“A mistake, you say?”

“Oh, no. A mistake? Not at all. It was a blessing for me. It’s just that the end wasn’t so good… I’m telling all sorts of things to a young man I’ve just met. You must be easy to talk to. You have a knack for making people feel comfortable. Hahaha.”

As Nellaf tilted his head in confusion, Suzette changed the subject and continued speaking.

“Ah, I’ll stay with you during the coming-of-age ceremony prayers. It seems you came alone. Oh… yes, I heard that Viscount Benjamin isn’t in good health. I’m sorry to hear that.”

Usually, one doesn’t attend the coming-of-age ceremony prayers alone. Especially for the children of nobility, as they might possess stronger pheromones than others.

Nellaf smiled and said,

“I’m fine on my own. I’ve studied a lot in this field with the aim of becoming a doctor.”

Nellaf respected his father, who, despite being poor, succeeded as a doctor and became the personal physician to a high-ranking noble, even earning the title of viscount.

Furthermore, Nellaf’s father was researching ways to control pheromone outbursts, but progress was slow, and he overexerted himself to the point of becoming critically ill and bedridden.

Nellaf resolved to continue his father’s research and see it through.

“No, such arrogance is a luxury. Experiencing it firsthand is different. If you’re embarrassed, this old man will watch from afar.”

“Thank you for your consideration. There are priests here as well, but since your pheromones are of a neutral color, I feel more at ease. Then…”

Suzette sat at a distance, and Nellaf walked to the center of the shrine, placed his hand on the statue of the deity, and prayed.

‘I pray to the gods. I, Nellaf, offer my coming-of-age ceremony prayer today. I have a dream. For those unaccustomed to controlling their pheromone manifestation. I am researching methods to prevent rampage. Please allow my pheromone manifestation and grant me the opportunity to study pheromone control…’

Vroom. Whirr.

A blue light swirled around Nellaf.

Nellaf flinched his eyebrows but calmed the swirling pheromones without the priest’s intervention.

“Oh, impressive! You’re really skilled at pheromone control!”

Suzette said as he got up and approached.

“Phew.”

Nellaf opened his eyes, took a breath, and smiled.

‘It’s done.. Now it begins. I can research ways to prevent Seian’s rampage.’

[Imperial Year 330, July 2nd]

[[Look up.]]

Hearing the sweet voice, Sera blushed shyly and lifted her head.

Reflected in Sera’s eyes, leaning against the wall, were blue eyes.

Approaching with a warm and comforting scent, he kissed Sera’s lips.

[[Thank you for allowing me, Sera. I’ll do my best.]]

Sera nodded slightly and entrusted herself to him.

Morning dawned.

‘Another… dream? This time it’s the Viscount. I must be going crazy. Am I really this obsessed with men? Hmm… Maybe a little, but to keep having dreams like this. Sigh…’

The smell of freshly baked bread hurried her to finish getting ready and head downstairs, where Nellaf was already there, drinking tea.

‘I thought I was an early riser…! But the Viscount is even more diligent than I am.’

“Miss Sera. Did you sleep well? Please, have a seat.”

Sera took a seat opposite Nellaf.

“Sigh.. How much longer do we have to ride the carriage today?”

“You just need to go as far as you came yesterday.”

‘Ah… How can she say something so dreadful with such a refreshing smile…?’

Sera was overwhelmed with despair and hung her head. On the table were bread, butter, and a fried egg. Her despair was short-lived, as her mouth started to water.

‘Bread that looks delicious… The egg is sunny-side up…’

‘I can see exactly what you’re thinking…’

Seeing Sera’s eyes fixed on the bread and fried egg, Nellaf spoke with a bright smile.

“Eat before it gets cold, and let’s set off energetically.”

‘Food prepared by someone else. The menu is nothing special, but it really feels like a treat.’

Excited, Sera hurriedly spread butter on the bread and was about to take a bite when the owner asked from a distance.

“Miss, what would you like to have? Should I bring you the same thing?”

‘Ah, ah… this is… the lord’s meal. Ugh… how embarrassing.’

“Uh… um… yes! Please do.”

