The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies - Chapter 136



135 – LeKallen (02)

136.

The next day.

A great commotion arose at the LeKallen family’s mansion.

The center of the commotion was the family’s young lady.

She was their master, who would soon carry on the name of LeKallen.

To them, Daphnis LeKallen was a lovely girl.

She was deep and warm-hearted, to the point where caring for others was a habit.

Is she lacking in ability as the next head of the family? No, that’s not it.

A girl whose talent was recognized early on by the Marquis of Le Carlin.

When it comes to gathering information and rumors and using them to create situations, she is said to be even better than the Marquis of Le Carlin.

So how could she not be lovable?

A considerate and capable young master.

The retainers of the Le Carlin family sincerely served Daphne.

And Daphne did her best to live up to their expectations.

Because she had ambition.

To one day elevate the name of Le Carlin to the Five Great Families.

Now, to the Six Great Families.

Daphne, who was kind by nature.

Even if she had differences of opinion with others, she never slandered or criticized anyone.

One day, a worry came to such a Daphne, a worry that young ladies of her age might have.

A certain boy.

A boy named Kallen, who looked good with an eyepatch over his left eye.

Ever since she first saw the boy, his face kept coming to mind.

It was hard to sleep peacefully, and no matter how much she worked to erase him from her mind, nothing changed.

Rather, the more she did so, the more the boy grew in presence in Daphne’s heart.

She wanted to be alone with him, even just once.

That feeling grew to the point where it was unbearable.

It kept the young girl from sleeping.

And so it came to this.

The reason the Le Carlin mansion was in an uproar was simple.

Daphne Le Carlin.

The rumor spread that their beloved master was looking for retainers skilled or interested in dressing up.

The Le Carlin family was more sensitive to rumors than anyone else.

They soon realized that the rumor was indeed true information.

Why had the beloved heir of Le Carlin suddenly taken an interest in dressing up?

That curiosity.

“What kind of appearance do men like…?”

After gathering those who were searching earlier.

The question was resolved with a single inquiry.

Man.

Daphnis’ delicate lips moved to form the word “man.”

It was quite a shock to the retainers.

Because Daphnis had never spoken about a man before.

There was also Lady Richesa Zikaud, who was close to their master.

A feeling of relief, yet also of pity.

Relieved that the pure and beautiful lady wouldn’t fall for a bad man, yet also feeling sorry.

Feeling sorry for the young lady who, at the age of blossoming beauty, couldn’t experience a fresh love and had to take on the duties of the head of the family.

Daphnis had never complained.

For her, work was the top priority.

She was a girl who would achieve any difficult goal.

Such a girl, as if a bit embarrassed, mentioned a man.

It couldn’t help but be a shock.

Again, the Rkalin were more sensitive to rumors and information than anyone else.

Even the chief informants of the family couldn’t detect the existence of the man the lady spoke of.

In such a situation, the appearance of liking a man.

The informants busily moved to find the man the lady mentioned.

Soon, even the Marquis of Rkalin and his wife heard the news.

Thus, not in the office of Rkalin, but in her room.

In the room, there were several people who were skilled in grooming appearances.

Outside the door, the Rkalin couple and the retainers were listening to the sounds from the room.

Daphnis sat in the chair as the maids instructed, blushing as if embarrassed.

She knew the retainers had high expectations.

But this was something Daphnis herself couldn’t yield.

How much she had longed for it.

Comparing herself to the ladies beside the boy in secret, wanting to meet him alone even once.

She thinks it was good to have been brave that day.

With Richesa’s accompaniment well resolved, now she could truly be alone with Kalen.

There were no esteemed young ladies from the five great families.

Daphnis couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

She had three maids attached to her head.

The girls, who were around the same age, looked at Daphnis with sparkling eyes and asked,

“Miss! Do you have a desired look?!”

“J-just a moment… calm down…”

Daphnis had grown up only seeing paper since she was young.

The maids were holding tools they had never seen before, their eyes gleaming.

They seemed a bit excited.

They even started actively exchanging opinions among themselves.

“Shall we go for a cute look? We’ll highlight the young lady’s greatest strength.”

