TEB Ch 34

As Liev looked at it for a moment, unable to believe it even with his own eyes, the manager 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, dry flowers that exuded the freshness of when they first bloomed. Decorating the interior in such a way was something Liev had never seen, even in a wedding hall. The hanging flowers that descended like vines from the ceiling emitted a subtle light, as if they had been treated in some special way. 

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 in the mansion, there were only forests around the vast plains. In search of simple things to enjoy, they would pick these flowers whenever they came to fetch water. They had even created a small flower bed near the mansion. After being discovered by Lady Priscilla for such pointless activities, she trampled on our efforts with muddy boots, but Liev had successfully shown Renard the finished product. The memory of when Renard, still very young at the time, was embarrassed that he had chewed on the flowers, mistaking them for food, was vivid in his mind. 

“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 to be itching to chew on anything nearby. When he titled his head, it was so adorable and lovable enough to captivate anyone, but no one could resist getting caught up in the charm without being able to refuse. 

“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 you like.”

Suddenly, Liev picked a new beautiful flower, made a small wreath, and placed it between the blank 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? I 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 as if the bread and soup he had for breakfast were still 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 did, 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 filling their stomachs. There wasn’t much for him to do here. If he tried to assist with taking care of the military horses as before, he would be vehemently dissuaded, saying you can’t entrust that work to the esteemed “Dragon Knight.” So, should he spend the time playing around like a kid while Renard wasn’t around? He pondered briefly, but being someone who couldn’t easily make fun of 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.” 

Sitting somewhat in a slouched posture at the desk, Liev stood up abruptly as an intruder(?) entered. 

“What’s the matter?” 

An ominous feeling flashed through my mind—nothing good would come of finding myself. Perhaps it would be better if it was just boredom. In the tense moment, two young maids followed behind the manager into the room. 

“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 preparations are needed for a simple ceremony like that? It’s just a formal bestowal of a title, after all. However, since he had no right to refuse, Liev obediently stood up and followed them. 

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

It seemed to be a common practice, whether modern or here, to stand on a drawing of foot shapes when measuring body size. Following the maid, we arrived at a small hall in a building some distance away. Perhaps the seat was a place to invite guests to listen to a performance or enjoy a dance. One side of the wall was entirely covered with mirrors, and there were piano-like instruments placed. In one corner, tools for measuring sizes were neatly arranged. 

A kind of multipurpose room.

The maids led Liev to one end of the mirror, where they started tying up his messy 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 would sound like I have some kind of concept disease.

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 behind this shabby appearance is an unbelievable face. 

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 I was living in the modern era.

Having a good appearance had its perks, such as being easily liked by animals. That was the only advantage. Being popular among people wasn’t all that great, and he had experienced unnecessary attention due to his appearance when living in the modern world. Even receiving compliments for being handsome felt like a thorn in his side. Being popular doesn’t mean. There was nothing good about becoming a celebrity and making a living off of my face. 

In his school days, he distributed flyers for part-time jobs or work at a meat restaurant to make ends meet. Even after enrolling in school, he had to juggle tuition and living expenses. He was very tired of being the center of attention and becoming the target of jealousy and resentment without his knowledge. 

I guess they think just being good-looking automatically makes me something special.

And on top of that, his not-so-outgoing personality. 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.