She answered while carefully putting the bread down.

“I’m sorry… I… ate the lord’s meal…”

She glanced at Nellaf for his reaction.

“It’s okay. I usually don’t eat much breakfast anyway. Take your time and eat a lot.”

‘Hmm. Is he being considerate so I don’t feel burdened…? He’s really a good person.’

As Sera picked up the bread again and took a few bites, the owner brought out fresh bread and a fried egg, and Nellaf picked up the bread.

‘As expected, he was hungry.’

Seeing Sera’s glance, Nellaf smiled, split the bread in half, spread butter, sprinkled sugar, placed the fried egg on top, and covered it with the other half.

‘What a peculiar way to eat. Does he wrap it all up like that in one go? He’s making it like a sandwich.’

“Here, try this.”

Nellaf handed over the skillfully made bread.

“Oh? You were giving this to me? Th-thank you… I’ll enjoy it.”

As she took a bite of the bread, the flavor of melted butter on the warm bread blended with the savory and sweet taste of the egg, creating harmony in her mouth.

“Wow!! This is really delicious!!!”

‘Oops. I spoke too loudly out of amazement.’

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Nellaf always spoke with a gentle smile.

The journey of hell began again as they boarded the carriage. Nellaf, sitting across from her, was calmly reading a book.

‘Wow… so elegant and handsome. His long eyelashes are as impressive as Kyle’s…’

His long eyelashes seemed to almost touch his monocle. Under the sunlight, the monocle appeared to take on a deeper brown hue.

‘Hmm. The color has gotten darker.’

Sensing Sera’s gaze, Nellaf spoke first.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Oh, uh… sorry. I was just curious and staring… I have a question…”

Nellaf looked at Sera and smiled silently.

“…It’s just that… the color of your monocle seems to keep changing, is it some kind of magical glasses or something?”

When Sera asked playfully, Nellaf answered with a friendly smile.

“I injured my eye a few years ago. When light comes in, I can’t see well. So I wear special lenses.”

“Oh my, that must be uncomfortable. How did you… injure your eye?”

“It feels like a part of me now, so it’s not uncomfortable. I only take it off when I sleep. I got injured… while riding a carriage, ah…! Come to think of it, it was just like the situation you had yesterday, Sera. The carriage stopped suddenly, and I got hurt.”

“Gasp! That could have been really serious! You have to be careful with your handsome face!”

“…Thank you.”

Nellaf, feeling awkward at Sera’s straightforward compliment about his appearance, merely cleared his throat and continued to caress his monocle while reading.

‘Hmm. I want to see him without the monocle. Does he take it off when he sleeps? Once the pheromone manifestation happens, I might be able to do something with the Viscount. Oh, no. What am I thinking? Ugh… It’s all because of that dream…’

It was late at night when they finally arrived at the Lafjehill mansion. The mansion began with a pitch-black gate, befitting the symbolic color of the Lafjehill family.

The garden was lined with well-trimmed trees, and in the center of the garden was a large fountain.

Around the fountain, there were lights that shone brightly even outdoors, making the garden clearly visible.

‘Even the shrine, the largest building in Letren, feels small… Is this really just… a house? It’s so bright even after sunset.’

Sera was once again struck by the realization of being in the capital, and especially by the immense scale of the Marquis’s mansion, which supports all the orphanages in the country.

‘Hmm. This mansion is exactly the kind of place Marquis Lafjehill would live in.’

However, unlike the pitch-black exterior of the mansion, reminiscent of a crow, the interior had a calm yet warm feeling.

‘Inside, it feels different. So, this is where I’ll be staying now.’

As Nellaf and Sera entered the mansion, they were greeted by a middle-aged man who appeared to be the butler.

“Welcome. Mr. Nellaf. Thank you for coming all this way. The Marquis is waiting for you in the study.”

Nellaf gestured a greeting to the head butler and then looked at Sera, saying,

“Well then, Miss Sera. Thank you for coming such a long way. I wish you well in your life in the capital.”

Sera felt very reluctant to part with Nellaf.

“Yes. Thank you. Um, Viscount… Will I not be able to see you anymore?”

