The middle one’s heart was palpitating with nervousness. Tumdum! Tudum! He even found it strange, because that was the first time he felt anxious like that.

‘Maybe thinking all night about this, was not a good idea’ He thought.

The white-haired girl, after a moment, realized that this was not a new cook, at least it didn’t look that way from his clothing.

Since the man was wearing a hood, he could not identify him, that is until Luke took it off and showed his wolf’s eye circles. The maid, who was going to insist on carrying the man’s luggage, just took two steps back.

She knew that the new bodyguard would be a half-beast, but knowing this did not quell her fear about the ancient legends her parents told her.

With his sight and smell, Luke scanned the mansion and grounds in a few seconds. Although it wasn’t his job, he wanted to make sure he would be safe in the months he was there.

“May I meet all the employees of the mansion?” He questioned the maid.

“Of course. But since it’s still early, not all the staff have arrived. We have different cooks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not to mention the various guards. There are also other servants like me, but we vary our hours as well.”

Nathalia didn’t even have to look at the half-wolf for long, his very presence was intimidating, even more so than her instructor.

Aiming to be courteous, she quickly straightened up and went into the main lobby to greet him.

When Martha, the maid, opened the door so that Luke could enter, he was even startled by the girl. Somehow, he hadn’t been able to hear her heartbeat until he saw her.

‘Skin white as paper, hair white as the moon.’ That was the analogy Luke thought of as he saw Nathalia for the first time up close. The girl’s eyes were vivid red, and she somehow seemed a little too innocent.

Even when she tried in every way to look more like the woman she was, Nathalia couldn’t, because her arched eyebrows and gentle gaze were still there, unlike her mother, who always seemed ready to pounce.

“Good morning, nice to meet you, Miss Nathalia Strogueher.” The half-wolf greeted her.

…

“Madam, the young bodyguard is greeting you.” Martha alerted Nathalia, who seemed mesmerized by something.

“May I touch it?” Nathalia asked as she pointed to Luke’s black ears. She had never seen a half-beast up close before.

Luke, who normally only let Meredith touch his ears because he might also fight back, was hesitant to allow it.

While his tail was a weak point because it hurt so much when pulled, a half-beast’s ears were a weak point because they provided a little pleasure when stroked.

“As long as you don’t pull them or stroke them, it’s fine.” He said.

Nathalia, a little shy and curious, nodded to the half-wolf. He had to lean a little because the girl was shorter than he was.

With her right index finger, she touched it for a second and took it off. “They are… cute.”

“I use some special products.” Luke replied. Because his hearing is an important element of his abilities, he prefers not to compromise it for anything, so he sanitizes his ears very well.

“Yawn! You have finally arrived. Did you have any trouble coming?” A pretty woman, who was walking down the stairs from the second floor to first, asked after yawning.

Luke looked in the direction from which the voice seemed to come and saw a beautiful woman with long, golden hair.

Ayumi Yamazaki was wearing a sweater so tight, the half-wolf felt compelled to look away when he noticed that the woman’s breasts were almost jutting out.

“Yes, we had some problems at the very beginning of the trip, but they have been completely resolved.” Luke was blushing a little. ‘Even Meredith wasn’t that bold,’ he thought quickly.

“Mom…” Nathalia sounded more disappointed than embarrassed. “This is the second time in the week you’ve come down in a sweater. The first was with the City Market delivery man, and now with my bodyguard.”

“So does that mean he’s approved by you?” Ayumi approached her daughter and whispered: “You had told me you wanted to test him before, and now you’ve approved him? Don’t give in to the temptations of the flesh so young, my daughter.”

Nathalia swallowed her own words, turned, and said to Luke: “If you’re not too tired, I’d like to test it beforehand.”

The half-wolf nodded and began to follow her. With a glance back, he saw that the maid, Martha, and the Matriarch, Ayumi, were watching the two of them with narrowed eyes.

Luke, who preferred not to be alone with the young lady, chose to invite them. “Aren’t you two coming too?”

“I will go for breakfast,” Ayumi said. She was still looking half fallen asleep.

“Then I will serve you.” Yeah, there was no way, Luke would have to be alone with the girl.

“What are you waiting for? Come!” Nathalia’s scream echoed coming from down the hall.

The walls of the mansion were filled with different art, from paintings, statues, plants, to bladed weapons. So that Luke felt poorer and poorer as he walked through the house.

“How old are you, Luke?”

“Didn’t your mother tell you?”

Nathalia merely denied with her head and continued on her way.

“I’ll be twenty soon.”

“What?” Nathalia said braking. “There’s no way you’re younger than me.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Well, you had just moved to a new town and were chosen by my mother, so I didn’t expect you to be under twenty-five. How did your parents let you leave home so young?”

“I don’t have parents, so it was easier. Annn… I was just living with some friends in a boarding house.”

“Living with friends must have been nice.” Nathalia said wistfully.

The girl, being from a wealthy family, never had the chance to make great friendships. Although she could talk to some cousins and other nobles, she knew that these relationships she could not even call friendships.

The half-wolf didn’t extend that subject much, because it could be a tactic to find out more about her past. You couldn’t doubt anything that came from a Strogueher.

——

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