Red Tape

“Oh, you have grown again.”

Brody, who is organizing the counter, gasps in surprise when he sees the person who has just opened the store’s doors.

The young man, who is as big as a door, scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking a little embarrassed.

Brody vividly remembered the day when he had scolded the small, skinny boy who was amazed to see snow for the first time and told him to close the window.

It had been five years since they had first met in the carriage.

Liam had visited Brody’s general store to run errands after coming to the Duke of Carlywell’s house.

Every time I saw him, he grew like a young tree smelling the scent of spring, and he was now a head taller than Brody.

Not only is he tall, but his shoulders and chest have widened, and now that he is an adult, he has matured into a manly man who intimidates others simply by standing beside them.

His skin has gotten a little lighter since he has been living in the North, but his black hair and silver eyes are still the same.

When he is expressionless, he reminds me of a black wolf that had just come down from the mountain. Regardless of his personality, his appearance looked rather sharp.

That’s probably why no one picked on Liam. Even the thugs in the back alleys are the same.

“Tch, if only our Luca had grown half as much.”

Brody clicked his tongue in regret, thinking of his son who is barely over 5 feet 7 inches (about 170 cm).

“Luca is big too, you know.”

“Size.”

Although his appearance has changed beyond recognition, the one thing that remains the same is his gentle personality.

In the five years Brody has known Liam, he has never seen him raise his voice. Ralph, the duke’s junior butler, had said the same thing, so it must have been true.

“So, why did you come here today?”

“I want ten bundles of Binding strings.”

“Yeah, okay.”

Brody rummages through the shelves as usual.

There were two types of binding strings, black and red, and the red one was not for anyone to use.

The red strings are only used to bind documents of special importance, and those documents can only be read by high-ranking officials in government offices.

And, as a symbol of the family’s authority, all documents from the Duke of Calliwell, no matter how trivial, are wrapped in red.

Brody asks while putting the strings wrapped in stiff paper in a paper bag so they wouldn’t get tangled.

“You don’t need paper this time? And ink?”

“It’s okay. I still have some left from last time.”

When was it? Not long after he first came here, Liam rushed in, kicking the door open, and bought a bunch of paper, quills, and ink.

I had wondered what was going on when he said he was going to study, but now he is reading and writing quite well. He seems to enjoy reading, judging from his frequent visits to the rental bookstore across the street.

Brody kept an eye on Liam because he found him both strange and admirable. He often made him do day labor when there was a shortage of workers.

Liam, who is diligent, always worked without hesitation, and Brody gave him a few more pennies. On days when he stubbornly refused, he even gave him snacks.

Brody has an evil intention. He had Liam as his target for his daughter, Hailey.

Haley has been secretly in love with Liam for a long time.

Compared to Brody, who is middle class but not quite as gentry, Liam is a low-class person with no foundation. But which parent would win if their daughter loved someone so much?

Later, when they came back holding hands, he would nod his head, pretending he was unable to win.

“Then goodbye, Mr. Brody.”

“Okay. See you later.”

After writing and checking the account of the Duke, Liam greeted him coolly and left Brody’s general store.

As he heads toward the alley where his bike is parked, Liam runs into Hailey and Luca. It seems like the siblings have gone out together and are coming back.

Haley, who is wearing a lavender bonnet, flushes when she sees Liam, and Luca laughs as if he had just found his younger sister amusing.

“Liam, hello?”

Luca’s giggles grew louder as he felt Hailey’s voice change noticeably from usual. Hailey poked her brother’s arm with her elbow. Luca greeted him, wiping away the tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes.

“Liam.”

“Hi, Luca. Hi, Hailey.”

Luca is one of the few people Liam could call a friend.

Luca, who had dressed up extravagantly today, God knows where he had been, turned around in front of Liam.

“How’s it? I got a suit from Hudson’s.”

Luca dressed like a gentleman in a frock coat, a vest, and shiny boots, holding a cane in his hand. The cane, which used to symbolize authority and honor, seems to have become an accessory these days.

Liam looked at the cane with a red jewel embedded in the handle.

