TEB Ch 34

As Liev looked at it for a moment, unable to believe it even with his own eyes, the steward smiled and spoke. 

“The decorations are quite vibrant, aren’t they? They were personally collected by Lord Renard.” 

So, why place this in his own study? No matter how you looked at it, the spacious room, seemingly fit for a study or library, was filled with preserved, dried flowers that retained the freshness of their first bloom. Liev had never seen such interior decoration, not even in a wedding hall. The hanging flowers, cascading like vines from the ceiling, emitted a subtle light, as if they had been specially treated.

Why would you do this? 

At that bewildering moment when I was speechless, what caught Liev’s eye were familiar-looking flowers. 

“These are…” 

They were common wildflowers that bloomed in the southern region of the Airen Kingdom. During the time spent with Renard at the mansion, the vast plains were surrounded only by forests. In search of simple pleasures, they would pick these flowers whenever they fetched water. They even created a small flower bed near the mansion. When Lady Priscilla discovered their seemingly pointless activities, she trampled on their efforts with muddy boots. However, Liev had successfully shown Renard the finished product. He vividly remembered the time when a very young Renard, had chewed on the flowers, mistaking them for food.

“Oh, that’s not for eating.”

When Liev quickly removed Renard from the flower bed, Renard tilted his head in confusion. 

“Eating…no? Why?”

The baby dragon, whose teeth were growing bigger and bigger, seemed eager to chew on anything nearby. His head tilt was so adorable and lovable that it could captivate anyone, making it impossible to resist his charm.

“This is just for viewing. Beautiful things make you feel better just by looking at them.”

Liev continued with a smile, even though it seemed Renard still didn’t understand the meaning. 

“That’s why people also give them as gifts to someone they like.”

Suddenly, Liev picked a new beautiful flower, made a small wreath, and placed it between the black shiny horns of the round-faced baby dragon. Later, when Liev mentioned that these were edible flowers, they picked acacia flowers and fed them to him. He walked around, smelling like flowers, for several days. Lost in memories of the past for a moment, Liev soon realized that acacia flowers were also decorated in the room. 

Could it be?

When he got closer, just in case there were traces of a few scattered flowers being picked, 

“Why would he do this…?”

Why did he come all the way to his room and leave flowers without waking him up? He couldn’t understand the intention at all. Liev’s mind made him pause for a moment, and then he realized that there were eyes watching him. 

“If there’s anything else you need, I’ll be happy to prepare it for you.” 

There was nothing he needed. The books would arrive next week with the rest of his belongings, and if he wanted new books, it would be better to visit a bookstore or library himself. 

“No, it’s fine,” Liev replied in a flat voice. 

When Liev declined, the man continued with a light smile. 

“Shall I introduce you to the rest of the rooms in the mansion?” 

It wasn’t something he was particularly interested in, especially since he wasn’t planning to settle down here. However, rejecting someone who seemed to care even a bit about him was not easy. 

“Then please do it briefly.” 

*** 

A while later, after casually exploring the two-story mansion, time flew by. 

“It’s already lunchtime?”

He wasn’t very hungry since he hadn’t done much activity. Still feeling the bread and soup from breakfast in his stomach, Liev decided to take a walk around the palace and its surroundings. He hadn’t officially been ordained as a knight, and even if he had, there were no special duties assigned, so he anticipated continuing this leisurely lifestyle.

“It’s quite free here.”

While taking care of retired horses in the quiet countryside, most of his days as a researcher were spent feeding them. There wasn’t much for him to do here. If he tried to help with the military horses as before, he would be strongly dissuaded, being told that such work couldn’t be entrusted to the esteemed “Dragon Knight.” So, should he spend his time playing around like a kid while Renard wasn’t around? He pondered briefly, but being someone who couldn’t easily make fun for himself, it was challenging. In the midst of these thoughts, someone came to visit the library, where Liev was left alone.

“Sir Liev, I’ll come in for a moment.” 

“Oh, yes.” 

Liev, who had been sitting somewhat slouched in front of the well-arranged desk, quickly stood up to greet the intruder(?).

“What’s the matter?” 

A foreboding feeling flashed through his mind that any business concerning him couldn’t be good. Perhaps being bored was better. In that tense moment, two young maids followed behind the steward.

“Could you spare a moment? I think it would be a good idea to start preparing for the appointment ceremony scheduled for next week.” 

What kind of preparations could there be for a knighting ceremony that was merely a formality? But there was no way he could refuse, so Liev obediently got up and followed them.

“Now, stand according to the outline of the shape of your feet here.” 

Standing on the drawn outline of feet to measure body size seemed to be a universal practice, whether in the modern world or here. The place where he was led by the maids was a small hall in a building a little distance away. The hall appeared to be a place for inviting guests to enjoy a performance or dance. One wall was entirely covered with mirrors, and there were piano-like instruments placed around. In one corner, tools for measuring sizes were neatly arranged.

It’s like a multipurpose room.

The maids led Liev to one end of the mirror and started by tying up his long hair.

“Do you have a reason for growing your hair?” 

One of the maids threw the question without any particular meaning, and Liev couldn’t honestly answer. 

I don’t want to stand out.

but saying that sounds too strange.

Usually, if your hair is longer, it would make it more noticeable, but Liev’s curtain-like, wavy hair was his camouflage. It perfectly hid the fact that a rather handsome face was hidden behind this unkempt appearance.

Although he had known this fact for ten years, Liev now looked so similar to Suhyuk, with only slight differences in hair color, eye color, and skin color, that anyone would think they were the same person. Not only did he have a resemblance to an eastern continental person, but even when living in modern times, he often received unnecessary attention because of his appearance, so not being found out in the first place helped him live quietly. 

Being praised for being good-looking was annoying, even when he was living in the modern era.

The only good thing about having good looks was that it made it easier to win the affection of animals. That was the one and only benefit. Being popular with people wasn’t particularly desirable… There was nothing good about it unless you were planning to become a celebrity and make a living off your face.

During his school days, his financial situation was so difficult that he had to do part-time jobs, like handing out flyers or working at a barbecue restaurant, just to get by. Even after enrolling in school, he was too preoccupied with earning tuition and living expenses to think about anything else. It was exhausting to become the center of campus scandals, becoming the target of jealousy and resentment without even realizing it.

“Just because he’s good-looking, he thinks he’s something special.”

And on top of that, his introverted personality didn’t help. His quiet nature also contributed to some misunderstanding, as he had no say in words other than when an argument ignited and he got attacked by another party.