Subtle Changes

Their departure was as sudden as their arrival. Ensi blinked slowly in the room where the boisterous atmosphere had settled into a calm quiet. He had long since shed his uncomfortable formal coat. Leaning his head against the armrest of the couch, lying sideways just as he had before Agniele and Lily visited, Ensi looked up at the sound of a steady rhythmic knocking on the door.

“Young master, it is Noah.”

“Come in.”

The butler, who had seen the guests out on Ensi’s behalf, returned with warm tea. Ensi glanced at the clock, confirmed it was about that time, and sat up. Noah approached and poured the tea into a cup. Ensi habitually caught the scent first, then tilted his head as he realized it was not his usual blend.

“A new tea?”

“It is a gift from Young Master Lasias, who visited today. Does it not have a lovely aroma?”

“Ah.”

So that was why it smelled different. Noah knew that, unless the circumstances were exceptional, Ensi only drank his preferred teas at the mansion. Realizing why Noah had brought out a new blend, Ensi lifted the teacup to his lips. As Noah said, the aroma was excellent. Perhaps because the taste was equally good, a faint smile played on the corners of Ensi’s mouth.

“Should I treat Young Master Lasias the same as the others?”

By others, he likely meant the club members, including Lily. Ensi hesitated for a moment at Noah’s question before setting the teacup down.

“Do not block him. No matter what he does or where he goes.”

“Will that be alright?”

It was a level of permission far beyond what Ensi had ever granted those he let inside his circle. Noah’s eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly masked his emotions and asked calmly.

“Yes.”

Fiddling with his fingers, Ensi nodded to indicate he would not change his mind.

“More importantly, where is Hesperon?”

“He is waiting in the drawing room. Shall I tell him to come up?”

Hesperon, who had been practically chased out to the drawing room to make way for the sudden guests, was likely sitting on the sofa venting his frustration. Ensi chuckled, easily imagining the scene.

“Yes. We still have things to discuss.”

“Understood.”

Hearing Ensi’s wish, Noah moved without hesitation. He signaled the servants remaining in the room to attend to Ensi and then went himself to call Hesperon. His footsteps, which had been silent and refined, broke their rhythm the moment the door closed. To think I cannot manage my emotions at this age. Acknowledging his own restlessness, Noah still could not quite calm down. He hurried to the drawing room where Hesperon was and knocked on the door with hands that betrayed his urgency.

“Yes.”

Opening the door the moment he heard the response, Noah suddenly exclaimed.

“The young master has changed!”

“……Pardon? What, excuse me?”

Hesperon, who was re-checking documents he needed to report to Ensi, acted foolishly, not knowing how to react to Noah’s random outburst.

“When Lady Lily told me, I thought it was just a temporary whim, but it seems I was wrong.”

“Ah—is that so? I suppose. That explains why he kicked me out and let guests who came without notice into his room.”

Quickly regaining his composure, Hesperon muttered as if finally understanding the actions from a few hours ago. Though it was clearly surprising news, he remained calm. Noah, accustomed to Hesperon’s demeanor, nodded rapidly with a joyful face despite the dry reaction. Ensi had never welcomed anyone who visited without an appointment. That applied even to the club members. Yet today, he had welcomed uninvited guests first, even though he had a prior engagement with Hesperon. Quite uniquely so. Considering Ensi’s usual behavior, even if the guest claimed it was an emergency, Hesperon would not have been kicked out. Instead of sending him out, Ensi would have let the intruder in and told them to speak right there. And yet. Today, Hesperon heard Ensi tell him to leave quickly. Because of that, he had stood there dazed for a while, wondering if he had misheard.

“He even changed his clothes midway.”

“The Merchant Leader did?”

“He is the young master for now.”

“Mm.”

Hesperon, who had been forced to take over the role of Merchant Leader, made a subtle face but immediately acknowledged his mistake and corrected himself.

“The young master did?”

“It seems they spoke face-to-face. The curtain was drawn back.”

“Goodness. I fully understand now why you said it was not a whim.”

Even when Hesperon made an appointment, he often spoke to Ensi through the curtain. Hesperon felt somewhat hurt, recalling how Ensi hated dressing up formally simply because it was tedious. Ensi maintained his pajamas even after daybreak, arguing whether he had to be uncomfortable even in his own mansion. He even said that since no guests would visit, and even if they did, he had no obligation to show courtesy to those who came without notice. It was a habit of speech. Even when Hesperon and the others sent word they were coming for business, there were many days he received them without changing clothes. They merely conversed from within the curtain that hid his disheveled appearance. Even when Hesperon pleaded to speak face-to-face because he did not mind the appearance, Ensi would coldly dismiss him, asking if Hesperon was his servant. It was a treatment that completely ignored Hesperon’s grievance that it was hard to gauge Ensi’s mood through voice alone, but he could not complain further. After all, Ensi was his one and only employer.

