The Final Lesson
Late into the night, in Celina’s chambers.
Smack—!
The sharp crack of a palm against bare flesh rang through the silent room.
"…Haah."
The sole daughter of Duke Estel, the highest-ranking noble in the Empire. Young Lady Celina von Estel. A golden child of the aristocracy whose beauty belied her reputation as the worst villainess in high society.
She lay face-down across his knee, teeth clenched, unable to utter a single word.
"The reason you struck the young master of House Ja across the face."
"…"
"Speak."
"…"
"Answer me."
After a long silence, she finally forced the words out.
"…Because that bastard… was tormenting a maid…"
"Of course that was wrong of him. But does that give you the right to slap a noble across the face?"
"No… it does not."
A short reply—yet she still offered no apology.
He withdrew the hand that had been striking her and carefully applied ointment himself, spreading it evenly with gentle, stroking motions.
"Hnn… hup!"
Her flushed, reddened skin must have stung; every time the salve touched her, a soft moan escaped Celina’s lips.
"Even so, my lady, you did well. Refusing to look away from injustice is a virtue. Please continue to become someone fine, just as you were today. I believe in you."
He offered the sincere wish as best he could.
Celina only snorted.
"What, no praise? Then why am I getting my backside smacked in the first place?!"
"…Just because."
"What?! You absolute pervert. You could just say things like that normally…"
"I was joking."
The rest of her muttering was too quiet to catch. He simply watched her and smiled without a word.
"You should sleep now. The hour is late."
"…And whose fault is that?"
Celina rubbed the ointment-slicked skin, grumbling as she made her way to the bed.
Once he confirmed she had fallen asleep, he turned and left.
It was still the earliest hours of dawn; the sun had not yet risen. The corridors of the Estel Ducal House lay utterly still.
Soft.
Soft.
A man walked without making a single sound.
Jo Junghyun.
He took one last look around the mansion.
Ten years—short if one called it short, long if one called it long. The hallways that had once felt so foreign when he first arrived, the gardens he had tended every day, the training grounds where he had sweated alongside the knights… all of it now felt as familiar as his own home.
"…"
Junghyun smiled quietly to himself.
"I hope you all fare well."
Even he could not say to whom the words were truly meant.
Creak.
The door to Duke Estel’s study opened.
The Duke sat waiting in his chair, sipping tea.
Thud.
Junghyun stopped before him and bowed respectfully at the waist.
"I shall take my leave."
The Duke regarded him in silence for a long while before speaking.
"No regrets at all?"
"None."
"You still intend to seek out the secret of your birth, then."
Junghyun nodded quietly.
"…Yes. I must learn the origin of my power."
The Duke let out a long sigh.
"If you leave… this house will suffer a great loss."
"…"
"But."
He rose from his seat and stepped closer. His hand came down lightly on Junghyun’s shoulder.
"You have worked hard."
"…"
"These ten years—you have truly worked hard."
"And."
The Duke paused, then suddenly bowed his head toward Junghyun.
"Thank you for raising my daughter—Celina—so splendidly."
It was the first time. More than that, it was a shock. Junghyun had never imagined the Duke would offer such profound gratitude to a mere butler.
He bowed quietly in return.
"Please raise your head. Your words are far too generous."
"As for Celina."
The Duke gazed out the window as he spoke.
"When do you plan to tell her?"
"I do not intend to tell her at all."
"…What?"
"If she saw me leave, she would try to stop me."
Duke Estel gave a short, dry laugh.
"…Indeed. That child would do exactly that. But she will surely cry a great deal."
Junghyun did not answer. Instead he quietly set down a single envelope.
"Please deliver this to the young lady after I am gone."
The Duke looked at the envelope, then slowly nodded.
"…I will see that she receives it."
Five o’clock in the morning.
At the main gates of the ducal house, the entire knight order stood armed and waiting.
"…Butler."
"…"
"Are you truly leaving?"
