~Chapter 13~
“What is it?”
“Could you please help me with something?”
“Yes, alright.”
Ruby agreed right away, even though she didn’t know what Balt needed help with.
Since Balt had always taken good care of her and her siblings, she wanted to do something for him in return.
“Thank you. Let’s talk while we walk toward the mansion.”
“Okay.”
Sasha and Maria were being looked after by other maids, so Ruby could go alone.
She walked quickly to keep up with Balt’s fast steps.
“Is it something serious?”
“It could be serious. But it’s something I can’t tell the Duke about.”
“What is it?”
Balt suddenly stopped walking.
Whether by chance or on purpose, he stopped in a quiet place where no one else was around.
“The truth is… I lost the key to the Duke’s important safe.”
“What?”
Ruby raised her voice in shock, then quickly covered her mouth and spoke quietly.
“You lost the safe key?”
“Yes. It’s a safe with very important things inside… If the Duke finds out, I’ll definitely be fired.”
“How could you lose something so important…?”
“That’s what I’m asking myself.” Balt rubbed his temples as if his head hurt.
“Does Grandfather use that key often?”
“Thankfully, not very often. But he does check the safe from time to time.”
It was very much like Duke Lux to double-check things because he didn’t trust people easily.
In fact, it was surprising that he had trusted Balt enough to give him the key at all.
“It’s not for treasures, right?”
If it were for the mansion’s treasure vault, Duke Lux probably wouldn’t have given it to Balt.
“It doesn’t hold visible treasures, but it has many important documents. In terms of value, they might be worth more than gold.”
Losing the key to that was truly dangerous.
If Duke Lux found out, Balt would lose his job instantly—and knowing the Duke’s personality, he probably wouldn’t give Balt any letter of recommendation either.
“But why tell me about this?”
Ruby wanted to help Balt because he had always supported her, but she was surprised he told her of all people.
After all, she was only ten years old.
“You’re special, my lady. I believe you can find my key. And also, you…”
Balt trailed off, but Ruby understood what he meant.
“I’m not fully part of the household yet, so Grandfather might not believe me easily. That way, your secret is safe.”
“That’s not the only reason. I just trust that you wouldn’t report me to the Duke.”
To Ruby, it sounded like the same thing, but she shrugged.
“Well, the reason doesn’t matter. Since you asked, I’ll find it for you.”
Her confident voice seemed to give Balt hope. He bent down to meet her eyes.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Then let’s start by checking everywhere you went today.”
“From when should we start?”
“How about from the moment you left your room?”
“Alright, then let’s start at the garden. That was my first stop.”
They walked out to the garden together.
Whenever Ruby came here with the children, she thought the Duke’s garden was surprisingly warm and beautiful—very different from his cold personality.
When she had first arrived at night, the garden had looked dark and scary, but in the daytime it was full of seasonal flowers and many types of plants, all neatly arranged in perfect symmetry.
Balt led her around the whole garden.
“Every morning, I take a walk here to check if there are any problems, and I think about the day’s work.”
“Then let’s walk exactly the way you do.”
As they walked, they met the gardener.
“Good morning, Sir Butler.”
“Hello. How’s the work going?”
“I’m planning to plant some flowers that bloom in winter.”
“That sounds nice. Ah, this is Lady Ruby, the Duke’s granddaughter.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jackson, the gardener.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ruby Brooklyn.”
“Please speak comfortably with me, Lady Ruby.”
“Alright, Jackson.”
“What brings you here with the young lady today?”
“She wanted to see the garden.”
“I see. Shall I guide you?”
“No, Balt is already showing me around.”
Ruby quickly refused because she didn’t want anyone to find out about the lost key.
Once Jackson was out of sight, Ruby started looking at the ground carefully.
“Do you remember dropping it here?”
“Not really. I don’t see anything like a key. Should I ask Jackson if he found one?”
Ruby almost jumped in surprise.
“No! If rumors spread, you’ll be in trouble. Besides, if he had found something unusual, he would have told you right away.”
“Unless he wanted to open the safe himself.”
It was just like a butler to suspect even a coworker.
“Does everyone in the mansion know it’s a safe key?”
“No.”
“Does it look valuable?”
“No, it’s just a small key to others.”
“Then there’s no reason for him to hide it. Even if he wanted to use it, he wouldn’t know what it was for.”
Balt nodded.
“You’re right. Then it’s probably not here.”
“Where did you go next?”
“After my morning walk, I went to the kitchen to check the Duke’s meal preparations.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen, then.”
It was just after lunch, so the chef and kitchen maids were eating.
“Sorry to interrupt.”
Everyone stood when they saw Ruby and Balt.
“Please continue eating; don’t mind us.”
“What brings you here?” the chef asked.
“I told Balt I wanted something special for dinner, so we came to check the ingredients.”
“I can find them for you.”
“No, I need to see for myself. Please keep eating.”
Ruby walked around the kitchen, then entered the food storage room, checking carefully for the key.
But she didn’t find anything.
“How about you, Balt?”
“No, nothing here either.”
Ruby sighed as they left.
“What’s the special ingredient?” the chef asked.
“I can’t decide, so I’ll leave it to you.”
Then she left with Balt.
“Where next?”
“After that, I went to the Duke’s study.”
“Isn’t Grandfather there now?”
“Yes.”
Ruby thought for a moment, then said firmly,
“Let’s go anyway. We should check everywhere.”
“Thank you, Lady Ruby.”
They stopped in front of the study.
“Why did you go there? ”
“To check the cleaning and place the documents the Duke needed.”
It was normal butler work, so Ruby couldn’t question it.
“Can we go in now?”
“Let’s knock and ask.”
Balt acted as if going in was no big deal.
But for Ruby, it was a big deal—Duke Lux had mostly ignored her since she came here.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to thank him before?” Balt reminded her.
“That’s true.”
She had planned to thank him with her siblings, but now she’d have to do it alone.
After deciding what to say, Ruby knocked.
Knock knock.
“Come in,” said Duke Lux.
Balt opened the door and let Ruby enter first.
She stepped inside quietly.
The Duke didn’t even look at her and just continued reading documents.
“Hello, Grandfather.”
He didn’t respond. Balt had to speak.
“Your Grace, Lady Ruby is here.”
Only then did Duke Lux raise his head to glance at Ruby—just for a moment—before looking back down at his papers.
“What is it?”
