A Gift That Shouldn’t Have Found Me

‘I want you to seduce him for me.’

‘I know as well as anyone that you don’t know how to seduce a man.’

Although he pretended it was nothing and moved on, it was the first time he’d had such a conversation with Kazen, so it might have lingered in his mind more than he thought.

“No, it must just be lack of sleep.”

Eren shook his head vigorously, denying the rising thought.
Truthfully, he had felt heavy and tired since morning.
It was surely because he couldn’t sleep, as he had speculated earlier.

He thought he should rest even now.
But he had no time for that, as he needed to stay up all night to handle the paperwork he couldn’t get to while chasing after Kazen in the afternoon.

“Better make some coffee, I guess.”

Muttering to himself, Eren entered the study with sullen steps.
With practiced hands, he turned on the mage-stone lamp and the fireplace, then placed a kettle.
After waiting for the water to boil, he brewed a cup of coffee and sat at his desk.

Pressing the tired spots under his eyes with his palms, he fought off drowsiness.
He steadied his mind, which felt like it might faint any moment, and picked up his pen.

Having reviewed the budget in the morning, it was now time to look at external ducal affairs.
Calmly, Eren picked up the papers one by one and began reading.

‘There seem to be frequent accidents at the coal mines lately.’

With the increased demand for mage-stones recently, pressure to boost production had been placed on the mines, leading to a rise in preventable safety accidents.

Eren thought he might be in a similar state.
His health was likely crumbling under the pressure of his workload.
Still, he had never felt this unwell before.
He was a little worried that he might have contracted some illness.

He thought he should see a doctor, but first, he had to deal with this mountain of documents and ledgers.
Tiredness could be solved by sleep, but he had to finish this before he could lie down in bed.

‘I’ll get a check-up when I have time later.
It’s not that serious yet anyway.’

Shaking off the distracting thoughts, Eren focused on the documents again.
Suddenly, he picked up one particular document and narrowed his eyes seriously.

“This is…”

It was a proposal for a mine acquisition sent by the Harrison family.
The sum was so astronomically large it almost made his eyes pop.
There were plenty who coveted the mines, but this was the first time someone had offered such an amount.

He knew Kazen would refuse, of course.
But considering he specifically told him to get close to Arnold…

‘Is there a reason he can’t refuse the offer?’

It seemed there might be some underlying reason Kazen hadn’t disclosed, but Eren never speculated.
As Kazen always said, only what came from his own mouth was the truth.

Eren did not doubt or arbitrarily judge Kazen’s intentions.
He simply worked silently as told.
This time too, he decided Kazen must have a plan and resolved to do as he was told.

* * * *

The next day, Eren woke up after only a few hours of sleep, having stayed up all night with documents.
Out of habit, he went downstairs to prepare tea and then headed to Kazen’s bedroom.

Knock knock.
After a light knock, he didn’t wait for an answer and entered immediately.
Placing the tray on the bedside table and drawing the curtains, he heard Kazen stirring as he got up.

“Good morning, Your Grace.”

Eren greeted him calmly, as if nothing had happened the day before.
Kazen rubbed his eyes and let out a small groan.

“I must have a hangover.
Skip the tea today and bring me some cold water instead.”

The amount of brandy Kazen drank yesterday didn’t seem enough to cause a hangover.
Puzzled, Eren retrieved a robe and approached the bed, then quickly realized why.

“Did you drink more wine before going to bed last night?”

Because there were three or four empty wine bottles rolling by his bedside.

“I couldn’t fall asleep at all, so I thought I’d borrow some help from the alcohol.
It wasn’t much help, though.”

Only then did Eren notice the glass of milk he had brought the night before.
He had brought it hoping it would help with sleep, but it seemed untouched.
Looking at the completely cold glass, Eren bowed his head deeply.

“My apologies, Your Grace.”

At the sudden apology, Kazen, who had been tying the robe’s sash, looked up with a puzzled expression.

“What exactly are you apologizing for?”

“For not taking better care of you.
You clearly said you had nightmares yesterday.
I am truly sorry.”

Kazen quietly reached out and lightly flicked Eren’s chin with his fingertip.
Startled, Eren’s body stiffened instantly.