“He has changed much, truly much. Today, he even drank a new tea without hesitation.”

“……The person who refused to drink even when the children returning from trade trips gifted him new tea every time?”

This is truly hurtful. To think he could do this after how hard they had served the young master. As a look of disappointment appeared on Hesperon’s consistently stagnant face, Noah let out a small cough. He had spoken too much. He must have been too excited, making mistakes he normally wouldn’t.

“You should head up quickly. The young master is looking for you.”

“Is that so. Well, I suppose he is. We have many stories left to tell.”

Hesperon clutched the materials on the table to his chest, straightened his subtly slumped shoulders, and followed Noah out of the drawing room. Though it was a mansion whose layout he knew as well as his own bedroom, he did not forget he was a guest.

“Come in.”

Before Noah, standing at the door after climbing the stairs, could even announce them, a response came from inside. Since it had happened many times, Noah stepped back after opening the door with quick, refined movements instead of being flustered.

“That took a long time.”

Hesperon, finding Ensi lying sideways on the couch with his head tilted, grumbled instinctively.

“Was it not the young master who made me wait first?”

“Are you sulking?”

Ensi, resting his chin on his arm, did not hide his amusement. Thanks to Ensi poking at him, asking why he would sulk over such a thing, Hesperon ended up furrowing his brows.

“Young master.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ending the teasing cleanly at the low call, Ensi watched as Hesperon handed the materials to a servant and sat on the sofa. The servant, approaching with a large amount of materials, carefully handed them to Ensi’s outstretched hand and stepped back.

“The most urgent matter is the design for the watch to be released for the appointment ceremony. Since you said you would decide this yourself, we have not finalized anything…… but it seems you do not like any of the drafts.”

“Every single one is fragile. Soft, with not a fingernail’s worth of strength. And boring to boot. Does embedding jewels hide a simple design? I do not even know what they are trying to say. Do they want to emphasize that the Crown Prince is a woman? Or is there an underlying desire to ignore her because she is a Beta, neither Alpha nor Omega?”

“That is—”

“She has an inferiority complex over the fact that her appointment was delayed because she is a Beta and a female. Designing without considering that? I feel I have shown maximum patience just by not firing them.”

Ensi scattered all the watch-related drafts from the materials he had placed on the couch into the air. The fluttering papers rose high before falling to the floor, unable to defy gravity.

“Bring them back. The important thing is to capture the Crown Prince’s authority. Capture the office, not the inner person.”

“……According to rumors, there are less than two months left until the appointment ceremony.”

“So? I do not believe I ever ordered them to design this way.”

Hesperon swallowed a sigh and bowed his head as he saw Ensi’s lips curl up, asking whose fault it was. He had looked to be in a good mood until just a moment ago, but his expression hardened subtly the moment work was mentioned.

“Starting sales just a week before the ceremony is enough. One thousand units. Is that not reasonable?”

“Yes. I will try to make it reasonable.”

It was not reasonable at all, but he had to follow orders. Still, this was better than nothing. Before the uninvited guests arrived, Ensi’s expression looked as if he would order a total replacement of the designers right then and there.

“Perhaps because the mining volume of the mana stone mine was reduced, the Nordic Royal Family is poking around for information.”

Ah, the mana stone mine. Ensi pouted as Hesperon mentioned something he had secretly forgotten. Since they officially stated mining was reduced due to accident risks, did they think this was an opportunity? He wondered if they planned to seize the mine using an accident as an excuse. Or perhaps they intended to manufacture an accident themselves. Whatever it was, he did not like their constant pestering. Ensi tapped the couch with his index finger.

“Before increasing the mining volume, call a mage to re-check safety. Increase the surveillance too.”

He had reduced the mining volume to prevent Count Alemir from summoning him for no reason, but because he returned to the capital of his own accord, the measures he took with the mine became meaningless. No matter how things flowed, a situation where he would have to meet the Count at least once was unfolding.

“Yes. Will it be alright to normalize the mine within a month?”

Hesperon, who was not ignorant of Ensi’s intent, asked back carefully.

“Yes. Anything else?”

“Perhaps because the appointment ceremony is approaching, demand for silk produced in the Jibaton region has increased, but the road there is completely blocked by a landslide. With the amount in storage—”

Whether it was because he had returned after a long time, or because he arrived during the peak of the busy season for the appointment ceremony. Ensi sprawled out even more as if he wanted to become one with the couch, even as he knocked out the endless stream of tasks.