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Chapter 31

In fact, the reason Emilia hadn't mentioned what bothered her about the official notices when she saw them in the library was simple.

Unlike Herald, she wasn't a graduate of an academy, nor had she received a proper education—she was just a commoner.

She'd been concerned that Herald might take offense at her offering opinions.

Fortunately, however, Herald didn't seem bothered by her input.

Thanks to that, Emilia was able to speak her mind more freely.

"When writing official notices to be sent out, I think we should start by putting ourselves in the recipient's shoes."

Emilia pointed to a few words in the notice.

The vocabulary itself was clearly difficult or abstract.

Herald, having interacted with people who'd received similar education while working at the ducal residence, probably hadn't felt any particular discomfort.

And Kayden, who read his reports most often, would naturally find these technical terms more convenient.

But for notices sent to an unspecified number of recipients, a broader consideration was necessary.

"To put it extremely—it should be written at a level that even someone like Ivan, who just learned to read, could understand."

"...I see."

Just then, Herald mentioned that he'd been inundated with inquiries about content and format.

So even a slight improvement in readability would significantly reduce those questions.

"Miss Emilia."

"Yes?"

Herald hesitated for a moment, then spoke to her.

"I'd like to revise the notices—could you help me? I think we'll need them in the future as well..."

"Of course."

Emilia smiled and nodded.

The two began rewriting the notices from scratch, starting with the format.

"Ah, and about the document format here..."

Just as they were deep in discussion, a plate was placed on the table.

Clink.

Emilia's eyes went wide at the sight of the colorful macarons—truly twelve different colors.

"Thank you."

Emilia greeted Robert and popped a macaron into her mouth.

Each one was cute in shape, crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.

Delicious.

Emilia's eyes widened slightly.

Thanks to that, she felt she could work for hours with her energy replenished.

Meanwhile, Robert, who had been watching Emilia—

"Ahem!"

He caught himself smiling contentedly and cleared his throat.

Emilia turned to look at him with concern.

He'd been clearing his throat quite a bit earlier.

Has he caught a cold?

---

That night.

Returning to the residence late, Kayden headed to his study instead of his bedroom.

He roughly took off his outer coat, tossed it onto the sofa, rolled up his sleeves, and walked to his desk.

But Robert followed him into the study.

"Is there something you want to say?"

Robert, however, slightly bowed and denied it.

"No."

"I see."

Kayden turned his attention away from the butler and sat at his desk.

But the butler didn't leave—he remained standing in place.

Kayden raised an eyebrow at the butler's unusual behavior.

Robert would have spoken up and left quickly if he had something to report.

Just then, Kayden noticed the documents on his desk that he hadn't seen before.

At the same time, the butler cleared his throat.

Kayden picked up the documents and glanced toward the butler.

"It's nothing."

Repeating what he'd said earlier, Robert maintained a solemn expression.

Kayden looked away from his oddly behaving butler and began examining the documents.

They were related to the support projects his house was conducting.

Notices and distribution forms and such.

But something had changed.

The notices were written in plain language, as if from a children's book.

Not only that, but the structure made the flow naturally understandable.

"Do you know what this is?"

Kayden asked the butler as he examined the documents, and Robert explained as if he'd been waiting.

"Miss Emilia wrote them with Herald today."

At the mention of Emilia's name, Kayden's eyebrow lifted slightly.

The butler, as if he'd prepared a script, recounted the day's events without pause.

After hearing the story, Kayden let out a dry laugh.

The more he saw of her, the more she seemed wasted as merely Ivan's tutor.

And another thought occurred to him.

If she had time to make these with Herald...

But he couldn't finish that thought.

Because, honestly, the revised notices were remarkably innovative and flawless.

Kayden's expression soured as he carefully set the documents back on the desk.

---

The residence of the Viscount Ardel.

A lean young man paced around his room, anxiously waiting for someone.

"Sigh..."

"Brother, pacing won't make Grandfather come back any faster."

At the sudden voice, Samuel paused.

His younger sister had entered his room and was looking at him with a resigned expression.

She yawned widely and sat down on the sofa.

"You know Grandfather's stubborn as a mule."

"Don't talk about Grandfather like that."

"What, you think the same thing too, don't you?"

"He just has a bit of a peculiar side."

"That sounds even worse."

"..."

"Whatever. It's noisy, so just sit down."

At his sister Flora's words, Samuel walked over and sat on the sofa.

But his head still ached, and he let out a deep sigh.

His grandfather had suddenly left the residence today, leaving only a single note.

[I'm going to meet the Duke of Valen today.]

Seeing the note, Samuel had been confused for a moment—then horrified.

He realized his grandfather had rushed to the ducal residence because his business proposal had been rejected.

In truth, Samuel was very confident in his technology.

He'd even secretly hoped he'd be selected as one of the houses to receive support this time.

But what could he do?

He'd been eliminated in the first document screening. Disappointing as it was, there was nothing to be done.

Refusing to accept the result and going to make a scene would only make him a nuisance.

"Even if we go now, it's probably too late, right?"

"Probably. Grandfather doesn't sleep in at all. He might have already gone and be on his way back?"

"Hmm..."

"Let's just hope he didn't make a bad impression on the Duke."

Even as she said that, his sister Flora was clearly worried about their grandfather.

It was only natural.

Their parents had died when they were young, and their grandfather had raised them—they were deeply attached to him.

Even if he was a bit eccentric, their grandfather was a warm-hearted person.

You could tell just from how the people of the territory treated the lord like a grumpy old neighbor.

But that was something only those who lived with him knew—outsiders might see things differently.

"This won't do. Let's go to the ducal residence now, even if it's late."

Samuel stood up abruptly and said.

Flora pouted.

"What? That's such a hassle."

But even so, she quietly rose and prepared to leave.

Just then—

"Samuel! Flora! Your grandfather is back!"

Their grandfather was entering the residence, sounding quite excited.

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