Diego was overall thick-featured with a strong impression, while Emily, a Neo, was a young lady with a small build and a delicate feeling.
But when you talked with them, the thought ‘so that’s why they’re siblings’ naturally arose. The way they both cherished their only family member so much.
And…
Roman returned to the Master’s office with a pleasant smile, thinking that they were also alike in how they both became strangely embarrassed when he stared at them openly.
***
The family home he visited after three months hadn’t particularly changed from before. He arrived at an appropriate time for dinner, but the person who had actually summoned him was absent.
Leaving the welcoming butler behind, Roman climbed the stairs leading to the second floor. When he opened the door to the room he’d once used as a bedroom, a neatly arranged space came into view.
Entering inside, he stopped in front of the bookshelf. As he picked out a book that caught his eye and flipped through the pages meaninglessly, he soon heard someone’s presence beyond the door.
“The Madam has arrived.”
At those words, Roman closed the book without regret. When he turned the landing, he saw his mother standing at the end of the stairs with an outdoor shawl draped over her shoulders.
The moment their eyes met, a faint smile appeared on Lady Selena’s blunt face. Soon, the mother and son lightly touched cheeks while exchanging greetings.
“It’s getting harder and harder to see your face. At this rate, I won’t recognize you even if we pass each other on the street.”
Knowing it was an expression of disappointment, Roman brazenly played it cool.
“It would be terrible if I didn’t recognize such a beautiful woman.”
“…If only you couldn’t speak.”
Selena rolled her eyes without malice and headed to the dining room, linking arms with her son.
The table was already perfectly set. After lightly rinsing his palate with wine, Roman was the first to speak.
“Are Father and eldest brother still in Lordel?”
“That’s right. They came by briefly a few days ago, but said it would take a bit longer before their work is finished.”
“I see.”
This time Lady Selena asked her son.
“Is everything alright at the guild?”
“Yes. It’s running smoothly without incident.”
A faint shadow fell over Selena’s face as she looked at her son answering in an indifferent tone.
Roman had been a special child from birth. Thanks to his grandmother being from the Helaon Kingdom, he was the only one among his brothers born with black hair, and he was even born with the extremely rare dominant trait.
Thanks to this, the couple’s expectations for their youngest son were very high. The bright son decided his future early and joined the Imperial Knights’ Order, and ran down a smooth path, rising to the position of vice-commander of the Third Knights’ Order at a young age. At this rate, becoming commander of the knights in a few years was an established fact.
However, an incident occurred that shattered all of it overnight. Roman had been serving Kailton Heder, the Emperor’s younger brother, as his lord, and while protecting him from an enemy attack, he suffered a serious injury.