“Eren, you just need to do well what I tell you to do.”

With Kazen’s face suddenly so close, Eren swallowed a small breath.

“Yes, I will do as you command.”

Kazen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
As if intrigued, he studied Eren’s face intently and then lightly tapped his cheek.
He had acted differently yesterday and today, which made Eren very tense.

“But your effort is commendable.
You exist for me, you are mine, so keep thinking only of me from now on.”

“Yes, I will remember that.”

It was an order he heard daily like a mantra, but today it felt strangely unfamiliar.
Perhaps because of his uncharacteristic behavior.
Eren’s feelings grew complex.

“T-then I will go fetch the cold water.”

“Never mind, I’d rather just drink the tea.
More importantly, tell me what’s on the schedule for today.”

Eren, who had been turning to leave for the cold water, paused at his whim.
Looking back at Kazen, he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his notebook.

“Ah, well… This morning, the tailor, Mr. Chris, is scheduled to visit.
For lunch, you are to dine at the club.
In the evening, you are to attend the opera with Lady Emilia, the Count of Durum…”

As Eren’s explanation continued calmly, Kazen suddenly snapped his fingers and interrupted.

“Hold on.
Cancel all of today’s schedule.”

“You wish to cancel the entire schedule?
Do you plan to stay at the estate today?”

Eren, who had been diligently reciting the schedule, asked, slightly flustered.

Even for the capricious Kazen, it wasn’t common to change the entire day’s schedule like this.
Worry came first, thinking his condition might truly be poor.

“Yes, postpone the tailor’s visit to tomorrow, cancel lunch, and send word in the evening that I cannot attend.”

“Yes, I will do as you command.
I will also contact your personal physician.
What time should I ask him to visit?”

Thinking a doctor’s consultation might be needed, Eren asked first.
However, Kazen shook his head after taking a couple of sips from his teacup and setting it back on the tray.

“No, forget it.
They’ll probably just prescribe sleeping pills anyway, and I already have plenty of those.
I just want to rest today.”

“Understood.
Then I will take my leave.”

Given that, Eren decided to make space for him to sleep more.
He also needed to instruct the servants not to disturb the bedroom.

“On your way out, tell them to fill the bath on the first floor.
I want to take a leisurely bath.”

But instead of lying back down, Kazen seemed to want to soak in warm water and relax.
Perhaps that was for the better.

“I will do that.
Please call if you need anything else.”

Eren bowed and left the bedroom.
Even as he walked, his mind was filled with worry for Kazen.

What could he do for Kazen to sleep peacefully, even for one day?
There probably was no way, but he wanted to be of some help.

Lost in thought, Eren suddenly spotted Millie’s back as she passed by the corridor.
Since he needed to relay the message about preparing the bath, he decided to stop her.

“Millie!”

Startled by the sudden call, Millie turned around and approached Eren with a happy face.

“Oh, Sir Eren!
Good morning.”

“Good morning, Millie.
His Grace requested a bath to be prepared.
Could you pass on the message?”

“Of course, I’ll tell them right away.”

Millie answered brightly but didn’t turn to leave, just stood there, making Eren raise his eyebrows curiously.
Millie seemed to have something else to say, clasping her hands and hesitating.

“Is there something more you wanted to say?”

“Ah, well… I just heard some news from Jerry, and I was curious about your gift, Sir Eren.
Have you checked it by any chance?”

At the sudden topic, Eren frowned.
He had no one who would send him a gift, nor any reason for it.

“A gift?”

“Huh? You didn’t know a gift arrived for you?
I definitely heard from Jerry just now.
He said a gift for you was left in the first-floor drawing room.”

Millie’s face was full of certainty.
Since she had no reason to lie to him, Eren decided to go and see for himself.

“Thank you for letting me know.
I’ll go check.”

Eren had never in his life received something called a ‘gift’ from anyone.
So it was likely either Millie was mistaken, or Jerry had messed things up again.

Judging by his recent behavior, the latter seemed more plausible.
Pondering how to wisely dismiss him, Eren first handled the tasks Kazen had given him.

After that, he leisurely entered the first-floor drawing room, and wouldn’t you know it—a large box was waiting for him.

“…It really is here?”