Chapter 12

“Oh.”

A small sound of admiration slipped from the wrinkled corners of his mouth.

“I can’t believe there’s a method like this.”

The more he read, the more he marveled at the wisdom left behind by the great thinkers of the past.

Linburton, age fifty-seven.

Born as the second son of a long-serving vassal family under the House of Eisenhart, he had served as the Grand Duchess’s aide for decades. He prided himself on having mastered countless texts on warfare, strategy, and politics.

But aside from those subjects, he had barely touched other genres.

Yet now, thanks to this opportunity, Linburton had scoured every bookstore across the duchy and stumbled upon a world entirely new to him.

“Ohhh!”

A loud snort escaped his nose as his excitement built.

In the book he was reading, a fierce and cunning battle between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law was reaching its peak.

The climax came when the mother-in-law drank the poisoned tea she had prepared herself and collapsed.

“Remarkable!”

Linburton slapped his knee in admiration.

Everything before this moment had been a setup for this perfect payoff.

His eyes gleamed brightly.

Then, he quickly shook his head.

It was a brilliant scene, but absolutely unusable.

To offer poisoned tea to the Grand Duchess?

Especially when she had grown so frail in recent years?

That would be nothing short of treason.

However.

‘…What if I did it myself?’

The thought tempted him for a fleeting moment before he immediately scolded himself.

To even imagine taking on the Grand Duchess’s role was sheer arrogance.

Still, the effectiveness of the idea was undeniable. The thought of it made him lick his lips unconsciously as he mulled it over.

But no, it was impossible.

This was the great Duchy of Eisenhart, ruled by Seres von Eisenhart herself.

A land revered as the empire’s first line of defense, famed for its ironclad order and discipline.

And a poisoning attempt within the heart of such a place, the Grand Duchess’s own castle?

That could never happen, nor should it ever.

If such an incident occurred, it would tarnish her honor forever.

“Tch.”

Linburton clicked his tongue bitterly.

The more he thought about it, the harder it seemed to find a way to drive Melissa out.

He couldn’t do anything cruel enough to damage the Grand Duchess’s reputation or sow suspicion among the people.

Yet whatever he did had to strike hard enough that Melissa would choose to leave on her own.

He frowned, turning page after page, lost in thought.

Then suddenly, his eyes lit up.

“This is it!”

He flipped through the book with growing excitement, his movements quick and sharp.

A few pages later, he grabbed his pen, dipped it in ink, and began scribbling notes with fervor. Ink splattered across his fingers, but he didn’t care.

He wrote for hours, flipping through book after book, filling pages with his hastily scrawled ideas.

At last, when the sun had sunk low toward the horizon, Linburton set his pen down with satisfaction.

“This will do.”

A deep smile creased his aged face.

Now, he would surely find a way to drive that stray cat out of the Grand Duchy once and for all.

* * *

“Oh?”

Ouch.

As I slipped my foot into my shoe, I felt something sharp under my sole and quickly pulled it back out.

No way.

I crouched by the bed and peered into the shoe, and sure enough, something was inside.

“It came again today!”

Grinning brightly, I shook the shoe upside down.

Something small rolled into my palm, a tiny piece of coral, crystal clear with delicate spikes and shining faintly in the sunlight.

It was proof that this land had once been part of the sea. A star coral!

“It’s so pretty.”

I gazed at it with wonder, recalling a book I had read as a child.

According to The Customs and Cultures of the World, Volume 6, in one region, an old man wearing a blue robe would cross the mountains and slip down chimneys at dawn near the end of December, leaving gifts inside children’s socks.

The story of the mountain-climbing old man who brought presents to good children was why I used to leave a sock by my pillow every December.

“One, two, three…”

Twenty-two in total.

The way the pointed coral shimmered under the shifting light made it look even more beautiful.

Hehe. Proudly admiring the jewel-like corals piled in my hands, I placed them carefully into the small treasure box I had brought with me when I came to the Grand Duchy.

They were all so lovely.

Smiling, I pressed a hand against my flushed cheeks.

Yesterday, I had found a handful of pretty pebbles. The day before that, marbles had been scattered on the floor.

Ever since I arrived here, delightful little surprises like this had appeared almost every day.

Would something appear again tomorrow?

“Ah.”

No, no, that would be too greedy.

I shook my head hard, though I couldn’t stop my heart from fluttering.

The little treasure box in my room was already filled with more than ten gifts.

Still, maybe it was okay to hope a little?

I hummed softly as I slipped on my shoes and reached for the dress hanging on the wall.

But just as my fingertips brushed the fabric, I felt another sharp prick.

Oh my.

“There’s one here too?”

Startled, I pulled the dress closer and found yet another piece of star coral nestled in the folds.

But then my brow furrowed in thought.

Perhaps these weren’t gifts from the mountain-climbing old man after all.

According to the book, that old man only appeared in December, specifically at dawn on the twenty-fourth or twenty-fifth.

But it was June now.

And unlike that legend, which happened just once a year, these gifts were appearing every day.

Which meant—

“Of course.”

That must be it.

My mouth fell open as I recalled another passage from The Customs and Cultures of the World, Volume 12.

In one region, there was a custom called Manhwito, where people gave gifts to their neighbors in secret.

Since it was summer and the presents kept appearing daily, this had to be Manhwito!

“My goodness.”

A small frown crept onto my face.

I hadn’t even been here long, and already there was someone kind enough to leave me presents like a fairy every day.

‘What should I do?’

I had to return the kindness somehow.

Feeling both grateful and flustered, I clenched my fists in determination.

“Then I’ll become someone’s Manhwito too!”

Good deeds always come full circle.

If I repaid this kindness to someone else, surely it would someday reach my own mysterious benefactor.

That was how the world worked.

Humming happily, I searched through the rest of my dress and found a total of fifty-two star corals.

After checking the collar, sleeves, and even the lining, I was certain there were no more hidden surprises.

“It feels like a treasure hunt.”

My parents used to hide presents like this when I was little.

Smiling at the memory, I tied the ribbon neatly behind my back.

After tidying my clothes, I looked around the room.

The bed and sofa were both empty again today.

Could it be that Demius hadn’t come back last night either?

According to the servant who brought my dinner, he spent all day in his office, buried in work.

And he only returned late at night, long after I had fallen asleep.

‘There’s no sign anyone even rested on the sofa… maybe he just stops by briefly.’

He must be exhausted.

I sighed softly, then suddenly remembered something and turned toward the table.

That’s right. I had made a “gift” yesterday.

“I should give it to him now.”

Hi-yah!

I stretched my arms with determination and nodded firmly.

* * *

Damn it, she’s smiling again.

Walking down the corridor, Linburton bit his lip when he saw Melissa approaching, cheerful as ever.

Still, maybe it was just a façade. Maybe she was forcing herself to smile in front of others.

He frowned as he approached, his eyes flicking down to her shoes.

“Are your feet all right?”

“Huh?”

Melissa blinked in surprise, then smiled brightly.

“Of course, they’re perfectly fine. Thank you for asking!”

How kind of him, to even worry about her feet!

Feeling touched, Melissa placed both hands over her heart and suddenly realized something surprising.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve been seeing him quite often lately, haven’t I?’