Junghyun smiled and bowed his head.
"Thank you for everything."
The knight commander returned a bitter smile.
"We’re the ones who should be thanking you."
"For ten years, you were the one who made us into proper men."
The maids nearby were already on the verge of tears.
"Butler…"
"Please take care of yourself…"
"…"
Junghyun shook hands with each of them in turn.
"I hope all of you find happiness."
When the farewells were finished, he climbed into the carriage the Duke had prepared.
Rattle.
The wheels began to turn. Slowly, the carriage drew away from the mansion.
In that instant, the curtain of a second-floor window stirred ever so slightly.
"…?"
Junghyun glanced upward for a moment. Then he simply smiled and looked away.
Must have been my imagination.
The carriage continued on, leaving the estate behind at an unhurried pace.
"…Mmm."
Only when morning came did Celina slowly open her eyes.
"…Butler."
She called for him out of habit. No answer came.
"…Butler?"
On any ordinary day, the first thing she would have heard by now was his voice saying, Good morning.
"…?"
Celina tilted her head, rose, and stretched.
"Uuunn… overslept?"
The thought of the man who would scold her with that blank expression made her snort with laughter.
"I’ll have to punish him today."
She opened the door and stepped out.
For some reason the corridor felt hollow. Empty. No one was there.
"…Strange."
She went downstairs and arrived at the dining hall.
"…Father."
The Duke was pretending to read the newspaper.
"…Good morning."
"Where is the butler?"
"…"
"…Is the lesson running late today?"
The Duke said nothing. Celina looked at her father’s face and gave a small laugh.
"Don’t tell me. He’s preparing another surprise again?"
"…"
"…Father?"
Slowly, the Duke drew out an envelope.
"…This is what Junghyun left for you."
"…?"
Celina took it without thinking.
Left for me?
She unfolded the letter in her hands.
Familiar handwriting. Junghyun’s handwriting.
Celina.
If you are reading this letter, then I have already left the Estel Ducal House.
The moment she read the first line, the smile vanished from Celina’s face.
You are now a fine heir to the ducal house.
You have grown so much that you no longer require my instruction.
"What… are you talking about."
The fingertips gripping the letter trembled like aspen leaves.
So walk on now without me.
If it is you, I am certain you will become an excellent duchess.
"…Liar."
"…"
"…This is a joke, right?"
Even so, the letter continued.
One last thing.
Always live happily.
And become someone who can protect others.
Meet a good person, learn love, and become someone who cherishes yourself and your family.
That is the final request I leave with you.
— Butler Jo Junghyun
"…"
"…"
Thud.
The letter slipped from her fingers and tumbled across the floor.
Celina stood frozen in place, unable to move for a long time.
"…Father."
"…"
"…This is a lie, isn’t it?"
The Duke closed his eyes.
"…No. Junghyun left the house at dawn today."
In that instant, Celina’s mind went completely blank.
"…He left…?"
"…"
"…Why?"
"…"
"…Why?"
"…"
"…Why didn’t you say anything?"
Her voice began to shake.
"Why… without even saying goodbye to me…"
The next moment—
Bang!
Celina shoved the chair aside and bolted straight into the corridor.
"My lady!"
Someone called after her, but she heard nothing at all.
Before she knew it she stood before the door to Junghyun’s room. She wrenched it open with force.
Creak.
The room was spotless, without a single speck of dust.
The bed.
The desk.
The wardrobe.
As if no one had ever lived there at all.
Empty.
Celina walked slowly to the center of the room and stood there.
"…Butler."
No answer came.
Only then did she understand for the first time.
Truly.
Really.
He was gone.
And in that moment, the heir of the Estel Ducal House—who had never once shed a tear in front of another person in her entire life—quietly sank to her knees in the empty butler’s room.
"I hate this… Don’t go. Stay by my side… Hwaaaang…"
With that small plea, a single tear fell to the floor.