“I also practically live at the Lafjehill mansion. We’ll be seeing each other often.”

Nellaf replied with a gentle smile, kissed the back of Sera’s hand, and turned towards the Marquis’s office.

Sera’s face flushed as she touched the back of her hand, looking at Nellaf with a hint of longing.

The head butler spoke to Sera with a comforting smile.

“I’m Terraven, the head butler of the Lafjehill family. You can just call me the head butler. Was it Miss Sera?”

“Yes?! Yes!”

Sera answered, standing nervously.

The head butler laughed heartily and said,

“Haha. There’s no need to be so tense. Your friend Yuni also arrived today. She’s waiting in her room, so go and meet her.”

‘Yuni!’

Hearing Yuni’s name, Sera’s tension eased. With a brightened expression, she said,

“Really? I… I want to meet Yuni right away!”

The head butler guided her to the building where the maids stayed.

Looking at the head butler with chestnut brown hair and deep green eyes, Sera felt a warmth in her heart, reminiscent of the director at Seren.

‘Teacher… I hope you’re doing well. Kyle… will I be able to write to you tomorrow?’

The head butler stopped in front of the building and said,

“Go up to the second floor, the first room on the right is Miss Yuni’s room. The head maid will guide you tomorrow morning, so for now, unpack and rest well.”

“Thank you, Head Butler!!”

Sera bowed her head in gratitude.

‘Wow… even the building for the staff is this big…’

Sera marveled at the size of the mansion as she went up.

Knock knock.

“Yuni…?”

Bang!

“Sera!!”

Yuni opened the door and welcomed her.

“Welcome, Sera! It must have been tough getting here. I thought my back was going to break!”

Even though they had been apart for just a day, Yuni was so delighted to see her. Sera sighed in relief.

“Seeing your face puts me at ease. The mansion is so big, it’s overwhelming. I feel like I might get lost inside. Sigh… Can I really manage here?”

“Of course you can!”

Yuni took Sera’s luggage and entered the room.

The room where Sera and Yuni would stay was twice… no, three times bigger than their room in Seren.

Sera, admiring Yuni’s room, said in awe.

“Wow… the room is really spacious. But why is there only one bed?”

“This is my room, and you have your own. It’s late, so the head maid will show you tomorrow. For tonight, let’s share my bed!”

“What?! You have this huge room all to yourself? Wow… I thought I wasn’t materialistic, but this is exciting.”

Sera replied with a beaming smile.

“Pfft. Well, Sera, you were always more about food than possessions, right?”

“I can’t argue with that. But now… it seems like I’ve added a bit of desire too. Yuni? Tell me what happened with the knight! Please? I’m dying of curiosity!”

Yuni’s face turned red in an instant as she replied.

“Sera!! Really…!”

(The previous evening.) [Imperial Year 330, July 1st.]

Yuni, having left Seren, was walking to meet Roman.

On the forest path to their meeting place, the fresh yet slightly bitter scent of grass tickled her nose.

Suddenly, Yuni felt her body heat up, as if her pheromone might escape.

‘Oh… Ah… This feeling… suddenly…? What is this…?’

Yuni closed her eyes and breathed to calm her pheromone.

The orange-hued pheromone that was about to escape settled down.

“Yuni…”

Behind her, Roman approached with an anxious expression, releasing a deep green pheromone as he spoke.

Yuni turned around and looked at Roman with a surprised expression.

“Roman?!”

Roman approached Yuni and hugged her tightly, saying,

“Phew… I’m sorry. My pheromones just wouldn’t calm down… I was on my way to pick you up from Seren…”

Roman’s rigid penis pressed against Yuni’s lower abdomen, and she felt it distinctly. Yuni felt her face flush.

‘This is…’

“Since your pheromone manifestation… we met at Seren that time, right? I’ve been holding back since then… but now, I just can’t…”

‘Roman’s heartbeat…’

She strongly felt Roman’s heartbeat.

‘Phew… I must look like a pathetic man who can’t even control his pheromones. Sigh…’

Roman suppressed his emotions and said,

“I’m really sorry. In this state, a date is impossible. I’ll just… step out for a moment.”