Sera parted ways with Nellaf and looked around the study. As expected of a doctor, the shelves were lined with medical books.

‘At this rate, it rivals the Marquis’s collection… no, it seems even more.’

There were so many books related to medicine and pheromones that it resembled a library.

‘…I don’t necessarily need to go to the library, but my purpose for going there is still…’

There were many intriguing books she hadn’t had time to read besides the ones she borrowed last time.

‘I had a somewhat successful experience, and it was proven that my pheromones are strong. I’ll learn more skills and… hmm… meet Raon.’

Sera first gathered some books related to herbs and returned to her room to prepare to leave.

In the room, there was already stationery prepared, along with a very luxurious-looking box and a note.

[The box is sealed with pheromones for your use. If you need more, just let me know. -Nellaf.]

“Nellaf writes so neatly. Is this… the advance payment he mentioned? I wonder how much is in here. Hehe.”

When she opened the box and lifted the pouch, it was quite heavy.

“Hmm… this seems like about 50 silver?”

Sera opened the pouch and was shocked.

“It’s not silver, but gold?”

‘Crazy..!’

Sera covered her mouth. The amount in the box was a whopping 50 gold. She couldn’t help but smile, but she was also worried.

‘But is it okay to accept this much..? Maybe just a little…’

She reluctantly left behind the smile that wanted to accompany her and finally set off for Marquis Lafjehill.

‘By the way… what should I do if I run into the Marquis at the mansion? What do you mean, what should I do? I should apologize for the misunderstanding.’

When she arrived at the Lafjehill mansion in Viscount Benjamin’s carriage, a knight, who she thought might be Nellaf, spoke.

“The Marquis is out at the moment, but he will return soon. Would you like to wait inside the mansion?”

Sera gently opened the carriage door and spoke to the knights. They were knights she was familiar with from her time working at the mansion.

“Ah, hello. I’m Sera. I used to work here as a maid…”

They looked at her suspiciously, perhaps not recognizing her due to her changed hair color, but after staring into her eyes, one knight realized.

“What?? Maid..? Sera?! Is it really Sera? Oh, it is. Because of you, the mansion has been in chaos. There’s never a quiet day.”

“This young lady is Sera? She looks like a noble no matter how you see it…”

“Hey. Idiot. Look at her face closely.”

“Ah.. haha.. I… my hair color changed because I bloomed. But why is the mansion in chaos because of me?!”

Another knight, who had been watching closely, also realized it was Sera, albeit belatedly. However, perhaps due to her changed appearance, he treated her more cautiously.

“I heard you said something to the Marquis and left? Since that day, the Marquis has been in a foul mood. A while later, he suddenly interrogated the head maid. Then… everything turned upside down.”

Another knight standing nearby added.

“Right. I thought it would end with the head maid being fired, but…”

“Recently, some guy showed up looking for you again.”

“Oh!! It’s Kyle. I came to meet him! Is Kyle in the mansion?”

The two knights looked at each other and hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“That guy was so unruly. He’s probably locked in a room in the mansion’s basement.”

“What?! Locked up?!”

“You didn’t see it. His eyes seemed completely out of it. He came in the middle of the night, looking like a rag, shouting at the Marquis to find you immediately. It was a mess.”

“But, well. Saying he’s locked up… he’s probably being treated better than us…”

“Anyway. That guy named Kyle. You came to meet him? Please take that troublemaker away.”

“We should wait until the Marquis returns…”

The knights were eager to speak to Sera first.

“Ah. He’s coming just in time.”

Sera flinched and turned around to see the Lafjehill family’s carriage, with Seian inside, arriving. Seian got off the carriage and glanced at Sera.

“…Has she bloomed?”

For some reason, Seian seemed to recognize Sera at a glance and spoke. Sera bowed her head in greeting.

“He-hello, Marquis! I-I’m sorry for last time!! I owe you… I mean… I owe you a lot… I’m sorry! But… I misunderstood you on my own and said all sorts of things… I’m sorry. I came to pick up a boy who came looking for me… and I’m sorry for that too. Because of me…”

Sera kept apologizing, spouting disorganized words.

“It’s fine. Just take that guy and go. Follow me.”

Seian passed by Sera and headed towards the mansion’s basement.

Contrary to expectations of a dark basement, it was quite pleasant and bright. They stood in front of a door at the end of the quiet basement corridor.

When Seian placed his hand on the doorknob, a black pheromone aura flowed out, and the door clicked open.

Thud-thud-thud.

There was a loud noise from inside the room, and the door swung open. Kyle, looking more haggard than the last time she saw him, appeared.

“You, how dare you lock me up… Oh. Sera?”

Kyle recognized Sera at a glance and hugged her tightly.

“Sera.. Sera. Sera..”

