I’m Just a Counselor Chapter 40

Shane, who I thought had gotten the gardener’s job through some sort of trick, was surprisingly keen on gardening.

 

I sat on a bench under a tree and watched his work from afar. Shane wore a wide-brimmed hat and was intently pruning.

 

‘He looks like a skilled young farmer,’ I thought.

 

I was surprised that Shane knew how to garden.

 

Isn’t there anything he can’t do when he’s the head of the Intelligence Corps? Last time I saw him, he was helping in the kitchen and cleaning up after himself…

 

Come to think of it, I think he was good at a lot of things when he was Sherry.

 

“Shane… why are you a natural at housework?”

 

He said being an intelligence officer was just a side job.

 

I stared at Shane and clenched my jaw, just in time for him to finish his work, remove the thick gloves from his hands, and come over to me.

 

He plopped down next to me and took off his hat, placing it on my head.

 

“Vanessa’s eyes are so intense they’re making me nervous.”

 

“What’s wrong with my eyes?”

 

I retorted in an incredulous voice and folded the brim of my hat. Shane stuck his index finger in my direction. His finger was covered with a thin cut.

 

“Look at this. I cut myself with a pair of scissors because I were worried about you.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry.”

 

“If you’re sorry, give me a hug.”

 

“……?”

 

I stared at Shane, dumbfounded by the absurdity of it all, but despite my annoyance, he insisted.

 

“You want me to come to you?”

 

“Just go in there and put the medicine on.”

 

“Vanessa, don’t you know there’s such a thing as mood?”

 

“No. I don’t know about that.”

 

I pushed Shane away in exasperation, but he continued to whine.

 

Eventually, his insistence gave way, and I blew lightly on his fingers before releasing him. 

 

Shane stretched his arms out with a satisfied look on his face.

 

Once he was quiet, silence fell between us, but it wasn’t awkward at all.

 

As usual, I enjoyed the comfortable silence for a moment before I spoke up.

 

“By the way, Shane, aren’t you cold?”

 

“Oh, is it?”

 

The wind whipped past my cheeks and I realized it was winter. As I walked out of the room, I was forced to pull on a thick shawl.

 

“As Jeremiah said, this isn’t even cold enough for the Loasen.”

 

Estella, too, would say, “Really?” when I said it was cold, and she had a fire going in the fireplace, not to mention Shane, who was still wearing relatively light clothing.

 

I glanced at the thin shirt he was wearing.

 

It looks like something one would wear in spring.

 

It’s even deep at the neck, so the breeze seems to get all the way through. He’s got two buttons undone.

 

Somehow, just looking at it made me cold, so I made a gesture to open the collar of my shirt, and Shane burst out laughing. He patted my head over his hat.

 

“You’re cold again this year, you’re like this every winter.”

 

“Really. When you were Sherry, I could nag her about it.”

 

“Yeah? You can still do that. I love Vanessa’s nagging.”

 

I glanced at Shane, who was still unbuttoning his shirt, and pulled my own shawl closer.

 

Satisfied that I was feeling less chilled, I turned my gaze straight ahead and saw a rather empty garden.

 

‘All the fall flowers are gone,’ I thought.

 

All that was left was the camellias.

 

The branches of the camellia draped over the bench I was sitting on were covered in red buds, ready to burst into a flurry of color.

 

Strong, beautiful flowers in the dead of winter. The Duke’s garden had an unusually large number of camellias.

 

“What a fitting flower for the Duke.”

 

The way they bloom in the cold is just like the Duke, who defends the North in the midst of all trials.

 

I think the garden will be even more enjoyable in the dead of winter when the camellias are in full bloom. As I stare at the camellias in the distance, Shane suddenly asks me.

 

“Vanessa, do you like camellias?”

 

“I haven’t really thought about it much, but I think they look good here.”

 

“Jeremiah planted a bunch of camellias in his garden when he became a duke, so maybe it was his way of showing off.”

 

“…….”

 

I wonder what he was thinking at that moment, when he was only ten years old, and what he was thinking as he watched the camellias bloom every winter.

 

I kept my mouth shut, feeling sorry for him. Shane’s voice continued in a raspy tone.

 

“I used to come by when the camellias were in full bloom, but this year I’ll get to see them a little closer.”

 

The sound of his voice sent a cold tingle up the bridge of my nose that quickly melted away. I tilted my head, and something white was falling silently from the dark, cloudy sky.

 

Shane must have sensed it too, because he stopped talking and looked up.

 

“It’s snowing. This is the first snow of the year, right?”

 

“Yep. It’s the first snow.”

 

I replied blankly, taking off my hat and placing it on my lap. Then, as if waiting for it, the snowflakes began to fall in earnest.

 

The tiny flakes landed on the back of my hand and quickly melted.

 

I turned to Shane, thinking I should probably go inside, and immediately locked eyes with him.

 

He stares at me with a questioning gaze, brushes a snowflake out of my hair, and smiles.

 

“First snowfall of the year with Vanessa, I see.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“They say love is made when you get your first snowfall together.”

 

“It’s romantic, but it’s not something you should be talking about with me.”

 

I said nonchalantly and handed him the hat.

 

Shane was still smiling, but this time he spoke up.

 

“Vanessa, do you know what camellia means?”

 

“No. I don’t know.”

 

My fingertips bumped against Shane’s as I handed him the hat.

 

“I’ll tell you when the flowers are done blooming. Let’s see that, too, not just the first one.”

 

Shane said softly, squeezing my fingertips lightly and then releasing them. I nodded.

 

* * *

 

After parting ways with Shane, I went back to my room and found Estella at her desk, writing something with a serious expression on her face.

 

For some reason, she didn’t seem to realize I was back, so I put down the basket of madeleines I’d gotten from the kitchen and knocked on the nightstand.

 

Estella looked up, her eyes wide.

 

“Hee hee, Vanessa!”

 

“…what are you doing?”

 

Her face looked like a puppy caught doing something suspicious, so I couldn’t help but sneak a glance toward the desk.

 

Estella took a sharp intake of breath and quickly hid what was on her desk.

 

But I couldn’t help but notice. I saw the title at the top of the paper she was writing on.

 

<★How you can protect your sister Vanessa★>

 

…Huh?

 

“What is this?”

 

I asked, my voice a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief.

 

Estella fidgeted nervously, fiddling with her fingers as if she’d just been caught with a secret world domination plan, before finally rolling her eyes and telling me the truth.

 

Her face flushed with color.

 

“This time… I was so stupid that I put you in danger, and I don’t want that to happen again… uh, I was thinking of a way to protect you…!”

 

“…….”

 

I stared at her published face without answering. A storm was brewing in my head.

 

‘Is it okay for a person… to be so cute and adorable and cuddly?’

 

Because Estella kept doing this, everyone in the Duke’s castle would say, “My lady, my lady,” whenever they saw her.

 

There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think Estella was adorable from the first day I saw her, but I was newly impressed and embraced her.

 

The plot was perfect. There was no way Jeremiah wasn’t going to be Siscom!

 

“Estella, I love you so much, Estella!”

 

Estella collapsed onto the bed under my weight, blinking, then smiling sheepishly and pulling me into a face-to-face hug. She said shyly.

 

“I love you too, Vanessa, so I’m going to make sure you’re protected…!”

 

“Really…”

 

What to do with this sweet puppy.

 

Part of me wanted to shower her with kisses, but instead I hugged her tightly once more and stood up from my seat.

 

Estella stirred, hugged my waist, and mumbled something in a hushed voice.

 

“Normally, a Rofan heroine would have a few hidden abilities… but Estella doesn’t have any of those, and I’ve never been disappointed by that in the novels…”