It did not take long for the quiet sobs to become full, wrenching wails.
Those were Celina’s first tears.
"…My lady."
"…"
"…My lady."
Celina slowly opened her eyes.
"…"
She could not remember when she had fallen asleep.
Junghyun’s room.
The floor beside the desk.
She had apparently spent the entire night there, letter still clutched in her hand.
"…Butler."
She called for him without thinking.
As expected, there was no reply.
In the place where his voice should have said, as always, Good morning, there was nothing.
Only then did reality come crashing back over her like a wave.
"He really… left."
Celina closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly rose to her feet.
She stood before the ornate vanity mirror.
Bloodshot eyes and disheveled golden hair.
Slightly rumpled nightclothes.
"…"
She dampened a cloth and wiped her face.
She fixed her hair. Straightened her clothes.
After checking her reflection, she murmured softly,
"…The butler would have scolded me if he saw this."
Then she left the room as if nothing had happened.
In the dining hall of the ducal house, every servant stood rigid.
No one dared speak to her.
Celina took her seat as usual.
"…Good morning."
The same greeting as always.
The Duke.
The Duchess.
Both were briefly at a loss for words.
"…Good morning."
"…Yes."
Celina quietly lifted a spoonful of soup.
One mouthful.
Two.
Three.
Then her hand suddenly stopped.
"…"
"…?"
"…It’s a little too salty."
The air in the dining hall turned ice-cold.
With Junghyun gone, a different cook had prepared the morning meal. Junghyun had always adjusted the seasoning to match Celina’s exact preferences.
"…I am so sorry!"
The cook dropped to his knees in front of her in a panic.
But Celina only shook her head.
"…It’s all right."
"…"
"Next time, please use a little less."
"…Pardon?"
"…I would appreciate it."
The cook’s eyes went wide.
Celina had not grown angry.
Instead, she had made a request of the cook.
Watching from a distance, the Duke closed his eyes.
Junghyun… you taught her well, right to the end.
Even as he felt the ache of Junghyun’s absence, the Duke could only marvel at his daughter’s growth.
That afternoon, in the Duke’s study.
"Father."
"Come in."
Celina entered and stood quietly before him.
"…I have a question."
"Ask it."
"…Where has the butler gone?"
The Duke was silent for a moment.
"…I cannot tell you."
"…Why not?"
"That was my promise with Junghyun."
Hearing her father’s words, Celina closed her eyes.
"…I see."
Her unexpectedly calm reaction surprised the Duke a little.
"How unusual that you are not angry."
"…Because the butler would dislike it if I got angry."
"…"
"So… I will endure it."
At those words, something in the Duke’s chest tightened.
The old Celina would certainly have flown into a rage.
She would have thrown things.
She would have screamed.
But that child no longer existed.
That night, Celina walked alone through the garden.
A single bench beneath the moonlight.
This was the place where, at the age of ten, she had first been scolded by Junghyun.
"…"
She ran her hand along the bench. A small smile touched Celina’s face.
"I still remember it so clearly. Right here."
"‘A noble is someone who takes responsibility.’"
"…That’s what you said."
"…Butler."
"…You promised."
"…That you would stay by my side."
Silence stretched for a long while.
Then Celina slowly lifted her head.
In those jewel-like crimson eyes, sorrow had been replaced by resolve.
"…Fine."
"…So it’s a game of hide-and-seek."
"…I’ll find you."
"No matter where you are."
"…Without fail."
The blue moonlight settled quietly over her golden hair.
As if confirming her resolve, the bells of the Empire rang out in the distance.
And at that same hour—
Inside a carriage crossing the border, Junghyun gazed out the window.
"…This is going to get interesting."
He still did not know.
That from the day he left, the most perfect young lady of the Empire had, for the first time in her life, come to desperately want something.
It was not power.
Not honor.
Not even the Crown Prince.
Only one thing.
A man by the name of Jo Junghyun.
Him alone.