Kyle sobbed and hugged Sera tightly. Sera also hugged him tightly and patted him gently.

Seian frowned as if something displeased him and quickly turned away.

Sera calmed Kyle down and wiped his tears.

“I’m sorry. For making you worry. I’m sorry, Kyle.”

“Sniff. Sera… I’ll never leave your side again. Never.”

“Okay, I got it, Kyle. Stop crying! You should smile. It’s been a while since we met.”

Kyle wiped his tears and smiled.

“Yeah. But.. your hair.. did you bloom? Did your pheromones manifest?”

“Hmm… well…”

‘It’s already out in the open…’

“I guess I inherited the pheromones from my dad’s side. Does it not suit me?”

“No! Not at all! It suits you very well.”

Kyle shook his head vigorously and said. He smiled again, closed his eyes gently, and hugged Sera tightly once more.

‘Sera. My Sera. We’ve met again. We’ll never part again.’

Sera brought Kyle up from the basement. Seian had disappeared somewhere.

With no other choice, they decided to leave without any further greetings.

‘I feel like I’m causing trouble in many ways. Sigh… I’ll formally apologize when I see him again for herb research.’

The two of them returned to Nellaf’s mansion. Nellaf was also out and not visible.

Sera returned to her room and asked Miso to prepare a bath.

“Kyle. You look terrible. You should wash up first.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

After a quick bath, with no clothes to change into, he came out wearing the clothes that Miso brought, which were worn by the employees of Nellaf’s mansion.

After washing up and wearing the neat clothes, Kyle’s appearance seemed to shine.

“…Wow, Kyle… it suits you well.”

She seemed to like the servant’s clothes quite a bit.

His ears turned red, and without saying a word, he approached and sat at the table where Sera was sitting.

‘If I could become Sera’s servant like this… it would be perfect.’

He covered his flushed face with one hand.

“…Ahem, Sera. What is this house…?”

“I’m quite knowledgeable about herbs, right? Someone needed that, so I asked to stay and work here. I think I can earn a lot of money too.”

Sera spoke with a proud and confident face in front of Kyle.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen Sera with that face… so cute.’

“So, how about Kyle also working and staying at this mansion? I did mention it to the Viscount…”

“If I can stay with Sera… then Kyle becomes… Sera’s servant? I can stay with Sera all the time, right?”

Kyle’s expression seemed to brighten.

“Ahaha. Nellaf might get jealous? No, of course, he doesn’t seem like that kind of person.. and we’re not like that. What am I even saying…?”

‘…It was the Benjamin Viscount’s family. A family that received the viscountcy for medical contributions…’

“Can I ask what kind of relationship you have with this person named Nellaf? You seem close… Ky-Kyle isn’t jealous!”

“Nellaf is the owner of this mansion. He’s Viscount Nellaf Benjamin. He’s a doctor but knowledgeable in many ways, very kind. And… he’s the one who helped me bloom.”

“So, with that person…”

Sera nodded slightly with a smile. Kyle looked down with a sullen expression.

‘…As expected, Sera is popular with everyone. If I can just be by Sera’s side… I’m satisfied with that.’

“Ah, but we’re not in a romantic relationship or anything. I’m not going to date…”

“What? Why?”

“Hmm.. well, how should I put it…? being in a relationship means connecting with each other’s hearts. I don’t really understand those feelings, and my mom also told me not to give my heart away carelessly.”

Sera finished speaking and gave an enigmatic smile.

‘And the situation with Nellaf. It was exactly like what I saw in my dream. If the dream becomes reality… all the people from the dream…’

“Anyway, that’s how it is. By the way, I heard Kyle’s pheromones haven’t manifested. What’s going on?”

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know… Maybe Kyle has another name like you.”

Kyle lowered his gaze to avoid Sera’s eyes as he spoke.

‘I won’t part with you again. To do that… I must hide my pheromones.’

“I see. Maybe because we’re in the same situation, we didn’t feel any repulsion towards each other? Could Kyle also be a noble…?”

“Did you find your name? With white hair… you must be related to nobility, right? How did your pheromones manifest? If you’re a noble… do you know your family?”

Kyle quickly interrupted Sera’s words and asked a series of questions.

“Uh.. well, there’s that too. I haven’t found my name yet… but don’t worry. Kyle can also have his pheromones manifest. I’ll look into it too.”

‘When I meet the god, I’ll ask if they can manifest Kyle’s pheromones too.’

“Uh, uh.. thank you. …Um… Sera. Last time it was fine, but… if your pheromones manifest and you try to do something… intimate with Kyle… will there be any repulsion? C-could you check… just once?”

‘I need to check how much I can endure. It’s for confirmation, not to satisfy my own desires…’

Kyle shook his head vigorously with a flushed face.

“Ah, right. I was curious about that too. Let’s see…”