“No, the young lady is more fresh and bright than cute.”

“How about we go for a mature look as a complete reversal?”

What’s the difference between cute and fresh?

Daphnis quietly watched the girls passionately discussing her hairstyle.

Gulp.

She cautiously gave her opinion.

“I-I think fresh and bright would be good…”

It was a hard-won opportunity.

Daphnis didn’t want to waste it in vain, so she wanted to do her best without any regrets.

She chose the one that she thought was closest to her own image among what they had said.

“And… since we decided to meet every day for a week from today… you don’t have to worry so much…”

“A week!?”

Surprised.

Daphnis was startled by the maids’ suddenly raised voices.

They all looked at her with sparkling eyes, as if asking if it was really true.

“Y-yes. We decided to meet every day for a week.”

“…”

Then silence.

The maids looked at each other and rolled up their sleeves with determined expressions.

“Miss.”

“Hmm…?”

“Just trust us.”

“…”

“For the next week. We will make it so that you can’t bear to be without us. Now, then…”

The maids approached, holding tools she had never seen before.

Daphnis looked at them, then at the maids in charge of her attire waiting behind them, and smiled awkwardly.

“Please… take care of me?”

“We will begin.”

Not even powder.

Daphnis Lecalin, who had never worn even a common necklace in her life.

That day, Daphnis Lecalin’s adornment took no less than four hours to complete.

*

Quite expensive-looking jewelry.

Clothes that seemed neat and well-matched.

Even a slight scent of powder and fragrance.

Is she wearing makeup?

That was Kallen’s first thought upon seeing Daphnis.

The main street of Mland.

There, Kallen, who was waiting for Daphnis, discovered her approaching demurely.

The closer he got to her, the more he could see her shyly lowering her gaze.

He didn’t like to judge others.

But Kallen, uncharacteristically, thought she looked beautiful.

As he got closer, he was quite impressed.

Blamia had said that makeup was a woman’s powerful weapon.

There was nothing as powerful as natural and well-matched powder.

Kallen naturally understood its meaning.

At the same time, he recalled what Richeza had said.

When you meet her, you should tell her she looks good.

That was a very basic courtesy to a lady.

Especially, there was no better sound than a compliment given to someone who had taken care to come out.

In fact, Richeza did not say it considering when Kallen met other women.

She was just too shy to say ‘when you meet me,’ so she just said ‘women.’

But Kallen, who didn’t know that, suddenly thought of it.

Since he felt sorry for Daphnis, wouldn’t it be okay to tell her she was pretty?

He thought that if she had put on makeup, it would fall into the category of having taken care.

The hesitation was short, and the action was quick.

Kallen approached Daphnis and, looking her in the eye, said.

“You’re beautiful, Lady Daphnis.”

“Hic…?”

Surprised.

As if startled by the sudden compliment.

Daphnis widened her eyes and took a step back.

“Suddenly, such a…”

At that, Kallen approached Daphnis again and extended his hand.

“What…?”

Daphnis couldn’t understand Kallen’s actions.

She was already flustered by the sudden compliment, and now he was extending his hand, making it hard to read his intentions.

But Daphnis had been educated as a lady since she was young.

Her mind naturally recalled her etiquette lessons.

When a lady extends her hand, the man should take it and lead her with care.

How did Kallen know?

That appearance was subtly natural, arousing curiosity, but more than that, it made her happy.

At least it meant that Kallen was now focusing on her.

Suppressing the trembling that wouldn’t easily subside, Daphnis gently placed her hand on his.

Tightly…

“Hic… Hic…”

The rough touch of a man.

Just holding hands made her feel heat rising through her whole body.

If my hands get sweaty, it would be rude, but what can I do?

Daphnis was stunned by the unexpected warmth, unable to say anything.

Skilled, indeed.

Daphnis lost the luxury of worrying about such trivial matters.

“Ha… Ha…”

“Shall we go?”

“Yes… Yes, my lord…”

The rough touch of a man’s hand for the first time,

It scrambled her mind.

For a girl who had never held a man’s hand in her life,

It was an overwhelmingly stimulating sensation.