“That’s a nice cane.”

“A gentleman must have a cane, but you are not jealous of it, right?”

“Huh? Why me?”

“That’s because you already have a nice cane. Don’t you?”

“…!”

Liam closed his mouth with a grunt.

Luca is honest and funny, but he is overly playful. When he talked about the cane, Luca’s eyes were on the front of Liam’s pants.

Whenever Luca, who attends public school, had a vacation, the two would meet and play every day. After seeing Liam’s genitals while peeing together in the forest, Luca had been teasing him like this.

How can he make such a dirty joke in front of his sister?

Liam furrowed his eyebrows, not hiding his discomfort.

Meanwhile, innocent Hailey asks her brother with an innocent expression.

“Does Liam have a cane? I haven’t seen it?”

How could a mere servant like me have something like that? Liam quickly stepped forward and snatched Luka’s answer away.

“No. I don’t have anything like that, Hailey.”

The mischievousness on Luka’s face grew even darker as he saw Liam desperately making excuses.

“Anyway, how humble. It’s really a cool cane. It’s thick and long. Who knows when Liam might take it out and show it to you…”

Liam, unable to bear it any longer, passes Luka as if he doesn’t want to deal with him any longer. Then he started walking briskly toward the alley.

“Liam? Where are you going? Are you upset? Liam!”

Liam pretended not to hear Luka’s voice from behind him before getting on his bike and paddling.

Luka, who is two years older than him, keeps trying to tell him strange things because he has more life experience.

I swear to heaven I did not want to know even a little bit about Luca’s first sexual experience with Madame Krissia’s costume shop assistant.

But Luca described the entire process in detail, removing Liam’s fingers one by one that was covering his ears.

I don’t have any curiosity in such things and nor have any interest in listening to them; in fact, I believe I have the qualities to become a priest.

Liam returned to the mansion and handed over the errand he had completed to Maid, who was in charge of cleaning the Duke’s office.

At first, he mainly did odd jobs like a handyman, but now he is getting a lot of recognition from Jeffry.

He had once threatened to avoid being noticed by the masters when he wandered around the mansion for no apparent reason, but Liam has now become a highly valued servant who works both inside and outside of the mansion.

There is no one like Liam, especially when it comes to physical labor.

“Liam! Will you help me?”

The housekeeper, Mrs. Friedman, came to see Liam today. She was in charge of the household affair, wearing a bunch of keys on her belt.

She is busy checking the goods against the ledger the merchant had written to ensure that the quantity ordered in advance arrived correctly, and points to a long cart.

“To the pantry?”

“Yes. Mrs. Wellesley making cider and jam.”

The duke’s residence, which has many resident servants, receives a huge amount of food supplies every week. There are five or six carts loaded with oak barrels of beer and wine, apple chests, and flour sacks.

The merchant looks at Liam as if he is amazed at how he can easily lift and move a chest of apples that would be difficult for two or three adults to lift.

Mary came running in, panting, as he was carrying the last chest to the pantry.

“Liam! Did you hear the news?”

She was running like a mischievous child, her skirt fluttered, and she was greatly embarrassed when she saw Mrs. Friedman. Mary quickly changes her attitude and greets her, slightly lifting her skirt and bending her knees like a well-mannered young lady.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Friedman.

“I thought it was a bull running away from the bullring.”

But as she thinks it seems too late to scold her, Mrs. Friedman shakes her head, pointing out Mary’s unbecoming behavior.

Mary, who had a look of disappointment for a moment, soon returned to a joyful expression. She rolls her eyes to see if Mrs. Friedman has left, then approaches Liam and tells him what she has just heard.

“Big news, Liam! The young master is coming back.”

“Young master…?”

Since there is only one person in this dukedom who could be called the young master, Liam’s question appears ridiculous.

“Yes! The young master! The you

ng master Erwin is coming back!”

Thud–.

The strength in Liam’s two arms holding the apple box suddenly went out.

The bright red ripe apples fall out all at once and roll on the floor.

t/n: (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ Hurray! Master of ‘cane’ is back.